Need Advice

[Jenny]

Are you familiar with the Nitrogen Cycle?

Nope

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Nope

You are truly a beginner as we all were at one time. Rather than explain here in this forum, I suggest that you go on-line and read about the Nitrogen Cycle in ponds from as many different sources as you can find. Then come back to this forum with your questions.
Let me just say that in a pond with fish the Nitrogen cycle is the main controlling factor for pond balance and fish health.

 

[Jenny]

Would this help with the nitrogen cycle?: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Atlantic-Ga...023?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c19ad9ab7
i might use it to make a waterfall

 

[sissy]

That is expensive for a waterfall filter you can get them on walmart .com or pet solutions .com or dr foster and smith .com

 

[Jenny]

Thanks!

 

[sissy]

I have seen the 12 inch opening ones for as low as 39 dollars .But a aerator will help just as good .The one 4 port one at petco is less than 30 dollars and comes with hoses and air stones .But then you would have to hide the hoses .I use lots of activated charcoal and zeolite helps with ammonia .Any one that ones horses knows about pdz horse stall refresher and crushed oyster shells in fine mesh bags stabilizes ph

 

[sissy]

You can also go on petsolutions and look at there online info for free and dr. foster and smith online has info also .You can get pond supplies through them.The pics above are some stuff I use in my filters and you can buy bacteria to help get a bio filter started

 

[Jenny]

So garlic, oysters, horse stall freshener, and charcoal? I knew joining this forum was a good idea!

 

[sissy]

I use lava rock in my filters some consider it aold fashioned but it works great and even Eric Tripplet agrees ,he is the pionddigger and gives great info on you tube

 

[sissy]

He has a set of video's giving great info on ponds and building them

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Would this help with the nitrogen cycle?: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Atlantic-Ga...023?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1c19ad9ab7
i might use it to make a waterfall

That is expensive for a waterfall filter you can get them on walmart .com or pet solutions .com or dr foster and smith .com

Regardless of the cost, you first need to know Why you need a biological filter. Don't make the mistake that many of us have made in the past by getting excited and putting the cart before the horse. You need to learn the biological and chemical processes that keeps an aquatic habitat functioning..properly or improperly. A pond is considerably more than just a hole in the ground filled with water. Learn the basics before attempting to learn all the other stuff.

 

[sissy]

I started not knowing a thing but found in my dads safe the info on the pond my dad and I built when i was a child .I use lava rock because I knew my dad did .I have used bags of activated charcoal in my filters and even ponddigger likes both in filters .So I am guessing my dad knew more about ponds than I thought .

 

[Jenny]

I'm looking for a filter that changes the bad bacteria into good bacteria, right? The fish eat plants, which they excrete. Their excretions combine with leaves to create ammonia. The ammonia goes into a biofilter and turns to nitrite, which it still harmful. So another chemical is introduced to turn it into nitrate, which is harmless. That's the nitrogen cycle, right? So, the pressure pump and the filter I have aren't biofilters, but I think the spillway filter might be...

 

[Jenny]

I also can't figure out how to know whether my oxygen level is correct. There's no test is there?
I've decided to wait on breeding, I'm clearly not ready! I'll get more baby koi just for fun, and when they grow, I'll eventually build a bigger pond. But in the meantime, I want to make sure the current one is safe.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I'm looking for a filter that changes the bad bacteria into good bacteria, right? The fish eat plants, which they excrete. Their excretions combine with leaves to create ammonia. The ammonia goes into a biofilter and turns to nitrite, which it still harmful. So another chemical is introduced to turn it into nitrate, which is harmless. That's the nitrogen cycle, right? So, the pressure pump and the filter I have aren't biofilters, but I think the spillway filter might be...

I also can't figure out how to know whether my oxygen level is correct. There's no test is there?
I've decided to wait on breeding, I'm clearly not ready! I'll get more baby koi just for fun, and when they grow, I'll eventually build a bigger pond. But in the meantime, I want to make sure the current one is safe.

Jenny, your first post is almost completely wrong, you really need to do some reading.
Oxygen tests are readily available, but you also need a kit that contains tests for all of the other major parameters...pH, Ammonia, Nitite, Nitrate, Alkalinity, Hardness and Phosphorous. And, of course, a pond thermometer.
Considering the present set-up of your ponds, adding more Koi at this time would be a grave mistake. Your ponds will not support them for very long.