Ponds - Construction, Filtration, Retrofits, Biosecurity, Keeping Koi
The other day, I was talking to Syd Mitchell, Water Quality Guru Extraordinaire. We were discussing ponds that have the propensity to pH crash, and he said he knew of some folks using an Automatic Dosing system for Baking Soda (if you don't know why stable pH or why adding Baking Soda may be important to your pond, you might want to invest a few bucks, and read "Alkalinity and pH"). Syd was explaining how to make your own dosing system - schematic and more info after the break...
There is a new monitoring system available for Koi ponds that measures pH and KH3 (not TAN), as well as temperature and water level. It graphs the results of pH and KH3, and sends alerts to your phone or computer. WOW! More info and the web site link below the break...
Here's a pic of my pond this morning! Typical January day in Connecticut... In the middle, under the evergreens is my 4-foot waterfall, and that stripe across the middle? That's the net that stays over the pond from October to April to keep the leaves down to a dull roar... Notice the Beech trees at the right keep their brown leaves all winter, dropping them occasionally. This is only 6 inches of snow - tomorrow, we're in for a blizzard with 18 inches predicted, maybe more... But I still LOVE winter - see why below the break... BTW - It's now been exactly a year since we started the K.O.I. blog, and we've posted nearly 100 articles for you to enjoy and learn from. Thanks to all our contributors! If you find it useful, or have ideas for articles - please email me: pattist@snet.net Thanks for being here!
My ponds are finally coming out of winter, and the endless pursuit for better water quality this year has started! I found this great article from Don Harrawood, Southwest Koi and Pond Association El Paso, TX. It's great, detailed info on how to build one yourself, and I wanted to pass it along to all our readers. There are lots of commercial versions available for sale (see one in use in the picture below) - but DIY is so much cheaper and more satisfying!
Someone asked me this question, and I researched the following answer.
Ultraviolet lamps are comprised of two electrode filaments (the spring looking wire at each end), a glass and quartz combination vacuum tube, several inert gases and approximately 3 mg of mercury (Hg).
One of my mentors in the Koi hobby was a guy called Roark, who used to have the most fabulous web site! This article was originally posted on www.click2roark.com. This is still considered the bible on Potassium Permanganate use. PLEASE READ COMPLETELY BEFORE EVER USING PP!
This information was first posted in our "Question of the Week" area.
What’s MOST important to Koi during a power outage? Quick answer – AIR! Koi require oxygen to live, and without an air pump or a water fall running, they will quickly consume all available oxygen in the pond and die!
This information was first posted in our "Question of the week."
Water changes. Most of us don’t do enough of them! The list of benefits is nearly endless, and doing more water changes is probably the simplest, cheapest thing we can do to improve any existing pond.
This information was first posted in our "Question of the Week."
Which of the following is NOT recommended for use as filter media - hair rollers, lava rock, Japanese matting, Kaldness media, Matala or bio balls?
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