Too many fish too fast...need advice.

[Gemma]

True and I was wondering this I will ask here as I did in another thread. Would a winter filter (mechanical in nature and possibly heated) be a good idea in this case?

Pond keepers are not all in agreement when it comes to winter ponding, some shut down everything and move airline higher trying not to disturb the warmer water at the bottom where the fish lay, I believe that aeration and oxygenation are more important than keeping the water a few degree warmer.
I never used a heater, my Pond Max 40 aerator does a great job keeping an opening in the ice.
I leave everything running 24/7, 365 days, unless the waterfalls builds up ice too fast and starve the pump, then I turn pump off but usually for very short time.

 

[Lisak1]

Would a winter filter (mechanical in nature and possibly heated) be a good idea in this case?

I'm not sure this was a winter pond question or a question of using winter equipment now to add aeration - what exactly is a "winter filter"? I'm not familiar with the concept of a heated filter for winter.

 

[LarryM]

My converted swimming pool pond is 15k gallons as well. In the past I have had close to 40 koi and at least that many full grown goldfish. They did fine for a number of years until the koi got too big for the filtration system I think. The main difference I can see between my system and yours is the pump. I'm running a 7500 gph pump driving an AquaUltraviolet filter rated for up to 20k gal.
So you might look into a larger capacity pump. They aren't cheap, but once you got it you got it. If you are able to off some of the fish you should be fine.

 

[Lisak1]

If you are able to off some of the fish you should be fine.

Are you suggesting he hire a fish hitman @LarryM ? haha!

 

[carolinaguy]

True I am thinking 10% water changes daily if I see a noticeable change in the ammonia.

All great ideas thank you and @sissy. That was my fear that I just could not communicate well enough in the moment but I think we can make this work.


True and I was wondering this I will ask here as I did in another thread. Would a winter filter (mechanical in nature and possibly heated) be a good idea in this case?

10 percent daily change is way too high. The standard is 10 percent a week. The whole purpose of a water change is to reduce the dissolved organic compounds that will build up and are evident when your waterfalls begin to foam and the foam is persistent. If you think about it, the only materials that can build up are chemical waste, solid waste and dissolved organics. Filters take care of the first two and water changes and foam fractionators take care of the organics. Use a fractionator instead of massive water changes, or set up a continuous exchange system like the one we use. Since our pond water is pumped from a lake and is ridiculously cheap, we set up a fill line running off the irrigation system. Every time the irrigation system runs, water is added to the pond. With our leaks that probably lose 3/4 inch a day, we replace probably 5 inches a week, and that is about 12 percent.

 

[Tara]

If I lived nearby I would take the white butterfly of your hands. I have no advice as I am new to having a pond. But hope things work out ok for you.

 

[LarryM]

Are you suggesting he hire a fish hitman @LarryM ? haha!

Who me? I would never put out a contract on a beautiful koi. Hoping he can find new homes for the extra fish.