I can't help but wonder if your koi is healthy and happy? I hope everything is going well with the fish.
When is your planned trip to the koi dealer? Take your camera (in case there is something unique to share with us . . . Winter is way too long and I would love to see pond pictures/fish/equipment - I'm boring like that. . .
Linda
IC-What is the status of your last Koi?
I have been wondering too.......
Where did IC go? Did she freeze?
I was wondering too. I hope she didn't freeze. I know it's freezing here...... perhaps it is time for that roadtrip to go and see MerryMary!
She DID say on another thread that she was looking for good parents for koi fry this spring...... :^)
First I need to HAVE koi fry, in order to give them away! lol Bummer, here I live in Florida, and have to leave today for a convention in Baltimore....brrrrr........
(But honestly, we're getting a short freeze here tonight as well!)
Mary,
I'll come down and pond sit for you!!! It is just to cold here!
I'm here!!!
Poppy the koi is alive and well! That fish is such a titan!!!
He is getting very social, comes out the bother me when I'm suctioning his poopies off the bottom of the tank (which is several times a week). I still can't get the ammonia under control short of water changes. I swear, I feed the fish only once a day. He is about 5 1/5 inches now.
I've been doing lots of research for the pond and joined the Eastern Iowa Pond Society and am already emailing back and forth with two members, even though our first meeting is not until February. A few people have gently told me that I should spend this year looking at ponds what other people have (hubby is high on that list) and really decide what I want and work with a consultant, I have a few names of local places now.
Bottom drains mystify me, so I've been trying to learn all about those. Jackie, the treasurer of the EIPS, sent me this link and it is sooooo coooooool:
http://www.sacramentokoi.com/
My current computer doesn't have quicktime but I know what I'll be doing tonight!
Elizabeth
Poppy is a poopie machine producing ammonia killer? Who knew??? LOL! Isn't is amazing that the one little koi is killing the ecosystem of your tank. Imagine how it was when there were a few koi in there. I am surprised that this one fish does that much damage to the quality of the water. What brand of filtration do you use?
Please put in the bottom drain. I regret that I didn't and am thinking of redoing my pond because of that. Big mistake. A vacuum can clean the pond but is a lot of work, back ache and time consuming (and I own one of the best on the market). A drain will allow you to clean as often as you want without breaking your back. The vac is still useful but the drain is non negoitable in my mind. I recently saw a drain type with air that is supposed to be an improvement on the without air drain styles.
This is my dream sequence:
For me to remove rocks, and liner and install a drain is overwhelming. If I do it I will do it without a contractor because I really think I "get" ponds better than most of them. Plus I think my ideas are a little more creative as well and would meet my needs better. I have a contractor who has been working in my home on and off for the past year and he has a bobcat and is an electrician and a plumber and loves fish as well. He will do it with me. We discussed this a few times. My pond would get a lot deeper (5 feet) with a much smaller ledge width for the plants as well. I might even enlarge it on one side and add a deep slow stream for the koi to swim up for exercise (they like currents-don't they)? All of my equipment would stay, as I over sized it greatly for this pond. I am crazy aren't I? I also want to build a raised pond for my holding tank that would be hidden away but be prettier and bigger than what I now have. I want it above and below the surface and in a formal style so I can use it year round if I need to. DREAMER! Nothing but a dreamer . . .
Linda
Elizabeth, I have been looking FOREVER for a good explanation of how bottom drains work and are installed. Just downloaded the various pond plans. The video shown when the website first opens provides inspiration too. Did you notice the pond that had the two small pools that were covered with glass? When they took the night shots you could see the koi swimming under the table and chairs. Very cool indeed! Thank you for providing the link.
This message was edited Jan 15, 2009 7:59 PM
This message was edited Jan 15, 2009 8:00 PM
The glass and fish I have to go and see. . .
I didn't see glass flooring to view fish but saw glass flooring under a table (did I miss something)?
I did, however read a wealth of information about filtration, jets and ponds and koi and medical treatments that is put together in a very organized "smart" way. I loved the charts and the designs available with all the information spelled out in it.
How did you find this site? Excellent resource!
Linda
Someone from the Eastern Iowa Pond Society reccomended it to me as a starting point! They have downloadable plans for tanks of different sizes that are FREE! If anyone is interested, D-mail your email address to me and I will forward to you a pdf copy of what I've drawn up. Hubby and I decided we will wait until 2010 to put in the big pond - we both want to see what other people in our area have. The membership in EIPS is about the best $10 I've spent so far towards pond expenses. There is so much to learn, especially in my cold zone where winter pond care is an art. I've also been spending a fair amount of time on the koiphen forums (same user name as here) getting ideas on my planned setup. Those guys are really tough, though. Reminds me a bit too much of the horse world (which I ran like heck from), quite a bit of one-upsmanship and "you're not good enough to own koi" mentality that I don't really care for.
http://www.koiphen.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90673
Poppy the koi is amazing. Provided he keeps doing well, hubby suggested that we find a few good mates for him/her. I keep calling Poppy a "him" but I think the fish is actually a "her." Maybe we can create a whole line of attractive, "idiot proof" fish!!! The funny part is that I think Poppy is going to be a really attractive Sanke! Some of the sumi is just barely coming through, s/he will be a more modern design and the white is so bright. Maybe I'm just a proud momma, though!
I didn't even tell you guys the horror story of what happened two weeks ago, I was so embarassed, just after New Year's. I was doing my regular "drain the pond 80% and then slowly refill it". I left the pond to go upstairs and kind of got away from myself with time. I went back in the basement and there was Poppy the koi, on a ledge, stuck, almost completely out of water. I screamed, ripped open the cover off the pond and scooped the fish up with my hand, plopping him/her back in the water. Poppy swam off like "What? What was that excitement about?" Has been 100% fine - I was convinced that the shock would lead to death. I have not left Poppy alone at all now when I drain the water, I bring a book in the basement or something else and just stay down there. If I need to leave I call hubby down (if he is not already down there, while I read he practices his ukelele playing usually) and he watches Poppy for me.
Yesterday, as I worked on the pond plan, I was just so excited. I feel like I'm actually starting to understand the whole setup and how it will work. The more I read and think about the pond, the bigger and more expensive it gets. Even if we end up working with a contractor for the whole thing, I feel the educational process is critical. I finally feel like I'm beginning to understand how things need to work, how water should flow, what size pipes and drains the pond should have, and the components that it needs to be an outstanding environment for fish. The Sacramento Koi site was so extremely helpful!!!
In addition to producing copious amounts of waste, Poppy is destructive. Already laying waste to the few pond plants that are in there. I had to pull out a few dead strands of hornwort two days ago because Poppy chewed all the leaves off it. I thought they don't damage plants until about ten inches? Poppy is only about five inches....this koi is such a trouble maker.
MM, this pond has a Laguna 1400 pressure filter and pump, the filter has a 25 watt UV bulb. Technically, the 270 gallon tank should be spotless, but the pump does not suck up any of the solid wastes. I'm really disappointed in it. In spring I'm going to buy a 300 gallon Rubbermaid animal water trough and move Poppy and the setup in there, keeping it in the basement, then take the preformed liner outside and make it into a water garden. I have the perfect spot in my conifer garden and it will be a fun, manageable project. It will be a perfect size for one large lotus, two elephant ears and a waterlily or two. The 300 gallon Rubbermaid will be much better for a koi home because it is deeper and has a bottom drain that will make cleaning a lot easier. I'm not kidding myself, I know Poppy will continue to be a pooping machine and I already notice an increase in size in the waste. I don't want to spend the next year and a half suctioning that stuff every 2-3 days out of the pond if I can just get a bottom drain and simplify my life!
Elizabeth
"Simplify your life" and "ponding" are mutually exclusive endeavors.
I have the trough myself only 75 gallons. For the life of me I can't figure what tool I am supposed to use to open that drain to drain it with. Are you using an old fashioned siphon to drain your pond each time? Consider investing is a utility pump that you just stick it there. You will need it for your pond anyway. I actually own 3 of them to drain my pond quickly and to transfer water around. They also are handy in case of flooding in your basement . . . sniff. They are about $49.00-$59.00/ea at Menards depending on the HP and how many gallons per hour they can pump. Do not get a sump pump but a utility pump and try the hose fitting before purchase so see if it is easy to connect the hose to it. I found very heavy duty hoses work the best as they do not bend over and stop/slow the water flow. Have you considered building a holding tank with a liner that fits into the space you want to keep it? I can't get a trough down into my basement because of the width and the door jam space. If I were to put one down there I would like a large one. I think I should just install one made of wood with a liner and put it in the part of my basement that is raw and unfinished. My carpentry skills aren't anything nice but I think I could bang one together easily enough and then I would always have a holding tank indoors if I needed to overwinter a fish that has something wrong with it from the autumn period that just didn't heal up very well.
I'm driving to pick up a 300 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank tomorrow, seems it is one of the last few in existance 'round these parts! This is going to be the new home for Poppy the koi (and the unnamed pleco) - it should be a lot easier to keep clean than the current pre-formed pond.
http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay_10551_10001_28499_-1______14602%7C14606%7C14614%7C28499?listingPage=true&Special=false