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  1. Hi Bob,
    I came across your web-site and thought you might be able to help me. I live in Houston, Texas and we just moved into a house that has a man made pond in the back yard. The pond has a fountain that is continuously running. The pond has about 6 gold fish. My problem is the algae that has build up in the pond. It has taken over a large part of the pond. We haven't had any experience with this and we would like some advise in getting rid of the algae without harming the fish. Any advise you can give us would be appreciated. Thanks so much.
    (Added 1-30-06) —See reply.

  2. I live in Houston, Tx and wanted to build koi pond with concrete and someone mentioned that concrete is bad for fish. Is that true? If it is, what do you recommend? Thank you. (Added 1-30-06) —See reply.


  3. Last week I was house-sitting and, among other things, tending a 50-gallon aquarium with several cichlids and a plecostemus. On Thursday and Friday of the week, a crew came and sealed the concrete driveway outside the house with a potent-smelling compound and the fumes were very heavy in the house... (Added 1-5-06, second answer 1-7-06) —See reply.

  4. Last summer, I saw some very interesting tadpoles for sale at a nursery. I did not buy any as I was worried that they could carry some disease to my koi/goldfish/shubunkins in my pond. Is there a possibility of amphibians carrying disease that can infect fish or would parasites/diseases be species specific? (Added 1-3-06) —See reply.

  5. We are building a pond with a waterfall outside. It should be finished soon. My kids want to put fish in it. I understand the best fish are certain kinds of goldfish. My question is, does the pump have to run all the time or can it be placed on a timer to run certain hours of the day?(Added 1-3-06) —See reply.

  6. I made a tank in my house it is just about 500 gallons of water. I have 9 fish in it. The tank has been running for 2 months. I have no ammonia, but i have .25 nitrite and it will not go down. What do you think - just not running long enough, or too many fish? (Added 1-3-06) —See reply.

  7. I have a question about expanding my existing pond. I currently have a 4X6 pond that is about 18" deep with two bio filtration falls (one 16 inch bio fall and one home made up-filter made out of a 6 gallon office wastepaper basket and filter media) and about 1500 gallons of flow between my two pumps. Like most first time builders I built much too small. The problem is that my fish are now well established (4 5-6" comets, two 5" fantails and one 7" butterfly koi) and I would like to expand the pond on its existing site while keeping the fish alive... (Added 11-23-05) —See reply.

  8. Our beautiful clear, clean pond just got contaminated by a fair amount of dirt. The waterfall portion is on a slope, and a gopher dug around the side of it and pushed dirt up and over the side of the waterfall and into the pond... (Added 11-10-05) —See reply.

  9. was also wondering if it is necessary to have pump going now that it is cool? (Added 11-10-05) —See reply.

  10. We bought this house with a small pond, approx. 6' x 3' x 28" deep, don't know gallons? Would like to keep our 3 goldfish alive thru Missouri winter in it, could keep in house if abs. ness., wonder if a water tank heater would work? Nights down into 30's now, seem to be doing alright, still have pump and waterfall going,-should we? Please help as our fish seem to love us and will swim against hand and let us pet when cleaning filter, etc. Any info appreciated (Added 11-10-05) —See reply.

  11. Hello. I am the president of a condo association. We have a large outdoor garden with two ponds, one of them fairly large with four koi in them. The fish are relatively small (about 4 inches long each). We need to bring them inside for the winter and I have been the only one to volunteer to bring them in. Since I am on the third floor and weight is a consideration, I cannot have a huge tank. I read a question that you responded to in which someone was asking about putting a koi in a 20 gallon tank and you advised against it. This person's situation is slightly different, as he or she indicated that a pond was out of the question. I am not interested in harming or torturing any animal and wonder if you have some suggestions about keeping these koi inside for the winter. I'm afraid that I don't have any option but to bring them in, as I live in Minnesota. Any tips you can offer me would be welcome. (Added 11-10-05) —See reply.

  12. I have three new koi fish and it has been almost three weeks. They do not tend to swim around during the day but will come out "sorta" at night w/the light above them on. They still don't react to the food I put in once a day at night while I watch them so the question is is it normal for them to place the "hide" game and be shy for such a long time or should they be well adjusted by now. Water is good and they are in a sun room in Colorado for the winter. a 3X5 stock tank w/3 3inch fish so defnitely no overcrowding. They hide in the plants that I have also brught in and under a plastic crate that the bog plants sit on. Thank you for your time just wondering if I need to be patient. (Added 11-10-05) —See reply.

  13. Subject: dirty water: hope my story can help somebody! (Added 11-10-05) —See full text .

  14. Hi I connected 2 ponds together. My original pond sits higher then my new pond .so it has a small waterfall effect where it is connected. Here's my problem. There seems to be water going under the liner so i am losing water. I asked some one in a pond shop if liner tape would work to seal the 2 together. He said it won't work. Do you have any ideas? (Added 11-10-05) —See reply.
  15. Last week I was house-sitting and, among other things, tending a 50-gallon aquarium with several cichlids and a plecostemus. On Thursday and Friday of the week, a crew came and sealed the concrete driveway outside the house with a potent-smelling compound and the fumes were very heavy in the house... (Added 1-5-06, second answer 1-7-06) —See reply.

  16. Last summer, I saw some very interesting tadpoles for sale at a nursery. I did not buy any as I was worried that they could carry some disease to my koi/goldfish/shubunkins in my pond. Is there a possibility of amphibians carrying disease that can infect fish or would parasites/diseases be species specific? (Added 1-3-06) —See reply.

  17. We are building a pond with a waterfall outside. It should be finished soon. My kids want to put fish in it. I understand the best fish are certain kinds of goldfish. My question is, does the pump have to run all the time or can it be placed on a timer to run certain hours of the day?(Added 1-3-06) —See reply.

  18. I made a tank in my house it is just about 500 gallons of water. I have 9 fish in it. The tank has been running for 2 months. I have no ammonia, but i have .25 nitrite and it will not go down. What do you think - just not running long enough, or too many fish? (Added 1-3-06) —See reply.

  19. I have a question about expanding my existing pond. I currently have a 4X6 pond that is about 18" deep with two bio filtration falls (one 16 inch bio fall and one home made up-filter made out of a 6 gallon office wastepaper basket and filter media) and about 1500 gallons of flow between my two pumps. Like most first time builders I built much too small. The problem is that my fish are now well established (4 5-6" comets, two 5" fantails and one 7" butterfly koi) and I would like to expand the pond on its existing site while keeping the fish alive... (Added 11-23-05) —See reply.

  20. Our beautiful clear, clean pond just got contaminated by a fair amount of dirt. The waterfall portion is on a slope, and a gopher dug around the side of it and pushed dirt up and over the side of the waterfall and into the pond... (Added 11-10-05) —See reply.

  21. was also wondering if it is necessary to have pump going now that it is cool? (Added 11-10-05) —See reply.

  22. We bought this house with a small pond, approx. 6' x 3' x 28" deep, don't know gallons? Would like to keep our 3 goldfish alive thru Missouri winter in it, could keep in house if abs. ness., wonder if a water tank heater would work? Nights down into 30's now, seem to be doing alright, still have pump and waterfall going,-should we? Please help as our fish seem to love us and will swim against hand and let us pet when cleaning filter, etc. Any info appreciated (Added 11-10-05) —See reply.

  23. Hello. I am the president of a condo association. We have a large outdoor garden with two ponds, one of them fairly large with four koi in them. The fish are relatively small (about 4 inches long each). We need to bring them inside for the winter and I have been the only one to volunteer to bring them in. Since I am on the third floor and weight is a consideration, I cannot have a huge tank. I read a question that you responded to in which someone was asking about putting a koi in a 20 gallon tank and you advised against it. This person's situation is slightly different, as he or she indicated that a pond was out of the question. I am not interested in harming or torturing any animal and wonder if you have some suggestions about keeping these koi inside for the winter. I'm afraid that I don't have any option but to bring them in, as I live in Minnesota. Any tips you can offer me would be welcome. (Added 11-10-05) —See reply.

  24. I have three new koi fish and it has been almost three weeks. They do not tend to swim around during the day but will come out "sorta" at night w/the light above them on. They still don't react to the food I put in once a day at night while I watch them so the question is is it normal for them to place the "hide" game and be shy for such a long time or should they be well adjusted by now. Water is good and they are in a sun room in Colorado for the winter. a 3X5 stock tank w/3 3inch fish so defnitely no overcrowding. They hide in the plants that I have also brught in and under a plastic crate that the bog plants sit on. Thank you for your time just wondering if I need to be patient. (Added 11-10-05) —See reply.

  25. Subject: dirty water: hope my story can help somebody! (Added 11-10-05) —See full text .

  26. Hi I connected 2 ponds together. My original pond sits higher then my new pond .so it has a small waterfall effect where it is connected. Here's my problem. There seems to be water going under the liner so i am losing water. I asked some one in a pond shop if liner tape would work to seal the 2 together. He said it won't work. Do you have any ideas? (Added 11-10-05) —See reply.

  27. We have a 20' X 10' koi pond with 7 Koi in Washington State. We just put crayfish into the pond based on a recommendation. Will they harm the Koi here during winter hibernation? Do you have a different suggestion to keep the pond clean? (Added 11-10-05) —See reply.

  28. I'm here in Illinois up north in Green Oaks, IL and I have a question. My Koi had babies late in the season and the three that I have are only about 2 inches at the most... So I would like to know - should I leave them in the pond outside for the winter, or should I bring them into the basement? I have moved my 100 gal quarantine tank from outside into the basement. And have everything setup and ready to go. Pump etc. What type of light would I need to put over the tank so that the babies can grow over the winter, I will also have some plants in the tank that I wanted to grow over the winter,, as well, Any help in the matter would be great not sure what to do. Grow lights or Fish lights? What does everyone do?

    Also I have two frogs that I have brought early in the year, will they make it through the winter, I have a lined pond not mud?

    Next question is that I have water hyacinth in my pond this year. They didn't do well at all this year. All my levels were fine, I do have well water, but that should be better for them? What should I do different for next season I even tried a difference place to buy them and they still turned brown leaved and didn't flower much at all?
    (Added 11-10-05) —See reply.

  29. alarming problem in an established pond (approx) 5000 Gallons, Located in East Tennesse, During extreme dry season, we have had several snapping turtles occupy our pond. Is there any possible prevention or way to deal with them after arrival? Thank you so much for your assistance (Added 9-19-05) —See reply.


  30. I live in Oregon and have a swimming pool that I have turned into a pond. It is quite deep, 12 feet at the deepest end and about 4 ft in the shallowest area, other than the steps. Yesterday I saw a great blue heron standing on the edge of the deep section, waiting. My fish who come readily to the surface when I appear to feed them were nowhere to be seen. In fact, still this morning I see no sign of my 20 or so koi. My question is this: how big a threat are heron to koi in a large deep pool where they really can't get in and wade around? Are these diving birds? I would hate to lose any of my beautiful fish but also can't imagine trying to cover my 30' by 30' pool/pond. I have already determined from articles that decoy heron don't work reliably. Any thoughts would be most helpful! Thank you! Laurie (Added 9-19-05) —See reply.


  31. We have a 1800-2000 gallon pond with 4 koi. We have two pumps running to a biological filter and want to replace the two pumps with one big one and also add a UV filter. We came across a calculation for figuring out how much a pump puts out per hour but cannot seem to find it now. We want to figure out what the equivelant of the two small pumps would be to give us a better idea on what size should be for the one big one. The calculation we saw was to fill a five gallon container and to time how long it takes. One pump took 45 seconds and the other took 1 minute. The two together took 27 seconds. Do you know of this calculation or a different one?

    One other question is, we have well water and the "general hardness" is extremely high. What are your thoughts on lowering the hardness to an acceptable level. (Added 9-10-05) —See reply.


  32. I live in Chicago in a condo building and would like to have an outdoor koi pond. I know, it might sound a little far fetched, but I'll explain. The condo is in an old loft building that can carry at least 100psf on the roof. I have a penthouse with roof rights. My unit is on the 9th floor, and will be building a roof deck adjacent to my unit on the roof of the 8th floor. It will be in the neighborhood of 2000 sq ft. My question really is what to do with the fish in the winter? My main goal would be to keep them in their pond year round, but how do I keep the water from freezing without spending a small fortune on heating bills? Is this possible, what kinda dollars might it cost? Might there be a product that is layed under the liner, kinda like a tile warmer in a bathroom, that would heat the water enough to keep it from freezing?To give you an idea of the size pond I am talking about, it would be probably no more than 18" deep, because that would be just under 100psf, and the diameter would be roughly 12 x 6, so maybe 550 gallons.
    If I can't keep them in the pond, I don't want to set up tanks inside every winter, so are there services that would winterize your fish for you? If so how far from the city, and at what cost? If I were to do this, and basically start fresh every year, would I have to wait the recommended 4 to 6 week period every time before introducing the fish back to its home pond? This would be such a beautiful addition to my proposed roof deck, I just need some guidance if it is to be done right. Any info you can provide me with would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance for your time. (Added 8-19-05) —See reply.


  33. i am having an impossible time with my pond. brown water and the skimmer is filled with muck 2 times a day. 4000 gallon pond with a 5,000 gal pump going to a pool type filter that then goes into a hydramax filter with a 37 watt uv light. also a 10,000 gal pump to the little giant waterfall with 2 pads and bio balls. i also have a large bubbler in the 6' end. i was adding barley extract now i have 2lbs of barley straw. i have made 8 - 1000 gallon water changes in the last 4 weeks. i have been adding 4 ounces of clay a week for 8 weeks. any suggestions? (Added 8-11-05) —See reply.


  34. Are there any native oxygenating plants that will grow year after year in the Midwest area? I currently live in the southwest corner of Ohio and put in a pond approximately 20 x 15 feet and 4 feet deep. The local pond store only sells oxygenating plants that live for 1 year and that seems odd to me. Even if the fish eat part of them I would hope there is something that grows here native. It seems to me that while fishing in lakes and reservoirs in southern Indiana and Ohio I have seem numerous plants that resemble water grass type plants. I've even collected some Lotus seeds from a reservoir in southern Indiana that I plan to try and grow this next year. Is it really necessary to buy plants for a pond? (Added 8-11-05) —See reply.


  35. After getting quotes on a pondless waterfall installation, my wife and i decided to install one ourselves. The problem now is that I've got leaks springing up along my streambeds. It was reccomended that I use Great Stuff! foam sealant between the rocks. It is now looking like I have more foam than rocks. Any advice on products to use to seal between the rocks? (Added 8-11-05) —See reply.


  36. I just purchased a weekend home that has a 11' x 17' x 16" deep (approx.) pond. Seems none of the average landscapers, nurseries, plumbers, etc.. can fully give me a solution to my situation: The pond is consistantly fed by a deep artisian well, constantly displacing the water & ecosystem. This makes any potential chemical treatment near impossible.

    I would like to put koi in to help keep down algae, snails & small swimming "creatures"..... (Added 7-21-05) —See reply.


  37. ...We have 6 mature gold fish ranging in size between 2 to 4” and about 3 or 4 of last years babies that are just turning gold now and probably about a dozen new babies from this spring. I know this is probably too many fish is they all grow up, so we will have to do something. We have never done a water change or added any kind of chemicals. I feed the fish only what they can eat in 2 min once to twice a day.

    1. Should I do a water change, as everything appears good? And if so how often and what about city water with chlorine in it?

    2. Should I leave the babies and see how many actually get big, or do I do something now with some of them?

    3. We introduced two new fish a couple of weeks ago; one of the small ones, but with neat markings had a white cloudy spot on its mouth after about a week in the pond. It would hide a lot and it never ate any of the food I gave the fish. I can’t find it now; would the other fish have eaten it? (Added 7-21 -05) —See reply.


  38. We recently brought some water plants at the Darien, Illinos show. All told six plants, they have multiplied by the day it seems. Now the pond is 80-90% covered.Is this a good thing or should we cut back a bit? Anticipate any response, thank you. (Added 7-21-05) —See reply.

  39. I live in northeastern Ohio. I have a homemade pond in the backyard, about 500-750 gallons. The pond has a black plastic liner. I just went outside and the plastic liner has risen up from the ground; I removed some rocks and looked under the plastic liner. There is ground water that is forcing the liner to rise. This happens several times a year and I have to use a sump pump to remove all the water from beneath the liner, then put it back in place and wait for the liner to rise again. I have contacted several landscape companies and none can give me a way to fix this problem, short of installing some sort of expensive permanent sump pump in the yard. Is there a way for me to solve this problem on my own? What about removing the plastic liner altogether? (Added 6-29-05) —See reply.

  40. ...we were wanting to know how many gallons of water we have in our pond. we have calculated and figure around 1000 but our brother in law figured 800 something so now i would just like to be sure as to who is right. our pond is a round 10 ft diameter 18 in deep with a center 4ft circle that is 3 ft deep. what is your calculation? thanks again,i appreciate your help. (Added 6-29-05) —See reply.


  41. I have a very sick koi, he was gorgeous about 2 weeks ago, but then I noticed his tail fin looked "funny", so I neeted him to inspect more closely, yes indeed he had a problem, his scales were raised, eventually fell off and his tail is completely gone. I placed him in a bath with some medication for systemic infections for a few days and he looked much better, but his tail & scales were still missing. Last night he was swimming to the top gasping for air, so again I put him in a separate container with the medication, but I truly do not think he will make it.

    My pond is 8 x 13 ftx18" deep, 1900 gph waterfall pump and 1100 pump that I use when it is very warm for a fountain in pond. My fish include: 6 koi (1, the sick one, was about 13", 1 about 8" and the others under 4") there also is 2 comets and 6 goldfish and 1 10" plecastomous, all except Mr. Hoover, the largest are fine. The amonia is good, the ph is 8 (here in Watertown WI, I am told is about the correct ph) and no issue with nitrites or nitrates. I also have plants, though they aren't very large due to the continuous nibbling!

    My question is, am I over populated and if so, why did the largest and most beautiful (he is a butterfly koi) get ill? Are the rest of my fish suseptible to becoming ill too? What should I do to prevent this with the other fish? And if Mr. Hoover is still living when I get home today, is there anything I can do to aid him. I am relatively new to ponds, only 5 years, but this is a new and enlarged pond, previously I had only 250 gal pond with no issues.

    Another question I have is could I leave my fish outside during the winter? I have a deicer I could use, but I think I am too shallow for WI winters. Am I correct? Thanks for any answers you may have. I hope you have some advice to assist Mr. Hoover. (Added 6-29-05) —See reply.



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