New house came with great Koi pond! Debating how to handle maintenance
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9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
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Debbie Downer
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New house, old pond, much trouble. (Long post with photos)
Comments (41)Hi scottspond, some how didn't think she would, Florida vs Manchester, no contest really ;-) The area I live in is New Mills, in High Peak in Derbyhsire. If it doesn't ring a bell, it's just past Lyme park, Buxton is about 2 miles away, Stockport 9 miles and Manchester 20 miles (all via road) Handily the railway station is about 5 mins away from my home, so trips to Manchester are pleasent through the countyside and don't require I use the car ;-) And in summer I get to hop on the odd steam trian, every boys dream. My Mancunian mates reckon I've gone "all posh" living here, as I was born and grew up in Fallowfield and went to school in Rusholme. Regards ChrisC....See MoreNew to this site with lots of questions regarding our Koi Pond
Comments (12)LOL! Going to the bottom is normal behavior for fish that are in a panic. Sometimes they disappear for weeks. They may even temporarily lose all their colors. The dark color of the water is probably tannins but it is also possible there is debris in the water. To figure out which, scoop some water into a glass jar and let it sit undisturbed for a couple of hours. Any debris or free floating algae will settle out or float to the top. Tea colored water shows there are tannins or other organic compounds present. Some of the organic compounds are harmful to the fish. Tannins come from rotting leaves, peat moss in potting soil and any thing else organic that is rotting. It often has an odor like sewage that is unpleasant. Adequate filtration will eventually remove debris and some of the algae. To get rid of the rest of the algae you can use chemicals or a UV light. I like the UV since there has less chance to harm the fish and it doesn't bother the algae that grows on the sides of the pond. That is considered beneficial and the fish will graze on it. The UV can also kill some free floating parasites that show up every so often. I have never had the problem of green water. For tannins (tea colored water or tannic acid) you need Activated Carbon also known as Activated charcoal placed in a permeable bag in a place where there is an active water flow. The tannin molecules react and combine with the carbon molecules on the surface of the chunks. Odors in the water are also removed with AC. Zeolite will handle most other organic compounds. There are chemicals available for this but there is a chance they won't work as well. Try the Zeolite. You should test the water for nitrates and nitrites (organic compounds)regularly. The black liner is the best color to have. The colors of the fish pop out when you see them, so long as the water is clear. You will be able to see all the way to the bottom. Has anyone suggested you get a Pond Test Kit? It is an important thing to have. Did you remeasure the dimensions of the pond to get the volume of water? I used two sites to get the 588 gallon measurement. I can't hear the pond inside of the house. I have been looking for an inside-outside intercom to take care of that problem. The sound is one of the best things about the pond. I guess I must be a geek too....See MorePond maintenance tips/advice wanted
Comments (32)Plants You have a lot. I'm not on site so hard to tell, but from the pics I'd probably remove all the plants from the pond and vacuum or scoop the bottom with a swimming pool leaf rake. When removing the plants note how deep they are. Moving them to deeper water might be an issue. For everything other than lilies moving plants to more shallow water, or even above the water is almost always better for the plants, so that would be OK if you like. Then I could assess the plants and pond better. Pots, baskets, directly plants? Can pots be reused? I can now see the pond without plants. How's it look to me? Were some plants hiding something that I want to continue to hide? I come up with a plan. Buy replacement pots? Maybe reduce the number of species returned to the pond. If the plants are planted directly in soil, not pots, you really have to empty the pond and deal with the plants. Fish have to be moved. That's a whole deal I won't get into now. Most (all) the plants will have to be divided. Depends on when last done. I just made a post on this. Most of dealing with plants just has to be learned with experience. But here's some things you may not know... When removed from the pond the plants can stay out of water for a really long time. Weeks, even months. The leaves may die back but the roots (rhizomes) last a long time out of water. Keeping them in water can actually cause rot. You can also plant them in regular garden pots with dirt, same as a regular garden plant, and just keep them well watered and they grow great. This is true for every plant except lilies, floaters and plants that grow completely underwater. Some times if you look up a plant on the web or printed on the label when buying a plant it will say 6" of water, or 12" of water, or whatever. Many people think that means the plant must be in that much water. This is actually the maximum depth the plant can take. Most of these do better the less water. Even planted in the yard many of these plants will do well. Here in Phoenix many kinds of "pond plants" are used in yards. This is because "pond plant" isn't really a very good term... "vernal pool plant" would be better. They've adapted to living in standing water and also dry periods when there's no water which is what a vernal pool is. So knowing this can make your life easier, more options. Plants inside the pond = more work. So reducing them will be less work in the future. You can put some of these into pots around the edge of the pond, or in the ground, or switch to other kinds of plants around the edge. Gives you the same lush look with way less work and the pond appears much larger. Here are some pics of a pond I built in San Jose CA to demonstrate. No plant is inside the pond. And here the pot on the left is a "pond plant" called Horsetail Rush. It's a foam pot with no drainage hole, soil from the yard. This plant, like most "pond plants" can be very invasive, but no problem in a pot. And no drainage holes means no straining from leaking water (the pot on the right need drainage and therefore a catch pan under it). Go on vacation for a week or two the pot is fine with no watering. When it's time to divide it's no big deal....See MoreOT: My cat came home for New Year's!
Comments (16)Sorry, I just had to add my dog story since I thought about your cat coming home several times today. Have to use a map/clock description in this one. This took place in Houston. Thirty years ago I had an assistant at work. She lived in an apartment but let her dog out during the day. Say she lived a 12 o'clock on a clock. A neighbor decided the dog needed a "better" home so took it and gave it to someone who lived at 6 o'clock about 20 miles away. The owner cried a lot as she looked in vain for her dog. Finally the neighbor confessed. They called to tell the new owner they were coming to get the dog. And found out that the dog was missing. A week later the boyfriend, who lived at 2 o'clock called and said, "You're not going to believe this, but your dog just showed up." If was worn from the trip but otherwise OK. The amazing thing is that the dog had been to the boyfriend's house only once before. Figure that one out. Bob...See Morephases
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