New Koi Carp pond

[mikehealy5]

Yeah I thought I stiff brush would remove the majority off it. One of the main reasons I want to drain it is because I want to see what iv got in the pond ie. pumps, bottom drain. I want to know everything about it before I start putting fish in. To me the best way to do that would be to start from scratch. There's stuff in there that I can't 100% tell what they are.

 

[TURBO]

it depends on the type of filter you have, do u know if its a bottom drain or pump fed?

bottom drain should have at least on drain in the bottom of the pond and the floor of the pond should not b flat so all the build up of crap flows to the drain, the weight of the water/gravity moves the water to and thro the filter then normally a pump sends the clean water thro the uv cleaner/light unit back to the pond if so just take the pumped water and send it into buckets instead of back into the pond.
depends of the build but u might have a junction/set of shut off taps that can help remove water


if its pump fed u should have a big pump sucking water from the bottom of the pond to the filter if so just undo the pipe and pump the water into next door instead of the filter :lol:

do you know if you have any skimmer pumps??

 

[mikehealy5]

Iv got a bottom drain in it mate, The 1st chamber has a 4" pipe in it and the water travels up from that and then through each section. At the end of the system there's a pump just before the UV unit that returns the water. I figured out today that the small blue pipe in the sump does infact Lead to a manhole on the other side of the garden. So I just attached a piece of hose onto it then attached the pump. So with regards to draining it I now know how to do it. Lol.

I drained about 1.1/2ft out of it today and gave the linner a good scrub. It does look miles better now. So after all that I decided not to empty it all, iv figured out that the only thing in my pond is two planting baskets (im not sure what plants are in them) and a bottom drain. The water feture is self contained and works off a pump that sits on the bottom. Everything else is above ground in the cambers.

Also some one suggested a pond vac too me when I mentioned cleaning all the silt off the bottom. Have any of you guys used them and are they any good??

 

[mikehealy5]

Oh and I dnt have any surface skimmers.

 

[TURBO]

if youve got no fish in there then best bet is to buy a car scrubbing brush on a stick and just scrub the hell outa all the sides and base, (depending what its made from/coated in) dont use any cleaaning stuff, then net the big bits and let the pump catch the rest, then change all the filter media and leave runing empty for a week or two then u should b good to go.

it would b an idea to fit a skimmer pump if u are gona be getting into it but i wouldnt bother with the floating ones, cheaper to build ur own from a swimming pool one

also a good idea to get some fish that feed at diff levels, bottom feeders etc
(no comments please rob!)




p.s wish i could move into a house with a pond project :evil:
mini jcb and mixers are the quickest way to f**k off new neighbours u an forget the loud exhausts :lol: :lol:

 

[mikehealy5]

There's four fancey goldfish in there at the mo. I bought hand deck scrub brush and it came off a treat. I drained all the chambers befour hand so they are all clean. The water has turned green but that was expected so now it's just the case of waiting a while for the filters and uv to do there thing and clear it up. Iv ordered a testing kit too so when it's all cleared up il clean and drain the 1st chamber again to remove any solid waste then il test the water to see what's happening. If all ok then I think a trip to the local koi centre will be in order!!

so are skimmers really worth it? How would I go about making one??

 

[mikehealy5]

[/quote] p.s wish i could move into a house with a pond project :evil:
mini jcb and mixers are the quickest way to f**k off new neighbours u an forget the loud exhausts :lol: :lol:[/quote]

Haha mini jcb's look like so much fun! It's like every little boys dream to mess about with one! Oh the memories of my tonker trucks come flooding back! Lol

 

[TURBO]

the uv unit should clear up the green water in a day or two.

u might find the water goes cloudy too

do you know what filter it is? does it have an empty vortex first chamber? (bit like a swirl chamber)

 

[mikehealy5]

the uv unit should clear up the green water in a day or two.

u might find the water goes cloudy too

do you know what filter it is? does it have an empty vortex first chamber? (bit like a swirl chamber)

The water is now crystal clear! I can see the bottom so clearly even tho it's four foot deep! No it dosnt have a vortex mate it's a gravity fed system. The water comes up through a 4" drain under some Japanese matting. Then that chamber over flows into the next and so on.

Also been out today and bought some koi from my local aquatics shop. I got 6 in total all between 4-5". Here's some pics they arnt the best but it's tricky trying to take photos whilst they swim round in a bag lol

 

[Caz-133cup]

Hello little fishies! They will love their new home!!
My mum has a big pond in the back garden with a small waterfall, I find it really relaxing in the summer evenings sitting out there with a drink she also has 2 koi, loads of goldfish, subumkin (or however you spell it!) And many toads and frogs.

 

[mikehealy5]

This summer (when ever or if it ever comes) wil be my 1st in the new house so I'm really looking forward spending some time in the garden chilling. I'm going to see how these little fellows get on over the next few weeks and then maybe buy another six.

 

[Araf]

Do you mean 4-5cm? They look a bit small to be in inches....

 

[mikehealy5]

No there 3-4" my mistake sorry!!

 

[Araf]

No there 3-4" my mistake sorry!!

That's better. I thought you were throwing money away. :shock:

Feed them on trout feed, and they will soon grow.

 

[mikehealy5]

I've got loads of trout pellets in my tackle box from last time I went carping. I will give that a go when the weather gets warmer. I got a really good deal on the koi. It was on a "early summer special deal" the guy said. Basicly it was 3 koi sized 3-4" for £10 so I bought two lots.

 

[Araf]

That's good. I was paying a pound an inch about 10 years ago.

 

[Chicken]

Sounds like you have the pond in good condition an those fish look cool.

 

[mikehealy5]

I've been to other places near me and this is the best price iv seen so far. The shop had been recommended to me by a few people.

 

[mikehealy5]

Sounds like you have the pond in good condition an those fish look cool.

So far everything is ok. The filters are all working as they should, water is crystal clear and all test came back Bob on what it should be. Il be buying some plants soon too! Anyone now of any good floating type plants?? There's already a lily in there but it's no where near the surface yet. the shoots are an inch or two max!! il have to wait till summer to see what it is like.

 

[sam666]

I've got loads of trout pellets in my tackle box from last time I went carping. I will give that a go when the weather gets warmer. I got a really good deal on the koi. It was on a "early summer special deal" the guy said. Basicly it was 3 koi sized 3-4" for £10 so I bought two lots.

wtf that's cheap in my area i was paying £9 for a 4-5" koi i got 10 and all of them died within a year from fungi and fin rot lol. i just have a few green tench and common's and mirrors left