| There y’ go Steve, giving simple solutions to complex problems. (“May I suggest adequate filtration and reasonable stocking rates?”) We want learn how to fix the problems and all you want to do is talk about avoiding the problem in the first place.
All the vets, aquaculturists, and internationally respected hobbyists keep saying ‘Don’t treat unless you have a problem and then treat for the problem only.’ How come they keep trying to feed us all that crud? And I’ve read that some of the leading Japanese hobbyists say things like ‘I don’t keep koi, I keep healthy water. The koi do the rest.
What’s all this stuff about ‘healthy water’ anyway?
For many years Grant Fugita has been saying “Flush the Toilet.” What’s he mean by that? Another thing he always squeezes in is “Add lots of air.” What’s he getting at there too?
Grant has a huge vortex sump followed by a sand filter. I don’t know how often he dumps the sump, but he dumps the sand filter AT LEAST twice a day. I tested his pond and filters for oxygen content a few years back. At (or very close) to saturation everywhere except in his pond. There the air injection was so high I could see very small bubbles everywhere and the oxygen meter was indicating 113% saturation which is impossible.
Thom Blischock, a hobbyist on the NI board doing basic research on water in koi ponds, has been posting his results on the NI board for several years now. He recently gave a couple of his findings when asked; ‘...what have you found out that would help the average koi hobbyist develop a healthy environment.’
He Dumps his bead filters once daily and also his bio-filters by draining them once a day. And he keeps his oxygen levels near saturation everywhere, especially in the bio-filters. Gee sounds like flush the toilet and add lots of air.
His research is supporting Grant’s teachings by giving ORP numbers to Grant’s similar results.
Both have unusually healthy ponds and neither believes in treating ponds unless there is a specific problem. By far, we hobbyists kill the vast majority of the koi that die, in America. Through stress. There’s nothing wrong, but I better make certain by treating for something, just in case. I know the ponds overstocked and I will get rid of some of them soon. And how many other ways do we come up with to ‘make certain’ everything is OK. Another pet is to change water and not bother to dechlor if we only change a little. That’s like saying smog doesn’t kill people. Chlorine in small doses attacks gills, etc. That causes stress. (Now that we are using chloramines’ they move passed the gills into the internal organs and cause cells to break down. I think the term was explode. I wonder how the liver and kidneys handle that.
I happen to enjoy technology and have to notice. Grant's basic message is a very simple one that didn't need instruments to develop the right environment. If we just follow the old straight formulas developed by Grant and his peers, we will have HEALTHY WATER. And I guess we can add adequate filtration and reasonable stocking rates. Both are more of the ongoing teachings by Grant & peers. Very straight forward simple habits that so many of us manage to shrug off.
One thing to add! Don’t ever forget, there are still people out there throwing toads! | 
08-17-2006
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