I agree and wonder too. In a 3000 gallon pond those 7 comets could not possibly be producing that much ammonia. So, you need to look elsewhere. I would look at the filters. They may be overwhelmed with residue from dead bacteria and other debris. Did you do a test for buffering capacity? That would be KH. My new test kit for some reason calls it High Range PH. Maybe I need a different kit. KH measures the capacity of the water to resist changes in PH. This is important because rapid change is harmful to the fish. I learned a little from a former poster who I really wish would come back. He would know in an instant what was going on while I am simply looking at my own experience. Fill a container with the new water from the tap. Allow it to sit overnight to let some of the gassy chemicals like chloranimine to dissipate. Add pond water. If it was something added to the tap water it should remain clear. That means KH is high enough to cause the pond water to react to the chemicals in the new tap water by forming a precipitate. All will probably be well in time. To eliminate the problem or reduce it you can add air with a bubbler or a fountain, increase turbulance, let the tap water sit overnight or use a chemical to counter the chemicals in the tap water. If the KH is too low, there are chemicals you can add but a little trick I learned is to put slugs of Plaster of Paris in the pond. It will react to the PH of the pondwater by slowly disolving. The term is something else but to the eye it looks like disolving, so that is the term I will use. The POP is being reformed by the pond water to achieve a certain level of PH. If the PH is too high, the POP will disappear quickly and the PH will get lower until it reaches a balance which by happy chance is the best level for the fish. Once a balance is reached there is no more or a reduced level of reaction. Leave the slug in the water so it will react to changes you don't notice. It won't be harmful and ammonia levels will also be reduced. I mold POP in the shapes of bubbles or starfish just to make them look like decorations. I don't have any problems with PH since I started doing this. If you use this trick make sure the POP does not have any additional chemicals added. Dap sells one that is pure POP. I wish someone else with a better handle on chemistry would post, please. I am not the best person to expain all this. A forum search on POP or plaster of paris should be helpful. Sandy

The potting soil on the bottom of the pond can be sucked up with a shop vac--- just watch out for the fish!! With you pond only being six weeks old, I would be supprised if your filter has completly cycled. At this point I think that draining your pond would be the worst thing you could do because the pond is just starting to cycle. Hope that this helps

Living on a well is different and more complicated than living on a water system. You have to make the water SAFE and then decide whether to make the water NICE. NICE water gives you longer service life for plumbing, appliances, and fixtures and can save you money in soap and detergent use and your clothes will last longer. You need to get a comprehensive water test from an independent certified lab. Labs usually know what to test for in well water in their areas but at a minimum... hardness, iron (ferrous and ferric), manganese, pH, TDS, nitrates, bacteria, sodium, copper, arsenic. With those test results we can intelligently discuss what is in your water, in what amounts, and how best to treat it.

With hardness around 10gpg and manganese at .03 with iron at .1 you are smart to be considering a softener. Aside from the niceties of soft water a softener will lengthen the service life of the plumbing, fixtures, and appliances. Your clothes will last longer and you'll save money by using far less soap and detergent. Ok, water softener 101 ... Hit the Yellow Pages and call at least three local water treatment pros. Make sure you call at least one of the big dogs like Kinetico or Culligan for comparison and at least a couple independent pros. DON'T TELL THEM YOU HAD YOUR WATER TESTED. Give each an opportunity to offer suggestions and provide you with a quote to meet your water treatment needs. IGNORE ANY THAT DON'T TEST YOUR WATER THEMSELVES as they can't speak intelligently to water treatment without knowing what needs to be treated. Ask lots of questions. Warranty, parts & labor or just parts, how long and on exactly what? Install, permits required, licensed plumber? Routine maintenance and costs? Do they stock parts? Response time for emergency (water leak) calls? If they don't explain things to your satisfaction that is a good indicator of how you'll be treated after the sale. After they've gone use your water test to compare with theirs. Are all your treatment needs being addressed? Ask your neighbors if they have any water treatment experience. They might tell you who's good or who to avoid. Come back here and post the specific recommendations and hardware components with the costs and we'll give you our opinions. If you're a DIYer then you have other options but they must be discussed privately by email. But remember, when you do it yourself there's no one else to blame.