| Joe: It has been over a year since fish went into the pond, although the construction site feeling stayed until last Labor Day when the flagstone was finally completed. ...It has been a quick year.
First & foremost, the koi love it. With the old pond I was able to grow koi to a fairly large size due to our climate and huge, regular water changes. But, I could not get the nice luster & skin finish I saw on HenryC's fish (in his old pond... with his new pond his water is going to stay a mile ahead of mine!). I am not referring to a genetic quality. I am talking about the glow that a really healthy, strong koi can have. Even with 50% weekly water changes, I could not keep nitrate levels below 10ppm for any length of time, and nitrate would rise very high during the times when we were having leaves or pollen showering into the pond... which occurred in 6 distinct periods during the year. Hurricane Charlie not only led to doing the new pond, but cleared out most of the trees that contributed to the problem.
The new pond is typically under 5ppm nitrate and it is not unusual for it to be below 2ppm. I have had one period where nitrate went up to 12ppm when pollen and debris from the remaining pecan tree were really bad. Ammonia is never detectable. In the break-in period nitrite was barely detectable for a short time. Whether the Bakki Shower or all the air in the Nexus gets the credit, or the moderate stocking or ???...I cannot say. Maybe the combination of the different types of filtration? In any event, the water quality shows in the fish. Even the aged home bred Hariwake that's been with me a long time has never looked better. I think she has finally crossed the 30" mark in her middle age and has a more youthful appearance.
But, is anything ever perfect?... No.
Having a 6-foot depth is great for the koi. I believe it helps moderate our hot temperatures, and the fish love the swimming room of a large pond. But, there is a negative. When a pond is 3-4 feet deep and around 5,000 gallons, the fish are never very far from the surface and never very far away. That gives a certain "intimacy" when viewing the koi that goes away when a pond is deep and large. I would not go back, but for many pondkeepers the extra size and depth would take away what they enjoy most. I think there is a compromise that I wish I had room to accomodate... JR mentioned a couple of years ago (on NI, I think) the idea of a "feeding ledge" similar to what Maeda has in his big indoor pond. The idea is to have an area at one end where the depth is about 3-4' where the fish can be easily observed when sinking food is used. Since I use sinking food more than floating, I think I would particularly enjoy having such a feature. It did not occur to me when the pond was being planned, and I'm not sure how filtration/returns, etc. would need to be re-designed, but it is something I would want to consider if I was starting over.
Well, this is going too long and I've got work to do. I'll post some other thoughts later. |