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newbie wif new pond

 





 


adrkoi
New User

Mar 20, 2007, 5:55 PM

Post #1 of 9 (1695 views)
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newbie wif new pond Can't Post
Hi there koi enthusiasts, veterens, sifu'sSmile..

Im a newbie n have been browsing for the past week before posting thisBlush..

I would like to seek advice n share as after browsing i noticed i may have done my pond wrongly and feel unsecured, pls advice..

My new pond is an "L" shaped pond, measuring 4' x 5' L, 2' x 1'W & 2.5'D bottom fed. I want it to be more uniformed but due to complications of earthworks (exixting house beam/structure) & lack of supervision it has became this odd sizeMad

My filters have 3 compartments, 1st compartment-inlet fr bottom drain, 2nd compartment-corals n & black filter mesh, 3rd compartment-pump & uv light. My uv light is on 24/7. sorry i dun have the specs for the uv light & pump..

i have not tested it for Ph, nitrate, nitrite, amonia and i see its rather important so will get the kits to test it (rather expensive kits). I have 3 kois around 16cm in size which i put in after running it for a month. The bottom & sides of the pond has a thin layer of brownish & green algea growing & the water is clear. from what i can tell, the kois r swimming good & eating well. Fr the algea tell-tale signs, is my water too high in nitrite or not oxigenated hence the algea growth? the pond has sunlight fr morning till bout 1pm.

Pls advice on if im totally doing wrong thing or its not too bad & can be saved as i have been bitten by the koi bug & did up my pond eagerly, exitedly but hastily too.. btw, will putting a TT help?

many thanks
Attachments: pond 29b.jpg (87.6 KB)
  pond 27b.jpg (76.9 KB)


ayranjim
Koi Lover

Mar 21, 2007, 1:12 AM

Post #2 of 9 (1676 views)
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Re: [adrkoi] newbie wif new pond [In reply to] Can't Post
Hello, well we all started somewhere! First of all, the alge growing on the sides is good! There are different types of alge, what you dont want is string alge, but your pond seems shaded enough not to worry! I dont understand what your concerns are! In any case leave that thin growth of alge! It helps the pond! The pond is shaped in a difficult way, that is to say that the drainage in to the filter is not at optimum! You have what are called DEAD SPOTS in your pond, this means that there are spaces in whick the water doesnt flow good, these would be in the ( L) part or corners! This means your drainage will drain from some areas but not the corners, and this is where you will have a build up of koi crap! Which in return effects the water!


Linasp
Koi Lover

Apr 1, 2007, 7:21 PM

Post #3 of 9 (1572 views)
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Re: [adrkoi] newbie wif new pond [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi! I am also a newbie in koi raising. We originally planned to construct a waterfalls on the side of our house and later we thought it would be nice to have kois swimming there. The pond is 1.5m wide with 0.5 meters under a platform, 4m long and 1 m deep. The waterfalls would be situated at around 1.5m from the left side and across it would be the submersible pump. We did not plan for filters, and as I was reading the threads, there were several mentions of filters. My questions:

What kind of filter can we use in this situation? Where should it be situated? What options do I have? Is there something that can be attached to a submersible pump? What are filter balls?

I hope you can help me.

Thanks,

Lina


ayranjim
Koi Lover

Apr 1, 2007, 8:46 PM

Post #4 of 9 (1562 views)
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Re: [Linasp] newbie wif new pond [In reply to] Can't Post
Hello, you will need filters if you are to have any koi! Many times people think that they can get around this expense , but without filters, you will not see your koi! So the rule is no filters /no koi! So before you make your pond, do it right and plan for the future, that is plan so that you can have many koi if you should want, also koi will grow. If you send us photos of the area and drawings we can help you! I would say use your waterfall as a trickle tower!!!And make a gravity flow drainage system!! I will help you with these NEW WORDS!!!
Jim


Linasp
Koi Lover

Apr 1, 2007, 9:19 PM

Post #5 of 9 (1559 views)
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Re: [ayranjim] newbie wif new pond [In reply to] Can't Post
Jim,

Thanks for the quick reply. I will take photos tomorrow and post them. By the way, what is a trickle tower?

Lina


ayranjim
Koi Lover

Apr 1, 2007, 10:12 PM

Post #6 of 9 (1552 views)
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Re: [Linasp] newbie wif new pond [In reply to] Can't Post
Hello, a trickle tower is one of the best methods of biological filtration there is! The idea is the water runs from your pump up to a tower ( trash can) or anything like this a barrel, The water then flows over and down through Biological material , and then this water falls bach into your pond! This is not to filter things like leaves or such, these are filtered by mechanical filters, the filter process is that the water that falls down over biomaterial is filtered in the sense that the biomedia has a colony of helpful bacteria living in it, and these helpful bacteria eat all the koi shit!! That is why these are hidden behind waterfalls, so the water goes in at the top of the barrel and comes out at the bottom. What is bio material or media? That is simple any plastic objects that will give a good surface for these helpful bacteria to grow! Many people use lava rock. but this is very heavy. today the best is plastic objects with a pouras surface! The water must flow down over this material SOFTLY like a soft shower, otherwise you will BLAST the biomedia and thus make it impossible for the new bacteria to STICK to the plastic biomedia!!!Let me know if I can help you more!
Jim


koiguyoz
Member


Apr 2, 2007, 4:12 PM

Post #7 of 9 (1519 views)
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Re: [ayranjim] newbie wif new pond [In reply to] Can't Post
So basically...

you must have a biological filter fitted to your pond if you intend to:

a) have fish; and
b) have a source of filtration for the waste products of your koi and fish.

You will also need to read up on:

*New pond syndrome (you will experience this when you put in new fish to your pond)
*Fish stocking levels
*Filter maintanence
*The nitrogen cycle
*The use of UV lights
*Biological media types (including issues on surface area which is important in increasing the amount of area for the positive bacteria to consume and convert the waste products of your koi fish).

If you are looking at commercial filters, note that some can only handle a certain amount of fish and are at times not rated for koi, but goldfish.


Linasp
Koi Lover

Apr 3, 2007, 6:10 AM

Post #8 of 9 (1492 views)
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new pond [In reply to] Can't Post
Jim,

Hi, I have uploaded photos of our pond. On two ends are still water sources that we plan to drip on rocks, I guess we can place the filters here? The high structure is the main falls, which has a small bin that can hold water before overflowing onto the pond. I am not sure if we still can place a filter here.

The other photo shows the platform where the fish can hide during the day.

Also, would it be good to place pebbles on the bottom of the pond? Bythe way, the pond will be waterproofed too.

Thanks,

Lina


ayranjim
Koi Lover

Apr 3, 2007, 7:58 AM

Post #9 of 9 (1489 views)
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Re: [Linasp] new pond [In reply to] Can't Post
Hello Lina, thank you for the pictures! Well, here is something interesting in the world of ponds! Most, ( not all) of us , start with small ponds, at the time thinking that they are big! And as we start to learn more, we notice that things could have and should have been done differently! And I see this in your case! The pond is very nice!!! The only complication is that it is between small and and small!!!!! It is big enough for a filter system, but it will be hard to make a good system for something so small, yet it is bigger than an aquarium!!! So you must look and try before you buy water pumps, you do not need some big thing other wise you will have a jacuzzi, and an aquarium pump may be too small for the amount of water you need to move! So end the end result it is often times just as cheap to go for a big pond than a small one!Also your pond can only have so many koi or other fish, so you may not need heavy filtration! Ok, the small bin you have for water, should be fine! You can buy BIO BALLS at most fish stores! These should be simple put into the bin! And the water must run from the pump which is submerged in the pond to the top of the bin, via a plastic hose, now you can buy some PVC piping to have the hose go into, you must drill holes in this pvc, the idea is to make the water that comes out more like a shower effect instead of just pouring out of the hose! The water has to pour down over and through the bio balls, and then you must have a hole in the bottom of the bin where that water will fall out into the pond! Thats it!!! Your homemade trickle tower bio filter! Now this may seem strange because there is no conventional idea of a filter! The running water, ( must run 24/7)flowing over the bio balls will in about 4 to 8 weeks start to form a colony of good bacteria, and it is this bacteria that eats all the bad KOI CRAP! If the water stops running over the bio balls for more than about for hours, all the bacteria DIE, and then you start again! You dont need some super pump!! Just a nice fountain pump! Check what the wattage is, because this pump must run 24/7! A pump for your pond should cost you around $1oo.00 dollars!
Let me know if I can help you more!!!
Jim

 
 
 



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