New Koi Carp pond

[mikehealy5]

hey guys! :wave: this maybe a long shot but......

Iv just bought a house with a great big Koi Carp pond in the back garden! i have been reading and researching on the net about how to look after etc... but was wondering if any one on here owns koi and can give me a few pointers in the right direction. heres some pics as it is at the mo.

theres only 3 goldfish in there as the koi was sold buy the old owner before we bought the house but hopefully in time i plan to buy some koi for it.

any info will be greatly appreciated

 

[Daveyb133]

Turn it into a hot tub instead and build a roof?? That thing is massive, would make a great hot tub.

Im not experienced in koi but 1 of my grandads friends has got them so i will ask him for u and get back to u.

 

[mikehealy5]

Turn it into a hot tub instead and build a roof?? That thing is massive, would make a great hot tub.

Im not experienced in koi but 1 of my grandads friends has got them so i will ask him for u and get back to u.

Haha your proberly the 10th person to suggest the hot tub idea! Although iv got another space in the garden reserved for a future tub.

That would be great mate cheers.

 

[Chicken]

Im not an expert and just going from what friends do. Your best bet will be to buy smaller koi, will cost a lot less too buy and you can see them grow and they should live longer.
My friend has a tank in here room with smaller koi and carp and when big enough will go in there pond which has some rather large fish in there already. Will try and get some pics

 

[mikehealy5]

Yeah il defo buy smaller koi! I was at a koi/garden centre the other week and they had small carp from around £10 to proper whoopers at a staggering £1200!!! There so expensive the bigger they are. It's all about colours and variations too that bring in the big bucks.

Some pics would be awesome!

 

[Chicken]

Yeah il defo buy smaller koi! I was at a koi/garden centre the other week and they had small carp from around £10 to proper whoopers at a staggering £1200!!! There so expensive the bigger they are. It's all about colours and variations too that bring in the big bucks.

Some pics would be awesome!

Yeah they can cost mental money, will ask them to get some pics so hopefully they will.

 

[Araf]

How deep is it first?

We used to have Goldfish, Koi and Ghost Carp, Orfes (very good for gauging the condition of the water, as they die first - but get picked on by the others), Long Nosed and Diamond Backed Sturgeon in ours. All were bought at about 2" long and raised in a nursery tank in the house, without being put out in the pond when around 4" long. Once they were 12-15" long, I'd give them away.

I would never recommend keeping Sturgeon with the others again, as the sturgeon need high protein all year around, but the others need to be moved onto just carbs for the winter (and the protein is too tasty for them not to eat).

As for the Koi and Ghosts, they were okay until they grew too big, then I used to give them away, as anything other than top class show fish are worthless. When we had a lot of fish, I used to drain the pond yearly, clean the sludge from the bottom and re-fill with the old water - and just a top up of fresh. We used to run a smallish electric pump to an in-line UV filter to stop algae, and a bio filter to get rid of the waste from the water. The water then returned via an old hand pump to a cascade, and the excess entered the pond below water level via a hidden pipe.

Now, I think we've only go a few goldfish - and that is better, as they survive well on what falls in the pond, and the water condition is good, even without the pump and filters on. It's been like that for 5 or 6 years now, and I think it's better as it has found a balance.

 

[Charliegee100]

They're actually not that hard to look after, you'll need to make sure you have adequate filtration system to stop algae build up. You can generally see from the water if its okay for the fish and can buy treatments from fish shops if needed.

If the pond freezes in the winter you will need to pour water on it to create a gap in the ice so they can still get oxygen

We feed ours on koi pellets which you can buy from any fish shop

I thinks that's the majority of info you need lol

Oh and by the looks of the pond you might want a net over the top to stop any herons catching the fish/to stop the fish jumping out (koi are known for jumping, especially when the weather is nice)

 

[mikehealy5]

Thanks for your responses guys.

The pond is 4ft deep all round and iv been told that its a good depth for carp.
As for filtration it has a bottom drain, Japanese matting in one camber,aqua rock in another and plastic and aqua rock in the middle, the system also has a uv unit. And for aeration it has quite a powerful pump that exits about a foot above the water which puts plenty oxygen in.

heres some pics of the set up.......

also got this heron to help scare off other birds, all tho i will be looking into some sort of netting as suggested.

iv been thinking about draining the whole pond and giving it a dam good clean before i introduce any new fish. so il be pretty much starting from scratch. it did cross my mind just to buy goldfish as that would be an easy option for low mantainace and cost but if its not to difficult to keep koi then id much prefer to to that.

if i clean it all out would i have to wait till next summer for the water to mature?

 

[Araf]

That's quite a setup you have. It takes about 3 weeks to lose the chlorine from the water if you did want to change it all. Frankly, I would leave the water in, and scrub it down. The pump will soon remove the debris into your filters.

As for keeping Koi, they are just as easy as goldfish.

 

[133_Ads]

Looks like a good set up Mike, will be round with the rods soon

Prices of Koi can be mental, My Dads old neighbor used to buy them small, raise them and sell them on for big money

 

[mikehealy5]

That's quite a setup you have. It takes about 3 weeks to lose the chlorine from the water if you did want to change it all. Frankly, I would leave the water in, and scrub it down. The pump will soon remove the debris into your filters.

As for keeping Koi, they are just as easy as goldfish.

3weeks ain't to bad I thought it would of been a lot longer tbh. As soon as I get a bit of sun and warm day I'm goning to do a 25% water change and clean around the water line., just to make it look a bit fresher, hopefully this summer fish will be going in too.

 

[mikehealy5]

Looks like a good set up Mike, will be round with the rods soon

Prices of Koi can be mental, My Dads old neighbor used to buy them small, raise them and sell them on for big money

Sod fishing rods, being your trunks!! Haha Annual twingo133.net summer BBQ and backstroke competition! lol

 

[singlespeed]

also got this heron to help scare off other birds, all tho i will be looking into some sort of netting as suggested.

Cue Heron flying over and realising this must be a good restaurant to dine at

 

[JamieC2]

there the ones that are nearly ready for the pond and the smaller ones will replace then

 

[mikehealy5]

also got this heron to help scare off other birds, all tho i will be looking into some sort of netting as suggested.

Cue Heron flying over and realising this must be a good restaurant to dine at

Haha, they are supposed to be very territorial so either it will work or I might wake up one morning to find a full on scrap happening on the lawn!lol

 

[mikehealy5]

there the ones that are nearly ready for the pond and the smaller ones will replace then

Seems as tho a lot of people like to buy small koi and keep them in a tank till they grow bigger for the pond. Sounds like something else I should consider. It would save me a fortune in the long run and reduce the chance of birds pinching them too.

 

[Chicken]

there the ones that are nearly ready for the pond and the smaller ones will replace then

Thanks for putting some pics up, saves me getting them off you and doing it lol

 

[Chicken]

there the ones that are nearly ready for the pond and the smaller ones will replace then

Seems as tho a lot of people like to buy small koi and keep them in a tank till they grow bigger for the pond. Sounds like something else I should consider. It would save me a fortune in the long run and reduce the chance of birds pinching them too.

Yeah, plus it gives you an excuse to have a fish tank in your house as well as watching them grow

 

[mikehealy5]

Haha that maybe next on the list. Iv got the perfect spot for one!!