So, my three (one died) fancy koi that I was given for a Valentine's Day present from my husband are doing well, but they are a ton of work. I have the three fish in the 300 gallon Rubbermaid and have had all sorts of problems with ammonia spikes. Admittedly, I overfed to start and it was not until the first one died that I reduced feedings to 2x/week.
I'm rethinking whether I want an outdoor large koi pond or not. We visited the Quad Cities Botanical Center two weekends ago and they had a lovely outdoor goldfish pond. I know that goldfish are much easier keepers than koi, and honestly they were very cute!
My new job is crazy, just taking care of my 3 koi is more commitment than I want for a water feature. I'm spending a ton of money ($60/month or more) for water conditioners, Amquel Plus and Ammo Lock to keep these guys alive. Honestly, I'm already informally looking at houses on the market in the area. With the thought that we might move in a few years, I can't see going through the expense of anything much larger than a goldfish pond.
Elizabeth
Rethinking a koi pond
Koi are easier to keep in a large body of water. I keep aquariums too and they are much more work than my pond! You could make a large goldfish pond and if you decide to keep a koi or two it should be fine.
I call my pond a hybrid pond-part fish pond, part watergarden. It isn't the traditional koi pond but I have incorparated some koi pond techniques which I think helps with keeping water good and fish healthy. These would be bare bottom(except side and shallows), bottom drain, over filtration(mechanical & biological) and UV light.
Its hard when you are starting out in ponding to jump right into the professional type koi pond unless you have a lot of money or skill. I had neither so I compromised. I think the best way to learn the hobby is by doing and then maybe someday we can build even better, bigger ponds!
And goldfish are great!!! I think I ended up being more addicted to goldies than my koi. They are now taking over my house too!:)
Another of my koi is sick and again it confirms my thought that koi are too difficult to keep even with month and time I can't quite figure out what is wrong with them. This fish looked great 3 weeks ago but now is ulcered and having floating issues and tissue rot. The works! Shubikins (however they are spelled . . .) look real good to me!
I have a 900 gallon plastic lined hole with a waterfall (troublesome waterfall) that has 1 small koi and 2 large goldfish with at most 12 crawdads.. The koi was sluggish and ate on and off when we first got them two years back, we added a ton of floating plants into the waterfall and some duckweed -very invasive, but good garden fertilizer) ant the koi picked up, wintered over under the ice and is just waking up this week from another long winter. The pond has rocks, weeds, ant at time has green water. like a real pond, the only thing i do is let the rain from the roof drain in, clean the filter, feed them and add plants from a local pond. sit back and drink a manhatten. maybe i am lucky. but i believe the less you do allows nature to do her thing.
i wich i could help with ulcers - but when my indoor fish get them I give them a saltwater bath.
It just seems like water quality has to be perfect, as evesta said the larger the pond the better for koi. I've been looking a lot into DIY filters, so that is what I'll probably do for the little goldfish pond, if I do in fact build that next year. It is off my "priorities" list. I figure that if I manage to keep alive the three koi I have now and they get too big for their 300 gallon tank, I could find new homes for them if I don't want to build a pond. They are gorgeous fish, I'm glad that I started with this small indoor system rather than waiting and plunging into a five figure pond.
IC-everyone's experience is different. However, it seems a large percentage of people told me that they had a lot of fish issues the first three years of ponding. Yesterday's sick fish is a deceased fish today. There just isn't too much I can do for them in this weather. I can't treat the pond with a lot of different medicines because it is too cold and it would be a waste of supplies that aren't affective in cold temperatures. I am going to go to Wal-Mart and see if I can buy a little wading pool and put it in the basement and set up a hospital for them. Again, more expense and they still might die. One nice thing is that I because I had a flood in my basement last year I redid it with tile and actually put in a floor drain and a space for a hospital tank complete with water access from a bathroom. I put all my pond stuff in there including my microscope, and apparently that hospital is going to be opened for business very soon.
I hope your koi live and flourish for you.
sounds like a real hospital... as far as the pond expenses.. you could go either way. mine is more natural.. algae blooms and all, but no large systems, i use plants to filter algae food out, a small filter to pull mud from the water, crawdads to clean the bottom and frogs because they are cute. it works for me, my friend spent a ton and has crytal clear water, marble tile, etc.... works for her............................. either way we both had problems at first but found it best to loet the pond balance itself before making great changes or additions. anything you add -let the pond re-balance itself for at least several weeks. good luck......sounds like you are well on your way,
boy, I have never had all the problems you guys talk about...but I'm a plantaholic first...lol so my ponds are full of plants...I feed once a day...the koi are like dogs...they see you coming and they get up to the top...winter once or twice a week..I have never had to put anything in my ponds.....if the ph is wrong add more plants...the floating kind is great...if the roots are black.. they are cleaning your pond.... I have one koi that is so friendly that one of my Jack Russell's keeps pulling him out of the pond...lol..little stit..lol
fish are great fun......and easy...think of them in the wild...what would they live in and like.
Jody
You should video tape your Jack Russell 'fishing' for koi and put it on you tube lol.
Would love to see that!
Elizabeth/Linda
I am sorry you are both still having problems. We had a lot of problem too for the first couple of years and it does get very discouraging.
Linda - have you looked at any swabbings from the fish under your microscope? I am wondering what you are seeing. I also dont' think a salt bath is a bad idea, but as you know, treatment will depend on what you see in the microscope. Take a look at your fishes gills while you have them out of the water getting your swabbing.
Elizabeth - I am wondering if you have enough oxygen in your pool. A lot of those products that we add to ponds will use up the oxygen. I know there are oxygen monitors on the market, however they are quite pricey. I do not have one myself, but in looking back to when we first started ponding, we lost a lot of fish initially and I really think we were having oxygen crashes.
We still have occasional problems, this many years later. I believe we started ponding in 2001 - last year we had white spot. Still can't figure out where that came from as we did not add any fish and I spent $80 on treatment, but I also have more than $80 tied up in fish which is what my rationalization was at the time.
I don't know what to tell you guys, other than there were a lot of times that were very discouraging over the years with the pond. Things do seemed to have smoothed out some and I do believe there is something to a 'mature' pond with an established ecosystem.
Good luck to both of you. I just feel badly....
Let us know what you end up doing.
The fish that died is still in the tank-I haven't the heart to take it out yet. I will do it tomorrow. Can I scope it dead or will that be ineffective as more (bacteria and fungus etc.) will be on it since it died?
I'm not too worried about it all-I'm really trying not to be attached to these fish-at least until I can go a few months without death or illness.
Frog lady: I am a plant fanatic as well. My entire 35 foot stream is covered in watercress, and a few other plants. The pond itself is filled with all kinds of plants as well as the top of my waterfall is full of plants. All my plants looked great last year even as it was my first year. BUT, I was warned prior to starting a pond that the first year (I am going into my second season) that a pond takes a few years to work itself out naturally. I guess I am one of the unlucky ones.
No No....we will find an answer...lol..have you tested your PH?...if you have plants...your ph should be fine.....did you let your fish stay in the bag for a bit so the temp. could change in the bag? Do you have concrete any place around your pond?If your pond was up and running..you should be fine.....I feel like "House" the doc on the tv show...lol lol lol
I feed mine 4-5 sticks/pellets each of food in the spring and summer...
waterfall....man that must be nice.....I don't even have a pump in mine....I use plants...
get that fish out.. you don't need anymore funk in your pond...lol lol
Linda
It would probably be better to swab your fish if he was still alive I would think. I think you are right, because he is dead there will be more stuff on him. How are your other fish acting? Are any of them ill too? Can you catch one and swab one of them. ?
I know that illness can be transferred with plants. We ended up with anchor worm one year and I had traded water plants that year. I think the plants should probably be treated with a water/bleach solution. I also think that one pond can be ok and then if plants or fish are put into another pond, that something can be 'carried' that way.
What are your water temps? Can you start feeding some antibiotic food? I have read the triple antibiotic dips for the fish are supposed to be great, however I have never tried them myself.
goldfish pond for me lol
I could not imagine dealing with all of these problems, let alone trying to afford it.
I have 8 small goldfish I bought at a pet store last year. One is gone. I think it must have died I guess. I have two other ones that I had previously that are bigger. After my little 'dry freeze' incident in Jan or so, the two larger ones, 4inches or so have developed a black slimy rotten stuff on them. It literally looks like their skin is rotting off. :( :( :(
I am SERIOUSLY thinking about pulling them out and squashing them.
I know that sounds terrible, but I am imagining they are suffering, they are not any better, and I don't want the others affected. I am guessing there is no way to treat it at this point because it is literally covered them. Their tails are completely GONE.
I didn't realize it was that bad, until recently because the water was frozen, and they were in the bottom and that sort of thing.
So I am glad I only paid 30 cents for them huh?
Moral of story,
Do not let your pond drain dry and freeze your fish laying flat on the ground LOL
The black may just be were their scales are healing from the dry freeze. Black on fish are usally a sign of healing. If you do put them down at least put them in water and put them in the freezer. That is a more humane way of doing it.
As for koi, the mutt koi and butterfly koi are much hardier than the nicer varities. My guys are pretty tough, but I can even tell they are effected by the cold more than the goldies.
so how does freezing a goldfish kill it?
Lol Mine were FROZEN solid, laying on the ground with NO water.
I do no know for how long, -overnight-?
When I discovered them, I filled it back up, but I figured I would come back later and net them out. thought they were dead.
Well when I went out to check the water level while re filling, they were swimming!
But shortly thereafter their 'skin' started looking, weird, Freezer burned? and I hoped it would heal. But now they are black and their tails are gone, and they just look awful :(
Why I keep koi. Taken 15 minutes ago. This one's just a pet store mutt. About 6yrs old ( I think) and 24 to 28 in.
It is ALL about water quality and maintenance, maintenence, maintenance. You do have to build the schedule into your daily routine. Some more of the gang. The smallest one is 12". I thought the Showa was getting egg bound but as it turns out she's just filling with eggs and looks good.
This message was edited Apr 3, 2009 12:36 PM
There is definitely an expense. However, a larger pond is absolutley easier to manage than a smaller one and NOT more costly on a per gallon scale. I have two ponds one for goldfish - shubunkins and comets ( 480 gal ) and the 2500 gal koi pond. Once balanced and mature there's a surprisingly modest difference between the two in terms of cost and work. This koi is one of my favorites and she's a big fat female that will spawn.
It does take three years to get to understand ponding if you're beginning from scratch ( no previous indoor aquarium experience) and for the pond itself to mature. After that you probably won't experience too much in terms of fish loss if the filtration is good you're doing the right maintenance. Stuff will happen but mostly minor. I havn't lost a fish to parasites - ever! I did lose some fish initially to septcemia and some to ulcers, both from not managing the water quality properly. I did overfeed which is a bad-bad thing to do. I had rocks in the pond bottom. That's a really bad-bad thing to do. Now the pond bottom is clean and I definitely don't overfeed. I also don't feed cheap food. Cheap food isn't really cheap. The koi aren't as healthy and cheap food fouls the water. I haven't lost a fish to disease for 4 yrs. I've never lost a fish to winter kill.
So, you can see all the mistakes I made early on. Overfeeding. Not springing for the best quality koi food. Thinking that a rocked, gravel bottom was pretty and wouldn't be a haven for bad bacteria. Those mistakes cost me some koi. The only mistake I didn't make was overstocking. I started with 4 - 6" koi in 2500 gallons and added koi slowly as the filter came in. There was never an ammonia spike. Never.
This is doable ladies and gentlemen, and very rewarding.
I test very frequently and did so everyday for the first few months. As far as illness and fish and plants, I now know to Pro-form C new plants before they go into the pond. As soon as the weather gets warmer I am pro-form C'ing it as well as a preventive measure and then will use the defend (has to be warmer weather). I was speaking with Carolyn in D-mail and I am going to get a Japanese expert to do a home visit. He doesn't charge for the service and I buy fish from him anyway. It's time to bring in an expert. I am so determined at getting this pond healthy and by myself but it is time to surrender to a pro. (pause, deep breath, I surrender!!!)
I cleaned out my stream yesterday and all the dry leaves in the waterfall. It took 2 hours . . . and my back is sore. Today, after lunch, I plan to finish it with my pond vac and then a rinse of my filters and reconnect my pump. Two days ago I accidently put in too much of the good bacteria (I know it's not going to harm the fish). It was that heavy duty stuff by micro-Sludge. I can't get over the blackish color of the water and how all the algae is coming off the rocks. I also added salt. I plan to test the salt level and re add more to get the level up a bit to fight any parasites.
Did any of you salt during the winter?
Funny thing I wanted to mention: I don't know if I told you all that my town bird is the "Great Blue Heron" and that I live on a naturally occurring lake in the front of my house. Well, you know how "marketing people" claim herons are territorial and won't fish side by side and a decoy (this is where you spend money) will keep them away from your pond???? Well, bull-loney! Yesterday, I wish I had my camera because there were about 10-12 of them "fishing" within 1-2 feet of each other and not one seemed to mind it. Remember that when you have heron problems. What I would have done for a camera.
Linda
Do not add Proform C with salt. It will kill your fish.........Please double check your labels....
When we shut down, we salt - I try to aim for 2-3% salt solution. Then in the spring with the water exchanges, we get back to 0% salt. The salt will have an effect on your plants. Also, you don't want your fish to get used to being in salt water - I know there is a lot of controversy on that subject, but the line of thinking is that you want a salt bath to work when it is warranted. I don't want to take any chances....
Snapple - your first picture - the fish that is in the upper left - what is he? I have a fish that is morphing into that type of pattern. It has been very interesting to watch. Also, question - I noticed one of my fish in particular appaered to be larger around the middle. I always thought this fish was a female (not that I have a lot of accuracy on that count). Typically, when do the eggs come in? I know the water temps have to be at a certain point for them to spawn - but I remember thinking it was early for spawing. My water temps are about 50-55 degrees.
I've never pre-treated any plant before putting it in the pond. What am I missing by not doing that? I salt for the winter to 2% and just like Carolyn, I let the level drop through water changes over the spring and summer. I dont salt up again until after the fall cleaning when preparing for winter. Carolyn's right, salt's not good for the plants, especially Lotus, and isn't always the right thing for fish either.
Carolyn, I'm not really sure what that koi is. Blue koi are Asagi, but this one has no red anywhere and definitely does not show any signs of developing any. The dark scales running down the back are not doitsu. They are a deep blue black. You could call them navy blue. The head is yellow and tail is yellow and it's also yellow below the midline. It's young yet so I don't think this is how the color will finish out. The fish looks perfectly split in half at the midline with the sky blue above the midline and pure yellow below. It sure gets a lot of comments. If you can figure it out please tell me! It cant be anything real rare or fancy. I think it was only $25 and 10" when I bought it 2 years ago. The right gill plate is permanently damaged. It was either bashed up in last year's spawning activity or Heron speared. Both happened in the same day! For a while I wasn't sure it was going to be all right.
My water temps are the same as yours. The females have been growing big bellies for about the last ten days-two weeks. You're right, It is way too early for a spawn. But they're getting ready! And as for guessing a male from a female I seldom know either until it's blatently obvious. I pegged a couple of the skinnier ones as males and that seems to be the case, but some are just not possible for me to guess. Of 11 this year it looks like 4 females, 4 males and three who knows!
This year I've got spawning ropes and a stock tank with a filter ready for the eggs. Last year they caught me by surprise and I wasn't able to save any eggs. Every year it's a learning experience. I'm going to keep a close eye when water temps might start to reach 68. Around here that's usually the first week in June, late May at the earliest.
ic - Please don't give up. The smaller the tub/water garden or whatever the bigger the problems. Guaranteed.
mm - Please, please please share any tips from your Japanese koi guru.
I have not given up completely, I just think I'm either going to wait until we're in our next house or go much, much smaller than I originally planned. At first, I thought a 3,500 gallon pond, then 5,000 then 6,500. Now I'm thinking something more along the lines of 1,500 gallons. Just to have a few fish. I also think I'm going to go the DIY route for filtration with this pond. I was checking containers at the local home improvement store last weekend - for $30 a piece I can get a few really nice ones, then just buy bulkheads, piping and media. I will still go for the bottom drain. My filters will be gravity fed and the containers will have lids so I can remove most of the water, take the media out easily to rinse when it gets dirty, etc. If I build one, I'm just going for simple with this first pond.
by not pre-treating plants before adding them to the pond, couldn't you be introducing bacteria or parasites?
That's what the problem must be, if the plants were grown in water containing fish I suppose. I've been 9 years ponding and 8 years with a planted aquarium (Co2 injection system and all) and I've never done this or even heard of it. I do monitor new aquatic plant additions for my aquarium for snails or snail eggs. Snails can over run an aquarium in a heart beat, although I do keep a pair of clown loaches that eat snails just to be on the safe side. Snail eggs can be easy to miss and hard to kill. Snais in a pond are a welcome addition. In a 75 gallon aquarium they are a major nuisance.
I must be a very lucky ponder. Parasites have never been a problem for me. That might be because when I did spot trouble ( ulcers) I used potassium permanganate. It kills everything. I've had Ich in the aquarium. Boy, I hated that!
Potassium permanganate is exactly what you are suppose to use to treat plants before adding to pond or aquarium. I have had parasite issues in the aquarium but not my pond yet. I've only been at it for a year but I've been very lucky too. I did QT my fish but just to watch them to make sure they were healthy before adding to the pond. The only thing I used was salt.
Now that I have aquariums I have got in the habit of just assuming that a fish has parasites and treat them with prazi in QT. I will treat all my new pond fish from now on as well. I guess I should also QT and treat my plants but usually just rinse them and check them over. The worst that they have brought in is brown algae.
We had problems a number of years ago and the only thing we could figure was that parsites had come in on plants that had been traded. Because of the parasites, we then ended up with an ulcer problem. Ever since then, I have not traded any water plants. I think it is best to assume the plants are carrying something and to treat them before they enter the pond.
Well, I'll be darned.
Yes, I definitely treat now, with any new plants or traded plants coming in. We had the dreaded anchor worm, which led to ulcers. We did not have the anchor worm before and it was after the plant trade, so it had to come in that way. Stands to reason though, if baby fish, tad poles and the like can come in that way, so can a multitude of other nasties.
Truthfully, I am wondering if that is where the white spot came from last summer. The fall before, a kind neighbor gave me some trapdoor snails. I was hestitant to put them in and my husband was on me - 'just throw them in, they are live - they probably cannot trasmit anything from a snail to a fish'. So I did put them in. Not saying that is definitely where the white spot came from, but I am not positive either......
So far this start up, we seem to be doing ok. Still waiting and watching though - there seems to be an awful lot of flashing. Time will tell.
Linda - I am interested in what your Japanese gentleman has to say too.
Carolyn
I suppose white spot is a fungus? bacteria? Could come in on birds that use the pond, on leaves that blow in, or well just about anything. But treating anything you intentionally put in is a very good idea. At least reduces the odds.
My husband suggested that we have someone come to look at our setup, it seems that (once again) the biological filtration is not working. On Friday I euthanized one of my new (now almost 2 months) koi, my Showa. He was fine in the morning. I left for work, came home, checked on them, he was blown up like a puffer fish with the scales doing the classic "pine coning" of dropsy shown in so many koi books. He was swimming sideways and could not dive. I ran out to hubby who was getting something from the garage and said to him, "I need your help deciding whether to euthanize." He panicked, thought I was talking about one of the parrots. The choice was pretty clear on what to do. I did a 75% water change and salted the pond.
For the past two weeks I've been doing 50-75% water changes almost every day to try to control the ammonia, using Amquel and Ammo Lock both. I still cannot get the ammonia reading under 2 and it was as high as 8 earlier this week. After the first fish died about a month ago, which clearly had ulcers, I emailed the koi guy asking what to do and he called me and told me I was overloving the fish. I was feeding daily and changing about 25% water daily. He told me not to change the water more than twice a week, unless the ammonia got out of control, and only feed twice a week. We talked about other filtration options, either DIY or a new one from him (which I cannot afford this year, period, too many unexpected medical bills from hubby). I had my UV filter turned off in hopes that the biological filtration would get going, Friday after the dropsy fish episode I turned it back on and started the remaining two fish on Medi-Koi. I added Mela-Fix to the water today - I bought some last fall so figured I might as well use it. The two remaining fish (kujaku and gin hi utsuri) look fine, but so did the showa until Friday evening! When I netted him and examined him his lower mouth was missing, which is what happened to the Tancho. Definitely something bacterial going on. Hubby thought maybe we have bad bacteria growing in the filter, I'm just at my wits end.
Should I sterilize the filter? I've already rinsed it several times over the past few days, with chlorinated water in hopes that would kill any nasties. I have not used anything stronger than that, though.
I feel for you . . . How we can be so smart but not FIX our fish is so frustrating to me! I hope you are able to figure it all out soon. I still haven't heard back from my Japanese man. He doesn't speak english very fluently and I worry I wrote too much that he can't translate it all . . . kidding!
Linda
Well, I have only two fish left, so if they go, I'm shutting down the filter and will sterilize everything, then run the setup for 6-8 weeks on its own, then MAYBE add just a few goldfish. At least the Mela-Fix makes the basement smell good!
I'm sorry about your koi, IC:( Dropsy does happen quick. What kind of meds have you used? They can sometimes zap your good filter bugs too.
Elizabeht -
Dropsy is an internal problem in the fish. It is not contagious. We only had it once early on - I don't think it is something that is seen as often as the bacterial infections or the parasitic problems.
Elizabeth - I am so sorry. It is hard and I do believe it is easier to maintain a larger body of water than a smaller one. I think somebody taking a look at your set up is a good idea. Let us know, what they say.
Carolyn
ic - If you shut down and restart you HAVE to have fish in the tank to get the filter started. They provide the waste that is absolutely necessary to get the bacteria that process the ammonia first into nitrite then into nitrate established. Once this process is established you have "cycled" your tank. The question you need answered is why your tank wont cycle. The cycling process should take approximately 6 to 8 weeks.
It's always easier to cycle a tank with just a couple of small fish first. (In coldwater tanks it's usually a couple of feeder comets and in a tropical tank ( not marine) it's zebra danios.) These are cheap hardy fish that can take rougher water conditions. You use the fish to get the bacterial digesting process established. A tank has to get "dirty" to a pretty good degree to get healthy.
If your rinsing your filter with chlorinated water the chlorine doesn't discriminate and kills both the good bacteria that you are trying to establish along with any bad bacteria. Filters don't have colonies of bad bacteria when established.
If you know of anyone that has a fish tank ask for a tablespoon of gravel. Put it in your tank as a starter bacteria colony. Or ask them if they would put a small piece of new clean sponge in their tank bottom for a fews days to get colonized then give it back to you.
You can't get a tank established without fish. You have to have a steady supply of fish gill excretion ( urea also called ammonia) and excrement, aka poop. I think the guy might have been right when he said you're over loving. A clean tank is not necessarily a healthy one. It sounds like when the ammonia level gets high you do a big water change that knocks it down but it's so agressive and frequent that it doesn't give the bacteria in the filter a chance to get enough fish waste to eat and multiply. The filter bacteria is always being starved.
What is the filter media anyway? Lava rocks, bio balls, foam or a combination? It's best NOT to clean the filter for the first two or maybe as long as three weeks the tank runs. This is especially true in an indor tank that isn't getting plant debris or other solids that you get in an outdoor pond. Leave the filter alone until you get a 0 ammonia reading and start to get a nitrite reading. Then when nitrite is present in the tank water you salt. The fish can't take up the poisonous nitrite if the water is salted (osmisis). So don't have chemicals in the water that react with the salt. Once the nitrite readings drop then measure for nitrate. Nitrate is much, much less toxic and is handled with weekly water changes.
To belabor the point, your tank is somehow interrupted from the normal cycling process. It's fish poop and ammonia excreted from the gills to start the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate cycling process.
What temp is your tank? Warmer is better for establishing good bacteria and the more media the better. You can do a fishless cycle of your tank using household ammonia but that wouldn't be a good option for you since you already have the fish and don't have anywhere else to put them. Cycling is the hardest part of keeping fish, IMO. Once that happens things get much easier:) Hang in there!
evesta - I've heard of using ammonia to cycle a tank instead of fish, but that it doesn't grow the same strain of nitrosomonas bacteria that comes from fish urea and will not initially function fully with fish urea. Also it doesn't grow the good biofilm on tank surfaces that compete and crowd out bad bacteria. Is that true?
I've known of some aquarists using rotted meat too. That just sounds smelly and gross to me.
Hhmmm... I don't know Snapple. I've only read about the process on goldfish and koi boards but that was after I already had fish and seeded biomedia. I always just start with a small fish load and add fish slowly. I do small water changes, frequently if there is a water issue. I've never had a problem doing it that way. I would think that it is probably a good idea to do the small fish load even if you use the non fish cycling.
I took the gravel off the bottom of my tanks and put them in panty hose. I will be seeding my pond and stock tank filters with these once it warms up. I also have some bioballs in my tank filter getting ready for the pond. Hopefully spring will come and stay one of these days;)