Hi from Pittsburgh!

[Yvonne]

I am new at ponding... and so far, I've not had a whole lot of fun at it. I have a pre-formed (less than 300 gal.) plastic insert that I put in my backyard at the beginning of May 2014. I have gold fish and 1 beautiful large koi fish that I'm astounded haven't gone belly up yet. I have so much algae (I am on my 2nd treatment with an algae control product) that I cannot see the fish. I have tried several filters, but they get so full so quickly that I don't have time to sit near the pond and clean them out constantly. I recently bought a tetra filter/pump/waterfall but haven't figured out how to keep it from falling over. The first day I put it in there, it fell (probably the koi knocked it over) and nearly emptied out the entire pond over night. So now, I spend an enormous amount of time checking on it and turning it off at night so I can get some sleep.... Fall is here and I am clueless about what to do with winterizing. I was so excited to put the pond in, but now I am so discouraged. Please help.

 

[cnyle]

I'm far from the person to be offering "expert" advise, but I was pretty much in your shoes when it came to my water. There will be other fine folks to come along to give you better advice, but for some good reading, search up quilt batting filter and read up on the process of using quilt batting to make a filter media. I had some very skanky looking water and after applying this type of filter to my pond, everything cleared up in a couple of weeks. Your actual mileage my vary, but I'm a strong believer in this, and I mention it whenever I can. And if I turn my head way to the side, I see what looks like a nice set up that you have lol. And welcome to the forums here, you can spend alot of time reading here, there's a ton of great helpful people here to lend a hand. And a few crazy's hehe.

 

[Jeff Kraemer]

I am new at ponding... and so far, I've not had a whole lot of fun at it. I have a pre-formed (less than 300 gal.) plastic insert that I put in my backyard at the beginning of May 2014. I have gold fish and 1 beautiful large koi fish that I'm astounded haven't gone belly up yet. I have so much algae (I am on my 2nd treatment with an algae control product) that I cannot see the fish. I have tried several filters, but they get so full so quickly that I don't have time to sit near the pond and clean them out constantly. I recently bought a tetra filter/pump/waterfall but haven't figured out how to keep it from falling over. The first day I put it in there, it fell (probably the koi knocked it over) and nearly emptied out the entire pond over night. So now, I spend an enormous amount of time checking on it and turning it off at night so I can get some sleep.... Fall is here and I am clueless about what to do with winterizing. I was so excited to put the pond in, but now I am so discouraged. Please help.

Hey welcome...i am no expert, but i will try to help with what i know. A koi in only 300 gal of water is not good. You need at least 500 gal. for one koi and 200 more gal. For each additional koi. They get the water dirty quickly with how much waste they give off. You will not be able to keep that fish in there for long. But for now, lets try to get you through the winter and you can figure out long term solution later.
If i were you i would google "small pond biofilter design". Most likely a large plastic storage container filled halfway with lava rock, and a layer of about 10 or 15 large green scouring pads should do the trick. It will take a few days but this will clear the water for your size pond. Thats how i kept my water perfect when i had a pond your size. You want the water to enter the bottom of the container, then rise up through the rocks and green pads and overflow out of an outlet a few inches from the top of the container into your pond. These filters are very easy to make. Just do some research. Good luck!

 

[morewater]

I am new at ponding... and so far, I've not had a whole lot of fun at it. I have a pre-formed (less than 300 gal.) plastic insert that I put in my backyard at the beginning of May 2014. I have gold fish and 1 beautiful large koi fish that I'm astounded haven't gone belly up yet. I have so much algae (I am on my 2nd treatment with an algae control product) that I cannot see the fish. I have tried several filters, but they get so full so quickly that I don't have time to sit near the pond and clean them out constantly. I recently bought a tetra filter/pump/waterfall but haven't figured out how to keep it from falling over. The first day I put it in there, it fell (probably the koi knocked it over) and nearly emptied out the entire pond over night. So now, I spend an enormous amount of time checking on it and turning it off at night so I can get some sleep.... Fall is here and I am clueless about what to do with winterizing. I was so excited to put the pond in, but now I am so discouraged. Please help.

_____________________________________________________________________

A Tetra waterfall filter? As in the feed-through-the-bottom-flow-through-the-filter-pad-comes-out-the-weir Tetra waterfall filter? If so, the easy solution to keeping it from tipping over is to excavated a hole near the pond edge and set it in the hole. Make sure that you empty it for the winter and cover it.

As to your suspended algae problem, what product are you using to treat?

What's your budget for a permanent fix?

 

[dieselplower]

Do a google search for "pond nitrogen cycle" and read up.
Turning your pump off at night is strongly discouraged.
Welcome to the forum

 

[j.w]

Yvonne

 

[Yvonne]

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I went out today and purchased what I needed to make a diy bio filter. I installed it this evening and we shall see what tomorrow looks like I am expecting good results. Thank you all for the advice, I will let you know how it all turns out. btw, i did try to rotate my pic before uploading, but it looked upright when i sent it up... alas a crick in my neck proves otherwise...

 

[Demi Weston]

Welcome to the forum.
Give some shade to your pond with aquatic dyes, plants or nets that can help you out.

 

[j.w]

Thank you all for the warm welcome. I went out today and purchased what I needed to make a diy bio filter. I installed it this evening and we shall see what tomorrow looks like I am expecting good results. Thank you all for the advice, I will let you know how it all turns out. btw, i did try to rotate my pic before uploading, but it looked upright when i sent it up... alas a crick in my neck proves otherwise...

Maybe a mod can fix your avatar for you

 

[mtpond]

Welcome Yvonne.

 

[haver79]

Welcome to the forum Yvonne.

 

[Lisaebetten]

Welcome and keep up updated please. Did you get the koi as a baby?

 

[Dave 54]

Hey welcome...i am no expert, but i will try to help with what i know. A koi in only 300 gal of water is not good. You need at least 500 gal. for one koi and 200 more gal. For each additional koi. They get the water dirty quickly with how much waste they give off. You will not be able to keep that fish in there for long. But for now, lets try to get you through the winter and you can figure out long term solution later.
If i were you i would google "small pond biofilter design". Most likely a large plastic storage container filled halfway with lava rock, and a layer of about 10 or 15 large green scouring pads should do the trick. It will take a few days but this will clear the water for your size pond. Thats how i kept my water perfect when i had a pond your size. You want the water to enter the bottom of the container, then rise up through the rocks and green pads and overflow out of an outlet a few inches from the top of the container into your pond. These filters are very easy to make. Just do some research. Good luck!

Jeff is indeed correct they need alot of water , you may want to buy a UV-C to help you rid the pond of gre water but in reality you really should be thinking of scrapping this pond nice as it is and be brave build a pond of 1,000+ gallons so that both fish can live a life of ease plus have a couple more pond mates at the same time .
I dont know if you know it but koi can grow as large as 3ft in length and will if propperly looked after live to be 80+ goldfish 40+
Wecome to the forum from Plymouth UK

Dave