Bought a new house...have a pond with koi and need some help.

[WhiteNoise]

So the last owner left their koi in the pond when they moved out. (I'm related to the seller). She moved over seas and is not available for help. The pond is concrete with a sprayed on black liner. There is no drain system installed from what I can see either.

I have no experience with garden ponds but I do have around 4 years of experience with indoor aquariums. Still; my knowledge is limited to freshwater aquariums and I admit I'm not sure what should be done about this pond.

The first thing I did was pull out my water testing kit and make sure the water is good. It is. A bit on the hard side but all in all good. Taking some quick measurements that pond seems to be around 987 US gallons. It's inner measurements: 17 feet long, 3'11" wide and ONLY 2'5" deep. Is the depth okay? Most ponds should be like 4 feet deep shouldn't they? Living in southern California means I can get away with a shallower pond maybe? At this depth though I'm concerned about big birds....like the crane that seems to hang out from time to time. So I figure I should net the top of the pond now too.

So looking at the pond it seems somewhat neglected to me. Lots of leaves resting at the bottom of the pond and a ton of green stringy algae on all the side walls. I know algae can be good but I wonder if this is too much. It's quite long. Should this be removed? By hand? By chemical?

There's a couple of plants in there as well. one looks like a Lilly type plant but it looks mostly dead. The other is...well I don't even know. It looks like its doing okay but could be better. Should I be adding plat food to this pond? I had live plants in my indoor aquarium and I had to add nutrients to the water every so often. Should I do the same now?

Looking over the filter and pump system I'm not too impressed. There is a fairly large shallow box with screen and filter that lays at the bottom of the pond; a water line runs up to a pump that is designed for a small water feature not a pond of this size but I could be wrong. From there it was pumping water back into the pond via another tube but I put together a small water fall fixture and ran the tubes up on it to get more oxygen in the water. This is only temporary but will get me by for awhile.

The pump IMO is too small for this pond and I think I should upgrade. I'm having a hard time finding info on it but the name is: Buddy L EEF150 (swimming pool pump)

Other than the foam type filter that in that shallow box I don't know if the pump itself has any filtration built in. Should I add pebbles to the bottom of the pond? Or leave it as is? So if someone could point me in the right direction on any of these concerns of mine I'd be very grateful.

I'll take some pictures as well.

 

[sissy]

you will need to get the leaves out and maybe thin out some of those plants they may be root bound in there .you should invest in a pond pump ,pool pumps are energy hogs

 

[j.w]

WhiteNoise
Nice looking pond and you could fix it up really nice w/ more plants and a good clean up, new pump/filter. Gravel/rocks on the bottom make it harder to keep clean. If you leave it bare it will be easy to take a long handled net and scoop out debris whenever it builds up. You can make your own filter that you can find instructions for in the DIY forum. Since you have koi and such a shallow pond you will need a good filter to keep it clean. How many koi do you have, cuz those guys can get really big. Lots of peeps here have plants they might be willing to send you just for postage if you need anymore. Being as shallow as it is and that you've seen the birds around you might want to have a net handy when you aren't out there enjoying it. You could prolly rig up one easy for that shape of a pond. Maybe a roll out one or one w/ pvc sides attached to the netting that you could lift off in sections. Make sure tho that the net is up off the water high enough so the heron's long beak can't just poke through and hurt your fish trying to get at them. Hope this helps some.

 

[WhiteNoise]

Very helpful thanks.

Right now I have 3 Koi (one is easily over 1 1/2 feet long. She has been with the pond for 4-5 years I'm told.) (two are young and about 7-8" each) Then there are two large gold fish and 3 smaller cold water fish but I'm not sure what they are. Kinda look like mini koi but they aren't. Long fins with white and gold bodies. You can see one of them in the picture above. These guys are like 3" long.

I don't plan to add more fish. I just want to take care of these and the pond. I'd only add more as they die of old age and from what I've read these little guys might outlive me! lol


What should I do about the algae? Or is this okay?

 

[addy1]

The algae I see in that one picture of the side of the pond, is the carpet algae, i.e. good type algae. It does not look like the string algae that likes to take over. Your water looks pretty clear. Do like jw mentioned get a pool net, they have a nice flat edge that scoops up leaves very nicely.
I would not put any rocks on the bottom, it does make it hard to clean the pond.
2.5 feet should be fine for your area. You might need to net it if that crane seems to like to eat out of your pond.

Check the diy section like jw stated, there are some filters you could build, or post a picture of the filter you have, you might be able to modify it a little so it works better. A pool pump does tend to use more electricity, you may want to swap it out. I have not heard of the one you have. When you do a search on it, the search only shows cartridge filters for that number.

And Welcome!

 

[DrCase]

With a little work that will be a great looking pond

 

[j.w]

W-N the white/gold ones are goldfish also just a fancy variety w/ long flowing fins which are a very pretty fish to have! I'm trying to find some myself!

 

[rebelangel_3733]

Welcome! Pretty pond!

 

[WhiteNoise]

Thanks everyone.

 

[koiguy1969]

yep...could easily make that pond real nice!! gotta ask...whitenoise, get that name from the phenomenon or the movie?

 

[taherrmann4]

Welcome to the forum. Like the others have said with a little work that could be a really nice looking pond. I would get rid of the pool pump and get a pond pump as Sissy stated.

 

[fishin4cars]

Welcome aboard, and like the others stated, with a little work could be a very nice showcase. 2.5' is a little shallow but it will work. With your measurements I come up with closer to 1200 gallons, which for the fish load you have should be fine, filtration, well that needs some serious looking into but it can be a fun weekend project and doesn't have to cost a bunch of money to make something that is very effective. A skippy filter with a water fall flowing out and plants in the top could be dressed up to look really nice. The pond can handle it's own right now as it has balanced so leave things running and just remove the leaves until you get the new filter up and running and it becomes balanced as well. I would also consider using some floating plants when the water starts to warm up since the pond is shallow. this will help cool the water and also help remove nitrates produced by the fish and help keep the water clearer, but be aware that the biggest koi might eat some of the floating plants from time to time. You have a good start to work with, the hard parts done, stick around enjoy the fun and welcome to water gardening! If you liked aquariums you'll love your pond!

 

[WhiteNoise]

yep...could easily make that pond real nice!! gotta ask...whitenoise, get that name from the phenomenon or the movie?

phenomenon. I forgot about that movie.

And again thanks for all the valuable input. It's appreciated.

 

[koiguy1969]

oh yeah "Phenominon" was a great movie...John Travolta... but Michael Keaton did a movie called "White Noise". also good...about the dead communicating thru electronics....T.Vs, computers, radios.. in the static, channels that were off air (white snowy screen, static) etc...

 

[CountryEscape]

Your plant that Sissy mentioned might be root bound I think is called an Umbrella palm, and you could easily make 3-5 more plants like it, if you were so inclined. The lily looks ok, maybe it's your "winter" and it is somewhat hibernating, not sure. Again, it may be root bound and just needs to be separated. I agree, the white and orange fish are definitely fancy goldfish.
Once you net out the leaves and gunk on the bottom (do it slowly so as not to mix things up too much) you will see lots of improvement! Also, something I noted in your pics, be VERY careful how you set up your waterfall. I see you have that extra rock for the water to splash off of, then go into the pond. Good idea, unless things shift and that rock leans the wrong way, then your pump will empty your pond onto the ground. Make certain that this cannot happen. Where I live, the wind alone would cause lots of the water to end up on the ground, but I suspect you don't have to deal with wind too much.
Lots of possibilities with your pond, and I'm sure you will enjoy checking out the DIY filter systems and soon have not only a new filter system, but maybe higher waterfall on the one end. You could always use your existing waterfall on the opposite end from the filter end waterfall. It will be fun, so keep posting pics as you go.
Oh, trust me, string algae grows fast and LONG! I had some that was over 3' long, and not bragging by any means, as it's nasty stuff, and hard to get rid of. Not sure if this stuff works as well in CA as here, but I like to use a beneficial bacteria product called Pond Perfect. Other manufacturers have it as well. The part I like about it the most is that it helps "bind" the muck on the bottom, so when I net it out, it literally comes out in a mat, no stirring done to the water. I use it only once a month in the spring through fall here in IL.
Good luck! Look forward to more pics.