Aquascape style pond

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Your pond is beautiful, I'd work to make it work, adding plants for filtration, it'll also enhance the pond's beauty! I hope you can find out what is ailing your koi and resolve it, problems still occur in dedicated koi ponds too.
 
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Ok Thanks everyone. Lisa can you give me a little insight on how you maintain your pond? If its not to much trouble would I be able to call you to pick your brain a bit. If I can leave this pond alone I would prefer to keep it as is. I'm being told it will not work as is. I went this way because I was told this would be the least amount of maintenance. The fella my builder hooked me up with says I have to add a couple of different additives every week with weekly 10% water changes to keep it working properly. I'm fine with this if it works. Your pond looks awesome. If I can get mine to look like that without spending every day maintaining it I'll be very happy. Name is Steve. I'm really curious what kind of filtration you have. I'm not planning on a lot of fish. I have 15 in it now and that's fine with me.

The main work of filtration is provided by the plants in my pond. THAT'S IT. I do not do water changes. Ever. I don't add bacteria. Ever. I don't add algaecide. Ever. Nothing goes in the pond but water and plants - lots of them. The other thing this pond relies on to keep the water healthy for the fish is the biofilm and bacteria that develop all over those rocks and gravel that are in the pond. Lots of people will tell you rocks and gravel are bad news in a pond. I'm here to tell you that's not been my experience. A SHALLOW layer of gravel on the bottom of the pond and the rock walls give the good pond bacteria lots of surface to cling to and multiply to help keep your pond in good balance. Your rocks will also develop a good growth of algae, which is another source of filtration for your pond.

It might be hard to see from the picture I shared because it's a literal jungle. Here's a winter picture where everything is more bare so you can see where the pond begins and ends:

March 2018.JPG


This is from March 1. The area to the left of the waterfall is the planted bog filter - as you can see from the first picture, anything I plant there grows like crazy. I'm a huge believer in bogs - so easy to maintain, they add beauty to your pond, and they keep the pond crystal clear and the water healthy for your fish.

A well balanced eco-system style pond requires very little actual maintenance. The only real work I do in or around the pond involves the plants - I keep them groomed and trimmed and divided, just like you would any garden plants. It does take time for your pond to mature - we were told to expect 2-3 years before our pond found it's balance, which proved to be exactly right. The fish will grow larger and produce more waste and the plants will grow bigger as a result and soon everything will be right where it needs to be.

Having said all of that - it does sound like your fish are experiencing some issues. My advice to you would be to 1. Stop adding things to the pond. That only increases the level of stress your fish are experiencing. And 2. get some good advice from some people here who understand fish diseases and problems. I really have zero experience in that area as my fish have never been sick or experienced any issues. My main goal was to reassure you that your pond is NOT the issue.
 
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I love my eco-pond! I have a waterfall filter with media that allows the growth of beneficial bacteria. Other than that, plants are my filter. I recommend watching youtube videos from Eric Triplett - The Pond Digger. He has videos and tutorials on both dedicated koi ponds, with fancy everything - as well as eco-ponds that allow Mother Nature to do the work. You have to be at peace with algae and a biofilm, etc., in order to have a happy eco-pond. I just really enjoy mine!!!!! Your pond is beautiful!!!! I hope your fish get all squared away so you can enjoy the gorgeous pond you have.
 
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Lisa's pond is a great example to follow.
I think eco-ponds are easier to care for because the plants will adapt to filter your pond (within reason).
With dedicated koi ponds, you are micromanaging water quality and that can be a challenge.
 
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As I get older, I'm looking at ways to simplify my pond keeping :) My pond is a hybrid, not a dedicated koi pond or an eco pond and it can be a lot of work...but I still love it :)
 
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The Pond Digger is a great resource, as are the videos by Aquascape. Both have a ton of great videos that show you lots and lots of pond that are built in the eco-pond style where koi thrive beautifully.

The biggest piece of advice I would give anyone who is keeping koi in an eco-pond is to manage your fish load. If your measurements are accurate, you have somewhere between 7 and 8000 gallons which is great for the number of fish you have right now. Koi get really large really fast! They are fun to watch grow.

Stay off the dedicated koi pond forums - they are extremely knowledgable about the style ponds they own (basically swimming pools for koi), but they will scare you half to death about a rocked pond. I hung out on a few the first few years I had my pond (until they kicked me off - haha!) and tried to add balance to the conversation about keeping koi in garden ponds. They all just kept repeating "Your koi WILL die. They may not be dead yet, but they WILL DIE." They would warn me about the toxic build up that my rocks and gravel would cause that would eventually be the end of my fish, and apparently me, too, if I dared dip a toe in the water. Aquascape was a literal swear word on some of those sites - you couldn't even post the name. And to be honest, you may even hear that here - not as much as you would have a few years ago, and not with the same vitriol, but there are still some DKP people here who will tell you to get the rocks out of your pond if you hope to be successful. But there are also lots of people who are willing to look at the results that others have and concede that eco-ponds are an excellent home to koi AND goldfish. To anyone who would say "get the rocks out" I would say "get the plants IN" - because an eco-pond isn't balanced without plants.

The one thing I question is your pump size - if your pond is as large as you believe it is, your pump seems undersized. Your goal should be to turn over the water 1 to 1.5 times per hour. A 6000 GPH pump sounds close, but it would be right at the lowest end of what would be recommended. I would talk to the guy who built your pond to find out how he chose the pump size.

The one argument I have with Aquascape-style pond builders is the clean outs they recommend you do to your pond. You'll see videos where they completely empty the pond of fish and water and hosing down or even power-washing the rocks. Some people want that "new pond" look every year and pond builders like the revenue stream. I would never strip a pond down like that - you end up with "new pond syndrome" year after year. Let your pond develop that lovely algae and biofilm that adds so much to the balance of the pond. If you have some reading time, search for Meyer Jordan here on the GPF - Meyer was an extremely knowledgable pond builder and pond keeper who, sadly passed away last December. But he was a regular contributor to this forum and he left a wealth of information and advice here that you can read.

Hang in there! There's not a single first time pond owner who hasn't had moments of being nervous about whether or not their pond was going to function properly, or if they are doing all the right things, or if their fish all look OK. If all goes well, you'll be back here in a few weeks posting "DO I HAVE A LEAK??" Haha!
 

cas

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As everyone has said - decide what kind of pond you want before determining who to listen to. You have a gorgeous aquascape style pond and if it were me I would work with it instead of fighting it to become a dedicated koi pond. Welcome to the forum @SEKCOBRA !
 
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As everyone has said - decide what kind of pond you want before determining who to listen to. You have a gorgeous aquascape style pond and if it were me I would work with it instead of fighting it to become a dedicated koi pond. Welcome to the forum @SEKCOBRA !

AND if your goal is low-maintenance, you don't want to be a dedicated koi pond owner, in my opinion. I've never actually done it, but I've read enough about it to know that it's not for me. If I had to deal with filter clean outs and back washes and what not on a regular basis I would have never wanted a pond. I'm a lazy gardener!
 

j.w

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Me too I vote easy and lazy, sit back and enjoy the plants and the fish.
That's why I have goldfish but koi are beautiful too :happy:
 
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Let your pond develop that lovely algae and biofilm that adds so much to the balance of the pond. If you have some reading time, search for Meyer Jordan here on the GPF - Meyer was an extremely knowledgable pond builder and pond keeper who, sadly passed away last December. But he was a regular contributor to this forum and he left a wealth of information and advice here that you can read.

Hang in there! There's not a single first time pond owner who hasn't had moments of being nervous about whether or not their pond was going to function properly, or if they are doing all the right things, or if their fish all look OK. If all goes well, you'll be back here in a few weeks posting "DO I HAVE A LEAK??" Haha![/QUOTE]

Oh my gosh!!!!! I didn't know Meyer passed away! Oh wow... that is so sad! He took so much knowledge with him when he left. He was a very smart pond guy. :(
 
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A simple Question ... how old is the tank at the time of the first photo....... The water quality looks great.
 
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Thanks everyone. Lisa thanks so much for the advice. I'm going to give it a shot as is. That picture was a few days ago. I have not had any issues with water quality since I opened it in October. Check my PH KH Ammonia Nitrite Phosphate every day since all the ice melted. PH is on the high side around 8 most of the time KH about 140ppm Ammonia and Nitrite 0 until a few days ago. Ammonia went up a tick in last two days about 0.30. Over the winter I got a good amount of string algae. Then suddenly it disappeared. Fish got hungry and ate all of it in 2 days. I have a issue now, seems to be with one fish mostly. Probably a parasite of some kind. Koi guy had me Salt the pond to 0.30 %. I'm going to let that be for a little while and see if the fish recovers. Then my plan is to do water changes to remove the salt, buy plants and see how it goes. I'm thinking my pond is 3500-4000 gallons. I think my pump is cycling the water almost twice an hour. Lisa I'm amazed how little you do and have no problems. I would love to see my pond look like yours some day. I'm not going to overstock my pond with fish. There are 15 in it now and I think that's my limit. Although Aquascape guy says my bog filter is massive and he says I can put 40 fish in with no problem. Even if it could handle that which I don't believe for a second its not going to happen. I know what you mean with the Aquascape being a bad word. The aquascape guy wants me to add different things like bacteris and other stuff once a week. I have read others say its totally unnecessary and a waste of money. Again a lot of different opinions on everything. I have already bought all the bottles of stuff so don't know what I'm going to do there yet. I'm shocked you never clean out the bottom of your pond? I would think that would have to be done occasionally. Anyway thanks everyone for the advice. I was stressing out before I found this site. I needed to see that this pond could work. I'll look up and read those threads you talked about. Thanks again
 
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Oh, no problem... you've had a lot going on!

Here's the thing with most pond pros - they make money building your pond, but that's typically a one time thing. They create a revenue stream by getting you on a schedule of regular clean outs and selling you products. I don't blame them for trying to make a living - I'm just sorry that most of what they recommend is either unnecessary or even counterproductive.

The bacteria won't hurt anything - go ahead and use it up. I don't recommend any algaecide - those can be harmful, and can set you up for a cycle of killing algae - growing algae - killing algae - etc. The thing is, anytime you kill off the algae it only feeds more algae growth. The secret is to get the pond in balance on it's own and you won't have an algae problem. Like I said, the first two or three years can be a balancing act, but wait it out and you'll see great results!

String algae is very common in the spring - it's both telling you that your water is a high in nutrients and helping to remove them at the same time. As you noted either your fish will eat it, or when the other plants get going they will take up all the nutrients and the algae will disappear. If you get too much, just scoop it out.

Your pH is fine by the way - don't worry about trying to get that down. Fish can handle stable pH in that range far better than they can constant ups and downs which is what you can cause when you start chasing pH. Our pH was near 9 for the first year or so - no problems. Then at some point in year three I checked it just out of curiosity and it was down to just below 8. We hadn't changed a thing - just let the pond do it's thing.

And you are right to decide this is the perfect amount of fish for your pond - you may find them increasing the population all on their own!
 

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