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Old 12-22-2017, 08:26 PM
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PamelaJune PamelaJune is offline
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10 yr Member
PamelaJune PamelaJune is offline
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Join Date: Dec 2013
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Posts: 1,140
10 yr Member
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I know very litttle about Koi and goldfish, but I’m fairly certain we have a combination in the pond. We lost 5 of our big Koi 3 years ago when the humidity was very high and we had an electrical outage for over 8 hours, the pump wasn’t working and the fish were gasping for air at the top. It was terrible and I was devestated to see them struggling. The smaller ones survived as did the big goldfish. The pondshop up the road lost 3 of his Koi same night because of the same thing...

Can’t run the hozelock pumps and stop the filtration, these pumps db bought to replace the Oase pump we had which only needed doing once every 8 weeks to these 2 new pumps (which are crap) and need doing every week. The pond shop had sold to new owners and they were distributors of the new product and talked db into, changing to them (keep in mind he caught legionnaires we think from the Oase pump) hozelock bioforce, supposed to be simple easy turn of the handle, they have never ever been a simple easy turn, they were installed incorrectly, and we’ve had nothing but trouble since. Last Xmas when db was away they broke down and I had to get a chap in to fix them as the humidity was high, he said they’re still under warranty, so while db was away for the 3 weeks I was doing the weekly turn and clean it nearly broke my back, getting in and out of the pond to the actual pumps to lift them out and clean, then go to the filters and turn them to run the water clean. It’s just a massive job ever since he got these new pumps. I hate them with a passion and the chap that came to fix them said get rid of them while under warranty, they’re useless. He recommended we go back to the Oase or a different brand but of course db came home, never did anything about following up despite me giving him all the detail what needed to be done and so now out of warranty, stuck with a crappy system I can’t manage.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wide-O View Post
You could keep small goldfish (well, they get to about 15cm and 25 years old) without needing filtration. No fish is a no-no as you then just built yourself a giant mosquito breeding place (!) And as you'd have almost no debris from big fish, you could leave the pond the size it is now! Just stop the whole filtration system. And don't worry about algae/pond turning green for a while: the fish love it. You wouldn't even have to feed them, they'll find their own food without any problems.

You'd still ideally have to put a net over the pond in fall (dunno if you have many leaves whirling around - they do sink and make a mess/produce methane etc on the bottom).

I had my pond going without filtration or skimmer for 5 years without any problem, with about 10 goldfish (don't take golden orfes, they get very big as well.)

Nets are cheap, and only need to be put/removed once a year.

It looks great, so maybe reconsider and indeed go "small fry"?

I gave away about 17 fish IIRC.

On a nice day you can always try to spend a few hours on your deck, feed them a few pellets at the time, and take pics when they come up. That way it's easier for others to see what types etc. you have.

Another way is throwing a half orange (peel & all) in the pond: they will play with it and eat from it (and it's healthy LOL). Again a good way to take a few snapshots.

If you love the layout, and don't mind just having a very few small fish, the least work would be a) sell the biguns b) feed pump directly to the waterfall (skip filtration system). A possible c) is - if already installed - keep a skimmer going, and empty that every week or so. Usually that's a small basket which will contain leaves. Not heavy, 5 minute job.

The BIG JOB usually is to clean out the filter. I don't know if it's brushes or mats or a combination etc, but it's literally a sh***ty job and even breaks my back. But with no big fish, there is nothing to filter, the volume is more than needed to keep "self-sustaining" (maybe add a few iris?/other marginal plants) so the little ones will be happy as ... erm... fish in the water. (sorry. )

30 grown koi produce a huge amount of crud. Remove them and your pond will stay just fine without "big maintenance". Done it, have T-shirt, it works (my pond is about 30,000 liters).

With that solution you would a) get money b) keep nice pond c) have little to no work. I dunno, take your time to think it over? Making it smaller would make it less healthy for the small fish (!)...

PS: I know a bit about types of koi, but not enough to "value" them properly. But for example, say, if you have a 50cm white one with only a red dot on its head then, yeah, that one may well be worth 4K or more... So don't be a thief of your own wallet either.

Edit: I now see the pond was made using a liner (probably Firestone), so it is possible to "make it smaller" without having to buy anything at all. Just sell fish, drain, (doesn't have to be totally drained), peel back liner towards the part that stays, fill in the bit you want gone with sand/whatever, and "move up" the liner to it's new frontier - and cut away the excess. Sounds more complicated than it is.
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Last edited by PamelaJune; 12-22-2017 at 08:42 PM.
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eva5667faliure (12-23-2017), ger715 (12-22-2017), Wide-O (12-23-2017)