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I have been reading all of the emails
sent, and I have a few more questions that hopefully you can
answer/or go into more detail for me.
1. We are installing a pond 9 ft x 35 ft. It will have a waterfall
and be circulated with the Large Clean Seep Skimmer Filter,
Standard Biofalls Filter and a 4500 Pump. We plan on stocking
both regular Koi and Butterfly Koi. Is there any plus' and/or
minus' on stocking both types together?
2. We would also like to introduce either: Western Painted
Turtle, Mississippi Map Turtle or even a Jumbo Pond Tutle.
I hear a lot of different stories: they carry and/or create
harmful bacteria that will/could harm the koi and kill them.
How do I know what to believe. One of the emails I was reading
on your website was that they can bring in Leeches. Is this
all based on if the turtle has been quarantined or not?
3. The Pleco (algae eater), would it be okay to get 2 of them
for my pond to help keep the algae under control and bring
them in for the winter? I know if we do get turtles that we
will have to bring those in for the winter, so bringing the
Pleco in wouldn't be hard. And is the Pleco bad for the koi?
4. Lastly, what is the scoop with the snails. Are they good
for a pond? What is the plus' and minus' to the snails with
the koi? We have a pool approx. 4 feet from our pond. Would
we need to worry about them getting out of the pond and going
into our pool? Oh and the hot tub is only 2 feet away. Your
help on clearing some of these concerns of mine would be a
huge help. Our pond is being built on April 21st and I would
like to get these questions answered.
5. I am sorry, one more question. With
the koi and depending on the answers, possibly turtles/snails;
Is the Biological Filter (BioFalls) and the Aquascape 4500
Pond Pump good for my needs or would you recommend the bead
filters? I would enjoy a gin clear and as much as an algae
free pond as possible without harming the fish. I just don't
know which is the better route to go. What are the plus' and
minus'?
Thank you in advance for your help!
Alright, Vanessa, I'll give this my best
shot, but you
*really* need to join the MPKS and come to some meetings!
1) 9 x 35, fine. How deep? If you are planning
on keeping koi, your minimum depth should be 4 feet at the
*shallowest*, and as much as 6 feet if you are serious about
this. For a good koi pond, you will need
a bare liner bottom and a bottom drain. Given the configuration
you suggest, you'll need two bottom drains. Do not believe
your contractor if he's telling you that koi will be he.althy
in a shallow pond. Do not believe him if he tells you that
rocks on the bottom are "low maintenance". Shallow
ponds are otherwise known as MacRaccoon's and MacHeron's.
They are very vulnerable to predation. They are prone to wide
temperature shifts which will stress your koi and your filters.
Rocks on the bottom collect mulm and sludge, which has to
be cleaned out *every year*, usually by the contractor, which
he will charge you $$$$$ for. A properly designed bare liner,
bottom-drained pond is virtually self-cleaning.
If you dig your pond to a depth of 4 feet,
you are talking about 11,200 gallons here, and a pump that
circulates 4500 gallons per hour is insufficient. You need
to be able to circulate the entire volume of your pond through
your filter at a minimum of once per hour.
If you are keeping koi, you'll need much
more filter than a simple skimmer/biofalls will provide. I
urge you to talk to Mike White at White Water Filters in Batavia
before you begin your dig. He can be emailed at
mikew@whitewaterfilters.com.
Koi and Butterfly koi are all the same
species, the butterflys were the result of a cross-breeding
between Japanese koi and an Asian carp in an attempt to restore
some hybrid vigor and disease resistance to the ornamentals.
What they got was vigorous, but had long fins. The Japanese
hate 'em. Us gaijin love 'em. Koi and butterfly koi co-exist
just fine.
2) Do Not Import Turtles! Besides being
ILLEGAL to import them from their natural habitats, it is
very poor conservation practice. They are all natural predators
and will feast on your smaller fish, and as they grow, will
take stabs at your bigger fish too. Turtles are amphibs, and
are not a controllable organism. They will escape, enter the
local biome, and disrupt it.
3) Pleckys do just fine in ponds. They
are prickly enough that the koi do not mess with them. They
are tropicals, so they can't go into the pond until the water
temp is 70 degrees or higher, and they must be pulled out
and maintained indoors when it gets cold out in late fall.
DO NOT DO THE TURTLES!
4) You'll get snails whether you want them
or not, usually as passengers on your aquatic plants. They
won't make a bit of difference to your algae control. That
only works in small aquarium environments. Hair algae needs
intensive verge plantings of greedy marginals and deep plantings
of water lily. Further control is exerted by Pleckys and a
toilet brush attached to a long pole. Floating algae is controllable
with adequate shade and a high-intensity UV unit installed
just after your final filter. As far as the pool and hot tub
are concerned, the levels of chlorine required by code for
those devices will promptly kill any form of aquatic life
you could care to name. Please make sure that your pond is
situated so that there is NO chance of runoff to it from either
your pool or hot tub. Chlorine is deadly poison to a pond.
5) No. The system you describe is not adequate
for koi in any significant number. *Please* talk to Mike White.
*Before* you allow your current contractor to stick you with
something you can't maintain. Come to a meeting. Talk to ANYBODY!
From your second email:
1) Quarantine
is absolutely essential. For details, go to the website and
look up the article. Any new fish you buy must be isolated
for at least three to four weeks and observed carefully prior
to introduction to your pond's stable population. If you are
starting a new pond, this constitutes the first fish you put
in. Any further additions get quarantined in a separate tank
with a separate filter and air system. Do not trust any vendor's
promises about prior isolation, unless you know him well,
trust him and know where he lives so that you can go there
and beat the sn*t out of him when your fish die from a disease
he brought in. We use two indoor vats, both with well-established
box filter systems. (150 and 200 gallons, respectively)
2) New fish can be added (once they clear
quarantine) at any time the water is warm enough to support
them, to the ability of your filters to keep the water quality
good. If you want gin-clear water, Aquascapes can't do it.
You will need at least a pre-filter type sellting vat, a large
box or bead filter, a protein extractor of some type, a bioreactor
or trickle tower, and a UV unit. Talk to Mike.
3) You can decorate any way you want, but
tropical aquatics will not survive a Chicago winter. Stay
with hardy perennials native to this region. Less work and
heartbreak.
Hope this helped.
Bob Passovoy
President
MPKS
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