Inherited a koi pond with over 20 koi’s

[Dallas]

Hi! Just bought a house that has a koi pond . I would love to get it fixed up, and clear. The water is brown as dirt. When we feed the fish there’s at least 20 koi fish that come up but you can not see them until they come to the surface.
The water is horrible. I’m going to attach a picture of the pond so you can see.
It has two water fountains that I think are filtering the water (I’ll also post a picture of the filter because I have no idea what to do with it). I want to know how to clean the pond .
We are on wellwater so if we drain it and refill how do I go about doing that without killing the fish. PLEASE HELP! Thank you.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum!

Don't drain and refill, it is hard on your fish. My well water is very acidic and soft I would kill all my fish if I drained and refilled.

What you pictured is probably the uv light.

 

[Dallas]

So how would I clean it? It’s dirt brown and can’t see anything.

 

[addy1]

You need to test your well water, see what the ph is and how soft and or hard it is. You could slowly add water i.e. replace some of the water. Find where the filters are, they may just need a good cleaning.

The UV light is just used to remove the fine green algae that turns your pond green.

Also get a test kit, test your pond water see where you are at with it. Feed the fish real lightly until you know your water parameters.

 

[addy1]

There might be a lot of debris in the bottom of the pond. Follow the lines see if you can find the filters/pumps

 

[Dallas]

I’ll try to clean out the bottom . I have a feeling that won’t be enough , the water is really dark . I put another photo

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome @Dallas ! Your water does look dirty, but I would try to scoop out a jarful in a clear jar and see if it settles out. That will tell you what you're dealing with. You may think about trying a DIY filter using some quilt batting - we can explain that process if you find what you have is a lot of sediment that will settle in the jar.

 

[Dallas]

Thank you! And Like this?

 

[Dallas]

@Lisak1

 

[j.w]

@Dallas
You could get a big plastic pot w/holes in the bottom and put quilt batting inside it, then hook a hose to your pump out take and run the hose over the quilt batting to clean out the fine debris that is coloring your water. Let the pot sit near your pond edge so the cleaned water runs out the bottom of the pot and back into the pond. You will have to clean the quilt batting off and on during this whole process and perhaps a lot. Use a hose to clean it off. Or if your water is fine (test kit for water, API makes a good liquid kind) from your house water you could run water slowly out of your pond and allow hose water to run in at the same time. You need to add dechlor if you have chemicals in your city water. First tho like mentioned above get all the gunk out from off the bottom of your pond.

 

[sissy]

uv bulbs need to be changed at times ,they may look like they are working but are mot .They used swimming pool hose also .You can build a filter from a stock tank and tank adapter .The tank there is probably a storage crate as a filter

 

[Tula]

It looks like there are a couple "tubs / containers" that the blue hose goes in ad out of, before entering the UV light. Is that right? If so, what is in those tubs, they could be DIY filters.

 

[addy1]

Agree with Tula, looks like those black tubs might be the filters. Take a pic of what is inside of them.

BTW like your dog!

 

[addy1]

Thank you! And Like this?

Yes see if it settles.

 

[Lisak1]

It looks like you may just have stained water. I don't see any sediment floating. If you get a lot of leaves or organic material in the water you can get tannin staining - sometimes referred to as "tea colored water". That's not a problem for your fish, but many prefer more clear water.

Activated charcoal can help clear tannins. But more important is getting rid of the cause - the leaves and plants causing the staining.