Koi ponds very important article
Koi ponds - what is a koi pond?
The name koi ponds is reserved for those extra special, highly engineered concrete ponds. Koi ponds tend to be complex in design and devoted to keeping and growing large koi for showing or just pure expensive enjoyment.
The most important article I've ever written about koi ponds is shown later on this page
If only all koi ponds looked like this!
If you want to grow large koi then small to medium koi ponds are not going to get you there. Despite this typical backyard ponds of a few hundred gallons will also give you great pleasure and enjoyment. Such backyard ponds might just be the stepping stone you need to invest in "proper" koi ponds.
For everything imaginable about koi ponds and that means koi ONLY you cannot do better than go to http://www.koimag.com . This site really is very special as are the people involved in running it. Nigel Caddock who owns the website makes a valid point about koi ponds. He tells me often that koi ponds must contain only 3 things; koi, water and oxygen. No plants are allowed in "real" koi ponds for example.
The Vital Importance Of Pond Filter Choice For Larger Ponds and Especially Koi Ponds
If you look at the picture above it is obvious that there are some very large and very expensive koi swimming around. It would be impossible to keep these beautiful fish alive with a simple box type filter. The reason being that because they eat so much they produce masses of bodily wastes and these would quickly over-burden any normal simple garden pond filter. Ammonia levels would build up quickly, the koi would quickly show signs of stress (like gasping for air at the surface) and die.
Different countries have different ideas about what is right for a koi pond filter and the simple answer is really get the one that works in your country. In South Africa where I live many people use sand filters and this is NOT the right choice under any circumstances in any country.
In the USA the majority of good pond keepers use bead filters .... these work on the very simple principle of turbulent mixing of the circulated pond water with beads which have very large colonies of bacteria on their surface.
Review 2 types of bead filters used extensively in USA .... The Aquabead range and The Aquadyne range
In simple terms this means that these beneficial bacteria that do the purification of pond water always have access to food (water containing fish excretions is food for the bacteria) and oxygen (dissolved in the water) ... note that bacteria quickly deplete water of dissolved oxygen so if there was no turbulence next to the bead the bacteria would die. If you really want to understand why bead filters work so well then read this article below that I hav etaken from my book "The Complete Pond Solver"
What really happens in a biofilter? ... I consider this article to be one of the most important I have ever written.
It's breeding time again! How to protect spawned fish eggs and fry from being eaten.
Read This Article If You Have Koi Pond ... and then read it again, it's important
The waste products from the fish in their initial form are mainly expressed as ammonia which is poisonous in even small quantities and especially so under certain water conditions high pH which will be discussed later. In a mature pond a class of bacteria in the biofilter removes the ammonia almost as soon as it is formed. The ammonia is converted into other nitrogen chemicals called nitrites.
Another type of bacteria also present in the biofilter then converts the nitrite chemicals into nitrate chemicals. These chemicals are less polluting and toxic than either ammonia or nitrites both of which are poisonous.
These chemical processes are occurring all the time and will not stop unless the biofilter system stops working or the source of nitrogen is removed ie no fish in the pond, or the water becomes devoid of oxygen.
The health of the pond is determined by this relentless ongoing conversion of ammonia to nitrates. It must NOT stop for the sake of your fish.
If pond water is changed frequently then to some extent the poison levels are controlled. The more fish in the pond then the more the waste products to get rid of. Koi produce 3 times more waste than goldfish of the same size - because they eat 3 times more.
The food used has a significant impact upon the amount of waste produced. Do not use foods with high ash contents - this indicates low quality raw materials have been used in the food manufacture which result in water pollution levels being higher than necessary
In a natural stream or lake fish concentrations are generally low. Waste products are converted to relatively harmless nitrates by naturally occurring bacteria. Rocks, submerged trees, plant roots, etc all help to purify the waste products from the fish by providing holding points for the bacteria to live on. The more bacteria there are the better the purification.
The bacteria need oxygen to survive and they get this from the water - oxygen is absorbed by the water due to the action of waves, waterfalls and wind.
In a garden pond a biofilter is installed to make up for the unnatural conditions prevailing. A biofilter is designed to allow large concentrations of bacteria to operate effectively in a small volume within a garden pond environment.
Correctly specified and installed biofilters create healthy environments in which fish can live for many years and grow to their full potential.
In small ponds the filter can be installed directly in the pond. For larger ponds the filter needs to be installed outside of the pond. The pump connected to a biofilter must run 24 hours every day otherwise the bacteria will die from lack of oxygen contained in the circulating water. It is a good idea to have a waterfall and a fountain to increase the oxygen content of the water.
It is difficult to add too much oxygen to a pond.
Once the bacteria have died it will take approximately 5 more weeks for them to regain close to their previous levels.
What is happening inside a biofilter?
I created this picture below to help explain what happens inside a biofilter.
Imagine the water is flowing from left to right ....
Imagine the red balls are ammonia excreted by the fish. Also imagine water is flowing over the biomedia from left to right.
You can see lots of red ammonia molecules are flowing into the filter although they are dissolved in the water in reality. Look carefully and you will see dark grey biomedia or beads in a bead filter or Japanese matting in a vortex filter underneath the coloured balls. Look even more carefully and you might see the oxygen bubbles also dissolved in the water.
The ammonia mixed with oxygen in the water is continuously flowing across the biomedia (beads, japanese matting, kaldnes, etc depending upon type of filter you have). The yellow bacteria can be seen sitting on the surface of the biomedia just waiting for ammonia and oxygen to come along.
At the point where the water meets the biomedia (ie where the bacteria live) the red ammonia molecules are broken down (oxidised is the correct term) by the bacteria which keep taking deep breaths of oxygen in order to complete the conversion of ammonia and nitrites to those blue molecules that you see starting to appear. These blue molecules are nitrates. You do not need to be a chemist to understand the next line but do take a moment over the next paragraph .
NH3 is converted by one type of bacteria to become NO2 this is converted by second and different type of bacteria to become NO3. All I want you to take notice of is that ammonia has no oxygen, nitrite has 2 atoms of oxygen and nitrate has 3 atoms of oxygen in its molecule. If the water did not have oxygen in then this conversion could not happen.
Notice the mixture of pretty colours in the middle of the picture this is where the conversion and intermingling action is taking place. You can possibly imagine lots of things are happening at the same time in this region. This is exactly why a bead filter is so efficient and why it works so well because this type of filter ensures massive and rapid intermingling so that bacteria are never without food or oxygen so that they can live happily, thrive and reproduce. Under this circumstance your koi pond water remains pure, clean and healthy.
The nitrates become the fertiliser for the plants and stay in the water until consumed by plants or pumped out of the pond with a water change.
You will notice that there are still a few red ball bits of ammonia left because the bacteria did not manage to get to them first time around circuit these get eaten next time or maybe even the next.
Just after feeding fish the red balls increase by an enormous amount and as such you will nearly always measure ammonia in the water shortly after feeding. However if the biofilter is mature and working well this is rapidly brought under control.
I have just described in simple terms what is called the nitrification cycle that occurs in all ponds and natural waterways.
End of important article
Review 2 types of bead filters used extensively in USA .... The Aquabead range and The Aquadyne range
Other Requirements Of A "Proper" Koi Pond
Building true koi ponds is for the specialist. Building koi ponds in the garden for casual enjoyment by the family is not.
To be successful in the growing of "jumbo" koi the building of koi ponds must take into account:
Bottom drains
Correct shape
Pond skimmer systems
Good depth (6ft and more)
High flow rates
Winter heating
Very high and specialised biofiltration capacity
Spare pumps
Highly regular and thorough cleaning regimes
Large air pumps
Highly specialised feeding regimes
For Smaller Koi and Goldfish Ponds
In my web site any reference to backyard ponds, garden ponds, liner ponds or preformed ponds is in the context that we are talking about smaller (say 100 gallons up to 1,000 gallons ponds). Such backyard ponds are quite capable of holding and growing koi and other pond fish but to a limited extent. To repeat myself. I am not talking about building koi ponds for the real koi enthusiast.
Backyard ponds would generally hold fish, and plants. The serious koi pond does not have any plants in it - they spoil the view of the fish and are not helpful in the quest for absolutely clean and clear water.
The UK Pond Doctor and pondkeeping answers site all about koi and koi ponds this massive and growing information site contains expert advice on all matters related to koi pond keeping
Peter May's new website is called Pond Solutions ... Peter is an exceptionally gifted landscaper, artist, illustrator and author. Unlike so many he has done it all himself and many times so he knows the real hassles and how to solve any pond problem
I have read your book with interest and have found it most interesting. I wish I had read it before constructing my pond Gordon Powell, seaview@scottburgh.co.za
I read your book cover to cover last night ., Excellent, this is just what I was looking for. It is hard to find such a comprehensive collection of information in one place. I have been searching the web for about 4 months. Brett Salavoy, Brett.Salovy@za.didata.com
Related Websites
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Planting disaster, koi disease through scraping
Save lots of money know how to choose the right koi fish food
Save lots of money know how to choose the right koi fish food
