Koi pond improvement?

[Kodobear]

Hello everyone. I just moved into a home and inherited a pond with 4 koi, largest one is 12" and smallest is about 8". I dont know the pond gallons or much about it. I live in the northwest oregon.

I just had some immediate questions.

As you can see I have mesh wiring over the pond to protect it from herons or other predators. I have the device which sprays water in case predators come by, its the one the motion sensor one. But, I also have the netting which is an eyesore and takes a while to setup.

Is there any alternatives to this? If i have that water spraying motion detector device is the netting needed? The pond is not that deep, what kinds of cover can I give the fish in the event a predator arrives?

Also, the owner noted somethig about putting the netting on so the koi doesnt jump out. I think he was referencing when he put it in a smaller black bucket when he did pond maintenance and not the pond. Is that a good assumption?

There is alot of algae, how do I get rid of it?

Thank you.

 

[Faebinder]

Only covers u can add is artificial lily pad flowers and gator heads.

Getting rid of algae with a koi is complicated cause they eat plants that you need to have around to consume the nitrates that make algae flourish. You can try adding parrots feathers, frogbits, hyacinths, water lettuce and duckweed then watch which ones your koi don't eat then add more of it.

 

[Gemma]

Hi, welcome to the Forum!

In my personal experience, the water sensor, and fake alligator/heron only worked temporarily! Now I have 3 real thick panels of 1" mesh, they are easily removed for pond maintenance, way more resistant than netting, and I find them to be less of an eye soar.

 

[Faebinder]

Of course you can always build a bog and run pond water through it for more consumption of the nitrates and phosphates.

Or you can do more water changes.

 

[Tula]

Hi, welcome to the Forum!

In my personal experience, the water sensor, and fake alligator/heron only worked temporarily! Now I have 3 real thick panels of 1" mesh, they are easily removed for pond maintenance, way more resistant than netting, and I find them to be less of an eye soar.

I'd love to see a picture of your mesh panels

 

[Gemma]

I'd love to see a picture of your mesh panels

Keep in mind these pics were taken on a rainy day, the water was a bit cloudy

 

[Tula]

Thanks for the pictures @Gemma ! I like your mesh panels, never see them before. Did you make them, or purchase them?

 

[Gemma]

Thank you! We bought 3 whole sheets, then cut them to size!

 

[Hooded Ram]

Some great looking ponds on here, they are a credit to you all, #pondporn

 

[DoDad]

Living in the NW Oregon you might want to join this club. You can get lots of help there. http://www.nwkg.org/Home.aspx

 

[Faebinder]

Hi, welcome to the Forum!

In my personal experience, the water sensor, and fake alligator/heron only worked temporarily! Now I have 3 real thick panels of 1" mesh, they are easily removed for pond maintenance, way more resistant than netting, and I find them to be less of an eye soar.

Those are awesome where did you buy them?

 

[Gemma]

To be precise it's called : 1" square, steal mesh,

Those are awesome where did you buy them?

Those panels are made of: 1" square steel mesh, coated in PVC, we got them from a safety guards manufacturing company!
They were flat , 4x8 sheets, then hubby bent the sides (hammer and a 2x4) to stiffen it up

 

[Kodobear]

Awesome. I was looing at creating my own mesh as im surethere were different ways

There is a fair amount of algae build up. Ill look into those plants, but for now, can I just scoop buckets out and put in new buckets of water? I heard that if i left a bucket out of hose water the chlorine will evaporate?

 

[Kodobear]

Also, i'm looking to sell my koi. I have one big fat one atleast 12" long and the smallest one at 8". I may be off on measurements, where is the best place to sell them?

It seems theyre not normal koi, they don't look anything like Japanese koi and i'm looking to make a bit of money and then replace them with smaller japanese koi I can see grow.

 

[Kodobear]

Can someone tell me what types of koi they are? Not great pics but theyre from 10" to about 16". Also anyomeknow how much I could get for these?

Also how in the world do i get rid of this algae? Is it through water changes? Im leaning on selling off these koi and converting this to a moss waterfall garden