vince68
Koi Lover
May 27, 2008, 10:45 PM
Post #56 of 179
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Re: [riolow] Diy Protein Skimmer...
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Chris, i read most of your post and felt very sorry for having to go through it...
just some input though merely a one year old hobbyist but had quite a few years in marine/ reef until i got my first daugther then gave up as high maintenance. though many will not agree to what i'm going to say but just some thoughts.
Honestly, after reading many post for the past months and also experiencing treating diseases, i notice many hobbyist including myself at the beginning are just too cautious and too diligent. What i meant is that, we often change the water too much, clean the sediments, wash the brushes/ matt etc every 2 weeks or 1 month with some at the extreme of weekly.
Honestly, i dont think its necessary at all. The best once a month, we flush out the sediments and dry up the filter chambers and refill with pond water then top up. Touch wood, after a year into this, so far my pond has been clear and readings are good except the few incidence of diseases at the beginning as i didnt quarantine the koi as i just dump them into the pond. Since then, i have stop doing and do quarantine at least 2 to 4 weeks.
I have seen many including my relative pond where they only do the cleaning once in 2 or 3 months and they never had any problems with the water or koi.
Often, problems with water and koi are really self inflated as we change the water too often, not knowingly flushing or cleaning or killing the good bacteria instead of otherwise.
Anyway, in short, in your case, suggest u keep whatever system you have as is for a while. What u really need is at least a 40 w UV light and place it in your last chamber where the pump is and wait for a week or 2. I'm quite sure it will work. Pls dont turn off when the water is clear but keep it on 24/7 and as long as it can last and replace if otherwise. the other thing is your O2, noted u mention about 40 w air pump, not sure what type is it? is it those for aquarium? what u need is something like Hiblow preferably 80 where its much powerful and will reallly oxigenate your pond and bio filter. U can get the cheaper ones made in china which i used to buy but went capput in less than 3 months, then decided once and for all get something which is more reliable since the cost is really nothing much if u compare to the cost of koi that all of us buy. Remember, based on your pond size, place at least 2 airstone (get those flat and round about 6 inch or larger in diameter) in your pond. For filter, just buy the cheap airstone and place a few in each chamber. Suggest just place mid way down and not right at the bottom as it will stir up the sediments.
All in all, try the above and see how it goes as it cost lesser and less energy to reconstruct your filters etc. Personally, for me, koi keeping is a hobby and its something that we enjoy but it cant be a burden to u where u have to spend hours a week cleaning filters etc though we can outsource but again, why? Koi suppose to be hardy fishes even hardier than gold fish or tropical fish. As mention, i kept a 7 feet reef aquarium in the past and i only really need to spend an hour a week to top up the water plus adding nutrients. We cant be spending the same for koi which are suppose to be maintenance less/ free.
Some reservation, as i have said, am only a year into this hence i may be wrong and i dont intend to offend anyone in this forum especially the sifus....just my personal thoughts....
Good luck
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.. may b 1 or 2 row is fine .. 
.. i just said settlement chamber shud b empty, then 1st chamber with brushes, reason is to et the heavier waste to settle in SC soo easier for us to clean, 1st chamber fill with brushes will filter out other escaped waste soo the bio chamber wont clog with waste, as this will give more burden to the good bacteria.. remember good bacteria need oxygen, if cover with waste they will bcome anaerobic, sort of bad bacteria.. 
