Can I move my Koi to my Pool?

[Billie]

I have a 1500 gal pond that is leaking! I have been adding water for the last couple of months trying to make it through the winter. I can no longer wait, the pond is leaking faster all the time and Im afraid to let it get any lower. I am down to about 500 gallons with around 12 koi, 3 are at least 20" and the rest around 6". I am out of options and at this point, the only thing left is for me to move them to our pool.
The pool has roughly 7,000 gallons of water. It has been uncovered all winter & had no chemicals added before winter. I did add chlorine tablets through the summer and stopped those as soon as the weather started to cool off in Sept. I tested the pond, pool & my tap water. I used Tetra 5-in-1 easy strips & rechecked the ph with an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals test kit.

Here are my #'s

Pond
ph 6.8
alkalinity 80
hardness 75
nitrite 0
nitrate n/a

Pool
ph 6.8
alkalinity 40
hardness 150
nitrite 0
nitrate n/a

Tap Water
ph 6.8
alkalinity 120
hardness between 75-150
nitrite n/a
nitrate n/a

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[MitchM]

Welcome Billy!
Temperature is also an important consideration, make sure that the 2 water temperatures are no more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit apart, otherwise you'll have to acclimate the fish first.
Similar PH is good, your KH is on the low side, you'll need to raise that (after you transfer the fish).
Can you check the ammonia levels?
Do you have an existing filter setup you can switch over to the pool?
Do you have any method of aerating the pool and provide good circulation?
Can you check the present chlorine level in the pool?

 

[Tula]

Have you seen some of the large Intex pools? Lots of people use them for quartering or housing their koi while doing pond work. For filtration you can easily set up a shower filter and I've seen where some people set the filter right inside the pool.

 

[Billie]

Welcome Billy!
Temperature is also an important consideration, make sure that the 2 water temperatures are no more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit apart, otherwise you'll have to acclimate the fish first.
Similar PH is good, your KH is on the low side, you'll need to raise that (after you transfer the fish).
Can you check the ammonia levels?
Do you have an existing filter setup you can switch over to the pool?
Do you have any method of aerating the pool and provide good circulation?
Can you check the present chlorine level in the pool?

Mitch, I did check the chlorine and it is 0. I do have a large pump that I use to winter my fish, It has a pipe that sits just below the water level. It keeps the water open during winter and also aerates it.I do have a gravity filter system that can be moved over. As for the ammonia level, I don't have a way to check it. The temp. should be close to the same but I was going to acclimate them anyway. Also, I remembered I had a pool test kit. I retested the PH 7.2 in the pond & 7.8 in the pool. the alkalinity was 60 in the pond & 30 in the pool. Not sure which test kit is the best.
Thank you for your help!

 

[Billie]

Have you seen some of the large Intex pools? Lots of people use them for quartering or housing their koi while doing pond work. For filtration you can easily set up a shower filter and I've seen where some people set the filter right inside the pool.

That is what I have, an Intex 22' x 54" pool. It is half way full of water for the winter. I was planning on sitting the shower filter on the top step. (We have the actual steps and not a ladder) Thank you!

 

[MitchM]

My main concern is that the fish could be sitting in a high ammonia environment in the leaking pond. API makes a test kit for that. http://www.apifishcare.com/product.php?id=582#.Wq8GWOgbNhE
Better yet you could purchase a master API pond test kit
https://www.apifishcare.com/product.php?p=details&id=670#.Wq8GnOgbNhE
And in addition, also purchase a KH/GH test kit.
https://www.apifishcare.com/product.php?id=587#.Wq8G2ugbNhE
Test strips are the least reliable, liquid test kits are fine for our hobby.
You have a lot of fish to move, so I would start acclimating as many as you can, now.
There are too many variables with the current test results.
Keep the filter running on the pond until you have all fish transferred, then move the filter to the pool.
Get the ammonia tested asap in both pond and pool.
If you have a fair amount of algae in the pond, your ammonia level may be ok, but test to be sure, and you'll need the ammonia test kit to monitor the pool after the fish are in there.

 

[Billie]

Thank you Mitch
I'm so worried about moving them. The temp is supposed to be 52 here tomorrow so I'm holding off for today. I will defiantly be getting the new test kits & learning how to better use them! I don't have much algae in the pond at all.
My plan for tomorrow is to move one or 2 very early and see what happens. If all looks good in the late afternoon, I will move the rest. Shouldn't I be afraid of an ammonia spike after that? Wont it shock the balance (or lack there of) of the pool water? The more I worry....the more I worry!

 

[MitchM]

12 large koi in 500 gallons is a problem. We know that, so I think there's a greater risk of them remaining in the pond.
After they are transferred to the pool, there will be a bit of time before ammonia could be a problem. A biofilm has already formed in the pool just by virtue of the pool being filled with water and the chlorine would have dissipated long ago.
The pool biofilm will need to grow to accommodate the additional koi, but will be helped once you move the pond filter over.
If you're going to get any supplies soon, it would be a good idea to pick up a bottle of Pond Prime and add it to the pond. That will detoxify the pond water from ammonia for about 48 hours and it won't hurt the fish if it's not needed.
The Pond Prime may also be needed for the pool, but I doubt it.

After the concern of ammonia, my concern would be a PH/osmotic shock possibility for the fish, but acclimating them will certainly help.
The sooner you can get accurate test results using liquid test kits, the better we can asses that.

 

[Billie]

12 large koi in 500 gallons is a problem. We know that, so I think there's a greater risk of them remaining in the pond.
After they are transferred to the pool, there will be a bit of time before ammonia could be a problem. A biofilm has already formed in the pool just by virtue of the pool being filled with water and the chlorine would have dissipated long ago.
The pool biofilm will need to grow to accommodate the additional koi, but will be helped once you move the pond filter over.
If you're going to get any supplies soon, it would be a good idea to pick up a bottle of Pond Prime and add it to the pond. That will detoxify the pond water from ammonia for about 48 hours and it won't hurt the fish if it's not needed.
The Pond Prime may also be needed for the pool, but I doubt it.

After the concern of ammonia, my concern would be a PH/osmotic shock possibility for the fish, but acclimating them will certainly help.
The sooner you can get accurate test results using liquid test kits, the better we can asses that.

Thank you! You don't know how much I greatly appreciate your help. I will move them tomorrow & get all my supplies ordered.

 

[Dave 54]

Thank you Mitch
I'm so worried about moving them. The temp is supposed to be 52 here tomorrow so I'm holding off for today. I will defiantly be getting the new test kits & learning how to better use them! I don't have much algae in the pond at all.
My plan for tomorrow is to move one or 2 very early and see what happens. If all looks good in the late afternoon, I will move the rest. Shouldn't I be afraid of an ammonia spike after that? Wont it shock the balance (or lack there of) of the pool water? The more I worry....the more I worry!

@Billie you are going to have to pull off a really finicky trick whilst doing it , as you cannot just dump your fish into a new pond enviroment without first equalizing the water temperature of both ponds , only then will you be able to move them across safely but even then I would suggest bagging them and floating them to get them as near as possible to attain the temperature needed

Dave 54

 

[Billie]

Thank you Dave, I plan on doing just that. I normally put my fish in a cooler/ container large enough to make them happy and slowly add the water they are being moved to. I add a small amount, wait about 30 min & repeat till they are well adjusted. I have had rain here, thank god, so that has pushed the fish move back a little. It is probably the best as I have had time to get a master kit & will be rechecking everything tomorrow, if the snow stops! I greatly appreciate everyone's help & advice!

 

[Dave 54]

Personally Billie I would postpone the move until the weather warms up a little before moving the and suggest you give it a month more before the move.
Its not a long time to wait , it brings you almost up to May which would be a far better time to make the move
Check out the articles I have done about netting and moving etc at the top of the page, by the way do you have a microscope ?
I ask because your move would be a perfect time to scrape one or two of your kio to check for parasites which we do once a year every year since we started keeping koi 30+ years ago

Dave 54

 

[MitchM]

Dave, you don't think 12 koi in 500 gallons is a problem?
Plus - is it wise to scrape a fish and compromise it's mucous covering, only to return it to water of questionable quality?

 

[Billie]

Update on the fish, they have been moved! I tried to move them a couple weeks ago and could only get 4 caught. Got them switched to the pool and waited a week before moving the others. Everyone survived & all are doing great! The water in the pool tested better than the pond but I figured it would. The pool water although testing fine is not the best to look at. I did hook up a makeshift filter today and expecting it to clear up quickly.

 

[GoPond2018]

Billie good to hear that your Koi's are doing fine. Whew! I just want to add that if you kept the Koi's in the pool it may be harder to drain and catch the Koi's when need to. I had a similar situation with my pond when my liner broke and all I did was drain the pond, move the Koi's to a temporary pre-form pond, replaced the liner, add water back in and add the Koi's back in as well. So far my Koi's are doing fine as well. The quick re-introducing the Koi's into new water doesn't seem to bother my Koi's.