| I could write a book on your question. seriously!
Like all big items let's break it down so like a piece of blueberry pie, we can eat it piece by piece.
From a breeders stand point i want to position my tateshita to look the best they can be for sale. These koi did not make the cut to grow on and are part of my income for the year. I will probably feed them color enhancers that present them as best as they can be. When the distributor/dealer gets them and eventually yourself, the influence of the color enhancer will disapate. I suspect this because your same color variety did not change so water conditions are not to blame.
That does not mean your water is the best for any one variety. Most koi kichi's attempt to keep a mixed bag of koi with different needs. This is for their own enjoyment not to the benefit of any one color variety that made need different water. ( my first love, Asagi's are a good example)
I feel uncomfortable when i read that your amonnia and nitrites are low. You have work to do on your water quality. please don't take my comments as unkind or uncaring. Actually the opposite is true! I didn't have acceptable water during my learning curve, nor do i expect you to have. But you need to
constantly work daily to improve. No amonnia or nitrite should be showing. To me that shows incomplete filtration.
. Your KH is perfectly fine if you have smaller numbers of koi.
The only time you need a high buffer is in an over crowded condition. I strongly suggest you get on Yume koi's web sight and read up on Mike's excellent articles on water quality.
I suspect your on to the excellent Koi Bito magazine that referred you to this chat line. If not you'll need to subscribe. Focus on the lessons learned from the bakki shower. fast turn over, lots of air. This creates an aerobic condition to encourage the right bugs to prosper in your system. People often criticise the inventor's use of constant addition of new water. Actually this keeps the water "fit" and not exhausted of nutrients and minerals. Young growing koi get more thru absorbtion from the water than from the food.
When it comes to your water conditioner vs taps water, do some reasearch and find out what the water conditions are like IN JAPAN. They are vastly different than SA,UK or north american water. people like cliff neal in the Uk which has taken the last two national shows there understands the process
and his use of reverse osmosis water and the bacteria House media.
there is a youngster here who posts on KB named "Brake-son". He will have an impossible time coming up with the money resources to apply cliff's system. But at his young age if he can get a grasp around why this is happening and re invent it to match his conditions and means, he will be a force to "reccon " with in the future. So many times in my seminars i hear my students complain about the cost of water and filters. yet I encourage them to understand the balance of what is accomplished and how, and then scale it down to something they can afford. First understand the principle.
I hope something I've said helps your understanding and encourages you to lift the bar for your water keeping! | 
08-14-2005
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