interesting. do you have any pics of this combo?
new to this fourm...howdy everyone
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Mike, no ill will , there have been mechanical filter koi keepers who also say smooth sterile walls or a clay pond is the only way it works. Well i bet the Japanese clay ponds said that at first about the mechanical ponds. As far as i am concerned you can't argue with results . Such as your self i am beyond curious as to the single 30 gallon drum you have running 45,000 gallons and 180 Koi i would say your water is better then average to start, your pond has a very healthy coating of bacteria to help the 30 gallon filter, Oh and last but by no means least you obviously are a good custodian of your ponds.
And i believe msclem was saying that when she added mechanical filters to her set up it removed crucial organics that the bog needed to grow her plants suffered when she took the koi out and the bio load decreased. The type of bog thats pushed today in here is one that has only stone 3/8 pea or maybe even in my case 3/4 in the bog theres no soil which means without the waste products and organics theres no nutrients at all thus the bog suffered. The first year i had the pond i fed my fish like crazy as much as they wanted i gave them. In order to cycle the pond i over loaded the bio load and hoped to see what the bog could do. yes i got green water for about a month afterwards but it then cleared right up. I had several folks wonder how i had so many plants growing in a new pond as most look very sparse
At this point the only pre filter i have is the skimmer basket or the pump strainer everything else goes right to the bottom of the bog
And i believe msclem was saying that when she added mechanical filters to her set up it removed crucial organics that the bog needed to grow her plants suffered when she took the koi out and the bio load decreased. The type of bog thats pushed today in here is one that has only stone 3/8 pea or maybe even in my case 3/4 in the bog theres no soil which means without the waste products and organics theres no nutrients at all thus the bog suffered. The first year i had the pond i fed my fish like crazy as much as they wanted i gave them. In order to cycle the pond i over loaded the bio load and hoped to see what the bog could do. yes i got green water for about a month afterwards but it then cleared right up. I had several folks wonder how i had so many plants growing in a new pond as most look very sparse
At this point the only pre filter i have is the skimmer basket or the pump strainer everything else goes right to the bottom of the bog
mistake on my post ..4500 gal i have been busy today .. sorry
im back i have a death in the family here im trying to cope, sorry everyone
j.w
I Love my Goldies
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Sorry @MIKES KOI
Mike, Sorry for your loss.
Like the many others here, my ponds rely on a bog and the pond itself is heavily planted, and proper circulation. The fish load in my large pond is a mixture of koi, orfe, catfish and goldfish. Have nothing but 2 skimmers (no filter media other than skimmer net/prefilter pads) and an air pump and have had zero problems with my fish or my pond. No green water other than the initial set up,which is establishing the base of the food chain. I will say it does take knowledge of the correct plants to plant, ie ones that will grow like wildfire and suck up the nutrients in the pond. I much prefer pulling plants to washing out filters, the aggressive plants give the koi something to munch on as well, when I don’t feed them for a bit.
Haven’t tested my water in forever and haven’t lost fish to disease since the first couple years when I first started out with ponds 30 years ago. Do I lose fish yes, but to predation, the fish aren’t the top of the food chain in my ponds. Well maybe the large ones are tied with the terrapins for the top. The little ones if they live, they live if not....oh well.
As you said it is all in what you like, do you prefer the fish to be the focal point or just the overall look of a natural pond. Many ways to skin a cat, so to speak.
Like the many others here, my ponds rely on a bog and the pond itself is heavily planted, and proper circulation. The fish load in my large pond is a mixture of koi, orfe, catfish and goldfish. Have nothing but 2 skimmers (no filter media other than skimmer net/prefilter pads) and an air pump and have had zero problems with my fish or my pond. No green water other than the initial set up,which is establishing the base of the food chain. I will say it does take knowledge of the correct plants to plant, ie ones that will grow like wildfire and suck up the nutrients in the pond. I much prefer pulling plants to washing out filters, the aggressive plants give the koi something to munch on as well, when I don’t feed them for a bit.
Haven’t tested my water in forever and haven’t lost fish to disease since the first couple years when I first started out with ponds 30 years ago. Do I lose fish yes, but to predation, the fish aren’t the top of the food chain in my ponds. Well maybe the large ones are tied with the terrapins for the top. The little ones if they live, they live if not....oh well.
As you said it is all in what you like, do you prefer the fish to be the focal point or just the overall look of a natural pond. Many ways to skin a cat, so to speak.
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That's me! I'm a lazy pond keeper - I love a pond that takes care of itself. And why not? My hobby is gardening, not filter cleaning.
I stopped water testing after the first year. Nothing changed and it got kind of boring.
Why? If your bog is plumbed correctly, you're running clear water through it. Bogs aren't for mechanical filtration - that's what skimmers are for. If there's no debris, then what am I cleaning? I have to maintain the plants in my bog, but that's gardening, not filter maintenance.
New in what way? And how are NEW bog builders different than OLD ones?
Not picking on you @MIKES KOI - just providing the counterpoint to your statements. There are as many different ways to keep a pond as there are pond keepers. We're all just here learning from each other.
I'm sorry to hear about the death in your family. That's rough.
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^^^^ ditto
I turn my pond on in the spring and can totally ignore it all summer if I want to. Always clean, clear water with healthy fish, frogs, snakes (sometimes) dragon flies etc etc
Never clean a filter. Occasionally clean out the skimmer, but now that the huge maple died that cleaning has been cut way back.
I am not even sure what my pond looks like from underwater unless I don a snorkel and mask. Of course, would need to distract the turtles as they think anything new in the pond must be taste tested. Guess I could get some type of underwater video camera.....or get a water proof case for the iPhone, get a close up of them tasting something besides me. Might just look into that this spring, and see what goes on in the deep end of the pond away from prying eyes.