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
This Forum must not be used for commercial advertising.
water changes and waste management
by Allan
My pond will be built at the bottom of the garden, the household drain is at the top, my dilema is what and how do i get rid of the waste and the water during water changes. Most people have pipes connected to thier drainage system, so no problem for them.
Also the pond level will be lower than the drain. Please advise.
Thx Allan
Posted on Aug 20, 2005, 5:49 PM from IP address 195.93.21.38
Hi,eric is right and I have done this myself,providing the sump is big enough it will work fine. As far as pumps go I would suggest you buy a solids handling pump as some sump pumps will only handle small solids,go for something that can handle up to 30mm solids as you don't want the pump to block.
Hope this helps.
Tony.
Posted on Aug 20, 2005, 11:09 PM from IP address 81.158.40.100
Hi Allan, I use a german pump which I got over there but it has same spec as others I have seen here.
6m head and 1 1/4 outlet (32mm).
I have used Draper pumps in the past and found them reliable. Look for the following when buying your pump :-
A) Float switch.
B) For use with dirty water.
C) Minimum 30mm solids capability.
D) Minimum head of 6mtrs.
How high is the drain above the sump going to be (bottom of sump) if it's less than 12ft thats not a problem for above spec,if it's more then let me know and I will source one for you.
Use a good quality hose to connect from the pump to the house drain or manhole and don't be tempted to use a smaller hose like half inch or three qtr because over time it will block and cuase flow problems.
I would suggest your sump should be a minimum of 2ft deep to allow for float switch operation.
If you want to speak to me my E mail is afb1@btinternet.com if you E mail your number I will call you or I can give you my number.
Hope this helps Allan.
Regards
Tony.
Posted on Aug 22, 2005, 9:48 AM from IP address 81.158.41.227
Personally when doing water changes we have the option of pumping the waste into the borders, my mother-in-law can't understand why my atrium lillies are bigger than hers!!!! Good source of fertiliser around the garden
Shazz
Posted on Aug 23, 2005, 2:22 PM from IP address 80.176.91.232
My pond has been up and running for just over a week and the 7 little koi are enjoying their new home.
The "black box" filter and UV seem to be coping (we will see as time progresses) and the surface skimmer is drawing in the dust and uneaten food nicely (I remove all this c**p daily.
We also have a nice lily and some floating oxygenating plants which the fish enjoy as a shelter.
Anyway...I have had to go swimming in the pond today to retrieve some terracota tiles (the dog knocked them in...he just loves the taste of the water coming out of the filter)....I have obviously stirred up a pile of sediment from the bottom of the pond which clouded the water. The movement of water from the filter and the airstones is stopping this from settling out and therefore we have sediment in suspension.
While the water is slowly clearing (enough to see the bottom of the pond), there is still some cloudiness and I would like to get the water back to "clear-black".
I have added a sheet of fine aquatic foam (the green coloured variety) into the filter boxsince the Matala in the filter is probably too coarse. Definately no space for any Black Knight brushes.
Can I use something like an old cotton or nylon pillow case over the filter return pipe to help remove this "sediment in suspension"?
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 12:24 AM from IP address 80.45.235.144
filter wool - the white stuff should do the biz! i have a "ad-hoc" maybe old fashoined filter set up but i find this stuff works for polishing good luck o/ keith
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 1:54 AM from IP address 195.93.21.38
Apologies for my ignorance.....what is filter wool, and where may I get some? Could it be sewn into a bag shape and tied over the filter return pipe?
Pond is much clearer overnight, but I still want to try further filtration (before saving up for a pond vac!!
Talking of pondovac. Has anyone here tried an Oase pondovac 3? Can you connect the drain outlet directly to the rain guttering system of the house (I plumbed a fresh tap water supply and our waste water pipes out to beside the pond) and therefore run the vacuum continuously (without having to stop to manually drain out the waste tank)?
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 7:29 AM from IP address 80.45.235.144
Pond Vac? I thought I was doing all this bottom drain and benching, and moving of water so that I did not need a pond vac.
Out of curiosity, Do you have benched bottom drains? how far are they apart from each other or the pond walls? Is the flow out of the bottom drain/s being restricted causing not enough suction at the bottom drains?
Thanks.
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 6:59 PM from IP address 170.109.248.2
Due to very limited space, I was not able to design my pond to incorporate a bottom drain and associated gravity fed fitration system.
My pond is a simple contruction using a flat concrete base, reinforced concrete block walls which have been rendered and painted with G4. Totol pond volume is around 3200 litres. I had built in a couple of steps (to aid getting in and out of the pond in necessary, and I have a lily sat on one of these. I also have some floating oxygenation plants thrown in.
My filtration system starts with an Oase Aquamax 4000 with a floating surface skimmer attached. This pump sends the water to a "SuperFish Flowclear 10000" black box filter which incorporates a 11w UV lamp, 3 grades of Matala filter mat plus some aquarock. I have squeezed in a peice of "green" foam filter to help trap small particles of residue. I use a Blagdon "Koi Air 25" air pump with 2 air stones in the filter box and 2 fine bubble air stones in the pool.
I understand that these filters take time to mature (especially to get them working biologically) so I intend to concentrate my filter maintenance to washing out the foam filter only and draining the filter box to remove sediment.
My pond is certainly not big enough to have considered "benching" the concrete base.
The filters and skimmer seem to be doing a good job of keeping the water clean and clear, but the pump does not pick up the sediment (grit and POO)from the pond base. Hence the consideration for a pondovac at some time.
The skimmer keeps the surface clean, and if the fish dont eat up the food within a few minutes, it will draw in the excess food (but not send it to the filter). I can then easily scoop out the scum and un eaten food out of the skimmer to reduce unnecessary protein build up.
Posted on Aug 20, 2005, 4:14 PM from IP address 212.123.202.181
I'm building a Static Kaldnes K1 addition to my block built filters but i only need
10 - 15 litres. Does anyone have that ammount spare that they would like to sell / donate??
Andy
Posted on Aug 22, 2005, 2:24 PM from IP address 62.69.46.44
Is there any reason why jap matting is fitted on it's side in sections and not layered across the whole filter. Also, whats the best thickness (depth) to have the matting.
Thanks
Posted on Aug 22, 2005, 10:36 AM from IP address 62.69.46.44
The idea of the Japanese matting is that the water flows up between the sheets with no restriction and the bacteria attaches itself to the sides of the matting. It is not intended for the water to flow through the matting as this would act as a mechanical filter and soon choke up.
The matting cartridge should be as deep as possible. It will in the end depend on how many strips you will be able to cut out of one sheet to save on cost. The normal depth is 8, 10, or 12 inches.
Posted on Aug 22, 2005, 11:21 AM from IP address 86.128.124.147
Just to add that Jap mat needs heavy aeration in order to work well. This goes for many types of bio media but apparently some work better without aeration.
Thanks,
Daniel
Posted on Aug 22, 2005, 2:21 PM from IP address 80.41.38.13
a little help please has any body got a drawing of the sequence 1/4 plus pond pump as i have a very small leak and wish to strip it done to repair the leak a drawing of the pump would make the job easier thanks Alfie
Posted on Aug 22, 2005, 9:16 AM from IP address 82.36.228.191
Ok so i finally get round to building a pond.I am planning for it to be 8ftx6ftx6ft deep 3ft being below ground level,i have been advised to build it as a koi pond as i have been told i will be converted after keeping goldies and so forth.I get the general gist of the bottom drainers/filters/ect,i will also be using concrete base and would love to fibreglass instead of using a liner.The million dollar question tho is approx how much would i be expected to be laying out for a project of this size.bare in mind i can do the digging side of things and the buying of the filters and pumps myself.Any info would be much appreciated.
Cheers,
Darin.
Posted on Aug 21, 2005, 10:31 PM from IP address 80.44.83.1
I have just finished my own pond and done eveything myself except fibreglassing (£800)
You need to allow at least £1 per gallon and would suggest £2 to get a decent setup to minimize problems and cost in the future. Trust me I have regrets and wish I spent a lot longer reading and researching before starting.
I managed to get my done with fibreglass filters, a pergola, plus decking all around the pond and over the filters for £3000 it is however 3750 gallons
but would have cost a lot more if I got people in to help
Good Luck
Posted on Aug 22, 2005, 11:22 AM from IP address 193.35.126.98
I have just finished the rendering on my pond and was going to use p1 pond paint.....has anyone used it and was it any good or should I just fiberglass it........
Posted on Aug 21, 2005, 4:09 PM from IP address 217.43.186.9
I have used P1 and its easy to use, as to how good it is I dont know sorry, as I used it it didnt need to be water proof. That said if you can afford it and can be used in your pond I would, without hesitation, glass.
Posted on Aug 22, 2005, 10:36 AM from IP address 84.66.168.241
If I do build another pond I hope to get a small fibreglass filter unit such as the Yamitsu KF2500. Ive decided to do this because even though a smaller cheaper plastic single chamber unit would probably work fine I feel they are a real pain to clean and also dont really allow me to customise the media in the system effecively.
So say I did get the KF2500. It comes with filter brushes, Jap matting, flocor (I think) and reticulated foam. I feel aeration in a filter is paramount so plan to get something like a 50lpm air pump to supply the filter system with air. Would it be wise to aerate all 4 chambers or does some media work better without aeration.
Also I plan to make a cheap settling tank/ vortex (yet to decide) out of a dustbin and then connect that to the kf2500 spray inlet. Hopefully this would remove some of the solid debris before they get to the main filter.
The only part of the filter which needs air are the biological parts (jap matting and flocor) possibly in the foam aswell unless this is being used to catch fine particles in which case it wouldnt work. A 50ltr pump will be a bit big for that filter so you might be as well getting a 20 ltr pump, unless you plan to T the excess air off to the pond.
Posted on Aug 21, 2005, 8:50 PM from IP address 82.38.196.144
Thanks for the reply. I will basically have a 5 or 6 way manifold. that way I can regulate how much air goes to the filter. Then the rest can go to the pond.
Has anyone noticed the hailea air pumps on ebay. They are really cheap and are piston pumps!
Thanks,
Daniel
Posted on Aug 21, 2005, 9:55 PM from IP address 80.41.46.134
hi iam going to build a pond 3feet below ground and 2 foot above with a liner .should the pipe from the bottom drain to the votex go up the side of the pond behind the liner and out though the collar .or underneath the pond and come out on the out side of the pond wall .it gravity feed by the way thanks.
Posted on Aug 18, 2005, 7:48 PM from IP address 212.159.111.131
it should go underneath your base and up outside your blocks not inside just behind the liner as this will cause hollow spots around the pipe behind your liner and at 5ft deep the water pressure is enough to strech and tear your liner also it would create a lot more creases to fold it around the pipe espescially where it meets the floor hope this helps
Posted on Aug 18, 2005, 8:30 PM from IP address 81.79.126.225
Started pond early this year and all was going great,Added a couple more koi to the already aprox 30 koi had at time.I did make the mistake on not quartine the fish, and after 2 days 1 died.Then all hell broke loose all but 1 fish died in the next 4 days.Water quality was not a problem.Anyway did notice that the sickness would start by the front fins seemed to lock up or only very slight use,then move slower and not eat and in 2-4 days die. Re introduced 2 more fish after about a week and they both died in three days.Completely removed and disinfected pond filter etc. and medicated all remaining fish (in seperate pond)medicated pond when refilled and added 2 more koi which died in 3 days.No visable signs to scales fins gills seen with this disease. Also not affecting other fish in pond at all,no Goldfish Comets etc.died during this period.1 original koi is still living and seems very healthy.Also do not have any plants in pond since disenfected.
Posted on Aug 17, 2005, 4:47 AM from IP address 67.114.109.202
Hi, It does seem odd to lose all the fish so quickly. And to loose them that quick it probably isnt parasites etc. How big is the pond and what turnover rate do you have? As it could be a lack of oxygen in the water which is causing all these deaths. It is also suggested that you have 40lpm of air going into the pond per 1000Gallons. When you disinfected the pond what did you use? If you used pottasium permanganate without seperating you biological filtration this will have killed any beneficial bacteria in your filter, so high ammonia and nitrite could have killed the last few you added. I would suggest moving you remaining koi to a seperate pond or large tub with the pump and filter set up and draining your pond. Then refill and disifect the pond with a strong dose of Pottatium Permanganate and leave in until it has stopped working (gone brown). Then refill again and set the system back up. Keep an eye on PH etc for the next week or so and if its all ok add a couple of goldfish to see how they go, and if all goes well add your koi back in. Unless your pond is heated i would suggest not adding anymore fish this year.
Posted on Aug 17, 2005, 10:01 AM from IP address 82.38.196.144
Pond is about 1000 gal.Tested while fish were dying and PH about 8.0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate trace. I suspect it might be a virus because of no visable signs or sores. Have a water fall and air stones and all other fish were not ever at top or hanging near waterfall.When re introduced fish had scrubbed pond with soap and water flushed several times cleaned filter and let dry 4 days in aprox 105F temp.Re started and put fish in in which have not had 1 fatality other than koi which died in 3 days after added.Got 1 goldfish from same pond when got the last koi and it is healthy.
Posted on Aug 18, 2005, 2:48 AM from IP address 67.114.109.202
Sorry I didnt thank you for responding.Another thing I just though about also is most of the fish were on the bottom when they died if that matters any.
Posted on Aug 18, 2005, 3:10 AM from IP address 67.114.109.202
I recall from a few years ago when my folks kept a marine fish tank....Fish can be very susceptable to metals in the water, especially copper, which can kill them.
Is anyone using your pond as a wishing well and throwing coins in??
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 12:03 AM from IP address 80.45.235.144
I don't know how big your fish are but 30 in a 1000 gallon pond is pushing it to put it mildly. With this number of fish in the pond, many if not all of which are immune to resident populations of parrasites, viruses and bacteria but carriers none the less, are probably exposing your new fish to organisms they have never before encountered. The stress of the move coupled with the stress of adapting to new surroundings in a pond already well populated with other fish increases stress levels still further and they will go down hill very quickly indeed.
My advice is to stop adding fish and think about thinning out the fish you have. They will double in size in the first year and when they do, I guarantee the few fish you are losing now could escalate into a total wipe out.
A pond is an eco system pushed way beyond anything nature would tolerate. You can have the best water, a perfect diet and plenty of O2 but overcrowd your fish past a certain well defined limit and mother nature will reak her revenge.
Alan
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 12:24 AM from IP address 213.120.101.21
agree with alans post i think you maybe overstocked - i have too many fish in my pond but it is mature and i have half as many fish as you in twice as much water! at least half of mine are tiddlers! how big are the fish? what filtration do you have? is the pond clean? what symtoms if any have you observed and the last dreaded q is scapes! maybe worth a shot? if you cant do it the guy you bought the fish off should be able to? if he cant? dont buy any more from him! sure he can and can fix this problem - good luck keith o/
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 1:50 AM from IP address 195.93.21.38
Thank you. No dought overstalked but fish were very healthy.Have 1200GPH pump Tetra Filter rated for 3000 gal, waterfall and airstones.Readings were all good while fish were dying Had plants and gravel bed at ends.Since have removed all gravel and plants now aprx 40 days after cleaned 8.1PH Trace nitrite Trace nitrate and all fish no problem.Added 1 koi today into big pond with other fish and keeping 3 in smaller tank.
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 3:42 AM from IP address 67.114.109.202
Thank you for responding. I am a beginner at koi but are koi alot more prone to disease and overcrowding than goldfish, comets etc.I started out with 20 feeder goldfish in 150 gallon pond 3yrs ago and still have 12 of them.Have only lost 1 and gave away the rest.They had eggs and we captured about 50 of them in the pond that 1 week later all koi but 1 were dead in.All other fish un-affected.I have always read that if you have spawn and hatch you have good water.Most the koi were 3-6 in and 4 were 6-8 in size.I by no means an aruguing with you about overcrowding being the cause but not effecting other fish to me rules that out.They were not overcrowded when i added fish the next 2 times I dont think.What really suprised me was the second time I added koi after had cleaned pond and filter that they died just as quick as before.I no there are all types of viruses but the 1 koi that survived seems as healty as ever.Could goldfish carry a viruses that do not effect them but will kill koi? Again TY Scott
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 3:23 AM from IP address 67.114.109.202
I have only been a koi keeper for a few weeks, so my knowledge is very basic, I admit.
But it seems from reading a few of the magazines and articles about koi, that they are a relatively pedigree species which are selectively bred to attain some form of purity.
In other species (like dogs), the pure bred pedigrees have relatively poor immune systems and the weak gene-pool can result in problems (e.g Irish red Setters with a very low IQ, German shepherds with hip displacement etc.). Mongrel dogs seem to be able to handle anything.
Can the same theory be applied to Koi?
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 7:40 AM from IP address 80.45.235.144
To a certain degree, Koi are weaker than domestic goldfish but they certainly don't keel over and die on a whim. In many respects, Koi are very hardy indeed.
The immune system in any animal can only respond to disease once it's encountered. All your resident fish have had time to develope an immune response to resident organisms in your pond. Any fish you add have probably never encountered these specific strains and the immune system is very suppressed anyway in stressed Koi. This is why we focus on keeping water quality up and stress down. Overcrowding is stressful and it's hardly surprising that you keep losing fish when you are adding fuel to the fire.
Stop adding fish!
Alan
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 12:36 PM from IP address 213.120.101.21
I was just thinking that if you had 90 people in a 10 X 10 room long enough, you WILL have problems even if there was enough oxygen, food, water, and waste removal. Having that many people in a small area IS the problem not air quality, nurishment etc. Also, some that might be used to cramp quaters will not have as hard a time with it as others. I think fish may be the same - Or maybe its just time for my coffee?
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 7:12 PM from IP address 170.109.248.2
I understand that but I only had 1 koi when I added fish adn they died in a couple days. I got a goldfish at the same time from same tank and it survived along with the orginial koi.
Posted on Aug 20, 2005, 3:09 AM from IP address 67.114.109.202
I understand that but I only had 1 koi when I added fish adn they died in a couple days. I got a goldfish at the same time from same tank and it survived along with the orginial koi.Mt problem is what type of disease could they of gotten.I cant seem to get rid of it after completely cleaning pond filter etc and 1 koi and all other fish are not affected.
Posted on Aug 20, 2005, 3:18 AM from IP address 67.114.109.202
Ok I'm new at this, very new infact, what I need to know is what is the importance of a bottom drain, whats its function other than draining the pond, what is its benefits and how is it fitted.
Regards Dewi
Posted on Aug 14, 2005, 1:56 PM from IP address 81.157.173.112
the bottom drain is probably one of the most important things that you will have it feeds your filter benching the bottom towards it will ensure that all the waste that sinks to the bottom will go down the drain and on to the filter the bottom drain works much more efectively by placing a strong airstone on the top to swirl all the crap towards it or better still get an areated bottom drain if you dont fit one you will regret it as i did on my first pond
Posted on Aug 14, 2005, 9:21 PM from IP address 84.69.101.87
I'm in the process of replacing my existing 150 gallon puddle with a 2000 gallon lined pond. Everything is set for the 'big dig' on the 10th. September with completion within the week (2 of us working at it).
The pond will be roughly 3.5 metres by 4 metres and oval in shape. The majority of it will be 1 metre deep with a shelf to one end and fed by a stream/waterfall from the filter system. (Oase Aquamax 10000 feeding a Filtoclear 11000)
Initially, the fish from my old pond will be introduced ( 2 small koi and about 8 goldfish/shubunkins. Being totally and utterly impatient, I'd like to add just a few more small koi ASAP after the pond is finished. My question is whether this is sensible in, say, late September or should I wait until the Spring.
Secondly, as there is a shortage of decent koi outlets in my area, I was wondering about buying online - Ebay, for instance. Has anyone got any experience of this method of purchasing or from any other mail order suppliers.. Bear in mind I'm not looking for show fish, just a pleasant selection of colourful inhabitants for the new pond.
Richard
Posted on Aug 18, 2005, 2:54 PM from IP address 62.56.49.42
Hi, id personnaly leave it till next spring until getting new fish, and id steer clear of koi from the internet (ebay). Try and have a trip to a good koi outlet even if its a long drive and get some nice koi. Or try koipolloi.co.uk they ship koi and some lovely ones at that.
Posted on Aug 18, 2005, 6:59 PM from IP address 82.38.196.144
asuming from the post the pond wont be heated? thats fine but maybe the koi would be best bought after the winter - let the ponds settle - mature then give young fish a summer to settle ? just my opinion regards keith ps as previously posted - good/solid koi dealer is a must where do you live?
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 1:30 AM from IP address 195.93.21.38
Any chance of you going deeper than 3ft, I'd try for an extra foot at least, most koi keeper go between 5/6ft when building a koi pond. As your building a ledge, this will make it easier for a predator (Heron) to wade in and snap-up your fish, 4ft would give them a bit more security and growing room in the pond.
Shazz
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 12:40 PM from IP address 80.176.91.232
Are you saying that the lower portion of the pond will have sheet rubber or pvc as a liner whilst the upper new portion will have sealed brickwork as the only 'liner? If so I think you will need to be very lucky to seal the liner to cement boundary.
If the sheet liner is to come up behind the brickwork to above the water level then you should have no problem and this is, I think, shown in the site attached to this forum.
Posted on Aug 18, 2005, 8:34 PM from IP address 84.65.194.175
lucky wont work in ponds it will leak! sorry but new liner or maybe fibre glass the bugger - render - sealed over liner is asking for bother inho agree with sean regards keith
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 1:40 AM from IP address 195.93.21.38
Joining liner with tape can work but the joint need to be well made, BONE DRY and clean during the making and BONE dry, I use a hairdryer bought specifically for the purpose, blowlamps etc are too hot.
Also some plant roots will grow through the tape, I have had this happen on 3 occasions in my stream, tape is also quite expensive. £1.5 a 'metre' for 2" wide is the cheapest I have found and that was buying by the roll, you will probably waste half of it especially if you have folds to deal with.
Of course the possiblity also exists that a joint will fail but at least you would only loose a little water.
Honest answer, totally re line and use the old liner for something else DO NOT leave it is situ, left in situ it will act as a water trap and a 'hard' surface against which grains of sand, trapped between the two liners, can push and endanger the new liner.
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 11:26 AM from IP address 84.68.175.32
I have just completed my pond walls which are constructed from hollow concrete blocks and now need to be rendered. Can you please advise on the best way of doing this task, I have tried unsuccesfully to open www.bogus.net/koi/const9c.htm.
Posted on Aug 16, 2005, 9:03 AM from IP address 205.156.117.1
I don't know the mix, but I live in London and the plasterer that did my pond did a very good job, if your interested send me an email. We put in fibre, bought a bag from the Koi Water Barn hope this helps!!!
Posted on Aug 17, 2005, 10:11 AM from IP address 80.176.91.232
John,
Don't get me wrong I'm no expert but I did mine myself as I remember 3 parts soft sand to 1 cement with fibers added and mixed in a mixer, not too wet.
Use a float to apply working from the bottom of the wall upwards (like you see plasterers do) I also had a plant mister on hand to spray if the mix was a bit dry.
When its started to cure I used a sponge and a bucket of water and in a circular motion rub the render to remove the blemishes and obtain a lovely finish ideal for your waterproofer to bond to. This was very good for getting the corners rounded as well.
Its worth doing yourself if nothing else to save costs. If unsure about your abilities why not try with a 25kg ready mixed bag from Wickes (other DIY stores are available) and if you can't obtain the finish/look you want it wont take long to remove before its dry and would only have cost you about £3.
Obviously the trial dosen't involve the hire of a mixer or the fibres included but it comes out much the same.
Hope this helps.
Andy
Posted on Aug 17, 2005, 10:56 AM from IP address 213.120.71.165
I suspect that many of the aquatic centres will sell you a box or two of Black Knght Fibres (basically just coarse chopped fibre glass). I beleive the idea is that teh fibres help to bind the render together, making it stronger and stopping it from cracking.
The warning is....make sure you do an excellent job of sanding the render down after it is dry to get rid of any fibres which are standing proud. the instructions on the G4 paint tins say sand down or burn the fibres.
If you don't deal with the fibres sufficiently, they can stand proud even after a few coats of waterprrofing paint (G4). If this happens, the fibres will act lik straws and suck the water out of your pond. This happened to my pond and I found I was losing about 80 litres per hour. I had to drain and dry the pond, sand the entire pond surfaces (not actually removing the paint though) and paint on another couple of coats of G4. This added about £80 to the budget, and a week before I could add water and then fish.
Posted on Aug 18, 2005, 11:55 PM from IP address 80.45.235.144
I don't know where you got that url from, but the correct one is www.koicymru.co.uk/const9c.htm and it is also correctlly linked to the "Pond construction" page.
Everything you want should be on there.
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 7:52 AM from IP address 86.128.124.147
I'm new to the pond game and I've just finished building and filling my pond. Just to give you a few details, it is approx 5000litre liner construction with large waterfall(10inch wide)/stream feeding from one end. All of the water from the filter goes down the waterfall (approx 4000ltr/hr). The last "fall" on the waterfall is approx 12inch drop. I am running a 6500litre Dirty water pump to a Yamitsu 2000gallon filter with 25w UV (which is not switched on yet). I must also add the pond at the mo is in direct sunlight for 3/4 of the day. I have two lillies and 4 oxygenating plants in the pond as well as a very small fountain at the opposite end of the waterfall.
Now to the problems. Since filling,the liner has rapidily gone green though the water is still fairly clear. The UV is not yet running as I was told to leave it off for 3-4weeks. However, I am now suffering from a large foam build up on the pond surface and the pond water surface also seems to have a film on it. This morning I couldn't see into the pond as surface covered in small bubbles.
As mentioned, the pond has been filled for 1.5weeks and there are no fish in yet.
Could someone please help;
- Can I stop the greening of the liner.
- Should I put the UV on? Its very sunny and hot here in Nottingham at the mo.
- Any way of stopping the foaming? should I reduce the waterfall flow?
- Is a partial water change necessary/ recommended.
- Should I put some fish in to help balance things?
Any help would be greatly appreciated....can't wait to enjoy sitting by the pond with a book and a beer!
Posted on Aug 18, 2005, 12:17 PM from IP address 217.46.244.9
hi o/ do you have any fish in yet? plants if so how many? could be just doc's and water changes may be the answer but more info would help regards keith (here to help if i can )
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 1:34 AM from IP address 195.93.21.38
Did a 10% water change yesterday and also switched on the UV. We also got 10 2-3inch shubumkins yesterday and they all seem quite happy darting around the pond. We had torrential rain last night which added about 2inch of water to the pond and tested the overflow (which worked...phew!). The water this morning was noticebly clearer so I think my 25w UV in the 4500-5000litre pond is more than adequate. Hopefully the UV as well as having some fish and fish waste to encourage the filter to mature will help the foaming, which again incidently has reduced dramatically.
Are fish renowned for thinking they're dolphins? Got two that think they're at Seaworld performing a show!
Thanks again for the response/help. Hopefully the pond will settle and al will be okay with the obviously TLC thats required.
Must admit...when first entered into having a pond I expected it would be dig hole, fill with water, put some fish in and a filter and job done.......not quite that easy and it has become very apparent why a lot of my friends ponds look terrible and fish keep dying. I'm enjoying the hobby and hopefully I'll be able to start to help others in the future.
Posted on Aug 19, 2005, 7:40 AM from IP address 217.46.244.9
I am new to KOI. I've been reading a lot on this forum and I was just wondering; It seems as though MOST people have problems with keeping their fish alive/healthy.
Is this just a case of 'Bad news gets reported' while noone reports the good news? Is reading post here like going to a hospital and realizing that most people here are sick therefore most people must be sick ( which would be incorrect). Its just that day after day I read about someone having problems. Is it really difficult to keep KOI happy/healthy?
Posted on Aug 18, 2005, 5:58 PM from IP address 170.109.248.2
the thing about keeping koi is water quality if thats ok and maintained then you should be fine although even the most experienced of keepers can and will get problems having said most problems are easily spotted in time to remedy the problem with regular observation of your koi and that is one of the points of this forum a place you can turn for help if needed
Posted on Aug 18, 2005, 8:34 PM from IP address 81.79.126.225
Hello mabe someone can help explain why my Koi seem to be kissing each other's bodies ?:- are they grooming each other as a cat would or have my Koi got some kind of parasite on them that koi eat ?
P.S thanks to Allen and all the others that contribute to make this the best web site on the net
Shane
Posted on Aug 12, 2005, 1:46 PM from IP address 198.54.202.250
Hello Sue ,thanks your reply is the only serious one .
yes i feed my koi three times a day , i mix hi protien and colour inhanced pellets together .
i was just worried that they might have fish lice or something that could leed to something more serious.
shane
Posted on Aug 15, 2005, 9:03 AM from IP address 198.54.202.242
I really wouldn't worry about it too much ... if your fish appear well, with no outward signs, then everything's probably ok. If there was something really wrong, then you'd know about it.
I haven't seen that behaviour in any of my own koi but, interestingly, Andy has observed it in some of his fish so, despite previous posts taking the Michael, you're obviously not alone!
Sue
Posted on Aug 15, 2005, 5:03 PM from IP address 195.93.21.38
Sorry for the joke Shane. If it seemed like a real threat I wouldn't have made fun. Not a professional but it didn't sound like a problem. I apologize.
Posted on Aug 15, 2005, 6:32 PM from IP address 170.109.248.2
Appology accepted , I am a fraid when it comes to my Koi
I do get rather tense ,as they are my passion .Three months ago I lost four fish and was devastated beyond words .It seems Koi keeping starts out as a small time hobby but what one is not warned about is it is highly addictive and takes over all one's time .one is always
searching for better quality fish ,better filter systems ect...
I just wish that in South Africa we were able to get half the items available to all you peeps in the U.K
Posted on Aug 16, 2005, 1:21 PM from IP address 198.54.202.242
Shane,
I'm glad someone else brought this question to the forum as 2, and only 2, of my koi do exactly the same usually after I have fed them. The 2 that do it are a yambuki and a kohaku (one of each sex so they're not gay). It's almost as though one is feeding the other as in many other animals.
Posted on Aug 15, 2005, 11:18 AM from IP address 213.120.71.165
i have the problem to although i dont see it as a problem i have a gin rin showa which seem to do it to what ever koi is in its way and as andy said it is after i have fed them some times it looks quite aggressive
Posted on Aug 17, 2005, 9:25 PM from IP address 81.77.20.124
