wintering pond in basement 10/09/09

[koiguy1969]

[ame]

 

[stroppy]

great video koiguy ...fish look right at home, lovely to see them so close up ...and your water is so clear !!!

 

[koiguy1969]

much thanks... its the same water that was outdoors... dont know why i cant get it on video looking that good outside. well, I am a lousy camera man!!! ( maybe if i sat down and read the cameras manual?)

 

[stroppy]

i think its probably cause your just closer indoors .... and you have some lovely fish there
would love to maybe have koi in my raised pond, but i dont think it is big enough

 

[JoaniePA]

Thank you for posting this! Your fish look very happy in their winter digs. I'm interested in the really tiny ones swimming around with your veterans. The big guys don't want to eat the small ones?

 

[koiguy1969]

nope... they only really pose a threat until the fry are recognized as fish ...not larvae.! theyve been together since the fry were as small as 3/4" and up.

 

[Schroeder1959]

Pretty cool indoor pond. How did you catch all your fish from your outdoor pond? Also, is that a home made filter contraption?

Thanks for the info!
Mike

 

[koiguy1969]

Schroeder...........i pump the water from my outdoor pond to this one in the fall then back to the outdoor pond in the spring.. as the water level falls.. the fishes ability to evade me falls with it.. so its actually pretty easy. and yes that is a homemade 55 gallon upflow biological filter .. you can find plans for it in the diy forum..or several others on this site if your interested..

 

[DrCase]

I just watched the video Koiguy every thing looks great..
Water looks perfect

 

[koiguy1969]

thank you Doc... i try to provide a good clean healthy enviorment for my fine finned freinds..

 

[FredrikAnderson]

By the end of winter will you have a bunch of string algae in there? I am wondering if I should be doing something to help control mine. I like having some but it is going kind of crazy in there. My water is very clear which is nice.

 

[koiguy1969]

there wont be any string alge in there at all.. nor single cell (pea soup)... nor blanket weed. no alge what so ever !!!!!!!!!! there will however, be a semi transparrent film of beneficial bacterial growth.

 

[nc0gnet0]

The biggest problem I see with your indoor pond is the temptation to keep it stocked 365 days a year.....What are your plans for it come spring when you move the fish back outdoors? I could see myself buying more fish for the indoor pond and then being back in the same boat come the following fall.

On another note, did you bring them all in last year? I was curious as to how and if this would effect their internal clock as regards to spawning. If they are indoors now, and get moved outside in the spring, rather than sensing the weather is warming and its time to reproduce(if they were to winter outside), they will be moved from an indoor warm environment to outside which would be colder(assuming you move then outside before the average temp is above 68 deg). Does this effect them in anyway?

 

[koiguy1969]

well they spawned about 5 or 6 weeks after going outside but they stay in the same water..i pump it between ponds so the temp change may go down before going up right now the basement water is 68* but will be 63* by spring as doing water changes with colder water and floor temp decreases. anyways, when they go outside the water temp will be real close if not the same they go in as it fills... and i use the basement pond as a fry pond after the spawn.

 

[nc0gnet0]

I ask because I am wintering mine inside as well, but my basement is heated and the water temperature is 70 degrees. So is 63 degrees a target temperature before you move them outside in the spring?

My koi aren't anywhere as big as yours (yet) and they are happily residing in one of my aquariums ( 200g, 125g, 75g). I must say i have learned alot since bringing them inside and watching them, you get a whole different view of them in a aquarium then a pond, more of a side view then the typical top dorsal view.