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Posted: 18 Jun 2009 Posted: 16 Jun 2009 All Entries |
Clear water !I recently got a request to explain how I kept the water clear in my Koi pond! Well first of let me tell you this, it's really easy, and hard all at the same time. The basics to any ponding is filtration, mechanical which removes the particles and biological, which....in all honesty keeps those fishies alive, by converting the bad ammonia and nitrites into yummy food for bacteria that live in the filter media. The hard part is a good balance....Unfortunately :( I overstiocked my pond to begin with and no one told the fish, so they continued to reproduce, which leads to more and more poo! The easy part (for mr) is I realize this and ck. my water parameters ALOT, and I have no problem really staying on top of things....since it's an obsession for me. In time though, as they keep growing, it will get tougher and I will be needing to upsize...which coincidentally makes me smile really really big!!!! For alot of people, this is the hard part because they don't tend to their water garden each day and if parameters get a lil outa wack, you could have a fish kill over night :( which would make me very sad! The solution, filtration, and lots of it. Make sure you have a good pump that circulates the pond water volume every 1-2 hours. I use mechanical/bio bead media filter which is store bought, and I also have a UV sterilizer on this pond. On my first it was all DIY and to be honest I was more comfortable there because you understand everything about the system since it's yours. I added two items to this system in place now as reinforcement, and it just makes sence to me. First A DIY Skimmer/Inflow filter, with lava rock and mechanical filter media, and on the outflow I added a very large Whiskey barrel bio/veggie filter. The water trickles in from the top in a PVC, drops to the bottom allowing for oxygen, sedimant is allowed to settle at the bottom (put a drain in) then the water slowly seeps up through lava rock with pebbl;es on top, housing a bunch of water hycinth and canna roots....no dirt just bare root plants taking in all the Nitrates left in the water. Wala! This water sparkling clear travels back into the pond! I'll try and post a picture. I am totally convinced that the DIY portions of my filter system alone with my pump would be having as much sucess as the entire system. The UV probably is helping somewhat at this time of the year in Florida with algae blloms though. So there you have it...the basics of filteration in a pond. My only regret which will be corrected next pond....a bottom drain! More on that later!!! If you have any questions please feel free to ask! I'm just getting started at this so I'll do my best to ck back often! Thanks for the ear :) janine This blog entry has been viewed 272 times
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Thanks for the explaination. I been using a UV sterilizer and only a pond pump that allow me to have a sprayer ontop of the water. (more for looks)In the winter I take down the sprayer and allow the pump to move the water around underneath for the fishes and frogs. My fish have seemed to multiplied also and again this year. It looks as though they're grouping meaning they'll be laying their eggs soon. at present we have atleast 10-11 fish. we had atleast 6 frogs but not sure what has happened to them, we now have 1 & sometimes 2 left. I have found a plant that I have put in the water. This will be my 4th year of having this pond and only maybe the 2nd time I've noticed the fish multiply. Again thanks for this explanation. Much appreciated.
If you put your fountain base in a planter basket filled with lava rocks you'll be suprised how quickly that alone will help clean the water. Login or register to leave a comment. |
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