I will take fish food with that warm water

Despite what the calendar says, it’s time for the fish to wake up.   They are waking up on their own, and they are hungry.  Watching the Koi is a good indicator that it might be getting close to the time to start feeding them a low protein food again, but really, its not like the fish stop shivering or put up a sign saying “Feed me!!!”.

I use water temperature as the final guide.  Over the holidays, you may remember I got one of these nifty remote temperature gauges, so I can plan out my Koi Garden days from the warmth of my house.  Nice....  Once the temperature starts getting higher than 50 degrees F, for extended periods of time, the fish will be able to digest the food they eat.  The fish’s immune system also turns on by that time and helps the fish fight the waking bad bacteria and diseases.   The increasing temperatures also allow the beneficial bacteria of the filters to start the Nitrogen cycle.

With all this happening, it is a risky time for the fish, plus I have not even mentioned my personal war with the Raccoon, but again I digress.  In a normal spring, the temperature gradually increases over 50, with multiple dips back into the 40s and even 30s.  I think this stresses the fish and increases the risk of sickness.  Therefore, in the Koi Garden, I try to reduce the risk with the help of an aquarium thermometer which is placed in the external filter assembly.  This has heated the water flowing from the filter to the pond and reduced the fluctuations in the water temperature, especially when the temperature drops below 50 degrees F. 

The heater should also allow the beneficial bacteria to take root and begin to do their job cleaning the water at the earliest possible time.  At the same time, I have also turned off the UV sterilizing filter, to make sure the beneficial bacteria have a fighting chance.  At this time, I am going to put up with green water if it means the filters get started correctly.  Better to have a healthy Koi that I cannot see due to green water than an unhealthy Koi clearly visible in the bottom of the pond…..

Testing the water chemicals during this timeframe is very important as things can change within days.  In the Koi Garden the Ammonia and Nitrite levels have not been too high yet, but if they do rise above safe levels, water changes may be necessary.  I will keep my eyes on this in the future.

Brrrr, winter has arrived!

The temperature has dropped for the last week and is staying well under any sane temperature (this AM we woke to a 21 degrees, in Seattle no less). 

But the Koi Garden is ready for winter.   The heater has long been turned off and the temperature has dropped nicely and evenly.  As I have talked about in earlier posts, the heater is used to even the temperature out as it falls to the winter levels.  There are some ponds that stay heated year around so the fish don’t even know that winter has arrived.  I call those ponds San Diego ponds….  But our goal is not to do that.  We like the seasons!  We just want to make the transitions smoother.

I have raked the leaves up to keep them from getting into the pond to foul the water.   I also got all the leaves out of the crushed gravel.  A Zen Garden with dirty gravel will just not do! 

The lilies and irises have been split and cut back in preparation for the cold season.  Cutting them way back allows them to go dormant and focus any new growth on the root structure.

The water has cleared up some as the temperatures dropped so it is almost possible to see to the bottom of the pond.

But most importantly, the pond is covered with the safety cover.  Jumping fish are not a problem this time of year as the fish are mostly sleeping.  But it does keep the leaves out and stops any raccoons, herons or eagles stopping by looking to have a sleeping Koi for breakfast. 

The Koi are sleeping without a worry in the world….

Oh and for all the shoppers who are just starting their search to find that perfect gift for their Koi Garden family and friends, we have moved the Koi Garden Guy’s Holiday gift recommendations to a special carousel at the bottom of this site.  This will be available for the next few weeks to save you the effort of perusing old posts. 

A chill is in the air….

Well the summer is gone, at least for now.

This drop in temperature affects the inhabitants of the Koi Garden Pond as much as it does humans. While we can scurry for the fall sweaters and sweatshirts, the Koi cannot do so. Even though a large percentage of the Koi Garden pond is situated underground, which moderates any temperature changes, the water still does change according the air temperature. I just checked the water temperature today and it has gotten down to 58 degrees F. It was in the 70s a week or so ago.

There are two parts of temperature change to be concerned about: The resultant temperature; and the speed in which the temperature changes.

Now the 50s are not really a problem for the Koi. You can continue to feed the Koi, just switch the food to a lower protein variety. As we mentioned in earlier blogs, temperatures less than 50 degrees are where you have to be more concerned. That is when I stop feeding altogether. So imagine the problem if/when the temperature raises over 50 again? Do you start feeding again? Continue not feeding? And what about the food previously eaten but not fully digested? All sorts of problems can and do occur. It is better to go through the temperature change through the 50s just once or twice a season.

So, back to our old friend, the aquarium heater. We use the heater to regulate the pond and filter water temperature. It won’t keep the pond above 50 degrees all winter, but it will slow the decline. And that is really what we need to do anyway.

Much better than trying to fit a sweatshirt on a Koi...

Pea Soup anyone?

Every spring it comes. And every spring we come up with more tools to fight it. That green, algae filled water that restricts us from seeing the beautiful fish we pamper so much.

I have a nice UV light that will sterilize the water and keep the single cell algae in check very well. The UV light is positioned in the pond in between the in pool filter and the large exterior filter. The UV light is positioned so that only half of the water going to the filter goes through the UV filter, the rest goes directly to the exterior filter. This setup guarantees that the UV light will not sterilize all the water and kill all the bacteria in the water and the filters.

I do not have the filter on all year. I leave the UV light off for the winter and the beginning of the spring. I didn’t want to do anything to reduce the amount of beneficial bacteria in the water until the bacteria filters are up and running. I don’t mind green water for the beginning of the warmer season.

Green water in itself is not an indication of a problem. It could just be that your biological filter is not functioning yet. It is however, very important that you check the water often. You should check for Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites. It is also important to check the water PH level; it should be between 7 and 8. Also make sure that the Oxygen levels of the water are high. If you have lowered your waterfalls for the winter, it is time to increase the flow and oxygenation. I think that you should also turn on any Venturi tubes you may have in your pond to get the frothy Oxygen flows.

If any of the measurements are too high, you should remove 1/4 or 1/3 of the water and replace it with new water. Please note that if you do use salt, check and adjust your salt amount after you make any additions of new water.

Wake me up in the Spring

As the temperature rises over 40 degrees, the fish begin to wake up and move around. I wait until the temperature gets over 45 consistently before I start feeding the fish. I then turn the filter heater on, if it isn't already. Having the heater on tends to even out the fluctuations in water temperature from day to night. This year we have had many days where it dropped down to near freezing. In fact, on April 1st we had snow for about 4 hours during the day. Not the typical spring we're used to in Seattle. But the filter heater keeps things fairly even.


The other thing using a filter heater does, is it allows the bacteria that will reside in the filter a chance to grow earlier. This year I introduced bacteria capsules into the central water entrance of the filter April 1st. The central water entrance is also where the heater assembly is located so it provides a nice environment for the bacteria to grow. These bacteria tablets are available at most pond stores. (I purchased mine at the neighborhood Lowes.) I also spent some time performing water tests for Ammonia, Nitrites, and also Nitrates. If any of those get too high, I pump ¼ of the water out (onto the lawn) and replace it with new water from the tap. I try and check the water every week, maybe more often as you are trying to establish your filters.

Winter is Back!!

Winter is back.
It is not fair. People in Seattle are not used to lots of snow. And I think end of February is too late to have lots of snow and cold temperatures. But this year, we have.

I have had to decide whether to turn on the filter heater again and again. It also didn’t help that the temperature gauge broke. . Oh well, off to support the local Koi shop.

Also it is good to keep an extra eye on the Koi to see if any problems are occurring. I have a few long finned Koi and sometimes one or two of them seem to get more problems with the fins. If the fins are showing signs of getting frayed or being eaten you may need to deal with it. It could be a number of things. You should perform a complete set of water tests. I also use Salt added to the pond to help out. Salt takes some stress off of the fish by making their systems work more efficiently. It also irritates their scales and increases the slimy covering on the scales. This covering helps protect the fins from what was causing trouble with their fins.