(too?) cheap Koi

[addy1]

Love your diy skimmer! I don't know koi well, but yours look nice.

 

[vertigo72]

what i was thinking of is using my pump with a float valve that will turn the pump off when water level is low and could be done with out cutting the liner to only be used when surface water is dirty .put it under bridge to hide it in my pond

I wouldnt bet my pump on those float valves, not when you are talking centimetres of water. Moreover, the problem remains the same, some waves or whatever briefly interrupt water flow in to the basket and the thing starts rising and wont stop. Or you have to put it so low in the water it will always suck in enough water to match your pump, but then you are skimming very very inefficiently, if at all.

FWIW, lowering my patented skimmer just 1 cm (you work out how many inches that is lol, I think 0.2 or so?) makes it not work properly anymore, with the dirt flowing out again and far less, if anything, flowing in. Raising it is even worse.

Why not make something with a weir door? It cant be hard (I hope lol, still have to make mine). Just used some rubber flap at the bottom as hinge, glue or tape or whaetever some styrofoam to the door to make it float, and dont worry about water getting through the sides of the door as your pump will pump much more than that anyway. Then "hang" that basket the way you intended, just dont give it any room to go up or down as it wont need it.

 

[mouseams]

I think you did just fine. A few weeks ago we found a couple with a tiny front yard pond in an urban town. They listed Koi and albino cat, all large fish. I figured I would ask about the cat, as I am not able to afford large koi. Well they looked really healthy and I asked how much for the cat, she said 300 for all the fish. 7 asstd koi from 6 to about 15" a 20" cat and 5 goldies. My pond is at least 10 times the size of what those fish were living in. Of course I had no where to keep them to wait out a long time so we added them same day. I kept adding our pond water to the containers we picked them up in and kept moving the bubble stone from barrel to barrel, but these fish were not streesed at all and act like they have lived here their whole lives. So, sometimes there are bargains and what seems too good to be true. I am hoping that once some of my home growns are big enough I can find some deserving people to rehome them to at a low price. Good luck!

 

[vertigo72]

Not sure if this is worrysome or not.. Ive never had (or rather: seen) small koi, but my new fish seem to sleep on the bottom of the pond, laying at a 30-45 degree angle (pond is sloped). They look dead, but they arent, and will swim normally now and then, even if I dont provoke them. Water temperature has dropped to 51F (11C), so I suspect that has something to do with it; all the other, bigger ones are pretty quiet too, but they dont really lay on the bottom, they just float still, right above it, and lie straight, not at an angle

Should I be concerned?

 

[addy1]

The only time I get a glimpse of my goldies is when the temperature of the water gets above 60-65 then they come up. If lower (it has been really swinging with this crazy up down weather) they all disappear again........... right now 58, was up to 70 a few days ago, So I don't expect to see them again, they are small the pond is big and they hide well.

 

[vertigo72]

Im not concerned about them staying low. But my bottom is only ~70cm deep right now as I still havent filled anywhere near full and I can clearly see them. Water is still clear :fish:. But they are laying on their side sometimes.

I did some googling and found a few threads in dutch from 2 years ago where a lot of people had this issue in spring after a long cold winter. Many had their fish tested, and no illness, infection of parasites where found. Most seem to have survived with no problems, but a few died.

The consensus seems to be that this (at least in their case) is caused by the fish being weakened after a long cold winter, and the advice is to not disturb them in any way, as that would cause more stress, just let the water warm and hope for the best. Apparently the fish are laying on their side or whichever way they feel most comfortable and save energy.

I suspect part of the problem is the temperature swings Im having, since my pond is now very shallow with a relatively large surface, it doesnt keep its temperature, and weather is going from summer hot to pretty damn cold and now back to summer from one week to the other. Temperature has dropped as low as 10C and gotten as high as 19C after a warm sunny day. Those new fish are still very small and its probably not very good for them :S. Perhaps I should fill it more.

 

[addy1]

That would help stabilize the water temperature a little.

 

[sissy]

They will do that in lower temps. but will also act like that if there is not enough oxygen .But I suspect pond temps at the bottom of your pond are warmer than top temps .Mine sleep at the bottom of the pond and get very still and do not move much .Just hanging out being lazy I call it .I just started feeding mine there summer food when water temps were above 60 degrees consistent .Before that got them used to spring and fall food by adding garlic to there food to help them feed better and resist some water temp change problems ,like parasites and bloat .Heard from a koi specialist years ago and have been doing it for 6 years and no problems with fish and never lost one yet and no illness either .

 

[vertigo72]

same day, but late afternoon now, and sunny weather. Water temp has risen to 16C (I measure in my first filter, which is pumped from the bottom of the pond, so its probably even a lot more at the surface)) and everyone is very lively and almost fighting for food. Its clearly temperature related and Im not going to worry too much about it.

Oxygen shouldnt be a problem, since my pond is more than half empty, therefore both pumps' outflow have plenty of time to contact air, falling from high on to concrete and then flowing a few meter further in a wide very shallow flow. And I have air pumps in my biofilters.

On a sidenote, my girlfriend picked up some new inhabitants for the pond. I was hoping for something pretty, but she got some very large mussels LOL. And I picked up crushed oyster shells. I got no clue how much I should put in though. Should I think handful or bucket full for a (currently) ca 4000 gallon pond ? Im gonna put it in an onion bag in my filter.

edit: Oh and could I use it as substrate to put plants in?

 

[koiguy1969]

oyster shells....i use 1&1/2 cup per 1000 gals.

 

[vertigo72]

Oh, ok, not more? Okay, then Ill just put some in a plant basket in my filter and see if some plants actually want to grow in it. thx.

 

[sissy]

Anything thats mess some use panty hose but I found they give way to fast but for a quick use not bad .Any mesh bag will work over here I get them in the dollar .I have them in my filter but also in my pond near the waterfall and I put them under my bridge had one nylon stocking give way now I have them all over the bottom of my pond .Thats why I got the mesh bags ,4 for a dollar not bad .

 

[vertigo72]

ABout the oyster shells, do they dissolve completely over time, or should I replace them every so often?

 

[koiguy1969]

they will completely dissolve but tis will take an awfully wrong time...2 years and i could see no real diminishing..but i replace them...at what they cost..no big deal!!

 

[vertigo72]

If they dissolve so slowly, I dont expect it will make a huge difference either. If any. Do the math on the amount of grams of calcium they could have added to your pond. It would seem neglectable to me, no?