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  1. #1

    Stupid Question..

    Havent posted in a while.... Fish are doing fine... everything seems fine but i still have no trace of nitrites or nitrite after best part of 8 weeks.... is this usual?

    my ammo is still 0.25 but water changes are helping keep this down.

    also.. here is the stupid question....the sediment at bottom of pond.. by that i mean fish crap etc.... a lot is being pulled naturally through bottom drain...but there is still a fair bit that is always kind of evident at bottom of liner.

    do i need to purchase a vacumn for this..
    or is it ok to let it break down and make its way to filter naturally?
    just wonder what the norm is..

    thanks. ryan


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  3. #2
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Binary1927 View Post
    Havent posted in a while.... Fish are doing fine... everything seems fine but i still have no trace of nitrites or nitrite after best part of 8 weeks.... is this usual?

    my ammo is still 0.25 but water changes are helping keep this down.

    also.. here is the stupid question....the sediment at bottom of pond.. by that i mean fish crap etc.... a lot is being pulled naturally through bottom drain...but there is still a fair bit that is always kind of evident at bottom of liner.

    do i need to purchase a vacumn for this..
    or is it ok to let it break down and make its way to filter naturally?
    just wonder what the norm is..

    thanks. ryan


    Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk
    I would purchase a pond vacume. To be on the safe side.
    Or put some thing in there. To move the water. Like air. Or another water pump.So as no dead spots. So drain picks it up.
    Try putting a little more food in. To up the nitrite. Experiment. But be careful. As it is a new pond. So keep an eye on the ammonia
    Like a hawk

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  5. #3
    i have been feeding just like a palm full... 3 times a day..... ok.. i will try feeding a bit more..... see how it performs..... thanks freddy..... any recommendations on a vacumn....

    ta
    ryan

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  7. #4
    Banned Rank = Mature Champion Trace's Avatar
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    Is your bottom drain aerated? ...

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  9. #5
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Binary1927 View Post
    i have been feeding just like a palm full... 3 times a day..... ok.. i will try feeding a bit more..... see how it performs..... thanks freddy..... any recommendations on a vacumn....

    ta
    ryan

    Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk
    On vacume I have a cheapo one. But works well at 7 feet. 6 feet of water. Does me look on Ebay for same one you might get it even cheaper lol
    https://oypla.com/garden/garden-tool...AaAlMoEALw_wcB

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  10. #6
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    They do sell them on flea bay lol

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  11. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Trace View Post
    Is your bottom drain aerated? ...
    Hi Trace..

    Na my bottom drain is standard unfortunately.... would this make a difference in the sediment at the bottom then?

    ryan

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  13. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by freddyboy View Post
    They do sell them on flea bay lol

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    thanks freddy..... that seems pretty reasonable...
    Stupid Question..

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  15. #9
    Banned Rank = Mature Champion Trace's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Binary1927 View Post
    Hi Trace..

    Na my bottom drain is standard unfortunately.... would this make a difference in the sediment at the bottom then?

    ryan
    Yes it can do ... if you have an aerated BD you can turn up the air sometimes and get more of a doughnut shaped current running in the pond ... this can help to "sweep" the sediment across the floor into the BD (Bottom Drain).


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  17. #10
    thats worth looking into... can i just add a retrofit dome to it... Stupid Question..

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  19. #11
    Banned Rank = Mature Champion Trace's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Binary1927 View Post
    thats worth looking into... can i just add a retrofit dome to it... Stupid Question..

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    Yes you could ... there are various ways of doing that ... just google variations of wordings like "adding air to a bottom drain" and you'll get loads of different ways of going about it ... none very elegant that I've seen though if that's important to you ...

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    Quote Originally Posted by Binary1927 View Post
    Havent posted in a while.... Fish are doing fine... everything seems fine but i still have no trace of nitrites or nitrite after best part of 8 weeks.... is this usual?

    my ammo is still 0.25 but water changes are helping keep this down.

    also.. here is the stupid question....the sediment at bottom of pond.. by that i mean fish crap etc.... a lot is being pulled naturally through bottom drain...but there is still a fair bit that is always kind of evident at bottom of liner.

    do i need to purchase a vacumn for this..
    or is it ok to let it break down and make its way to filter naturally?
    just wonder what the norm is..

    thanks. ryan


    Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk
    You could be changing too much water possibly. See what happens to the ammonia level if you decrease this.

    When your koi get big they will thrash around on the pond floor sucking at things and send anything that settles towards your BD provided it has enough draw (which = flow to your filters).
    A cheap swimming pool brush can do the same job in the meantime.

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  23. #13
    thanks for the replies.... im pondering with the idea of having an aerated bottom drain... but something in me for whatever reason, just doesnt like the look of a stream of airbubbles in the pond... odd i know.. but its worth considering....
    there isnt too much sediment to be fair... but i was just wondering as the fish get bigger will this problem become worse..

    i am not sure why the nitrites have not kicked in yet.... i dont think its too much water changes as im only changing 10% weekly... but i am not feeding massively.. just a couple of palm fulls a day... maybe im gonna try upping feeds slightly... see what happens..

    ryan

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  25. #14
    Banned Rank = Mature Champion Trace's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Binary1927 View Post
    but something in me for whatever reason, just doesnt like the look of a stream of airbubbles in the pond...
    I'm the exact opposite ... I actually spotlight the bubbles at night to make them stand out ... mind you that's through a viewing window ... they don't look so great looking down on the surface ...

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  27. #15
    agreed look great from the side.. but i didnt have the courage to fit a window... i knew i would regret it....an airdome is definately something to consider though..... i know the more oxygen the better it is for koiStupid Question..

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  29. #16
    Banned Rank = Mature Champion Trace's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Binary1927 View Post
    agreed look great from the side.. but i didnt have the courage to fit a window... i knew i would regret it....an airdome is definately something to consider though..... i know the more oxygen the better it is for koiStupid Question..

    Sent from my CLT-L09 using Tapatalk
    Yes extra "air" has few drawbacks ... other than spoiling the view from the surface ... ... if you need any help with it just give me a shout, I'm actually working on a DIY EPDM membrane diffuser right at the moment ... I'll be sticking the pics etc. up for it soon if it works well ...

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  31. #17
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Gosai Andymadd's Avatar
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    When I had this problem I went low tech. Get a broom handle or something that reaches the bottom, tape your garden hose to it and wash the muck towards the BD.

    Simples

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  33. #18
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Andymadd View Post
    When I had this problem I went low tech. Get a broom handle or something that reaches the bottom, tape your garden hose to it and wash the muck towards the BD.

    Simples
    I like that idea. I once cleaned my pond bottom of pond with a pressure gun on a pole. Because I had the dreaded black algi.
    Another story. Trace helped me on that.
    But a hose on a pole good idea.

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  35. #19
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by freddyboy View Post
    I like that idea. I once cleaned my pond bottom of pond with a pressure gun on a pole. Because I had the dreaded black algi.
    Another story. Trace helped me on that.
    But a hose on a pole good idea.

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    Still think the air bottom dome is the way to go. As trace said. It keeps the water moving. Plus it puts oxygen in the pond.
    You could put the air on a timer Ryan.
    So you still have the tranquility of a nice calm pond when your pond sitting.
    Used to have mine just running at bed time.
    But now I have it running 24/7
    For it is part of the cleaning process in my setup.
    Also as feline says once the fish grow. You can see them moving crap about

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  37. #20
    Senior Member Rank = Hassai Mike Bass's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by freddyboy View Post
    I like that idea. I once cleaned my pond bottom of pond with a pressure gun on a pole. Because I had the dreaded black algi.
    Another story. Trace helped me on that.
    But a hose on a pole good idea.

    Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
    I picked up one of those nylon brooms on an extending long pole designed for cleaning windows that has a hose lock connection you plug the hose pipe into. I think it cost about £30

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