Bought house with koi pond, need help with set up

[Regina]

Hello,

We bought a house with a koi pond and are trying to figure out how to maintain it, since previous owners did not leave instructions.

We have about 6-8 large Koi (20 inches) and around 8 small Koi (8 inches). The pond has a water fall that is fed from a pump in skimmer and small airator. There are filter pads in the water fall and a bag of stones to hold it down.

We bought a 4000 gph pump and a pressurized filter with uv light to clean it. We also got a larger airator.

Where should we put the 4000 gph pump? I’m worried that fish or frogs will get in it. Currently we use the pump that was in the skimmer before to go into pressure filter and then into water fall but we will change this since the waterfall flow is reduced with the addition of pressure filter.

There is also an area to the right side of waterfall that is separate from the pond and has nothing in it, about 2 inches of water. What could that be for?

I tested water with a drop kit and the phosphate was 2.0 and ph 9.0, ammonia and nitrate were at the lowest level of test kit.

One of the larger koi was swimming on its side on Saturday. We added more water and treated with the water conditioner and now it is swimming normal again but a little less active compared to the other koi. It also started eating again.

We feed the sticks for fall winter 1x per day and only as much as they eat in a few minutes. They come up to the surface and open their mouths and swim around with mouths open and closed and also eat the roots of plants. Not sure if we feed enough/not enough/too much.

Temperature in water was 68 but not sure if thermometer works correctly. We are in Delaware.

It would be great if you could help with pump placement and if we have enough filtration etc. We clean the pads with a water hose a few times per week. Pond was off until March because we could not figure out how to turn it on initially. There was a heater in it which we took out when we turned pumps on - the heater might have increased water temperatures, not sure. It was meant to keep surface ice free.

Thank you,
Regina

 

[qclabrat]

Welcome, do you know the size of the pond? Just want to make sure you have the right size. I'm surprised your water temp is already that warm, I'm in NJ and water temp still in 40s. There's a few here I know in MD which can confirm their temps, but I'd get another thermo to be sure. BTW, no need to feed fish after water temps fall below 55. They essentially go dormant.

 

[qclabrat]

Also you mentioned the small pond adjacent. It's likely a bog filter used to remove the ammonia from the water created by the fish waste. You didn't mention a filter so it's just a guess. How does the water get into this small pond?

 

[Regina]

Also you mentioned the small pond adjacent. It's likely a bog filter used to remove the ammonia from the water created by the fish waste. You didn't mention a filter so it's just a guess. How does the water get into this small pond?

It is not deep only an inch or two. The water overflows into it. There were a lot of leaves in there, no plants or stones, just the liner. It is only 2 feet by 1.5 feet in size.

 

[Regina]

Welcome, do you know the size of the pond? Just want to make sure you have the right size. I'm surprised your water temp is already that warm, I'm in NJ and water temp still in 40s. There's a few here I know in MD which can confirm their temps, but I'd get another thermo to be sure. BTW, no need to feed fish after water temps fall below 55. They essentially go dormant.

I was surprised too and this was a new thermometer I just bought. I will get a second one. The pond is maybe around 4000 GAL (it it around 15 x 20 feet and the ledge about 1 foot and inside spot (deepest hole) is about 30 inches).
It has the filter in waterfall (2-3 pads and I bought bio balls for under the pads and lava rock in a bag on top to weigh it down) plus the pressure filter I bought which has a UV light. The waterfall is maybe 2-3 feet high.

 

[Regina]

And I got the 4000 gal pump plus one that is in there already (in a rusty housing). The pump that was in there seems to be stronger compared to the 4000 one.

Also the fish are definitely looking for food. When we feed them they pile on top of each other and are very crazy, splashing around) never had Koi before so not sure if that’s normal).

 

[Regina]

I got a Danner floating pond thermometer. Is there a better one?

 

[qclabrat]

And I got the 4000 gal pump plus one that is in there already (in a rusty housing). The pump that was in there seems to be stronger compared to the 4000 one.

Also the fish are definitely looking for food. When we feed them they pile on top of each other and are very crazy, splashing around) never had Koi before so not sure if that’s normal).

Koi are called piggies for this reason. My phone pics are too small to see your setup clearly, but will reply after I get home. Your pump could be too small for your pond. Hope you did not use it yet and could be returned for a larger if needed. Which one did you get?

 

[Regina]

The pump is the max size that the pressure filter can take. It is a supplement filter for the main filter which is the water fall. The pump is a debris handling tetra one 4000 Gph.

 

[addy1]

My pond was 68 now 54, the hot 3 days brought it right up, the cold is bringing it back down. I have the pond running, I have a lot of water surface area (the bog) to cool or warm the pond. Usually it does not jump around like it is now.

 

[qclabrat]

My pond was 68 now 54, the hot 3 days brought it right up, the cold is bringing it back down. I have the pond running, I have a lot of water surface area (the bog) to cool or warm the pond. Usually it does not jump around like it is now.

Have you started feeding?

 

[qclabrat]

Don't see the small side pond on the side, can you send some pics? Also can you better explain how the plumbing has been done?

 

[addy1]

Have you started feeding?

No I won't as long as they are chasing, want them to eat up some of the eggs dropped.

 

[Regina]

Don't see the small side pond on the side, can you send some pics? Also can you better explain how the plumbing has been done?

 

[BarbO]

Welcome! That is quite a large well stocked pond you just bought. It is well worth your time and money and learning lots of valuable info.here to keep it good for years to come. Lots of good landscaping too, especially since they are just coming out of a bad winter. I only have a tiny pond so can't help with what you need, but you will hear from others here to help..Good luck

 

[qclabrat]

ok, clearly you don't have a bog filter, the basin on top is just as you said to manage water to the water fall.
How was the water previously cleaned? You bought the new pump and filter but the previous owner must have been doing something to clean the water. Also if you have been feeding the fish and the ammonia is not high makes me wonder what I am missing. There are others here who will have questions and suggestions but continue testing the water. You can feed the koi in the same as before but not too much till we figure out what's going on. Keep the aeration going 24/7 for now. Btw, what is under the faux rock and the blue tarp? Not snooping, just investigating....

 

[Regina]

Welcome! That is quite a large well stocked pond you just bought. It is well worth your time and money and learning lots of valuable info.here to keep it good for years to come. Lots of good landscaping too, especially since they are just coming out of a bad winter. I only have a tiny pond so can't help with what you need, but you will hear from others here to help..Good luck

Thank you! I hope we learn quickly so that the fish don’t get hurt. I believe some are over 25 - 30 years old at least, per previous owners.

 

[qclabrat]

sometimes drawing up a simple diagram works better than trying to explain the setup

 

[Regina]

ok, clearly you don't have a bog filter, the basin on top is just as you said to manage water to the water fall.
How was the water previously cleaned? You bought the new pump and filter but the previous owner must have been doing something to clean the water. Also if you have been feeding the fish and the ammonia is not high makes me wonder what I am missing. There are others here who will have questions and suggestions but continue testing the water. You can feed the koi in the same as before but not too much till we figure out what's going on. Keep the aeration going 24/7 for now. Btw, what is under the faux rock and the blue tarp? Not snooping, just investigating....

There are filter pads in the waterfall. They had a UV light but it looks old so we bought a pressure filter. I added pictures of the pump and filter manuals so you can see what we got.

The blue tarp covers the pressure filter (it is not hooked up in today’s pictures because my husband has to get the right size tubing. We got 1 inch but I read pump needs 1.5 inches. We will get right size and hook it up. Where should we put the pump for the pressure filter with UV light?

The faux rock has the air pump under it. It is temporary until we get the nice looking rock cover. We hooked up the 4200 gpg pump to the waterfall. We cut the dead leaves off most plants and got the leaves out.

 

[Regina]

sometimes drawing up a simple diagram works better than trying to explain the setup