New House came with a pond...

[DanaRayne]

My new house came with a pond (basic insert) with a little waterfall. Always wanted one and we love it. However. The previous homeowners never had an actual filter?! They had just a metal pump, attached onto a large square cartridge that holds a thin layer of floss (which I keep rinsing out...lots of sludge), which pumps the water through the waterfall. That's it. This can't be right! I am an avid fresh water aquarium hobbyist, and I know a bit about filtering water, good bacteria, carbon, etc. there is none of that going on here.

The pond has a fair share of little snails and what I believe to be frog eggs and 2 smallish koi in there.

Someone please point me in the right direction to get this straightened out. I would love to keep the koi and overwinter them in there.

 

[addy1]

It looks nice. Welcome to our group!

How deep? How many gallons?

 

[DanaRayne]

It looks nice. Welcome to our group!

How deep? How many gallons?

That's a darn good question! Been in the house for 2 weeks. They provided a stack of paperwork and users manuals for everything EXCEPT the pond that has living animals in it!

 

[DanaRayne]

It looks nice. Welcome to our group!

How deep? How many gallons?

..and thank you for the warm welcome. So glad I found this group!!!

 

[addy1]

Take a stick. See how deep it is. Then do a soft measure of the width and length.
If they are koi they will need a lot of water as they grow.

 

[DanaRayne]

Take a stick. See how deep it is. Then do a soft measure of the width and length.
If they are koi they will need a lot of water as they grow.

Oh no it's only 1.5 feet deep! No overwintering here I guess. It appeared much deeper. T
he shape is oblong, flaring on both ends and skinnier in the middle:
6.5' long, 4' at both wide ends and 2.5' in the middle.

 

[IPA]

Welcome to the forum. Where do you live? I'm in zone 8a so that wouldn't be a problem here. I had a lot of aquarium experience but after having even a small pond, which is large by aquarium standards, I'll never do aquariums again, way too much hassle. The first year of my pond I had water circulation but no real filter, just the small bit of foam that came with the harbor freight pump. Water hythician was my friend but the roots were huge and shead a lot always clogging the filter. A good test kit is invaluable.

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome!

If your measurements are correct, I did a rough estimate of your pond size at 200 gallons (I averaged your width at 3 feet). That's way too small for koi... but are you sure they ARE koi? Post a pic and we can help with that!

Is there any way you can contact the previous owners to ask some questions? It would be helpful to know how they managed the pond over winter.

 

[Tula]

Welcome

 

[sissy]

Welcome and more than likely not koi or at least I hope so .They can get very large .You may need to make a filter or just rebuild it with a epdm liner because those plastic preforms can crack over time and you don't want that to happen during a cold winter day .Those preforms can't seem to take cold very well

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome to our group!

 

[DanaRayne]

Welcome!

If your measurements are correct, I did a rough estimate of your pond size at 200 gallons (I averaged your width at 3 feet). That's way too small for koi... but are you sure they ARE koi? Post a pic and we can help with that!

Is there any way you can contact the previous owners to ask some questions? It would be helpful to know how they managed the pond over winter.

I sent a message through the realtors for the previous owner and that was not answered... yet.

I do not know for certain they are koi. They hide almost 100% of the time but the few times I have seen them, they look like it. I have a large net and tried to catch one yesterday afternoon to take a picture to see if they are indeed koi. Omg....My attempt was absolutely futile! The neighbors must think I'm crazy but the kids got a great laugh out of watching me!

 

[DanaRayne]

Welcome and more than likely not koi or at least I hope so .They can get very large .You may need to make a filter or just rebuild it with a epdm liner because those plastic preforms can crack over time and you don't want that to happen during a cold winter day .Those preforms can't seem to take cold very well

This may be a good end-of-summer project!

 

[sissy]

best way is feed them some food and get them used to seeing you and they will associate you with food an come out to greet you

 

[moby]

Hi and welcome. Perhaps not best to try and catch one for a pic, that will only make them even more skittish. When they're used to seeing you around and offering food, take a look at their mouths, if they have a short 'whisker' appendage (barbel) at each corner of their mouths then they're Koi. If no whiskery thing, they could be a goldfish type or even another pond fish, orfe for e.g. A pic when they're feeding is an option, if they stay still enough!