New pond owner with alot of questions

[big ron]

Hello. My name is Big Ron and myself and alot of other people are new to garden ponds. I had my pond installed 14' x 8' ( 2900 gal ) this Aug and I love it but I have had my problems with algae this summer. It has 14 Butterfly koi in it and they appear to be doing well. I check the KH, PH, Nitrite and Ammonia weekly and keep them in the correct range.The pond has a Pond Master 4000 with a UV for the filter. I want to have the water crystall clear. Is there a general guide for weekly maintaince for maintaining these ponds. I hear that I should have put " algae fix " in the pond on a weekly bases.

I live in Md so I will be shutting it down around mid Nov. I am trying to learn as much as I can. Need some help with :

1. Should the pond be drained every spring and powerwash the liner.
2. The filter and pump will be brought in this winter but what is the best
bubbler--heater to use.
3. What type of plants are good for koi. or do they just eat all of them.

Thanks for all your time and help.

 

[addy1]

1) no, you would be starting all over again with the stages a new pond goes through.
2) don't know, a lot use heaters made for water troughs
3) koi love to eat plants, you have to protect them from the koi.

Are you bringing in your koi for the winter? How deep is your pond?

What part of maryland? We are going to leave ours running for the winter, no fish yet. The stream will be turned off.

 

[DrDave]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[lifeworthliving]

If you are shutting down your pond what happens to your Koi? Mine stay in the pond all year. Tx doesn't get that cold most winters.

 

[DrCase]

Welcome to the forum

 

[carolinaguy]

welcome. i'd advise against removing your pump and stopping circulation during the winter. circulating year around is important, but you could change your flow so that you don't disturb the bottom water. the heaviest water is about 38 degrees fahrenheit and sinks to the bottom while colder and warmer water rises. that will protect your fish in the winter from excessive cold.

if you take your filter out and dry it, you will kill off your biofilter. not a good idea. it should remain in the pond.

do not clean your pond out in the spring by emptying and washing the liner. you want your pond to mature in its biofiltration capacity, and the liner provides some biofiltration. a liner covered with algae is a good thing. don't clean with a powerwasher and don't use a chemical wash. we set up our pond for winter and spring using the method recommended by Dr. Eric Johnson in his book, and it works well. it takes a while for biofiltration to mature. our pond didn't fully mature until it was over 18 months old.

as for plants they are great in a pond until you forget to feed the fish, and then the little monsters will rip the plants to shreds. sometimes i think they do it for revenge most folks set up a separate plant pond and bog garden, but we have seen some who are able to blend plants and fish effectively. the only plants we are able to expose to the little devils are water hibiscus and mexican papyrus, and then we have to cover the containers with large river rocks to keep the koi from digging up the roots.

 

[mrsclem]

Welcome Big Ron. I also live in MD. and currently have 2 koi ponds about3000 gal. each. I shut my pumps down when the water starts to freeze and bring the pumps in. I use Thermo Pond heaters supplimented with the stock tank heaters for really cold days.
I have some plants in one pond and none in the new pond. Large koi will destroy plants if they are not protected.

 

[big ron]

If you are shutting down your pond what happens to your Koi? Mine stay in the pond all year. Tx doesn't get that cold most winters.

I live in Md so we do get very cold temps in the winter. The koi will have to stay in the pond but I know I will have to supply a heater in order to keep the water from freezing. This is my first winter so I want to do it right so I don't loose any fish. Thanks

 

[big ron]

Welcome Big Ron. I also live in MD. and currently have 2 koi ponds about3000 gal. each. I shut my pumps down when the water starts to freeze and bring the pumps in. I use Thermo Pond heaters supplimented with the stock tank heaters for really cold days.
I have some plants in one pond and none in the new pond. Large koi will destroy plants if they are not protected.

I live in Bel Air Md. Sounds like we have pretty much the same size pond. This is my first winter so I am asking for help in shutting down the pond. Do you use a certain size heater for the amt. of gals. in your pond, and what are stock tank heaters? Also, do you keep your filter outside or bring it in for the winter? Sorry to ask so many questions but I am new to this hobby and I don't want to loose any koi over the winter. If possible let me know how you winterize your pond. Thanks for all your help.

 

[big ron]

1) no, you would be starting all over again with the stages a new pond goes through.
2) don't know, a lot use heaters made for water troughs
3) koi love to eat plants, you have to protect them from the koi.

Are you bringing in your koi for the winter? How deep is your pond?

What part of maryland? We are going to leave ours running for the winter, no fish yet. The stream will be turned off.

I live in Bel Air Md. I see you live in Frederick. My pond is 3' deep and the koi will be staying in the pond this winter. This is my first winter with the pond so i am asking for help in doing the best I can to help the koi make it through the winter. Any advice will help. Thanks for your trouble..

 

[addy1]

Wish i could help you more, it is my first cold winter with a pond. Mine is currently fishless, which makes it easier to handle. I have heard if your pond is 3 feet plus the fish will do ok, i.e goldies and shubunkins. Not sure about koi.

Ours is 4-5 ft deep. There are a lot of threads about getting ready for winter, maybe some of them can help you. Some cover, some heat, some bring the fish in. There was a comment in a thread (cant recall by whom) they left their koi out, no heater and they did well. I think the main thing is to keep a hole in the ice for air exchange.

 

[mrsclem]

I have a 150 watt heater and a 100 wat I just got for the new pond. The stock tank heaters can be bought at Tractor Supply or Southern States. They use 1500watts which adds up quick. With all the snow we had last year I had to rely on mine as the lower wattage ones got buried under the snow. I bring in my pressurized filter but just drain and seal the Savio which is similar to the 55 gallon drums in the DIY section.

 

[addy1]

Thanks mrsclem, Our pond is too big to even think of heating, so whatever we put in it will have to do well in cold water.

Do you let your bog just freeze? We are still debating turning off the little pump we have running and just letting all freeze or keep it running for some water movement in the bog.

 

[mrsclem]

Yes Addy we just let it freeze. I am going to try to pump some water out of it this fall and see if I can get it cleaned out a bit. The PVC pipes that run thru it have gotten clogged so the water flows across the surface mostly. Way too many plants in there this year. The cattails got tto 12'+ so won't do those next year. Will see what makes it thru winter.

 

[addy1]

Yes Addy we just let it freeze. I am going to try to pump some water out of it this fall and see if I can get it cleaned out a bit. The PVC pipes that run thru it have gotten clogged so the water flows across the surface mostly. Way too many plants in there this year. The cattails got tto 12'+ so won't do those next year. Will see what makes it thru winter.

I put in miniature cat tails, read that cat tails tend to be invasive. All my plants are babies, i am sure they will take off next year. Will have to watch for over growth, but our bog is pretty large.........

If you can reach the terminal end of the pvc pipe, put an elbow and bring the pipe up to surface, then you can back flush the system. Helps keep it from clogging.

My gravel is higher than the water level, the water has to flow through the roots and gravel before it heads back to the pond.