Planning the move

[Anne]

I'm planning the big move and can use all the ideas, thoughts, and suggestions I can get.
I am planning on getting one of the Intex above ground pools and setting it up as a temp pond. Several people in my club here use them with success. I will be taking two established barrel filters down and my large bead filter also. I am worried about the bacteria while in transit and the best method to insure most of it arrives alive and active. Trip shouldn't take more than 6 hours after loading the filters, it's normally a four hour drive. Pool will have been set up several days in advance cirulating water.
The koi will be bagged and boxed and make the trip the same day. It's going to take a big rental truck! I plan on loading the quarantine tanks, etc. the same day.
Any ideas on keeping the bead filter alive before the big pond is built? Anyone ever done this? What am I overlooking?

[Arthur]

Anne,

The key to bacteria survival is OXYGEN.

I would borrow (or buy, they always is a day when one comes handy) an air pump operating at 12V DC. Breeders use them to aerate the fish transport tanks on the back of the truck. They usually come with a connector for the truck's cigarette lighter. It would work fine for a few hours from a car battery.

Open the top of the bead filter (remove the head) and place an air stone as low as you can.

That should do it for the length of your trip.

[Steve E]

Hi Anne,


I am using a 15' dia Intex pool as a temporary pond during the remodel of my pond. As soon as the sun comes out tomorrow [ or when ever it does] I will be taking some pictures of the set up for Aquitori. If I can figure out the method, I'll post them in Aquitori's thread below.

Steve

[Anne]

The 15' foot intex was the one I've been looking to purchase. Do you know what the gallonage is? What kind of pump will work with this pool (I have several to choose from)?
I have a power converter that I used during the hurricanes to keep the pumps running, plan to use that with my air pump to supply air to filters on the trip down. Koi will be treble bagged in O2. I need to find a source for some boxes, as some of the koi are too big for the coolers I have.
How long do you think the bacteria can live without moving water/food? Don't think the pond will be built in a few days time, may be awhile.

[Anne]

Sorry, Steve-not all your post showed up here, re-read the link on Outlook. Please do include the link and yes, I would very much like some picture copies. I hate to move the koi without having the new pond ready or at least under construction. But my son-in-law just doesn't take good care of things. I have returned home several times and found my pond an absolute sewer, it is amazing that the koi survived. They did all right, hearty little devils. The whites on some have suffered and I will have to work on that before and after the move. Lost one 20"+ koi, and given another 5 away to prepare for the move. Still alot left to pack and transport. Filter got so filthy while I was gone no water was returning to the pond, and my 3/4HP Wave Dragon seized up. What a nightmare it is proving to be to get it repaired! This runnung up and down the highway is getting to be too much to keep a pond running the way it should.

[dick benbow]

Want to take the time to be sure everyone knows the proper placement of boxes for transport.
the koi are faced sideways to the direction the vehicle is taking. That way if you have to brake the koi roll side to side, as opposed to bumping their nose or breaking their tails.

[Steve E]

I tried to post a picture of the temporary pond set-up but I can't do it from my hard drive. If you would like a copy of the picture email me with your email address and I will send you a copy. It looks like I would need web space somewhere to store the picture before I can post it. Sorry

Steve

[JasonS]

Steve, email me and I'll get the picture up on the two threads this evening.

[JasonS]

The pool is the 15' dia by 42" high metal frame supported Intex above ground
swimming pool. It holds about 110 gallons per inch. I keep it between 32
and 34 inches. The pump is visible on the left side. It sits on a platform
made from a pallet with a piece of plywood on top, then two sawhorses, with
another piece of plywood. This puts the suction intake about 2 inches above
the rim of the pond. The suction hose is a piece of 2 inch flexible pvc.
It drops over the side and extends on the bottom out to the middle of the
pond. The discharge goes into a bead filter then up to a modified bakki
shower then back into the pond.

The modified shower uses milk crates filled half way with 3 inch lava rock.
There are four towers total. Each tower consists of 3 milk crates. Two
towers are paired and placed into a black ABS plastic motar mixing tub with
a 3 inch diameter discharge hole in one end. The water is delivered thru a
piece of 4 inch pipe with two parallel lines of 1/2 inch holes drilled in
the bottom. The j-mat around the towers keeps the water from splashing over
the side. The discharge hole provides a tangental return affect and creates
a current around the perimeter of the pond. The current is approximately 24
inches wide and with the suction end in the middle of the pond all of the
waste gets pulled out of the pond.

With the advent of winter and the rainy season I found one slight issue that
I would have prepared for when I put the pond together. As the ground
became wet the legs sank into the ground about 2 inches or so. It would
have been better if I had place something like the concrete stepping stones
beneath each leg to provide a wider base for the leg. The 2 inch by 12 inch
stepping stones are made from concrete and I could have cut them in half.
That is the reason I only fill the pond to the 34 inch mark maximum. That
gives me about 6 inches of freeboard.

The pond is covered with the cheap bird netting you can buy at Home Depot or
Lowes. It is held on by looping the net squares over the top of the pins
that hold the frame together.

The electrical supply is an extension cord. It is 10 guage wire. Overkill,
but no power loss this way.

Also on the left you can see my qt/hospital tank. It is not being used
right now but the filter has water running through it just in case. That is
the black pipe you can see on the left side of the picture that dumps into
the pond. It is fed by a separate submersible pump.

The pipe frame work around the pond is for shade cloth in the summer. It
covers the pond and the pump/bead filter area. I also put a side cloth on
the side of the pond the pictures are taken from. Our summers have 90 to
100+ degree days from July thru October. With the shade cloth and the
shower the highest the water temperature reached was 86. This winter the
weather has been mild so the lowest temp has been 42 on one night. I shut
down the shower for most of the winter and have only recently hooked it back
up.

For a temporary set-up it works pretty well.

[gregbickal]

Rather than a 12V air pump why not get an inverter. You can power normal appliances with that.

Instead of bagging the koi, I would build a quick tank out of rubber and lumbar. Say 4x4. Rubber and wood lid. so no water can leak out (about like those commercial transport tanks).

Bring along your filter and circulate the water through it with a small pump.

Fish and filter could arrive with no changed in water quality other than a little sloshing around.