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  1. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by JohnKitching View Post
    In the last couple of years I think I've learnt a lot about koi keeping (I have much, much more to learn though). It appears to me that a lot of people are joining this forum and making the same mistakes that I did so I thought I'd share what I think are majority opinion on a few subjects. Feel free to add / dispute or tell me I'm an idiot.

    In no particular order ...
    1. A bottom drain / gravity fed filter is by far the best method of getting pond water to your filter
    2. Anoxic filtration is probably the cheapest effective filter available
    3. Reverse Osmosis water purification is a cheap (if you're not on a water meter) way to improve your water quality and koi growth
    4. Having salt in your pond as a precaution at a background level is bad for your fish
    5. Join a koi club, you will get a lot of free, useful advice
    6. Regular water testing of pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate is essential at least until your pond chemistry is stable. Free chlorine, KH, GH, TDS, phosphate are very useful tests to do too.
    7. Topping up with untreated tap water is a bad idea (either use a dechlorinator or chemical treatment)
    8. Treating for parasites before you know exactly what parasites you have (ideally by scraping and viewing through a microscope) is a very bad idea
    9. Having fish other than koi in your pond will restrict parasite treatments you can use.
    10. Not everything you'll be told on forums is true (perhaps including this? )
    11. An auto-feeder will make your fish less friendly than hand feeding
    12. Regular small water changes is a good way to control nitrates and other pollutants
    13. Sun light causes green water / blanket weed to grow if you also have nitrate and / or phosphate present
    14. If money is no object a drum filter and Bakki shower is probably the best filtration available.
    15. A pond with a depth of less than four feet is generally a bad idea
    16. Ball valves tend to be more reliable than slide valves
    17. If done well fibre-glassing is probably the best way to water proof a pond
    18. A microscope (and taking the time to learn how to use it) is a very good investment
    19. If using a skimmer then a guard is a very good idea.
    20. Changing water chemistry quickly can be bad for your fish. for example koi will tolerate a wide range of temperatures and pH but won't tolerate quick changes in temperature or pH
    21. Visit other people's koi ponds (via a club?). What you see will give you new ideas.
    22. Feed more when the water is warmer and little or nothing below about 8 deg C

    [edit 23/11/13] removed the temperature one as there is no majority opinion, added joining a club and visiting ponds

    [edit 12-02-14] added feeding

    This list doesn't cover everything or try to give reasons, every subject above has lots more discussion this forum, the search tool is a very good friend

    Thanks John very well put 😄


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  2. #22
    Listen to you koi

  3. #23

    small koi

    Hi im new here, and just started koi. got some small fry today from a pond thats full of silt and shit. i couldnt belive the small koi in it when i drained it down. the koi are the size of my finger nail and smoe twice the size, some are dark with golddy belly, some are white red and black, some are that small 10cm with signs of red. iv put them in a tank with pump. what do i feed them on.

  4. #24

    First proper pond.

    Hello all. Have asked a few questions some time ago in regard to filtering etc.thanks for the info.
    Been planning a proper pond for 12 months or so and have finally taken the plunge!! Due to builder mates being able to start straight away I'm now the owner of a fabulous new pond!
    I have gone the block filled,kingspan,fibreglass route. Thanks Dave for all ur help and advice! Thanks too to Ian and my awesome 2m window!
    Ended up with 13000 liters/2860gllns. Using a nexus210 easy with a 55w uv returning via 2mid water returns. Also have a skimmer feeding a blade waterfall.
    SO different to the puddle (1000 gllns ish and .6m deep) they were in before!!
    New pond was filled via dechlorinator and then running for 3-4 days,added a bucket of pond pure on day 2.
    Bank holiday weekend was the big day. Had to drain old pond to about half full to even see fish. The biggest surprise was the size of the fish!! We have had 3 golden orfe and 3 koi(2 ghost and one orange/blue) in the old pond for best part of 10 years. They are all HUGE!! The orfe are all about 15 inches as are 2 of the koi,but the biggy must be 2ft long! This one did do a flying leap from the new pond within 5 mins before I could get temporary netting sorted.
    All seemed to settle quite quickly but tended to lurk near the bottom for day or so.
    While moving fish I drained some water out and replaced it with water from old pond. I tested both ponds before starting and both were good. Did this on advice as a help to kick start filter. Resulted in pea soup like water.
    This has slowly started to clear,I left air to bottom drain off for a day which seemed to help. Fish have been cruising about happily but not at all interested in food. I believe that this is quite normal and that it might take some time for them to adjust. They all tended to stay deep(novelty?) and not come anywhere near surface. Orfe seem happiest,the 3 koi are staying close together. The largest one does seem to spend a lot of time just hanging mid level.
    Did a test of water this morning; Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 10 all mg/l. PH was fine.
    Did the first clean of the nexus. It is so easy!! Did discover the soak away I plumbed the waste to can't handle full flow but maybe coz of all the rain we've had! 3 flushes equals about 300 litres so a 10% water change?
    Made the water pea soupy again!!(
    I have a few questions to throw out there if I can and hope some of u can point me in the right direction.

    How long should it take for the water quality to improve?
    How long till fish take food? I know they can go long periods without.
    Should I leave air off to let it settle?
    Any other tips and advice very welcome. Cheers Matt.

  5. #25
    Start feeding small amounts once a day. Keep testing the water and put the air on , but it might cloud the water till it clears the crap that has settled

  6. #26
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Tosai koi267's Avatar
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    Buy the new Koi magazine - Nishikigoi Yearbook

    Nishikigoi Yearbook 2014

  7. #27
    This section is so helpful for newbies,
    But I feel it should be under the welcome section, as every time I have a look on there, it seems someone is doing it all wrong!
    If they picked this section up straight away it may answer a lot of there questions on how to do it right from day one!

    Regards
    Steve

  8. #28
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Gosai beko's Avatar
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    HI GOOD post koi keeping is one BIG LEARNING curve OVER THE YEARS i think the MAIN thing is water quality good water happy fish bad water stress then problems

  9. #29
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Tosai P&Pkoi's Avatar
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    Thanks for sharing

  10. #30
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Mature Champion AdamKoi78's Avatar
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    If you are throwing cash around throw some towards my pond build please.

  11. #31
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Tosai P&Pkoi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ramillies View Post
    If you are throwing cash around throw some towards my pond build please.
    Unfortunately not throwing cash LoL

  12. #32
    Are bottom drains really a necessity? I was planning on just putts not the pump at the centre of the pond...

  13. #33
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Gosai pootkoi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mirrwood View Post
    Are bottom drains really a necessity? I was planning on just putts not the pump at the centre of the pond...
    Hi Mirrwood,

    They aren't essential I ran my old pond by using a pump which could handle large waste, I also made sure it turned the water over as much as possible.

    PK

  14. #34
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion voodoo_15_uk's Avatar
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    Only thing with having pump fed systems is that the waste tends to get macerated by the blades in the pump which means u get more particles.

    Can't wait for ours to have bottom drains. Wish I had known before we built it first time.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  15. #35
    Retro fit 4" bottom drain is a real option, just as good as a proper one without the upheaval. The only downside is the drain and 4" pipework inside the pond.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  16. #36
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Gosai pootkoi's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnKitching View Post
    Retro fit 4" bottom drain is a real option, just as good as a proper one without the upheaval. The only downside is the drain and 4" pipework inside the pond.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    I had one of these when I first started out did a good job but can be a little ugly with the pipe work I managed to get most of this hidden by chasing it in to the rocks that went round the edge of my pond.

    This was my old pond and the pipe work ran up the left hand side.
    Attached Images Attached Images

  17. #37
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion pondwithnoname's Avatar
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    When planning the filter layout remember to leave a tube length clearance at one end of the UV so you can slide the tube out for replacement.
    Alias PWNN - Steve
    My favourite and recommended web site is......
    http://www.mankysanke.co.uk/
    http://www.freewebs.com/koikoi/

  18. Thanks lee63 Thanked / Liked this Post
  19. #38
    Member Rank = Nisai Skywalker's Avatar
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    Great advice here. Wish I'd read all this before I 'd started my pond. Would've saved me a fortune!!

  20. #39
    Junior Member Rank = Fry smithsx5's Avatar
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    Evening All,

    I'm in need of some help in identifying a few koi fish. I have moved to a new home and i need to sell the fish. Any advise would be very appreciated. I'm in the process of uploading pictures, but as they don't tend to stay still for long ,I apologise for the lack of quality.

    Thank you IMG_5884.jpgIMG_5885.jpgIMG_5886.jpg
    Attached Images Attached Images

  21. #40
    Junior Member Rank = Fry neiltralphs's Avatar
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    Great posting John

    thank you

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