[Auntiesue]

Hubby and I keep all our koi indoors from around the end of October through middle of May. We live in Minnesota. Winter is simply too harsh to chance loosing any of the fish to our winters. Two years ago I added simple shop lighting fixturs (4 of them holding 2 bulbs each). suspended about 8-10 inches above the top of our holding tanks. We use a rather inexpensive broad spectrum bulbs that I purchase at Menards. The light must penatrate a plastic opeque cover as well. They are all on a timer which goes on about 7:00 am and off again around 11:00 at night. Since adding this lighting I've noticed a marked improvement compared to prior years without them. Colors are holding well. I notice is most with out Kin Ki Utsuri. Her sumi would totally go to gray once inside, but return thick and black when released again outdoors each spring. With the lights added, this does not happen anymore. My Gosanke hold their reds well also. I can't remember the lumins for each bulb, but will try to get that information in the next few days.