good video for pond newbies

[koiguy1969]

 

[oregonsquatch]

Thanks! I didn't know water should be changed so frequently. Also the inch of fish per 10 gallons of h2o is good to know as we are looking at doing some culling, once we figure out who will take the extra koi.

 

[crsublette]

Thanks! I didn't know water should be changed so frequently. Also the inch of fish per 10 gallons of h2o is good to know as we are looking at doing some culling, once we figure out who will take the extra koi.

Important to keep in mind that those general rules of fish per gallon is entirely dependent on feeding volume/regiment and filtration. Sure, there is a point where you do not want the fish crammed in there like sardines and hurting each other due to feeding frenzies, but, generally, these general rules of fish per gallon is entirely dependent on feeding volume/regiment and filtration and, generally, pond size is irrelevant until a point.

Yep, water changes are quite important. Water changes are mostly done to either replenish the minerals and other elements or to reduce other pathogens, viruses, bad bacteria, various harmful naturally occuring salts that accumulate over time, and other pollution. First, remove the old water; then, add the new water. My 2 generally rules of how much water to exchange depend on your purpose: 1) small 10~20% water changes are only useful for replenishing minerals and other elements; 2) slow, adding of new water spread out over a period of 8~12 hours, 40~80% water changes are useful for pollution dilution such as to have a significant impact in reducing nitrates or ammonia or nitrite.


Here is a couple articles written by a fella, mentioned in next paragraph, to try to help you to better understand. Even though this fella uses a different type of bio-filter technology, the same advice applies to everyone else, except minor changes due to different bio-filters. Two articles: 1) The Magical 100 Fish in 1000 Litres; 2) Bio-filter Sizing Advice and Calculator.

The aqua-ponic hobby is notorious for having insane stocking densities, but, even with great filtration, there is boundary that should never be past. Here is a good article by a major, industry leading, aqua-ponic proponent, that as Mr. Van der Werf with his current project in Dubai, UAE and here's a backyard hobbyist website he runs (for anyone interested). To understand more about aqua-ponics, then read the thread I wrote at, Is aquaponic farming viably?.

 

[oregonsquatch]

Thanks for all that info! The articles will be my bed time reading. You are making me rethink getting rid of any fish, at least this year. I'm having a heckuva time counting them in the first place, in order to approximate inches of fish. My brother keeps trying to convince me to build a hydroponic greenhouse system. Without a cash crop and with babies, its not viable at this time, but I do love tilapia.