Hello from Utah

[khedquist]

Hi everyone, I just found this forum and have been checking out the post and photos. The format and layout is very good. Lots of great advice so far. I have been "ponding" for about 25 years. I have two ponds. One is about 2500 gal (3' deep) and the other is about 1000 gal (30" deep). The large one is fed by a small waterfall that feeds a 20' long stream and is filtered by a home made "skippy" filter (55 gal barrel) with an inline UV filter. The water stays very clear and I can see to the bottom. The small one is fed from two small settling pools (20" deep) and empties over a small waterfall. The upper pool is filled with Hyacinths and a bag of liter balls only for filtration. Crystal clear water.

Bad news winter. I lost 10 of my 24" Koi due to a pump failure. My bad for mot keeping a closer watch during the cold months. Good news, I still have several that survived and are thriving. Both ponds are up and running for the summer. Everything looks nice and healthy. The lillies are getting close to breaking the surface. just waiting out the cold weather before adding the Hyacinths.

I will have to post some photos.

Looking forward to joining in the fun on the forum.

cheers, Kevin

 

[j.w]

Kevin
Sorry you lost some of your fish but glad some were saved. How do you keep your koi from eating your lilies? Some here who have koi say that they eat the roots or bite the stems off. I only have goldies and they don't seem to bother them at all. Love to see your photos!

 

[khedquist]

The plants are pretty big. About 1" diameter root ball. I have some in pots and some the roots are tied to bricks to keep them on the bottom. I have found that the lillies don't really need soil thrive. I am constantly breaking off sections to give to friends and they do great. Sometimes the Koi do beat up the leaves but not enough to make a difference. They don't bother the roots too much.

 

[mtpond]

Welcome Kevin. Last summer my koi took bites out of the leaves on my lily. I hated it really made the lily look bad.

 

[Becky]

Hello and welcome to the forums! :wave:

 

[sissy]

welcome and don't quite understand why you would loose the koi in the winter,Was the pump used to keep opening in the ice .I always have 2 pumps in my pond one fails you have back up .If it was due to ice then you may be better in getting deicer as back up ,better safe than sorry and sure you don't want to have that happen again.Those were big koi to loose ,sorry .I broke down and bought one after the 2010 winter and what happens the 2011 winter was warmer than normal .I bought a 750 watt one at pet mountain .I have had my fish since 2004 and only lost one fish and he jumped out .

 

[khedquist]

Sissy, I have always used a pump for keeping a hole open through the winter without any trouble. i think that because of the size of the fish and the size of the pond may have added additional stress. I also noticed when I pulled off the nets I use to keep leaves out during the winter, that there was quite a bit of leaves that were at the bottom of the pond that I didn't notice. That probably built up gas that couldn't be expelled. I know better than that and kick myself that I wasn't more careful winterizing.

I did just order a De-icer so I am ready for next winter. thanks for the tip. Those fish were about 20 years old. I grew them from babies. Though way to learn a lesson.

 

[sissy]

Yeh guess it was a hard lesson to learn .I want shade on my pond but don't want the leaves either but they still will manage to find a way in ,i think it is the leaf fairy that does that .Here we never get much of a winter but like the 2010 winter i learned fast how quick mother nature works .Hope you get some nice babies from the ones you have .Hard to grow something from a baby and then one tiny little thing can change it all in an instant .

 

[addy1]

to our group!

sorry about your fish.

 

[rebelangel_3733]

Aw so sad about your Koi! but Welcome! Hopefully your remaining koi will make you some babies!

 

[khedquist]

Thanks for the condolences. I did pick up 4 beauties for early replacements. We'll see what happens in the coming months with babies. I have had some success in the past.