Koi Pond Care
The number one thing you must do is keep the water clean and keep testing it. You need to test the pH, hardiness, ammonia, nitrates, and nitrite levels. This testing is important to keeping your fish alive.
There is three different types of pond filters. These are mechanical, chemical, and biological. The biological comes in up flow, down flow, and lateral flow. Adding a skimmer is something to think about. This helps you clean debris off the top of the pond.
Aeration is also important for oxygen for your fish. Some examples of aeration would be a waterfall or a fountain. Pumps can be added if you don’t want these features.
Algae can be a real pain. Goldfish and Koi can feed off of it. It can also take over your pond. This is caused by high nitrate levels and direct sunlight. A UV sterilizer can help to reduce algae.
Ponds are like new aquariums, they need to be conditioned before adding fish. This can last 4-6 weeks. You can add plants during this time, it will help speed the conditioning up. Test the water so you know when you can safely add your fish
A bottom drain for you pond is really handy. If you didn’t add one you may want to consider adding one. Also and overflow pipe comes in handy when it rains or snows.
Keeping your pond clean can turn into a job. The main thing is to collect debris off the top and vacuum dirt off the bottom. This is where you can use your drain on the bottom and open it to get the dirt off the bottom.
Winter time means that you need to keep the pond from totally freezing over. You may have to shut down your filter, but you can buy a pump to help keep water circulating. The pond can also be covered to protect it from debris.
In the fall you need to remove dead leaves and plants from you pond. Winter time is when you need to be sure your pond doesn’t freeze all the way over. Your fish need oxygen. You can put a cover over the top to help the freezing and catch some of the falling debris.
