First home, first pond.. water is dirty!

[lynntran]

Don't let Moby become your white whale then . I'm surprised the previous owner didn't give you some instructions on how they're fed?

Fwiw, inheriting a Koi pond is about the steepest learning curve in terms of pond maintenance, but don't let that put you off, it's all perfectly doable but you just have to get your processes right. So bottom line there's a pump somewhere in your pond, this sucks in the dirty water which goes into the two barrels (google skippy filter) to filter out the waste, also passes over a UV light, and finally puts the water back in through a waterfall. The two barrels use various means to trap the bad waste (google mechanical filter and biological filter), and there are good bacteria (google nitrobacter) in there that then eat the waste and turn it into something more benign (google ammonia, nitrate, nitrite cycle ponds). Some plants are notoriously good at consuming the bad waste (ie reeds, rushes, watercress) so that's why the previous owner recommended them in the filter.

Algae come in various varieties (google suspended algae, string algae), yours looks like suspended and ultraviolet radiation kills it. But you need to replace the UV bulb in your UV unit every year or so, the phosphorous coat inside the bulb wears out after c. 12 months - I'd go ahead and just replace that to be safe first. Check it's even on, maybe it was switched off in the housemove. That'll start dealing with algae but as long as your fish are pooping and the filter is full you still have more coming in, so you'll need to deal with that too. There are products you can buy to bind your algae and make it drop to the bottom, I've used them once years ago and indeed they do do just that but then the dead algae drops to the bottom and you'll still want to clear that out.

Lastly you say you have a bubbling thing, that maybe aeration. Google koi airstone - that'll be something at the bottom that just makes bubbles to increase the oxygen level. Fish like oxygen in the water and aeration makes the water circulate so it can pick up oxygen molecules everytime the water is at the surface. The bubbles don't add the oxygen, the rotation of the water does.

Anyhow enough of the soliloquy, hopefully that's given you a direction - next is pictures pictures pictures... good luck

I got pictures!

 

[lynntran]

Stick it all the way to the bottom and see what you can bring up. That will tell you a lot about the condition of the pond.

I found black brown goop! And bits of plant matter.

 

[Mmathis]

Welcome to our group!

 

[Tula]

Try to net out the black brown goop, but do it slowly, you don't want to stir it up too much....don't ask why ...too complicated for now. LOL

You have a Danner / Pondmaster air pump and a 40 is good Make sure it's protected from rain, but you don't want it to overheat in the summer, so make sure it has ventilation...under a plant pot resting on rocks, to let air under it.

Have you learned where this stuff is plugged in? I would feed the fish VERY lightly for now, they'll be ok, and you don't want to increase the waste, until you get a better handle on things.

If you can see the bottom, it's best to not have a pump resting on the bottom of the pond, in the event something goes wrong....you don't want it to drain the pond. Some folks rest them on crates etc.

@pecan has koi and skippys so hoping she'll weigh in on your stock tank set up. Other may chime in as well....I don't have them, so not much help there.

 

[lynntran]

Try to net out the black brown goop, but do it slowly, you don't want to stir it up too much....don't ask why ...too complicated for now. LOL

You have a Danner / Pondmaster air pump and a 40 is good Make sure it's protected from rain, but you don't want it to overheat in the summer, so make sure it has ventilation...under a plant pot resting on rocks, to let air under it.

Have you learned where this stuff is plugged in? I would feed the fish VERY lightly for now, they'll be ok, and you don't want to increase the waste, until you get a better handle on things.

If you can see the bottom, it's best to not have a pump resting on the bottom of the pond, in the event something goes wrong....you don't want it to drain the pond. Some folks rest them on crates etc.

@pecan has koi and skippys so hoping she'll weigh in on your stock tank set up. Other may chime in as well....I don't have them, so not much help there.

Hi! The pump is on the mid-lower end of the pond. It goes to 4 feet deep and this is probably 1-1/2 deep. He has it plugged in covered electrical outlets outside of the house.

I'm assuming I've got a lot of fish poop sitting in those 70 gallon tubs. D:

 

[Tula]

Indeed you do Just take things a step at a time for now...sometimes doing too much too quickly, can make a real mess of things.

I don't know where you live, but if there is a koi club near by, it would be of great benefit to you.

 

[Lisak1]

This is going to be so fun! Congratulations! You're a pond owner!

There are people here who will know exactly what your set up is there - I'm not one of them - but it definitely looks like you've got something that looks familiar, so that's good. Hang in there - the fish have been fine up to this point. A bit of time to learn what's what won't hurt anything!

 

[lynntran]

This is going to be so fun! Congratulations! You're a pond owner!

There are people here who will know exactly what your set up is there - I'm not one of them - but it definitely looks like you've got something that looks familiar, so that's good. Hang in there - the fish have been fine up to this point. A bit of time to learn what's what won't hurt anything!

Yea, first homebuyer and pond owner in a week. The fish are responsive and active but i wish I knew how to clean a skipper. I tried googling and youtubing it all but can't find anything! I hope the people that know what this setup is hears my plea.

I don't want to be a bad momma for these koi already. Lol.

 

[Lisak1]

It's "skippy" - you'll find tons of info if you google that.

 

[sissy]

To start with do you know how many koi are in the pond and how big they may be .Overfeeding and overstocked ponds makes for poor water quality .I have koi and they produce a lot of waste and do you have a liquid pond water test kit like API .2 of my koi are around 2 ft long .

 

[lynntran]

It's "skippy" - you'll find tons of info if you google that.

Right! I found more info on how to build one than how to clean one.

 

[lynntran]

To start with do you know how many koi are in the pond and how big they may be .Overfeeding and overstocked ponds makes for poor water quality .I have koi and they produce a lot of waste and do you have a liquid pond water test kit like API .2 of my koi are around 2 ft long .

I have a test kit coming in soon. I'm not sure how many koi are in there, I've only seen whatever up to feed and I'm guessing around 8. They are all under 2 feet long except for possibly Moby. He's like 20 years old.

 

[Lisak1]

Right! I found more info on how to build one than how to clean one.

Oh - gotcha! Well someone will be here shortly with an answer, I'm sure!

 

[lynntran]

To start with do you know how many koi are in the pond and how big they may be .Overfeeding and overstocked ponds makes for poor water quality .I have koi and they produce a lot of waste and do you have a liquid pond water test kit like API .2 of my koi are around 2 ft long .

Got a liquid test kit coming soon. I have yet been able to see all the koi in that water, only the ones that come up to feed. Maybe around 8? They are all around a foot, maybe a little more except for Moby which in sure he is a 2 footer. He is like 20 years old. Lol.

 

[lynntran]

Also, the pond is starting to stink.