Tap Water

[Tamus]

So say someone had this dinky little watergarden and they wanted to try this out would they be able to.

Run a hose from a water spigot that never gets used because it is in an out of the way area to a 10 gallon bucket with a lid made to conect with the hose and air holes in the lid to let out air. The water at a drip travels through the hose into the bucket where you have a smaller bucket filled with screens and activated carbon or just some replacement filters like used in aquariums the water then comes out of the bottom of that bucket through holes into the main bucket where the air stone is, finally to exit the bucket through another, but much smaller hose to the pond.
You know not that I am planning a trip to the hardware store or anything
I just think it is a great way to replace water lost from spitters and waterfalls. The higher PH from the tap water wont effect pond PH with it being small amounts spread over the course of time will it? My tap water isn't off the charts PH wise but it is higher.

[saratogatan]

It si true that cl got 'disposed off' thru aging, in a day or 2. And that is what brought chrolamin to most water companies in northern America. It is supposed to release its cl component into the water slowly. Under this scenerio, you may need multiple aging ponds/tanks for regular water replenishment.

stan

[Akai-San]

Quote: Originally Posted by dick benbow Shows your thinking! point I'd like you to take with you is that water wears out with use. Everything takes from it. Fish, plants, bacteria, they remove minerals and other things needed for life. That's why the constant trickle in with new water really is the best of all worlds. yes, it increases your water bill, but if you don't have to deal with sick fish it's worth it!

Dick,
What would be the recommended daily water change? I've been hearing 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% etc. In your opinion for a 10000-12000 gallon pond. What percentage water change is acceptable? I'm looking at that 10% and then thinking to myself 1200 gallons, EVERYDAY for 30 days thats 36000 gallons a month....thats amounts to appox. four hundred dollars a month that means $4800 a year.....oh my.

[saratogatan]

we are starting to see water resources being stressed here in Northern California too. We were talking water rationing last year. So we will not have the lux to do the type of change top tier itchies prefer.

stan

[dtbh]

Dear Koifishgirl

The activated carbon filter only remove certain things (cannot remember what else but it includes chlorine) and is attached to my mains just before the water meter. It is not meant to replace our pond filtration system.

It comes in a casing very much like the commercial O2 tanks you see at the koi dealers. This means the amount of materials used is predetermined by the size of this prefilter. Mine also has a mechanical filter in-built. Needs regular back-flush. Just in case you are not aware there are some very similar prefilters that give you soft water.

The dealer said the materials will last for at least a year but I am sceptical and as such have them replaced every 6 months. Can't take risks with our kois, can we? Same reason why I still store the water overnight.

[dtbh]

Quote: Originally Posted by Akai-San Dick, What would be the recommended daily water change? I've been hearing 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% etc. In your opinion for a 10000-12000 gallon pond. What percentage water change is acceptable? I'm looking at that 10% and then thinking to myself 1200 gallons, EVERYDAY for 30 days thats 36000 gallons a month....thats amounts to appox. four hundred dollars a month that means $4800 a year.....oh my.!!!

Dear Akai-san

Allow me to relate to you my personal experience which may not be true to other hobbyists.

My pond size is 20 tons and my filter used to be 30% (in terms of surface area) and I used to do 5% water change daily. It may be the way I maintained my filter but my water quality was plagued with recurrent problems with ulcers, fin-rot and the like. I enlarged my filter to 50%. Water quality improved but still had intermittent (less frequent though) problems with fin rot (only ventral fins). (Incidentally I am a very, very heavy feeder...9x/day 2 hrly). Made several changes again eg increased water change to 10%, increase filter size to 80%, daily siphoning of settlement chambers, increased aeration to now 360W) and hey presto NEVER had such problems for years now. Obvioulsly the many changes did the trick and not just the 10% water change but to me it make sense to have as much change as the kois allow for their optimum well-being for freshness (like us getting fresh air) and their dilution of whatever toxic byproducts there may be. Some hobbyists have other means eg potassium permanganate bombing but that is a different topic altogether.

So back to the 64 million dollar question as to the optimum amount of water change. I have asked many breeders and the general consensus is 10% at the very least.

Then there is a question of cost. (I will "shoot" whoever says this hobby is cheap LOL). Water thankfull is cheaper in Malaysia but is going northwards. You have a point there in that the cost must be considered. Some of my friends here in Malaysia have resorted to getting underground water which itself has their inherrent problems eg high iron content, pH etc. Digging a well comes to about RM35K...about US$9k and the cost of water treatment prior to usage has to be factored in.

I think it boils down to which level one wants to be involved in this hobby. At the lowest end it really doesn't matter how much water change one does. On the other hand if one wants to have good fish (hence expensive) to take part in shows then, to me, it matters much. I would advice you to visit as many ponds as possible and find out what other hobbyists are doing in this aspect and see for yourself their fish skin quality. I have done this and I have seen kois with the best skin quality given the hot weather here in Malaysia from ponds with good and well managed filters AND 10% water change. I must say that this is only my opinion and not to belittle those who manage their pond otherwise. If I have offended anyone please accept my sincere apologies.

One last passing remark. It is good practice to do this water change gradually. I do mine over 12-24 hours.

Cheers and have a great weekend.

PS I am one of those rare breeds with the filter bigger than the pond; my filter is now 150%. In preparation for a bigger main pond perhaps?

[bekko]

Wouldn't the required water exchange be proportional to the feed input and the number/size of the fish?

-steve

[dtbh]

Quote: Originally Posted by bekko Wouldn't the required water exchange be proportional to the feed input and the number/size of the fish? -steve

Thereotically yes. When the breeders gave the advice they assumed one is keeping optimal number of kois and feeding them with the recommended amount of feed.