mothballing pond (Advice Please)

[kgt1223]

Transfered the fifty or sixty keepers from march spawning to there larger home yesterday. Would like to shut down the above ground 10x12 liner tank until next season. What is the protocol for this. I live in florida so no freezing water problems.

Thanx in advance for any advice, Kiefer

[dick benbow]

Basically what your looking to do is disinfect everything so it's sterile and ready to go next spring. If it were me I'd run the tank with a heavy dose of Potassium
thru it un aeriated and let it kill everything. Then I'd drain and rinse/scrub everything and cover. Just know that it takes another 6 weeks to retart. if you had no problems in there during the year why don't you keep a coupla koi in there to keep it going like you would a Q-tank (just in case) It's murphy's law if you clean and store something will happen that you'd wished you'd have kept it!

[bekko]

Empty pond! Now that's a novel idea.

You didn't say what the liner material is, but if its vinyl PVC you do not want to let it sit dry. It has been leaching plasticizers into the water and if dried it will become brittle, shrink and pull loose from the sides when refilled. EPDM and polyethylene (HDPE) do not shrink and do have UV inhibitors.

You could at least grow water hyacinth to feed the koi.

steve hopkins

[B.Scott]

Personally I would simply give the filter a good clean and make sure all the sludge is gone. I would consider putting a tiny pump that does a few hundred gallons an hour to maintain minimum circulation thru the filter. Possibly cover the pond and leave it till spring. I don't see a reason to sterlize it and force yourself to go through a new pond syndrome in the spring.
B.Scott

[kgt1223]

Quote: Originally Posted by B.Scott Personally I would simply give the filter a good clean and make sure all the sludge is gone. I would consider putting a tiny pump that does a few hundred gallons an hour to maintain minimum circulation thru the filter. Possibly cover the pond and leave it till spring. I don't see a reason to sterlize it and force yourself to go through a new pond syndrome in the spring. B.Scott

That sounds like a good plan. However, with the absence of koi to produce byproduct to feed the bio filter, should I relocate my bags of media to other koi bearing ponds?

Kiefer

[jacovors]

Hi Kiefer,

B.Scott has the right idea.
The bacteria in the filter will not die if you keep some circulation going,they will only become dormant and will activate as soon as conditions favour them.
Jaco

[B.Scott]

Thank's Jac,

Yes that is about my take on the matter. While their ability to remain dormant might possibly be shorter in the summer, In the winter that should present no trouble at all.
While you might try redistributing the media but i like to keep thing separate if possible thus not transfering problems about.
B.Scott

[MikeM]

Kiefer: I think it is a question of how you plan to use it. Years ago, when I played around with breeding some tropicals outdoors, I found that the fry did not do so well the second year in a small in-ground puddle pond. I suspected some sort of parasite. Perhaps costia? So, if it will be the hatching tank next year, I'd follow Dick's suggestion. If it will be used for quarantine or the like, I think B.Scott's idea is right.

[kgt1223]

Quote: Originally Posted by MikeM Kiefer: I think it is a question of how you plan to use it. Years ago, when I played around with breeding some tropicals outdoors, I found that the fry did not do so well the second year in a small in-ground puddle pond. I suspected some sort of parasite. Perhaps costia? So, if it will be the hatching tank next year, I'd follow Dick's suggestion. If it will be used for quarantine or the like, I think B.Scott's idea is right.

Great advice from all. I will be using it exclusivly for hatching tank, Was not aware of the dormant qualities of the bacteria on bio media. Good thing to know.

I do have an active qt so I will probably remove the media and pp bomb the entire system before draining and covering. My main concern was for the epdm liner with no water in it. There will be no uv exposure so I assume it will be ok. Has anyone ever left liners unfilled for prolonged periods of time?

Thanx again, Kiefer