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Thread: Koi Pond Beginners
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08-10-2021, 11:15 PM #1
Koi Pond Beginners
Good Evening
Both me and my husband are new to this site and also only 2 months into keeping koi karp, everything is going well but im just asfter some tips on how i can keep the levels of nitrate and ammonia of the water at good levels, we are struggeling a bit and have to keep checking it on a weekly basis. This might be normal but would rather just maske sure.
Also any tips - last night we sadly lost a fish, got up in the morning and found the fish out of the water approx 1 meters away from the pond edge, with the pond being approx 20cm higher than the water level then this was very confusing, We have a fake heron nearby but do have a lot of cats nearby unfortunatley. Any tips of how we can prevent this happening inthe future.
I was thinking along the lines of doing a raised net cover possiby with wood battons and then stretching the net over it. Hoping this would also work well in keeping the fish safe over the winter months alongwith fitting a water heater into the pond.
Sorry for the long message but fingers crossed its not too long for people to read
:-)
Sioned & Alan
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09-10-2021, 08:41 AM #2
Hi and welcome.
It sounds like you have new pond syndrome.
Basically fish create solid waste and wee (ammonia).
You need mechanical filtration to remove the solids. And then biological filtration to remove the Ammonia.
The Ammonia (which is toxic) is broken down into Nitrite (which is also toxic) by naturally occurring bacteria. Nitrite is then broken down into harmless nitrate by bacteria.
However it takes time for the bacteria to establish themselves. It took my pond about 18 months.
You can get filter starter gels to introduce the right bacteria, but it'll still take ages for the pond to mature.
So providing you have good enough filters that are kept clean, they will eventually be able to deal with the waste products.
However until then you really need to monitor the ammonia and nitrite levels. If they get too high, they can end up killing the fish. In fact it might be this that has caused your fish to jump out.
So you have to keep on top of it. If they do spike, I suggest you stop feeding and do a water change with dechlorinated water until the levels drop back down.
You also need to keep on top of the ph, as a pH crash can irritate the fish and even kill them. Ponds tend to start off alkali (8-9) and then it gradually drops as it matures. But the main thing is there are no dramatic swings.
In terms of the fish jumping. Fish can jump when they are first introduced to a pond. And the other main cause is irritation. The irritation could be caused by high ammonia or nitrite levels, or possibly parasites.
Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using Tapatalk13,000L fibreglassed raised pond with window
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12-10-2021, 08:36 AM #3
Also easier to think of the pond as filter 1 then any additional filters you add as filter 2, 3... etc. All filters take time to mature and keep going. I won't repeat T's comments but they are prudent. You may also be experiencing a pH crash or other such scenario. So testing is imperative.
The "nitrogen cycle" is something you may want to read around, Manke Sanke's site is great and worth a read: good_water_guide__pt_15.html so you may want to get an water testing kit which will give you ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, chlorine, pH and water hardness.
After a while you'll come to the conclusion that you're actually looking after water.. the fish will then look after themselves!
Water changes can help reduce nitrogen products (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate) BUT it's worth checking your tap water and you will need to dechlorinate/dechloramine the water before it can be used. Or you will find it irritate the fish's gills more. Plants can help to reduce the swings however as we move into winter they will slow down.
There are many different types of filter - the majority fit the remove solids and convert to nitrate (NH3) then water change through a trickle of water. That isn't great for the monthly costs but is well supported. Personally I don't subscribe to trickle and prefer to use natural vegetation to filter the bio filter NH3 output. A different approach is to use anoxic filtration and things like airlifts to reduce running costs - however I've digressed
In terms of mechanical filters - I started with a pressure filter (2x the capacity of the pond), upgraded to a far larger pressure filter (4-5x) before switching to drum and bio. I inherited the ~1500l pond with the house. The smaller filter ended up being watched out every other day (not good). The larger pressure filter was better - once every few months but in the end the best water change came from the drum. I've since almost completed my 13,000 pond build with a designed running cost of 58W - same as my 1500l pond. All for four mongrel koi So.. you've started on a slippery slope14000l, my mutts: Chargoi (2010), Doitsu (2022), Tancho (2022), Kujaku (2022), Hi Utusri (2022)
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Running heater at low temp?
Covering the pond with polycarb should be enough to stop water temps dipping below 6C for the most...