Welcome to Koi Forum. Is this your first visit? Register
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 53
  1. #1
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Cambs
    Posts
    924
    Thanks / Likes
    1046

    Lowering nitrates and nitrites

    I know it had been covered on here but wanted some pointers to my own pond.

    The pond is 8 months old, bead, sieve and small top pond with plants. I have never been able to get the nitrates and nitrates lowers than the middle range on my tests but ammonia is now very low and reading on the lowest level.

    Other than a regular 10% weekly change when cleaning the filter what else can I do to help?

    There is is plenty of air and I have sold three fish which totalled around 60 inches and replaced with 4 new ones at a total of probably 12 inches and much less weight. Reduced the amount of food going in.

    fish are healthy and do eat but don’t go mad for the food so assume it is water quality effecting?



  2. Thanks Tom Koi Thanked / Liked this Post
  3. #2
    How big is the pond and how many fish are in it?

    What are your water readings? Ph, KH, ammonia and nitrite.

  4. #3
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Cambs
    Posts
    924
    Thanks / Likes
    1046
    12k litres with 10 fish all around 15 - 25 inches and 5 little uns around 6 inches

    I use a kockney koi liquid test and struggle to match the shades but usually in the middle of these. Never have they been clear which is 0.

    I am hoping reducing the fish and trying to do a regular 7 day clean with a higher than normal water change will help. Going to add some more plants tomorrow

    this is is the pond

    8F4D3A41-E0F2-41AD-9372-7CBD625937EB.jpg

  5. Thanks freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
  6. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Rapleyr View Post
    12k litres with 10 fish all around 15 - 25 inches and 5 little uns around 6 inches

    I use a kockney koi liquid test and struggle to match the shades but usually in the middle of these. Never have they been clear which is 0.

    I am hoping reducing the fish and trying to do a regular 7 day clean with a higher than normal water change will help. Going to add some more plants tomorrow

    this is is the pond

    8F4D3A41-E0F2-41AD-9372-7CBD625937EB.jpg


    Adding a bakki shower/more bio could help out. Having traces of ammonia and nitrite is bad for your fish.


    Do you know what the kh of your tap water is?

  7. Thanks Tom Koi, freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
  8. #5
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Cambs
    Posts
    924
    Thanks / Likes
    1046
    I think a shower is the only option to add due to space restrictions behind. I was thinking about adding a small one into the top box with the plants. Not sure I will have enough flow to make it work though.

    Will have a play with it

  9. Thanks freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
  10. #6
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Cambs
    Posts
    924
    Thanks / Likes
    1046
    Could i add bags of alfagrog to the top box instead of adding a Shower? Would it work or does it need really good flow through the media?

  11. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Rapleyr View Post
    I think a shower is the only option to add due to space restrictions behind. I was thinking about adding a small one into the top box with the plants. Not sure I will have enough flow to make it work though.

    Will have a play with it
    Do you know the kh level in the pond?

    From what I've read about bead filters is they need a fairly high kh level to work properly.

  12. #8
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Cambs
    Posts
    924
    Thanks / Likes
    1046
    I don’t have a test for KH?? Only nitrate, nitrite, PH and ammonia.

    Will order a test kit for that also

  13. Thanks freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
  14. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Rapleyr View Post
    Could i add bags of alfagrog to the top box instead of adding a Shower? Would it work or does it need really good flow through the media?
    It depends on whatever else is in the top box and how clean the water is going to it. Grog works well if it's kept clean.

  15. Thanks freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
  16. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Rapleyr View Post
    I don’t have a test for KH?? Only nitrate, nitrite, PH and ammonia.

    Will order a test kit for that also
    Do you know if you live in a hard or soft water area?

  17. Thanks Tom Koi, freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
  18. #11
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Cambs
    Posts
    924
    Thanks / Likes
    1046
    Not sure really, will have to try and test it out

  19. Thanks freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
  20. #12
    Senior Member Rank = Rokusai Simon Fish's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2018
    Location
    Nottingham
    Posts
    357
    Thanks / Likes
    485
    The filters and pond are still maturing and not keeping up with demand.
    The ammonia has reduced as the bugs that consume that get going first, the bugs that deal with the nitrite take longer to get established, so now you have a spike with the nitrite.
    More water dilution until established, less fish, less food, anoxic filtration, shower.

  21. Thanks Tom Koi, freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
  22. #13
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Cambs
    Posts
    924
    Thanks / Likes
    1046
    Water change and less food I can do easily. I have sold three fish and three still available so hopefully get a buyer for them and that will have drastically reduced the fish load. Shower I don’t think will work as i don’t believe I have sufficient flow off the feed to the top box to run a shower and it will be even higher when added which will reduce flow and can’t add another pump on the current system of sieve and bead.
    Last edited by Rapleyr; 19-05-2019 at 12:12 AM.

  23. #14
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Posts
    11,123
    Thanks / Likes
    17023
    Agree with all of the above.
    Simon makes a good point.
    Anoxic in your top pond. That would help. You definitely need more bio.
    Type filteration.

    Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

  24. Thanks Simon Fish Thanked / Liked this Post
  25. #15
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Cambs
    Posts
    924
    Thanks / Likes
    1046
    Quote Originally Posted by freddyboy View Post
    Agree with all of the above.
    Simon makes a good point.
    Anoxic in your top pond. That would help. You definitely need more bio.
    Type filteration.

    Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk
    so if I remove all the plants in the top pond which are currently baskets planted in soil and pebble and replant these with the specific cat litter and a small amount of soil this will aid the reduction. The below article says one basket per fish. My top box is 2.4 meters wide and 20x20cm so I could easily get a basket per fish. Does this act as additional bio?

    Anoxic Filtration

  26. Thanks freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
  27. #16
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Cambs
    Posts
    924
    Thanks / Likes
    1046
    Flow may again be an issue and the article suggests good flow but I assume that if I make the changes to the baskets low flow will not have a negative effect and it is only a quick and cheap change anyway from the gravel to litter for the planting

  28. #17
    Senior Member Rank = Gosai KevT's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Location
    W Yorkshire
    Posts
    291
    Thanks / Likes
    331
    Hi

    I have a plant filter using mimulus in my pond - the plants are free floating with the roots directly in the water no soil / by the end of the season i can clear out a bin full of plants - this is all the nitrate trapped in the plants - the roots survive under the water until the next season - they are planted in a free floating basket which is moored in the middle of the pond- the fish graze on the odd leaf that they can get hold of - the wife loves the flowers in the middle of the pond - I'm sure the roots growing down into the water also contain small bugs as the koi seems to spend a lot of time grazing around the pot.

    KevT

  29. Thanks freddyboy Thanked / Liked this Post
  30. #18
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Location
    Cambs
    Posts
    924
    Thanks / Likes
    1046
    I have purchased 60 litres of the recommended cat litter and some new plants, cleaned the filters throughly and complete a 15% eater change. New test kit purchased including GH test

  31. #19
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Posts
    11,123
    Thanks / Likes
    17023
    Quote Originally Posted by Rapleyr View Post
    so if I remove all the plants in the top pond which are currently baskets planted in soil and pebble and replant these with the specific cat litter and a small amount of soil this will aid the reduction. The below article says one basket per fish. My top box is 2.4 meters wide and 20x20cm so I could easily get a basket per fish. Does this act as additional bio?

    Anoxic Filtration
    E mail manke sanke himself. He is the expert.
    So get it from the man himself. (Answers)
    I personally don t have. Anoxic.
    I have a top pond with plants. Baskets with pebbles in them. My plants live of the neutrants in the water. Not soil. And that works for my setup. And keeps nitrate down.
    Personally i think you need more bio media filteration fitted into the setup.
    Thats just my opinion.
    Fred



    Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

  32. Thanks kikokuryu John Thanked / Liked this Post
  33. #20
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2016
    Posts
    11,123
    Thanks / Likes
    17023
    Quote Originally Posted by KevT View Post
    Hi

    I have a plant filter using mimulus in my pond - the plants are free floating with the roots directly in the water no soil / by the end of the season i can clear out a bin full of plants - this is all the nitrate trapped in the plants - the roots survive under the water until the next season - they are planted in a free floating basket which is moored in the middle of the pond- the fish graze on the odd leaf that they can get hold of - the wife loves the flowers in the middle of the pond - I'm sure the roots growing down into the water also contain small bugs as the koi seems to spend a lot of time grazing around the pot.

    KevT
    This is another way of doing it.
    I like that idea.

    Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

 

 
Page 1 of 3 123 LastLast

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
All times are GMT +1. The time now is 03:57 AM. Online Koi Mag Forum
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.3
Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

vBulletin Improved By vBFoster® (Lite Version), © UltimateScheme, Ltd.