This forum deals with ponds which have been built mainly for koi similar to those featured on the KOI Cymru website. Even if you have not built your pond yet then your views are welcome. This is a chance to discuss your ideas and views with other koi-keepers. Please mention the country,and state or county,as in different parts of the World we have different methods and climate. If you are responding to a message already posted then please use the response button on the bottom of the message, and it will then appear as a subsiduary of that message and so easier for others to find.
A good site for health is KOIVET by Dr Erich L Johnson and it can be found at www.koivet.com
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plants for vegetable filter?
by
building a pond with large area for vegetable filter, ANY SUGGESTIONS OR ADVICE please!! plants etc..
thanks
tugs.
Posted on May 12, 2006, 9:11 PM from IP address 86.139.83.49
Use loads of Norfolk reads, they really absorb plenty of Nitrates. These are what my Vegatable filter is full of as well as good share of water cress, iris, and water mint..
Posted on May 12, 2006, 10:30 PM from IP address 81.158.127.27
I agree with Phil H.
I read once somewhere that Norfolk reeds also add oxygen to the water through their roots (don't ask me how or why but it sounded good to me) and this is what i have in my veggie filter as well as an iris for colour.
As with Irises cut them right back 4 " above water level before spring. http://www.wildlife-landscaping.co.uk/JPR_Environmental.htm
Posted on May 15, 2006, 1:51 PM from IP address 213.120.71.165
Hello there, my pond is 12 x 8 x 6ft deep and has been running since last august, my koi seem to have wintered well, my filter is a nexus 300 with answer, my question is, what is the best way to stop or slow down the growth of blanket weed, there is a coating all over my pond it is quite fine at present but clumps are staring to find there way into the filter I know there are products on the market each claiming to be succesful but I would rather take advice from you people out there any advice would be welcome, thanks Martin
Posted on Mar 29, 2006, 6:15 PM from IP address 80.5.160.8
Hi Martin
Cloverleaf Blanket Answer seems to be the most popular choice for koikeepers ,All claim this one really works.
As for me i dont have any.( but early days yet)
Hope this helps
Regards Shaun F.
Posted on Mar 29, 2006, 11:00 PM from IP address 83.100.194.125
Martin,
I used to use Interpet Pond clear I think it was called (pink powder in a green and pink box). This worked really well but was a bit expensive as it had to be done 4 or 5 times a season.
I then followed Alans advice on this forum and built a trickle tower (see attached link) and have never looked back. http://koicymru.co.uk/ponduk04.htm
I also work for a construction company that deals with the water companies and they have the same problems as us koi keepers in that they have to release clean water into the streams and rivers after treatment.
They use a trickle tower on a large scale to reduce nitrates from the water.
This is one we built in Fakenham by the racecourse.
Note the air intakes around the bottom.
This picture below shows the rotating distributor arm powered by the water pumped into it and the media bed. This filter can cope with flows up to 120l/s. Glad it's not on my electricity bill!!
And again the same filter after about 4 weeks to mature in warm weather.
Hope this helps.
Andy
Posted on Mar 31, 2006, 1:25 PM from IP address 213.120.71.165
Having look at your DIY homemade trickle tower system at http://koicymru.co.uk/ponduk04.htm
I am think of building one myself. There are 2 points that I am not so sure as folllow:
1. I do not have bottom drain, obvious dirby & dirt with suck into the TT via the pump. and probably drop into the bottom of the butt eventually. How do you clear this so called "rubbish". from your picture, it is not 100% clear.
2. What type of piping connection you use at the bottom, can you give me some clue, i.e. type & size etc. Is this standard pipework fixing?
Look forward to hear from you, or anyone who may have info of.
Thank you.
Posted on May 14, 2006, 11:45 PM from IP address 83.151.193.202
Having read the last few posts on these i have decided to make on. My pond is 1400G, so i was thinking that one of the slim water butts would be sufficient. Before i go ahead and make it though, i was wondering if you could clear a few things up. I know there called "trickle" towers but does the water actually have to trickle through it? can you pump too much water though them? is there a recommended flow rate? And finnally, what is the best media to use? i was considering flocor and alfagrog. Would i notice much differece if i used ceramic media instead? Thanks Alot.
Posted on May 14, 2006, 2:50 PM from IP address 82.38.197.142
I just use flocor since it cannot pack down under its own weight unlike alfagrog or ceramic media.
The water needs to trickle down over the media but you can have 10 trickles or 100 trickles which is ten times the flow rate, it simply depends how wide the TT is. I pump 705 gallons an hour through a TT 18 inches wide and it works well.
Alan F
Posted on May 14, 2006, 5:43 PM from IP address 213.120.101.21
This site really opening my eyes.I have a 4,500gall.pond (Koi ) the water is pumped at 800galls per hour.through a 55w UV ,then a hidro clean then a vortex and 5 multibay filter ,to pond,also attempting ( ongoin) running a skimmer system individually.Reading the comments on the trickle tower.would I benefit( I get the dreaded weed ) if so ,where would it be best situated,any advice most welcome.blanket weed treatment hitting a hole in the pocket.
Posted on May 14, 2006, 6:59 PM from IP address 62.253.128.14
i got a koi hes about 20 years old and was given to me last autumn, i have other koi in the pond these fish eat the koi sticks but the old fish never seems to eat...but he looks well, should i get some other kind of food if so wot...
Posted on May 14, 2006, 6:02 PM from IP address 86.136.248.99
I cannot easily get to a drain where i want to build my pond of 9000 gallons. Given the weekly flushing of the first filter is there a way i can avoid the issue. I do have a soak away but presumably this will block up over time.
Posted on May 10, 2006, 8:45 PM from IP address 81.157.252.253
The entry of the pipe into the main sewer must be lower than the level of the pond surface. If you cannot do this then have a sump chamber alongside the pond and use a submersible pump with float switch.
A soakaway is only really feasible if you live in a remote area.
Use it to water the garden, the .....sediment is good fertiliser. You couls also try stoeing some of the water, well away from the house, and let it become a mozzie factory, my gold fish love live mosquito larvae.
Posted on May 14, 2006, 2:16 PM from IP address 84.64.18.132
Hi guys fitted a TT on my system, this is fed via my skimmer down the tower and then into the waterfall , the waterfall was cleaned out the day it was put on, now in the past when I clean the waterfall out after 3to 4 days the weed is back to about 3" long but this time no weed as yet and its been on now for 7 days
So yes TT do get shut of blanket weed afterall so if you have the dreaded weed get yourself a TRICKLE TOWER
Thanks for all the advice from the forum it's been very useful
Posted on May 10, 2006, 5:31 PM from IP address 88.104.205.143
Hi, can anyone tell me any online suppliers of japanese matting, I was looking at your site, and saw the section about installing it to a filter bay, and about it being cut to size etc my the suppliers. Can anyone help with names of suppliers please.
Posted on May 11, 2006, 11:50 AM from IP address 62.56.64.217
Most koi dealers can supply Japanese matting, and some will cut it for you for a nominal price.
Have a look at http://www.koicarp.net/filtration/media/jap_matting.html
Look for a dealer close to you as carriage can be expensive
Posted on May 13, 2006, 6:25 PM from IP address 217.43.20.21
I have read on your site that you should not use an air stone with flocor.
At the moment i am using flocor as one of my medias and have had a airstone, could you please tell me what is wrong with this?
Tony
West Midlands
Posted on May 10, 2006, 6:54 PM from IP address 82.47.37.236
Since reading your pages I think I have discovered that the filter box I purchased is far to small for the size of pond I have. Before I started digging the pond I went to our local koi dealer and told him all the measurement and that I wanted all the best possible & essential equipment there was. I can only blame myself for being to eager & not doing enough research. My biological chamber has flocor in it. It measures 21in x 8in as do the the other four chambers three have japanese matting & the first brushes.
Should i change the flocor for somethig else?
If I open the gate valve to the pump it drains the filter any ideas?
Posted on May 11, 2006, 4:49 PM from IP address 82.47.37.236
I have a pond about 1200gallons but am wanting to increase this to about 2000 i'm after a filter for this.
I'm going to keep things simple an go for a pump fed one rather than bottom drains etc.
does anyone have a 3 or 4 chamber filter with possibly a built in vortex (or bolt on one) which they want to sell. I'm not going to give any price limit at the moment but anything will be considered if it will do the job. I'm based in Cardiff and have the use of a van so delivery won't be an issue either.
john
Posted on May 11, 2006, 10:05 AM from IP address 194.83.245.20
Hi. Yes I have a Oasis 4 bay filter. vortex, brush chamber, and 2 media chambers it can be used for up to 4,500 galls Used for 2 years, pond re build pond forses sale cost £450.00 when new I still have the flocore and brushes also filter matting
If this helps please get in contact I live in Plymouth
Thanks Susan S
Posted on May 11, 2006, 10:28 AM from IP address 84.65.213.23
Hi everybody,
I was wondering if anyone can help me with a little query about fry.
I have at the moment 10 x 250 gallon tanks linked to a Nexus 300 Easy, 4 pumps, 3 60ltr air pumps, 4 KW heater with a 250 gallon tank for water polish before distribution.
My question is how many fry do you think I could cope with taking into account culling, all my tanks will be interior netted so that retrieval of the fish will be easy.
I was looking at keeping around 3’000 to start with and of course ending with the residual after the culls. I will of course be moving fish on to larger residencies when needed but I would like to draw on your experiences with a view to percentage survival rates.
Posted on May 11, 2006, 9:15 AM from IP address 195.166.19.58
I'm writting from northern Illinois, USA. I have an existing swimming pool that is in an inoperative state. The liner is worthless, and a pipe burst two years ago. It is a kidney shape with a ten foot deep end, a four and a half foot deep shallow end five feet by thirteen, with a sand bottom sloping to the deep end. The cost of new liner, fixing the plumbing, re-smoothing the bottom, new coping and side walls and upkeep for 3-4 months of swimming isn't all that apealing. A koi pond to me is an all year enjoyment. I've been to a lot of sites, done some researching, and want to begin my design. I plan to begin this project spring of next year. I'm an electrician by trade, but have good experience in plumbing, excavation and generall trades as well. I guess my main question would be of filtration. The pool as it sits is approx. 18,000 us gallons. I want to expand this by adding approx. 4-6000 gallons. I plan on duel deep water runs on both sides with a bypass, 2 possibly 3 main drains with 2 mid water winter drains, etc. What about type of liner. Many questions, all replies appreciated. THX.
Posted on Mar 31, 2006, 2:10 AM from IP address 24.240.66.120
What ever u do my mate for the size of pond ur planning u need ur filter size to be at least 30%of pond volume.Do not skimp on this side of things (price wise) or u will find when ur pond is up and running u will start having water problems as ur filter if too small will not cope with the stocking levels.(more fish more demand on filtration)Good luck envy u as i build koi ponds for living
FORDY
Posted on Apr 11, 2006, 3:22 PM from IP address 195.93.21.70
Interesting. I'm also from north/central Illinois, Grungy County along the Illinois river, and I'm fed up with my Koi pond and am thinking of converting it to a hot tub that looks like a Koi pond. My project would only require me to drain, scrub, chlorinate, then bypass the water through filter and heater before it goes to the waterfall. Since my pond was built with ledges all around I've already got built in seats. I would imagine for you, you would need to make the same repairs whether yours was pond or pool. Since we have what the other wants we should just trade houses. Good luck in your endeavor.
Posted on Apr 12, 2006, 11:46 AM from IP address 204.248.61.30
I would use PVC swimming pool liner as thick as possible because it would be a perfect fit and also you could pick nice color of blue. Another important thing is plumbing (pipes). In US feeding pipes on swimming pool are way under size 1.5" so I recommend using 3" for the feed and 4" for the drains this way you can use low pressure pump less electricity less $$$. I would go with big settling chambers one for each drain and for the bio filter I would use massive TT nicely camouflage. Jets would be nice to push dirt into the drains. One or two skimmer, position in perfect location is a big plus. Use sequence pumps they are very efficient. You will probably need 3 of them.
I love your project.
Good luck!
Posted on May 9, 2006, 2:36 AM from IP address 69.112.77.124
Hi,
I recently was given a several mature koi from a friend who was filling in his pond. The owners filter had been broke for sometime which showed with the quality of the water.
All the koi have been fine except for 1 which does not feed and spends most of his time taking big gulps of air then as it swims down blowing the air out of its gills.
I have had a scrape done and he had Flukes and Ciliates.
Having now treated the fish with Malachite and Fomalin and the Ciliates were sorted. A further dose of Acriflavin seems to have sorted the Flukes and although the fish seems happier (Less sulking in 1 spot) he still spends his days gulping air.
He has finally started to take the accasional piece of food but then spits it out.
I wondered if anyone had any ideas. I thought he may have damaged his gills.
Thanks
Andy
Posted on May 8, 2006, 6:23 PM from IP address 80.5.160.8
I did, I got a drivall one but didnt buy the kit as I have 3 ponds to protect, I bought the individual components. It seems to work. The posts are green fiberglass and the wire is green plastic cord with three bare wire strands woven through it. Other colours may be available but I can say that the green fence is a LOT less obtrusive than a net and infact really IMO only noticable when by the pond and even then it isnt an eyesore.
I would think carefully how you will mount the posts, you want to be able to remove them for access to the pond. IMO the standard posts are not tall enough in my opinion to be of much use when pushed deep enough into the ground to be stable. Around my fish pond this is not a problem as that is walled and I set the posts inside sleeves in 2 or 3 inch deep holes in the wall top. The sleeves were made for a length of pipe which unfortunately seems to have a high iron content and rusts, as a consequency mosts of the posts are 'jammed' in and have to be 'broken free' by twisting with a pair of mole grips which isnt that good for the glass fibre of the posts. The posts are 10mm OD and I believe there is a copper gas pipe of that bore used in England but it isnt used in N. Ireland, if that is correct then it might make non corroding sleeves. I think I am going to have to resort to the Blue Peter favourite, cutting up washing up liquid bottles etc, and use their plastic to make sleeves.
Around the in-the-ground-ponds I suspect I will end up buying those 3 holed red house bricks and set those in the ground with the posts being sleeved into the mortar filled middle hole.
I would also suggest end caps for each post other wise they are eye removers.
The power unit delivers a pulsed, I believe, 10kV that isn't lethal to animals or people but give a good belt, DONT be inclined to step over a live fence other wise you will inevtitably zap the family jewels which is an experience I doubt you will want to repeat. The voltage is also high enough to feel even if wearing wellies and accidentally brushing against the fence during a pulse. From the reaction of a neighbours dog the battery power unit emitts a noise but I cant hear it and the dog didnt until it was with about 8ft of the power unit. You also need to ensure plants dont come into contact with the fence, I suspect they would help drain the batteries rather rapidly and if aquatic plants may direct a pulse into the pond which probably is not a good idea.
Would I recommend it, yes with out question, it seems to work and looks miles better than a net.
Posted on May 7, 2006, 2:46 PM from IP address 84.65.156.77
thanks mate, from the things you said about the electrick fence ill go and get one as soon as posible, i dont know anyone else who has one so its good to get feed back, plus thanks for all the tips, ive taken note, its on order now and should be with me in a few days then i can get rid of the net.
Posted on May 8, 2006, 12:02 AM from IP address 86.132.141.82
Can somebody please offer any advice on wether I will need planning permission to construct a pond at the bottom of my garden. The pond will be partly underground (about 3.5 feet) and partly above (about 3 feet) the pond will be completely enclosed in a conservatory type enclosure which will sit on the pond wall and have the opaque or semi-opaque triple plastic roofing, - I intend to buy a conservatory from ebay so as yet do not have any fixed sizes but is likely to be around 10 or 12 feet by 15 to 18 feet. I know planning permission is not required if it is attached to the house but unfortunately I cant accomodate this. If anybody can give me any advice or can reccomend a builder for construction of the pond I would be very greatfull. Thanks Steve.
Posted on May 6, 2006, 9:25 PM from IP address 62.254.0.48
I have a small pond about 500 gallons with 4 Koi about 12" and 1 small gold fish. I have had them for about 6 years but this year one of the koi has put on a lot of waight and looks like a rugy ball any ideas what this is and what to do about it.
Thank you
Richard
Posted on May 6, 2006, 12:06 PM from IP address 84.9.86.53
I have a young koi, about 4 inches long which has appeared dead at the bottom of the pond under the waterfall each morning this week (3 days). When I try to net it out it re-incarnates and swins around and feeds normally for an hour or so before returning to its 'dead' state. Any thoughts.
My pond is circular, about 12 feet across and around 42 inches deep. It holds roughly 2300 gallons. I've recently added an 80ltr per minute airpump blowing to 3 large airstones. Is this overkill as, although the fish seem to love it, the water disruption is huge.
Posted on May 5, 2006, 1:57 PM from IP address 62.56.113.58
I had 1 fish that was laying on the bottom of the pond I was told that it was a cold swim bladder an as the water warms up it would be ok this fish layed on the bottom on its side and yes it looked dead but as the water has warmed up its been fine swimmimg around with al the others hope yours has the same and will be OK
Posted on May 6, 2006, 12:24 PM from IP address 212.103.254.226
Thanks for that, Chris. Certainly sounds plausible, especially as this morning the koi in question seems a lot brighter and the water temperature rose dramatically yesterday.
Posted on May 6, 2006, 12:33 PM from IP address 62.56.110.240
Could anyone comment on a sist that has appeared on one of my Goldfish?
The fish is approx 6" and has developed a sist on its side the size of the top of a little finger. It seems to be stretching the scales and I don't realy want to cull it as it has been with my Koi for some years but if needs must.
The water has been heated all winter with a current heat of 70.5F, all fish are taking food like Trojans but I am quite bothered about the spread to some of my Koi. I currently do not have quarantine facilities as I am starting development of my next pond and require the use of my quarantine tank. Any pointers would be much appreciated otherwise am afraid the inevitable will have happen.
Phil S
Posted on Apr 28, 2006, 9:08 AM from IP address 195.166.19.58
I had a 6" sarassa the grew something with a head on its flank, it looked like that mountian from "close encounters". I dont know what it was but it must have popped or something because the head suddenly disappeared and the fish is still swimming around two years later. Could yours have something similar?
Posted on May 5, 2006, 5:57 PM from IP address 84.68.6.88
