My goldfish pond

[callingcolleen1]

Sorry about your Sanke but great about your other fish. Do you have before and after pics? I didn't "win" the Koi and it's funny it sold for $1 more than my original high bid I was going to go to. I might get some smaller Koi later on after my pond is settled. I'm not is a hurry to have a lot of big fish so why not buy them smaller and watch them grow? I worked on my pond a little today even though it was just in the mid 30's outside. i just can't stand sitting inside any more this time of the year!

its a good thing you never got that koi, because if that koi was kept indoors all winter then it will be very hard on him to put them so suddenly in ice cold water as he is not conditioned for that sudden drop. I would recommend that you wait till water is nice and warm before you buy koi. My friend brought me her 4 goldfish the other day and they were in poor shape, from living in small tank with a heater indoors. They appeared to have scratched off some of their scales as the water was heated on top of it being indoors, so they had bugs for sure. Then I thought it was a nice day and since I had no where to put the two biggest goldfish, I thought I would float them in a large container in the bottom pond, but they died before I even got them in the pond as the water was just too much of a difference in temp. I put the three little ones in one of my tanks inside my greenhouse and they are fine and harassing my guppies...

 

[callingcolleen1]

Can hardly believe all the snow you got!! Wow that is some nice snow fort !! Is it still cold there or did it suddenly all melt? just wondering cause it is supposed to be spring so it could all melt suddenly and then you will have lots of muck and yuck everywhere.

Sorry to hear you lost another koi. I would wait till water is very nice and warm as these koi coming from indoor pet stores are weakened to begin with as they probably lived all of their life inside. Even buying them in fall is hard on them as they need a good long summer in the pond eating lots of bugs to build up their strength so they can be hardy and strong going into the winter. Just be patient and wait till weather is warm and all danger of frost is gone before putting any koi or goldfish from pet stores into your pond, as they are already stressed at pet stores living in crowded conditions and they need good long summer to built up strength for winter.

 

[addy1]

Sorry about your fish Keith, I know you were so happy when you got them.

 

[CometKeith]

Thanks Addy. Well is looks like the goldfish are going to rule the roost now. There supposedly is that one koi left but I'll have to see if it survived the winter. I did get my pond stuff today that I ordered. I decided that I need a stronger pump for my waterfall so I bought a 2900 GPH pump for it. I still have a 2000 GPH for the filter and some smaller pumps so there should be a lot of water flowing around the pond. One thing is there was some rattling in the box and it looks like there are some broken parts for the cage. I sent a picture to az ponds and am waiting to see what they will do. Colleen I agree with your comments and it is probably not a good idea to put a fish from a warm pond into colder water. One seller offered to hold any fish purchased until the buyer's pond water was 55 degrees. I thought that was a good suggestion. Well anyway too bummed out from losing another Koi to buy any more right now. I don't know what was hurting them but I'm sure construction debris in the pond did not help. We are doing our garden pavers next week so definitely nothing before then.

 

[Tula]

I hope you have time to relax and enjoy your pond this summer, now that you're settled in your new home. I'm sorry about your koi, I'd be bummed too. I think your pond will thrive in it's second season and will benefit from more water movement.

 

[CometKeith]

I hope you have time to relax and enjoy your pond this summer, now that you're settled in your new home. I'm sorry about your koi, I'd be bummed too. I think your pond will thrive in it's second season and will benefit from more water movement.

Thanks Tula. I think this year won't be that relaxing with everything planned but it would be nice. Next week pavers contractor is starting, then I need to finish the edging, add the new pumps, dig out the shelf I decided I don't want, plant some shrubs, and general landscaping around the house, etc!

 

[Gemma]

I'm so sorry you lost another koi @CometKeith

 

[CometKeith]

Thanks Gemma. It seems like the goldfish do a lot better in my pond than Koi. Still have not sited the Butterfly Sanke I got last fall. I'm hoping it's doing okay.

 

[callingcolleen1]

Just buy a small baby koi this spring and let him grow big and strong all summer and then they should survive. I had a lady drop off some very pale weak looking goldfish that she had in house and did not want. I tried putting the two biggest into pond but they died right away so I put the other three in to greenhouse tank that had wild guppies. They are looking stronger now and pond water warmer so I will try getting them out soon. I did buy three very tiny koi yesterday, and they are the size of minnows but just seen them swimming around bottom pond eating. My pond water warmer now at about 60 degrees.

 

[CometKeith]

Just buy a small baby koi this spring and let him grow big and strong all summer and then they should survive. I had a lady drop off some very pale weak looking goldfish that she had in house and did not want. I tried putting the two biggest into pond but they died right away so I put the other three in to greenhouse tank that had wild guppies. They are looking stronger now and pond water warmer so I will try getting them out soon. I did buy three very tiny koi yesterday, and they are the size of minnows but just seen them swimming around bottom pond eating. My pond water warmer now at about 60 degrees.

Colleen that might be a good idea to start with small ones and let them grow. Well finally saw my last Koi that I had been looking for. Unfortunately it was dead and looked horrible. I don't know if the pond being covered with snow caused the problem. I should have got the aerator sooner. Well anyway my 50 or 60 goldfish all look great. I set up my new 2900 gallon pump with my biofilter and got it running. Kudo's to AZ Ponds. They replaced the broken pump right away. Unfortunately I did some of it late in the evening and saw that I lost about a foot of water the next morning because one of the hoses wasn't set right at the waterfall. We also had the pavers installed in the patio in front of the pond and they came out great. So great in fact my wife decided the pond is in the wrong place and she wants me to center it a few feet and move it away from the garage a few feet so we can properly landscape around it!!
I wonder if anyone else has moved a pond? I'm thinking I would drain it all the way. Catch the fish. Dig the new dimensions and just have some strong guys help me drag the liner to the new spot. I have some construction guys I work with that think they could dig and move the liner in one day. So day 1 is pumping all the water and catching the fish and removing plants, and day 2 is digging the new pond and dragging the liner and day 2.5 or 3 is refilling it and putting the fish and plants back. It will only be moved a few feet in two directions but I am going to dig it a little deeper and remove some shelves. Any suggestions would be welcome!!! Here are a few pics from the paver install.

 

[callingcolleen1]

That looks pretty awesome!! Going ro be nice when you get pond moved. You maybe can "expand" the pond a little bigger and deeper too while your at it.
As far as wintering koi all I can tell you for sure is that get them young and let them grow a summer season before wintering and then make sure they always have plenty of oxygen, as winter ice and snow can choke them out fast. I find the best way is to have a pump moving water around as they are more reliable than an air pump making bubbles in water, as air pumps tend to condensate freeze shut after about -25 below.

 

[MitchM]

Troubling to hear about your fish losses, Keith.
Koi are bottom feeders, so I wouldn't be surprised if some of that construction debris caused them some problems.

I smiled when I read of your wife's wishes to move the pond over a few feet...it reminded me of my wife when I built her dental office and she wanted a wall moved a foot or so. No problem, it's just a bearing wall that included mechanicals. I did as she asked, and as usual, it was worth it. Not a small task though.

When moving your pond my only advice is to make sure you have a mature filter ready to handle the fish waste in the temporary holding tank while you move the pond. Cleaning the liner and starting over is probably a good thing considering the possible contents of the debris sitting on the bottom.

Good luck!

 

[Lisak1]

"Just a few feet to the left, dear!" haha! With enough shovels and strong backs you'll get it done @CometKeith . It's looking beautiful! I love the paver patio!

 

[CometKeith]

That looks pretty awesome!! Going ro be nice when you get pond moved. You maybe can "expand" the pond a little bigger and deeper too while your at it.
As far as wintering koi all I can tell you for sure is that get them young and let them grow a summer season before wintering and then make sure they always have plenty of oxygen, as winter ice and snow can choke them out fast. I find the best way is to have a pump moving water around as they are more reliable than an air pump making bubbles in water, as air pumps tend to condensate freeze shut after about -25 below.

Thanks for the advice Colleen. Usually I leave my pump running all winter but I couldn't this year because we were away for a few weeks. Last year when we were still under construction my pump created a ice skating rink at my neighbor's house because of overflow and I didn't want that to happen again! We had an especially cold spell late December and early January that was difficult. I plan on using the same liner. I did leave a little extra liner on the back side. Now I wish I didn't cut the front liner and had just folded it up. If I ever want to get serious about Koi this is my opportunity to go deeper. When I built it I left steps in the pond so it would be possible to "walk" out. I'm not really sure if I want or need that anymore. Also I think I overdid it with shelves and may get rid of most of them.

Troubling to hear about your fish losses, Keith.
Koi are bottom feeders, so I wouldn't be surprised if some of that construction debris caused them some problems.

I smiled when I read of your wife's wishes to move the pond over a few feet...it reminded me of my wife when I built her dental office and she wanted a wall moved a foot or so. No problem, it's just a bearing wall that included mechanicals. I did as she asked, and as usual, it was worth it. Not a small task though.

When moving your pond my only advice is to make sure you have a mature filter ready to handle the fish waste in the temporary holding tank while you move the pond. Cleaning the liner and starting over is probably a good thing considering the possible contents of the debris sitting on the bottom.

Good luck!

Thanks Mitch. That's funny about the wall. We get all sorts of funny requests from people in construction. I always tell people that any change always affects at least 7 other things without them realizing it! Actually this is quite funny too. I play tennis every Tuesday night on 4 courts with 12 people. We usually have a little get together at the facility afterwards with snacks and beverages. Well I had my phone in my tennis bag and the woman from the front desk comes up to our group and says to me you have a phone call from your wife but it's not an emergency. Everyone in my group was sort of in shock because it's never happened that anyone has had a call like that. It turns out my wife was really upset how the pond looked next to the new pavers and that is what the call was about. I had to let everyone know what happened when I came back and got questions like ...the call was about your pond??? when did you build it? ....uh 18 months ago and stuff like that. For her defense when we did build the pond we were not even halfway through our construction project and I needed a quick place to put my fish after selling our house and I did say I could move it or change it if it wasn't right later on but never thought that would really happen.
Re filter. I definitely plan to use the same filter and keep it running throughout even if it is just in the holding bin for the fish. My understanding is bb start to die off after 1 hour of inactivity so I plan on turning it off just for a minute or two when I switch it.I just started it up the other day so maybe I should wait a few weeks until it matures? Re cleaning the liner maybe just a light cleaning and scoop out any gook that is there? I think pressure washing it might be a bad idea because from past experiences when putting in a new liner mid-season that keeping the same filter is good but it's better to also have a liner that has a bacterial coating on it.
Thanks Lisak. I was worried that the dust from cutting the pavers would hurt the pond but they kept most of it covered so i think that helped.

 

[j.w]

@CometKeith you just keep making that new place better and better. I love the new patio and hope that pond's not too heavy to move. Remember to lift w/your legs