For those who might miss me...lol

[pcentral]

Hey Ima,
Congrats, on deciding to build a Koi pond. A bit of advise from someone with alot of experience. Learn all you can about ponds,Koi,biological filters,pumps,etc. before you buy anything. I did some research before building our first pond but alot of what I learned unfortunately came at the expense of lost Koi. I have had Koi ponds for around 10 years and lost about as many Koi. It is hard because you become very close to them and losing one is like losing the family dog. Also, check out www.koiusa.com it has some great links and their magazine will really help you also. Good luck with it and feel free to contact me for help. I have gained it the hard way, so if I can help you avoid learning the same way I will.
Tyson, are those Koi or guppies or both? Nice pond you got there!
Steve

 

[aartwmich]

Nyce pond Tyson!! Is that yours?? How long have you had that? Did you build it yourself? Are those Koi?? How many gallons? What kind of filtration system are you using??

Pcentral..I have been researching ponds for about a year now, I have a small preform that I am going to build a filtration system for this year, prototyping the filtration system for the larger pond I plan on building next year. I participate in 2-4 ponding forums where I have learned a great deal. Tell me about your pond!!

UhOh are we gonna get booted off here for discussing ponds on this forum??LOL

 

[Tyson Rayles]

Hi folks Herons usually prefer 1 ft. or less to wade in and this is 2 ft. deep. I live in the middle of nowhere so I do get deer, wild turkey, squirrels, chipmunks etc. that drink out of it. Ima there is Koi, Comets, Shubunkins, Japanese Fantails and a whole bunch that are a mix of the above. The pond is made with a butyl liner and is 12 ft corner to corner. My water supply is a spring which does not run all that strong in the late summer and fall so I don't use a pump as it will triple the evaporation rate. No pump, no filter. However it has quite a few catails and water lilys to keep the heat down and provide oxygen. The other bad (yes I did say bad) thing about pumps and filters is they keep the water clear and in the summertime this will cause the temperture to soar along with the evaporation rate. The fish can take extreme cold (these have seen 22 below zero and the pond froze so thick I walked across it) but let the water temp hit 75 and they will start to go into stress, around 80-85 they start dying. I started with around 12 fish 12 years ago, have given away about 200 and still have about 100, in other words they have more fun than the law allows! The other bad thing about real clear water is that means no algea which means no food for new borns also real clear water seems to make the fish skitish or paronoid. The largest fish by the way right now are Koi, with the biggest about 15 inches and weighting around 1 and 1/4 lbs. To keep them honest every once and a while I hold a frying pan over the water . Just kidding!

Almost forgot , it's about 1300 gals.

 

[aartwmich]

Veeerrry interesting ponding situation Tyson. You have a natural balance going on, 12 years is a long time. I doubt you do any water testing, but if you tested for ammonia and oxygen on those days with 85 degree water temps when the flow rate of the spring drops reducing the 'water changes' you would find alot of ammonia and low oxygen. Warm water holds less oxygen and high ammonia is much more toxic to fish in high water temps. Chemistry and mother nature is keeping the population down to what the water can support.

The straight sides and 2 ft depth keep the herons and racoon from eating your fishes. You're right about the algae feeding the fry and shading the pond. And you know I've heard that Koi actually do taste good..hehehe

There is a far cry between your pond Tyson and the filtered, crytsal clear water that show koi raisers insist upon, but they both can work toward different ends. Thanks for sharing, very interesting.

 

[RailRon]

Tyson, let me congratulate you to your pond. Its ecology seems well balanced if you got it running already for 12 years!

Since I am a Biologist, for me a pond is a sort of an organism, whereas many garden ponds look like a clear swimming pool with a few assorted fish moving around aimlessly.

As aart puts it - they're built for a different end and so have their right to exist. But I prefer the self-containing mix of plants and animals, going through their natural yearly ups and downs in population. Tyson, your pond really looks natural with its dark green water - surely there's much more in it than only water lilys and Koi!

I'll bet there are lots of all kinds of water insects. One thing interests me, because I ldon't know much about those Koi: Do you still have Dragonflies in your pond? Or are their larvae also eliminated by the Koi?

(To be honest, for me, Koi looks like some souped up gold fish. In our school pond one summer some clown put in a couple of these - and they nearly destroyed the whole ecological equilibrium. In no time most water insects as well as the tadpoles and young frogs had disappeared... We had quite a bit of work to get all these fish out again - and yes, aart, gold fish really tastes not too bad! )

Ron

 

[Tyson Rayles]

The spring doesn't feed the pond. It flows into a water box by gravity, then is back-pumped up the mountain to a pressurized tank that feeds the house. When the pond needs water I add it with the garden hose, making sure I haven't clorinated the water in the last 48 hours. There is no moving water in the pond. You can not balance the pond with fish and plants like you said. The "carp" will breed themselves into extinction. You will have to remove dozens of them every couple years to maintain the balance. And the straight sides will NOT stop racoons, kingfishers, bobcats, bears or water snakes. Ask me how I know this ! Matter of fact one certain snake did more for population control then everything else combined . He is now in that great pond in the sky! The one thing that will do the most damage is overfeeding (don't think it's possible to underfeed in a pond with plants and algae) but you sure can overfeed very easy.

 

[Tyson Rayles]

Ron Koi or goldfish of any kind are just carp with a fancy paintjob. I have never seen them show a interest in meat of any kind, just plants. Yes I have dragon flies over the pond on a regular basis. There is also some salamanders that get in on their own, as well as occasional frogs and toads. I don't have tadpoles because I remove the egg clusters so they can't hatch out. The problem with the frogs is when they do their croaking it tells the water snakes where to find dinner and the snakes find the fish easier to catch than the frogs . Been thinking about introducing crawfish to see if they will eat the carp eggs to help control the population as it is a pain in the a** to try and net the excess fish out. You are right, a pond and the imediate ground around it are a mini-eco system and will bring other wildlife into your yard (for better or worse ).

BTW I don't do any water testing other than to see if the fish are swimming or floating I think the Koi/Goldfish breeders get a kickback from the filter/pump companys

 

[MCL_RDG]

Gifelte?

Whatever.

I had no idea aartwmich was leaving the BB. I'll miss ya aartwmich.

Mark

 

[aartwmich]

MCL.... I'm not leaving the BB per say, only going to be scarce now that summer has come, read the first post Course now that this thread has become a ponding thread..lol..I'm still here

Tyson... carp(koi and goldfish) will eat many kinds of larvae, including dragonfly and especially mosquito, and thier own eggs and fry if they can find them amongst the plants and algae. I'm surprised that the koi don't tear up your plants, maybe there's enough for them to eat without destroying them all.

My brother introduced koi to his 1 acre pond for plant control and they did almost too good of a job !!

 

[Tyson Rayles]

Ima if I go away for a few days (read no one feeds them for a few days) when I get back there will be peices of plant floating around where they have been chewing on them. I have enough plants where this is not a problem. They may eat larve but adult insects that fall in the pond will die from drowning but not from being eaten. BTW make sure any plants you put in the pond are in containers or they will take over before you know it.