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  2. ... It is in full sun around 9 hours a day and has 7 water lilies 12 oxygenators and 4 other plants. When we first put the pond in it had 7 koi fish and the water was clear with green rocks on the bottom looked great, then we got 20 more koi 3 days later the water started turning green now we can only see down 3 " MAYBE...(Added 9-17-06) —See reply.


  3. I have tried to make a filter myself but I have run into a leaking problem, my Mom told me just buy one....but I am not sure about the gph. My pump that I have is a cal pump PW4500 that runs 4500 gph so that mean that I need a filter that runs 4500 gph. I am confused because the bio filter that is to go with this pump only runs 2000 gph. Does that mean that I can use any bio filter of my choice that runs 2000 gph? It just does not sense to me. I am having a problem with green water and I know that bio filter will most likely be the answer to my water problems. (Added 9-17-06) —See reply.


  4. Early this week our pond started to get very murky, almost tea colored. Can you recommend a method or product to use to clear it again? (Added 9-17-06) —See reply.
  5. My wife bought me a UV filter for our 3000 gal pond with the hope it would kill the algae. It looks like it would be difficult to plumb into my Biofalls filter system. Is it worth the trouble and would it, in fact, even kill off the algae and help keep my pond cleaner. Right now I have a pretty big algae problem. I've also tried large bales of barley straw in the waterfall tub where the water enters the pond. Other than dying the water a dark tea brown I'm not sure the barley straw is doing much. What are your opinions of the UV filter and barley straw? (Added 6-22-06) —See reply.


  6. I have a question from MPKS member Carol B. . Her Koi fish have been changing colors the last couple of years and she wanted to know what she can do to help prevent this. This year, she had a 1 year old fish that was White with 3 Orange spots. The fish lost all it's spots and is pure White now. She also had a 3 year old fish starting late last year into this year, changing from Black to Gray. Also early last year she had a 10 year old fish change from Orange,Black,and Red color to White and Black. She has been feeding them Tetra Pond Sticks. She doesn't have a problem with diseases and hasn't lost a fish in years. The water quality is good. The pond is in full sun and the water is clear. Any suggestion would be helpful. (Added 6-21-06) —See reply.


  7. Over the last 3 months (since the winter started) we have lost approximately 6 fish to ulcers in their sides and top of head. We were told it was because we left the pump on over the cold weather and therefore pushing cold water constantly to the bottom of the tank - this was stressing the fish. Since the warmer weather started we have treated the pump with an anti-bacterial treatment and also an anti-ulcer treatment. We have a lot of lilies so the fish do get shade from them but we have notices that during the past 3 weeks we have another 3 fish showing signs of ulcers. We feed some flake (Tetra flake) for the smaller fish and some pellets (also Tetra) for the larger fish. We also have a lot of blanket weed. Do you have any suggestion as to what we can do or are doing wrong? We are getting very desperate now. (Added 6-21-06) —See reply.


  8. We have enjoyed your many tips and advice through your web site. We hope that you can help us with a decision on purchasing a UV sterilizer. (Added 6-21-06) —See reply.


  9. We have a 3 year-old 3000 gal pond with plenty o' circulation. No ammonia, nitrate problems, but pH was high, at 9, last week, which I attributed to the heavy rains recently. We did our second 30% water changes of the season and saw the pH come down to 8. we don't have many show quality koi, but our prized 12" sanke(of course, the nicest, and only, one) lost a lot of color overnight. All colors faded considerably overnight several days after a 30% water change. Is the fading related to the pH levels, the water change, or something completely different? How do we maintain proper pH in such a large pond? (Added 6-21-06) —See reply.


  10. Our family moved into a house w/ an enormous 17' x 22' steel pond in the backyard. It hasn't been used for years and is rusty. We've scraped and sanded w/ a steel brush and are now ready to paint. The trouble is, what type of paint to use that will be friendly to aquatic [plant and animal] life? And do we need a primer? (Added 6-21-06) —See reply We are experiencing an increase in the Nitrite level in our pond. How can we get this down? We have 0 ammonia, pH = 7.5 and we salted to about 0.1%. Koi are all eating and doing well it seems. The Nitrite registers at the first 0.25 ppm after 5 minutes. Will the microbe lift/Nite-out product work for this? (Added 6-2-06) —See reply.


  11. We have recently seen 3 ducks in our Koi Pond. We currently have about 2 dozen Comets and Shubunkins and 2 each 12 inch Koi. The comets seem to provide offspring every fall. Are there any advantages and or disadvantages to the ducks stopping here? If not, any suggestions as a deterrent? (Added 6-2-06) —See reply.


  12. Please help, my mother is driving me mad with her pond. It is in direct sunlight through the day and i know she has too many fish for the size that it is. I would guess that it's 12 x 12 x 4 at the deepest. The water has already turned green and the two brush type filter boxes that she has just can't keep up with it. I often see people giving away their above swimming pools with the filters. Could the pumps and filters be cleaned and used for pond use? (Added 6-2-06) —See reply.
  13. I recently purchased a home with a pond that I believe to be 500-750 gallons but I have no idea what to do with it! There aren't any fish and I haven't seen any plants pop up yet. It is tarp lined and all that I've noticed growing is mosquito larva. I would like to keep it, but I don't want it to be too much work. I have cleaned it out thoroughly with a net and have installed a pump and filter. Where do I go from here? (Added 5-3-06) —See reply.


  14. We have had a couple of interesting things happen in the natural pond in our backyard the last two summers. We have lived here 19 years and these are both firsts. Last summer, after a heavy rain, we found over twenty crayfish in our inground swimming pool which is about 60 feet from the pond. This happened twice. What would cause them to want to enter our pool?

    This spring we looked out and could see an orange glow in the pond and found there to be well over 100 goldfish that are six to eight inches long in the pond. We live in Minnesota and the pond's deepest point is four feet deep, it is 300 feet long and 100 feet wide. We do know that a neighbor put five goldfish from their home aquarium into the pond last summer. Would these goldfish have reproduced and grown this large in this short amount of time? What will happen to them? Will they continue to multiply at an alarming rate? (The pond is also treated monthly from May through September to prevent the growth of algae and other weeds and is not a DNR controlled pond.) (Added 5-3-06) —See reply.

  15. Hi, I hope you can help me, because I've been trying to figure out if this is feasible, and I'd really appreciate your input.

    I live in Iowa City, Iowa, and I have a (somewhat) large pond in my backyard. It is roughly 220 feet by 100 feet. It is in the remains of an old limestone quarry, and is fed in the winter by an underground spring at one end. The water has an average depth of 3 feet, with a deepest point about 10 feet.

    Our house sits on the edge of the quarry, and we often spend time on the deck looking down at the fish in the pond. There is a very healthy (some HUGE) carp that live in the pond, and while I know koi aren't the same thing as grass carp, I can't help imagine how beautiful they would be in this pond. I'm just trying to figure out if you think it would be possible to put fish in this pond. I'm not looking for any prize winning koi, but I believe that some pond quality koi would look really nice. (Added 5-3-06) —See reply.



  16. Thank you very much for getting back to me so quickly! I've been thinking about this for over a year, and I really didn't know where to start, so I really appreciate your feedback. So the pond is surrounding by 60 foot cliffs on 3 sides (one of which our house is on) so the viewing from above is really quite good. The water is definitely not "gin clear", but its quite easy to see almost anything from above, just because of the height from above. We've always thought of it as our private aquarium. The pond is reasonably shallow, and allows a remarkably good view of 80% of the pond from the deck.

    This is one of the reasons I'm really interested in seeing if we can put something in there. I'm actually a 23 year old medical student, and this is my parent's house, but I grew up playing in the pond, and as a biology major and a self proclaimed "fish nerd" and fisherman I think I have a pretty good idea of the ecosystem down there.

    I know the predominate species is grass carp, and while there are a few small bass, they're population is probably 1/80th of the grasscarp. There are no panfish as I have seen, and if there are any other species they are very reclusive. I just know that because the pond is well suited for grass carp, they definitely have the run of the place, and its always fun to watch them. In regards to predators, we occasionally have a great blue heron that comes by (which I know could have a field day), and every once in a while have raccoons, but most of the terrestrial predators are minimized because the quarry cliffs come down the water on 3 sides, affording almost no standing room. There is no outlet to an above ground waterway, and the only reason we know there's a spring feeding in is because one end never freezes in the winter. Last night I ordered a water testing kit, just to make sure that the water quality was within reasonable parameters for koi. Again, I really want to thank you for getting back to me, and I just have a few more questions.

    A) If I got some sort of koi, is it possible to get some kind of pond quality koi. I'm not looking for any grand champions here, but I'm just trying to get something pretty to look at from above. And because its such a big pond, and predation could be a problem, I feel like I'd need to put in a high quantity of fish (any ideas for where to buy, cost, numbers to introduce?).

    B) Would I still need to feed these fish pellets in this natural environment, or would it be possible for them to feed off the natural ecosystem. Ideally I don't want to have to feed the fish, because I think its unlikely that I could feed the Koi selectively over the grasscarp, and I get the feeling that could get expensive. Also I don't really want to make the koi targets from avian predators.

    If you could help me with these questions, I would really appreciate it. My father is from Japan, and I know it would make his day to see koi in his backyard. (Added 5-3-06) —See reply.


  17. We are in the process of "redoing" our pond. We originally did our pond with the acquascape system, and have been slowly redoing it as we have realize that it wasn't very efficient. My husband did build and dig it out himself. We have been very lucky that our koi have been healthy, but we have been very diligent with cleaning, water changes etc. However, we are ditching the all the gravel (we don't have a lot left) and would like to get a new liner, and put in a bottom drain. However, we would like some advice on the best type of filtration system to get for our pond. My husband will be doing a lot of the work himself as he is quite knowledgable in plumbing and electrical. We will most likely hire someone to help dig and also remove boulders.

    However, my main questions are:

    --What brands would you recommend for a filtration system?

    --What bottom drain brands or systems would you recommend? (Added 4-11-06) —See reply.


  18. we have an outside pond full of goldfish. I have fed them all winter but the other day I was told to not feed them between Oct through Mar, then start them on cheerios cereal. I would like to know at least for next winter. (Added 4-5-06) —See reply.

  19. I am a new ponder (purchased a new home at Christmas). I have read with much interest your website and contributions. When is the correct time to begin feeding my fish? Any help would be greatly appreciated. (Added 4-5-06) —See reply.

  20. i have just spring cleaned my pond, i stock approx 45 - 50 goldfish, shubunkins and golden orfe. i have discovered that i have several baby crayfish approx 1-2cm long. will these crayfish harm my other fish, and if so how can i get rid of them? (Added 3-26-06) —See reply.

  21. i recently bought 4 butterfly koi. i was wondering if there is shows for them like there is for regular koi. my pond is 700 gallons and i was wandering if this will be alright when the are fully grown (Added 3-26-06) —See reply.

  22. I purchased a house over the winter months and the backyard came complete with a run down dirty koi pond. The owner told me that they removed the heater when they moved. So the pond and fish sat unsupervised for months. I did not pay much attention to it over the winter since it was dirty and cold outside. On the first really nice weekend day I looked in the pond and I couldn't believe it...I have koi fish that survived. There are also a couple of plecastemus (sp). My problem is that through the fall all the leaves from the surrounding trees fell into the pond and I have no clue where to start. I love the idea of a pond, but I am feeling very overwhelmed. It is hard to find good information and specifics about how to start over when your pond is already built with living fish in it. I am afraid of killing my koi. (Added 3-25-06) —See reply.

  23. ...The last two winters we have lost our largest fish while the others seem to be fine. I think that maybe they just get too big for the pond (approx 1250 gals.), and don't enough oxygen. The ones we have lost are wonderfully colored, and obviously quite big ( our lagest ever was about 10lbs). Questions: 1. would adding a air stone help? 2. does anyone make a stone that has a pump that can be outside? 3. am I right in my assumption regarding the size/oxygen? ... (Added 3-25-06) —See reply.

  24. ...My major question of course is how do I get rid of the string algae? How long should it take to get rid of it? Should I treat the pond in the winter? Must I figure out some way to shade the pond? (Added 3-22-06) —See reply.

  25. I live in Lewiston Idaho and have a 300 gallon pond. My koi had babies last summer around Sept. I pulled them out of the pond and put them [11 total] in an aquarium in my house. How do I successfully transfer them to the pond. Please be somewhat specific as I am new at this pond thing. (Added 3-22-06) —See reply.

  26. I have kept my koi inside for the winter. How do I:
    get their immune systems up before reintroduction to the pond?
    get the PH level similar to the pond?
    get the pond as good for them as it can be - reduce "nasties"
    get good bacteria going?

    Do I put in one or two at a time, then a couple more? (There are 2 koi who stayed in the pond over winter). (Added 3-22-06) —See reply.

  27. Hi...We have a 3000 gallon Koi pond and are located in Louisville, KY. My question is: Is there a simple was to tell the sex of the Koi? We have been very successful this year without trying to be. We have baby Koi every where. We are planning on adding to our pond by building a separate pond with a water fall connecting them. I would like to be able to separate the males from the females so that we do not become over populated. I am trying to find homes for the baby Koi, and there are a few perfectly marked ones that I wish to keep. I really do not like the Idea of them becoming feeder fish. The adult Koi that we have are imported Koi and the baby Koi are about 3 inches long now and are getting their color and patterns. They are going to be really striking specimens. I would appreciate any insight that you could possibly give me. (Added 3-22-06) —See reply.

  28. Hi, I was wondering if you can suggest a pond vacuum for me, I want to be able to get the muck and dirt from the bottom of the pond and also be able to return the (clean?) water back into the pond at the same time, is this at all possible? (Added 3-22-06) —See reply.

  29. hello my name is james ... iam making a 3 cotainer vortex system, my first tank is the vortex where the waste settles,comes in from bottom up to the top into a tube down the tube and out of the settling tank bottom, Is this right, then back up to the mechanical tank top the water drops trought the brushes and out the bottom is this right, then pipes back up to the top of the biological tank where I could have a spray bar with a tee so air would get in trought the top of the tee, dripping water on japanease matting then down to bioballs and out the bottom of barrel is this right, then going out from bottom to a sand filter, this is opional...then to a pump. Please let me know if all this is right and if I need any corretions please help,. I have a 7500gallon pond stoked with about 20 nice size koi, please help to let me know what size pump to use. also how does the pump pump water to each barrel if the pump is after the last filter, wouldn't it just suck air, after it sucked all the water from the last barrel, I know it is all gravity fed, how is it pushing water out from the bottom drains? (Added 3-8-06) —See reply.

  30. I originally had 3 plecostemus in my cement pond with waterfalls - approximately 8 ft by about 3 ft pond that grew to almost a foot long and had babies that are getting big also. I was considering trying to catch a few of them & put them into a local canal here in south Florida. I have plants with goldfish & guppies in my pond. The plecos seem to eat all my floating fish food & I didn't think I needed that many. Is it ok to release them to a local canal. (Added 3-8-06) —See reply.



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