Please comment on my maintenance routine and question about winter

[Bossman]

The following is my maintenance routine that I would like your comments on and any suggestions. My pond is 800 gallons above ground every two weeks I vacuum the bottom and change about 250 to 300 gallons of water. I clean the filter and aerator and use declorinator prior to adding new water. I check the PH, Ammonia, Nitrites and Phosphate every 4 days and all parameters are good. I have 4 comments and 4 small koi, 4 inches in length.

So does my maintenance routine sound adequate or I am missing something?

Also, as this this my first winter/cold weather season, I live in South Carolina where weather is usually not extreme, do I continue this routine in the winter. I am aware of not feeding when water is in 50's. I am currently feed fall/winter/spring food.

 

[Phaewryn]

You might want to ask about winterizing in the forum dedicated to that topic, but I do see a potential problem with your routine maintainence program: How are you cleaning your filter, and what type of filter is it? It is important to never remove all the benefitical bacteria from the pond's filter, and if you're cleaning your filter media with say, a garden hose and tap water, you're killing all your good bacteria, and often at every 2 weeks. I have two filters, a box mechanical pre-filter (filter pads and carbon), and a seperate bio-filter. The box filter gets the hose every other week, like yours, but the bio-filter is only touched rarely, and then only rinsed in dirty pond water when very "gunky" to save the bacteria. So long as you're only swishing the filter media in pond water in a bucket, and not hosing them out, you'll be OK, but if you're using the hose or taking them into the kitchen sink, that's a problem.

 

[poconojoe]

Don't take this the wrong way. I don't mean to be cynical, disrespectful or derogatory...
I think you are doing too much. Making too much work of it. Changing too much water too often and testing the water too often. And do you really get that much muck that you need to vacuum every two weeks? As long as your pond's natural cycle with it's beneficial bacteria is all properly balanced and your filtration is up to par, you shouldn't have to do so much work.
Sit back and enjoy it's beauty.
My pond is 1500+ gallons and I rarely test the water. I don't vacuum it, but do scoop it out with a net about two, maybe three times a year. I rarely change any water. And that being said, I know my fish load is way way too high and everyone is healthy and happy.
You can do what you want, it's your pond.

 

[Lisak1]

Agree agree agree with @poconojoe - way too much work for something that should be relaxing and fun. I fear your routine will take the joy out of keeping a pond.

You're essentially changing out between 25 and 40% of your water every two weeks - completely unnecessary. Lots of people, myself included, do NO water changes at all - I top off when the pond gets low, but that's it. We think of that fresh water from the perspective of human beings - who would want to keep swimming in the same bath water, right? But some smart pond folks will tell you that water changes are very stressful for fish as they force them to constantly adjust to the new water. Mature pond water is a good thing! And why so much bottom vacuuming? What's down there that needs to be removed?

Having said all that, I am concerned about your fish load - you say "four small koi"... but those koi won't stay small for long. At 800 gallons you have the perfect sized pond for goldfish, comets, or shubunkins. But it's way too small for those koi. Koi can grown to MORE than 2 feet long in a quick hurry. I'd work on finding a home for them before it becomes a critical situation.

Like @poconojoe said - your pond, your decision. But since you asked, there's my opinion! Have you shared photos of your pond? I'd love to see it!

 

[Spartamets]

I second Lisa. Koi grow crazy fast and crazy big. There's no such thing as a small koi, and four is too many for a pond that small. Really, on is probably too many. I also think you can relax more. I am a pretty obsessive tinkerer, too, so I understand the impulse (although I always seem to be fixing problems I've made for myself). The concern, counterintuitive as it might sound, is that you can clean yourself to a more unhealthy pond if you are removing the beneficial bacteria, which sounds quite possible in your case. So I'd try to find a way to rehome the koi and otherwise try to sit back and enjoy the pond more.

 

[poconojoe]

Yes, most people think koi pond when they venture into this hobby, but they soon realize how much room is needed to actually keep koi.
I try to sway newcomers to go for shubunkin and goldfish. Shubunkin don't grow too large, have beautiful fins and nice coloration. Goldfish come in many varieties from regular to fancy and even different colors.
Koi get really big real fast and can be a burden on your filtration system. It will get crowded real fast and it will be hard to keep your water clean and balanced.
Eventually the koi will get so large they might even suffer due to several reasons. I've had some big ones die for a few different reasons. I won't introduce any more koi in the future. If anything I would go for shubunkin.