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    Thread: Indoor Winter pond - Few questions

    1. #1
      Family_Man is offline Senior Member
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      Indoor Winter pond - Few questions

      Well, I have been pondering moving my Koi indoors for the winter. They did fine last year in the extra cold 2013 Chicago winter with the pond covered and heated to 39 degrees. However, this year will be different as my house is now on the market and I would likely have to remove the Koi from the pond in the cold to make the move. I decided to bite the bullet and build a permanent indoor winter pond with the parts I had on hand. The main question I have as you read through what I have built being will I need the EVO 55 UV light or not?

      I have a 300 gallon rubbermaid stock tank that I installed a 4" aerated Koi toilet bottom drain into.
      From the bottom drain, the flow is all 4" unto a 55 Gallon settlement chamber.
      From the settlement chamber the flow is to an Artisan A2-1/2-76-C pump then through an MC-50 vortex.
      From the vortex, I run through an inline heater that I plan to keep around 68-70 degrees all the time and will feed the fish.
      From heater, flow is to a Zakki Shower with Cermedia.

      With the ball valves, I have the flow throttled back a bit to somewhere around 5,000 gph or enough to turn the pond over a good 15 times per hour to keep the rotation in the settlement chamber nice.


      The fish load will be 8 Koi ranging in size from from 8" to 16"

      IS a UV necessary? I do have one I can use but, if it is not needed, I would prefer not to plumb it in.
      Last edited by Family_Man; 09-21-2014 at 08:22 PM.

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    2. #2
      mtsklar is offline Senior Member
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      family man,

      sounds like a good setup....you will not need the UV.

    3. #3
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      No UV needed. My indoor set up has no algae and water is crystal clear. You should consider adding a S/G filter to your set up.

      Cheryl

    4. #4
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      The fish load will be 8 Koi ranging in size from from 8" to 16"


      300 gallons divided X 8 = 37.5 gallons per koi


      Maybe just me ---too small for fish count !!!!!!!!!

    5. #5
      pearlharborday is offline Senior Member
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      personally I would think 5000gph in a 300 gallon stock tank is a whole lotta of movement........fish will be strong swimmers for sure.....but they need to rest a bit once and awhile........I'd personally would want the turn over rate to be 3-5 times an hour..IMHO

    6. #6
      pearlharborday is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by Jacksparrow View Post
      The fish load will be 8 Koi ranging in size from from 8" to 16"


      300 gallons divided X 8 = 37.5 gallons per koi


      Maybe just me ---too small for fish count !!!!!!!!!
      kinda thinking the same......the 8" koi would be fine ,the 16" koi not so much,,,especially in event of a power outage or pump failure...wouldn't have much cushion

    7. #7
      Family_Man is offline Senior Member
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      3 of the koi are larger and 5 are smaller. i know i have to account for the grown size eventually. Believe it or not, there is areas of less water movement in the 300 gallon tank where they can basically sit with minimal fin movement. I have a whole house backup generator and will in the new house as well. I also have a spare pump if that were to fail. The Zakki shower is a full size shower packed full of Cermedia. I would hope 15 complete turns per hour would help with the reduced total pond volume and that seemed to be where the water was smoothest and the fish seemed comfortable versus 7,600Gph (Clearly too much flow in the main tank and too fast of a spin in the settlement chamber)

      I guess I will have to keep a close eye on the water measurements to see how the water quality is holding up. I am happy to hear it is not necessary to plumb in the UV.
      Last edited by Family_Man; 09-21-2014 at 09:09 PM.

    8. #8
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      with the settlements chamber volume, we are closer to 350 gallons of water volume. Played with the valves to dial in a flow rate where the fish seemed comfortable and could easily rest at places in the tank.
      Last edited by Family_Man; 09-21-2014 at 09:11 PM.

    9. #9
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      Last year i built 900 gallon above ground wood pond in my garage.

      3 times that size for about same amout of koi .
      hey like i said maybe just me?

      Phone booth syndrom !!

    10. #10
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      I would not have the temperature of the tank higher than the temperature of the surrounding room. Evaporation goes up as the temperature of the tank increases, and condensation can be an issue where the water meets the cold outside walls.
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    11. #11
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      Rich your right better heat room to 68-70 solved that problem also added a dehumidifier .

      Or you'll have mold problems .

    12. #12
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      I thought about that and I have the tank in my heated garage and can try to somewhat match the temps as I agree with that condensation issue.

      I would think having to move the koi from an outdoor pond in winter kept at 39 degrees into air that could be negative 30 or 40 degrees is a bigger issue than 300 gallons
      being a bit small (probably is) and hope massive filtration capacity could help with a bit with at least having great water quality. I hope to only keep the fish inside for 5 months (still along time).

    13. #13
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      Dehumidifier is a great idea.

    14. #14
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      What if I keep the water a few degrees cooler the the surrounding air, say 65-67 degrees in the water and 68 degrees in the ambient air and add the dehumidifier?

    15. #15
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      Quote Originally Posted by Family_Man View Post
      What if I keep the water a few degrees cooler the the surrounding air, say 65-67 degrees in the water and 68 degrees in the ambient air and add the dehumidifier?
      Sounds good .

      I don"t heat the water just my garage 70 water stays about 67-68 .

    16. #16
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      I wonder if covering most of the surface area with plexiglass (it's well aerated) would help with condensation by allowing less surface area to evaporate?

    17. #17
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      The humidity is amazing that they produce, especially with a shower, my garage became a rain forest even when the temps were close to the same. I ended up having to cover it, my shower sits directly over the tank so it is under the cover. I also change 10% of the water daily and flush my S/G filter weekly which takes half the water in the tank and I only have 5 Koi between 9 and 12 inches and 1 big goldfish. It can be done but watch your water parameters closely and do a lot of water changes. I flow around 2000 GPH.

      Cheryl

    18. #18
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      My shower sits over the tank as well. Did covering much of it help with the moisture?

    19. #19
      KoiKid55 is offline Senior Member
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      Is two stock tanks a option even a 150 or 200 gallon one so that 2 or 3 of the smaller koi could be in there gives them just a bit more space IMO
      Well I messed that one up
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    20. #20
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      I wish but, I do not have the space.

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