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    Thread: Koi Keeping Basics

    1. #1
      Roddy Conrad's Avatar
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      Koi Keeping Basics

      I was challenged on another forum to list the basics of koi keeping. So I wrote something quickly "out of my head" like I normally do. Here it is copied and pasted, with a few changes after I thought about the subject a few more days. Some of you may find the comments useful, or perhaps even controversial. Okay, either way, write what you think, let's discuss it, I am home sick with the flu, and bored stiff!

      The first basic is do not plan to keep koi past their second year in a pond less than 1000 gallons. Koi will not develop a good body shape in ponds less than 1000 gallons when they are more than two years old, and it gets pretty hard to keep the water quality up in ponds smaller than 1000 gallons when your koi develop to their "normal" 24 to 30 inches in length size.

      The second basic is put in enough filtration to keep ammonia and nitrite below 0.5 ppm, preferably lower, at whatever stocking density is chosen to be maintained. There is very little agreement on the "right way" to do filtration! There are many paths to a great filtration system, and most of them are not described in any koi hobby related books. Meaning there are thousands of ways to install a great filtration system, and millions of ways to mess it up!

      The third basic is to keep some alkalinity in the water, meaning a pH over 7, preferably over 7.5, below 8.5, and chosen in a way where the pH can remain very stable. Without some alkalinity the biofiltration bacteria die, and when that happens, goodbye koi. How best to maintain alkalinity is very dependent on the variables of supply water alkalinity, stocking density, and water exchange rate. For those with high alkalinity in the water supply, nothing is usually needed to be added to the water, for those with little to no alkalinity in the supply water, the usual approach is to buffer the water with baking soda.

      The fourth basic is to keep control of green water algae with either biofiltration or UV lights to avoid the pH bounce sunrise to sunset (low at sunrise, high at sunset), meaning the pH bounce sunrise/sunset should be kept below 0.3 pH units.

      The fifth basic is to keep parasites under adequate control so they don't ruin the health of the koi, there are many different ways to approach that subject, no one true way has to be chosen for parasite control. But an effective way must be chosen. Otherwise, long term health of the koi are likely to be compromised. Parasites run a close second to inadequate filtration as the source of koi health problems.

      The sixth basic is to prevent viruses (KHV and SVC are the most notable) from getting in the koi pond to give a wipeout of the hobbyist's koi collection. The ways to do that get pretty narrow, I must admit! But we don't all agree on the "right way", nevertheless.

      The seventh basic is to feed the koi something good for them to eat, at the times they should be eating, without overfeeding them to foul the water. We certainly don't all agree on the details of this basic, but the koi do need food!

      The eight basic is oxygen, without enough dissolved oxygen the koi will fail to prosper and eventually die. So some way must be chosen to keep oxygen level up, both for the koi and for the biofiltration bacteria. The ways to do this are many, however! So we don't all agree on the right way to accomplish this basic. Some of use shower and trickle tower filters to supply oxygen to the water and to the biofilter, meaning that is how I accomplish this goal. Some with submerged media filters run air stones in the filters, and I agree that is a very good idea, it just isn't the way I chose to design my filtration system. Some put air domes and air stones in the pond, that helps, but is not as effective as shower or trickle tower filtration.

      The ninth basic is enough trace mineral content for good koi health and coloration. The biofiltration bacteria need the same trace minerals, so this basic is doubly important. In some ponds, the supply water has enough trace minerals, in others it is missing. The usual approaches to the water being lacking in trace minerals are adding bentonite clay (such as Koi Clay), Epsom salt to increase magnesium content, calcium chloride to increase calcium content. The symptoms of low trace mineral content is loss of koi coloration, low GH measurements, and high nitrites since nitrite conversion is more highly dependent on trace minerals than ammonia conversion.

      The tenth basic is to avoid contamination of the pond by chlorine, soap, pesticides, and polluted rain from the sky. Or, if that is an issue, install on line activated carbon filtration to remove contaminants as they enter the pond.

      The eleventh basic is to find some way to "refresh the water" to avoid pheromone and DOC buildup. Some prefer water exchange, others like ozone, using activated carbon to absorb the pheromones and DOC works. I have another preference in my peculiar situation, namely low level PP oxidation of the DOC and pheromones. As long as it is done well, with proper precautions, any approach can be made to work. If this is ignored, the koi won't grow well and their colors will be poor.

      The twelth basic is to keep some injectible antibiotics on hand when a fish needs some help recovering from an illness! And the knowhow of how to safely use the injectibles.

      And, hey, the thirteenth or first basic is to have some water for the koi, they do prefer to be in the water! The rules of thumb are to have 500 gallons of water per adult koi, which can be pushed down to 200 gallons per large koi with really superior filtration systems that are well maintained.
      Your koiphen chemist and environmental scientist.

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    2. #2
      Delta Deb is offline Senior Member
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      Excellent Post! I am printing it out. I am in the process of making a "Roarkian" spraybar to add to the aeration of the pond. I also see some other changes that are easy to do that I need to incorporate.

      Thanks Roddy

    3. #3
      stephen's Avatar
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      Excellent post Roddy

    4. #4
      Doctor Ronald J. Kalfman's Avatar
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      Excellent post Dr Conrad!

      I have been a Elvis Impersonator for 51 Years but Business is Currently Bad

    5. #5
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      Thanks Roddy, this one is going in my koi notebook!
      ,Karen
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      My motto: Trust No One

    6. #6
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      And, hey, the thirteenth or first basic is to have some water for the koi, they do prefer to be in the water! The rules of thumb are to have 500 gallons of water per adult koi, which can be pushed down to 200 gallons per large koi with really superior filtration systems that are well maintained.
      Please define "adult Koi"

      Kathy in SC
      Lifetime charter Member #3

    7. #7
      cindy's Avatar
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      Dr. Roddy - can you talk more about install
      on line activated carbon filtration
      Thanks!

    8. #8
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      As usual, excellent thread!!!

      I hope you feel better real soon!!!
      sweetpea's angel
      Diane

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    9. #9
      Roddy Conrad's Avatar
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      I made one error in the original post, and corrected it, in case anyone noticed!

      By on line activated carbon filtration, I mean to regularly have the water running through an activated carbon bed which is maintained to be active. The activated carbon will absorb the DOC (Dissolved Organic Carbon) and pheromones which foul the water. But to maintain activated carbon filtration, the activated carbon has to be "worked" to regenerate surface area on some frequency, say once to twice per month. There are a variety of ways to "work" the bed, depending on the design. The simplest way is to throw in a bag of the "right kind" of activated carbon in a laundry bag in your filter system, then lift the bag out to "work it around" regularly. Another way is to put the activated carbon in a pressurized filter with a big air blower to "beat up the carbon" in a backwash cycle regularly. I am working with a vendor developing that technology specifically for koi ponds currently.

      The activated carbon bed will eventually be exhausted and require replacement. Whether that is every 2 months or every 6 months is very dependent on the pond, the design, and the maintenance.

      By "adult koi" I mean a koi that is more than 20 inches long, usually 24 inches long. All koi that have been in my pond for more than 3 years are over 20 inches long, and most of them are over 24 inches long. So in my case, I mean koi over four years old. Please keep in mind the load put on the filter system of the pond by one adult koi is approximately equal to the load put on a filter system by around 200 of the starting growout fingerling koi in the current KoiPhen growout contest. So just because a system can handle the load when the koi are small does not mean it will be able to cope as they grow larger.
      Your koiphen chemist and environmental scientist.

    10. #10
      WinginSue's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by Roddy Conrad
      Another way is to put the activated carbon in a pressurized filter with a big air blower to "beat up the carbon" in a backwash cycle regularly.
      Woah! Before I run out and start doing this. What you are saying is I can take some activated carbon and pop it into my Aquadyne filter along with the beads? Do I still put it in the laundry bag or just let it be free? I am assuming (oh dear) that I should contain it in something like a laundry bag so it's easier to take out and replace when necessary. How much AC would one use in a filter in this application?

      This is great!!! Thanks
      Suzette
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    11. #11
      Roddy Conrad's Avatar
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      Putting activated carbon in an Aquadyne filter would almost immediately plug the standpipe of the Aquadyne to stop flow. So that won't work - don't pour activated carbon into your Aquadyne bead filter!

      The usual "cheap and easy" way of activated carbon is to put some in a net bag, like a laundry bag, and hang or place the bag of activated carbon in an open filter or stream somewhere. Sometimes I just plop the net bag of activated carbon in the pond with the fish, in my smaller systems. In my larger systems, there is always a place to hang a bag of the stuff.
      Your koiphen chemist and environmental scientist.

    12. #12
      keith berland is offline Rock my bottom
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      Hey Roddy hope you get better soon. As you know I am a watergardener with koi. I like to keep it simple.
      #1 less than 1,000 gallons get shubunkins.
      #2 Use a filter rated for 2x the water volume have a good waterfall for airation.
      #3 clean the filters often.
      #4 Enjoy.

    13. #13
      cindy's Avatar
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      Am I confusing charcoal and carbon? Different?

    14. #14
      Roddy Conrad's Avatar
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      For less than 1000 gallons, I prefer choosing either golden orfes or Sarassa comets than shubunkins. Either are much prettier to my eyes, and we do have two 900 gallon water garden ponds, one stocked with golden orfes and lotus, the other stocked with Sarassa comets and lilies.

      But if shubunkins look prettier to your eyes, go for it!
      Your koiphen chemist and environmental scientist.

    15. #15
      Roddy Conrad's Avatar
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      Activated carbon has been treated to be very absorbant of chemicals. Charcoal has much less active surface area, so will not work for the purpose, or at least won't work well enough for many to consider it useful.

      Then there are different grades of activated carbon as well, I prefer the activated carbon sold by KoiVillage or Aquatic Ecosystems in 40 pound bags for around $100-$110 per bag, for this purpose.
      Your koiphen chemist and environmental scientist.

    16. #16
      cindy's Avatar
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      Thank you!

    17. #17
      Roddy Conrad's Avatar
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      For more information

      If you want to read some detailed information about what contaminants activated carbon will absorb from your pond water, click up an article I was listed one of two authors, the other one being Werner, by the following click and go steps:

      First, click up:

      www.wernersponds.com

      Then click up water quality from the left hand menu.

      then click up "Read More" from the start of the page on activated carbon. There are several pages of good information there.

      Werner did most of the work writing the article, it was published in the Water Garden magazine.
      Your koiphen chemist and environmental scientist.

    18. #18
      WinginSue's Avatar
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      Thanks Roddy. That's kinda what I thought. That's why I asked.
      Quote Originally Posted by Roddy Conrad
      Putting activated carbon in an Aquadyne filter would almost immediately plug the standpipe of the Aquadyne to stop flow. So that won't work - don't pour activated carbon into your Aquadyne bead filter!

      The usual "cheap and easy" way of activated carbon is to put some in a net bag, like a laundry bag, and hang or place the bag of activated carbon in an open filter or stream somewhere. Sometimes I just plop the net bag of activated carbon in the pond with the fish, in my smaller systems. In my larger systems, there is always a place to hang a bag of the stuff.
      Suzette
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    19. #19
      Gene's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by Roddy Conrad
      Then there are different grades of activated carbon as well, I prefer the activated carbon sold by KoiVillage or Aquatic Ecosystems in 40 pound bags for around $100-$110 per bag, for this purpose.

      Koi Village is still selling this high grade of activated carbon @ $89.00 for the 40 lb. bag. AES has it listed for $112.00 this year.
      Gene




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    20. #20
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      Great thread, Roddy. Thanks for the information.

      I hope you're feeling better soon.

      In the meantime, can you think of any other eductional topics you'd like to start a thread on? There are a bunch of sponges waiting around to soak it up!
      Sandy
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