Inherited a Water Garden

[Udoli]

Hello all,

This is my inaugural post and I hope to add a few more in time. I moved into a new home this winter and with it came a small Koi pond. I was very excited about this and it's been a dream to own one for some time. This said, I know very little about the upkeep of a Koi pond. I've been endeavoring to improve myself. However, I have a few questions that I was hoping the knowledgeable members of this community might have some answers.

First, let me describe the state of the pond. It's roughly a 2000 gallon Koi pond with a pond liner on the bottom and a waterfall. There were no Koi in the pond although a neighbor says the previous owner had some a few years back. The pond itself was never cleaned as far as I can tell or at least minimally. There is a massive maple tree shading the pond and many of the leaves fell into the pond. So, it was a brown mess at the start despite some screen covers during the winter. The pond is at least three years old.

At present, I've drained the pond to about 1/8 capacity and removed most of the gunk. Although a thin layer of dirt or silt remains at the bottom. I've also removed the ferns growing in the garden and kept them in pond water for the time being. They looked attractive on the surface and far from overgrown, but when I remove them the roots and mass of the ferns were easily five time the size of the pots they were planted in. Also, I discovered the pond had one submersible pump to run the waterfall, a Little Giant Pump - PMO 650. This pump seemingly died while draining the pond.

Now on to the questions:

1. Should I remove that final layer of dirt at the bottom of the pond? I've read varying reports about how a pond needs some dirt or silt for fish to lay eggs and the such.

2. For a pond of my size what do I need to maintain healthy water? Is a single pump enough or do I need a filter and skimmer, etc? Please offer suggestions as it looks like I will need to replace my pump.

3. Do I split my ferns apart and re-pot them? What is the best method to keep the topsoil in the pot?

4. What is the best natural method to keep my water clear and healthy? I'm going to use Laguna Water Prep to dechlorinate the tap water. What products should I invest in after that?

5. What is a good amount of Koi for a pond my size?

I'm sure I will have many more questions, but answers to these would go a long way. My goal is to have fish in my pond by the end of the month and to maintain a healthy pond going forward. Hopefully, I can get some pictures of my pond up, but my digital camera took a swim itself recently so we'll see...

Thanks!

 

[Udoli]

Just an update, I have the pump working again! Question #2 remains in regards to the filter and skimmer though.

 

[DrDave]

Welcome, please go to the User CP and add your location.

 

[koikeepr]

Hello there.

I would start as follows with your pond:

1) empty the WHOLE thing down to the bottom and get rid of every inch of debris, give it a good scrubbing and refill from scratch.

2) you need a pump and filter, yes. The pump should be able to push through the pond at least 1-1.5 times per hour. You also need to account for any pipe runs, waterfall, etc. I wold not get a pump smaller than 2500g, in fact I would go slightly larger than this and do 3000g. Yes, you need a filter. We have many great DIY ideas if you are handy to build one in our DIY forum.

3) take the plants with dirt outta the water. No dirt in the pond. If you want to keep them in the pond, you need to use pea gravel in the pot to anchor 'em. Dirt in a pot makes a mess of pond water. Better yet, plant your ferms at the perimeter of the pond and not in the pond.

4) you need to dechlor your water, yes. The most important thing to keep things healthy is a 20% water change weekly. Ponds are captive bodies of water that fish will be pooping and peeing in. Every week, you need to dilute that with a water change or the ammonia level will build up and kill the fish. You also need to have bird netting over the top of the pond if you have lots of falling leaves.

5) start with a few koi and see how they do. You don't have to do an "insta-pond" and get every fish at once. If you're first 2 survive a month, then slowly introduce more.