How I do water changes

[dianads]

So here is how I do this, twice weekly:
a. measure my water quality with salicilate-based reagent (API Freshwater, reagents dated 2006 and 2007, I bought kit about 60 days ago)
b. shut off pumps and fountain
C. use my (I LOVE THIS THING) Muck-Vac to simultaneously suck up any poops/icky things the filters didnt get and remove 10% of the water
d. add appropriate ammount of ClorAM-X
e. add new water and let de-clorinate a few minutes so no untreated water gets into the bio-filter and kills the good bugs
f. turn pumps and fountain back on
g. re-measure water quality (gee I hope it really is reading correctly. ClorAm-X people say it should)
h. repair to the house for a beverage

Well pros, is this the right way? I'm a new koi enthusiast but I can understand chemistry and I want to do everything right. Got better test kit? Got smarter technique? I'm all ears. Er, eyes. Whatever.

PS. Hubby's new kujaku...I think it looks like a Creamsicle or 50-50 Pop! Ok, I know those aren't proper koi terms....but the colors just delight me
Thanks!

[aquitori]

How long have you been doin this regime? It seems you do a 20% water change a week on what size pond? and with what type of filter on it?

Kujaku looks pretty good.

[dick benbow]

What I do is run a continuous trickle thru charcoal to remove heavy metals and chlorine and have the overage go out thru an overflow pipe. When I drain all my settling vortexes in the morning, the pond goes down about 4 inches. By mid-day it's back full again from the trickle and ready for the evening routine.
I;m convinced from decades of study that if we were to graph water quality,
it's better from a koi's point of view to have it flat line consistant than it is to have peaks and valleys of good and well, not so good.

[dianads]

Quote: Originally Posted by aquitori How long have you been doin this regime? It seems you do a 20% water change a week on what size pond? and with what type of filter on it? Kujaku looks pretty good.

Thanks. I am not attempting to collect (nor breed) show koi yet but I hope to develop an eye for quality, much as I did when I learned how to breed and show horses over many years. Lil Creamsicle guy there was not hideous expensive ($30) so I assume he (she?) is simply a reasonably nice pet koi. Main thing, he is fun for me to look at! I won't mind any critiques that people post.

Well, this "pond" I get to take care of is 300 gal just for some babies which is filtered by two Fluval FX5s, each individually rated to handle 400 gal. Each Fluval has two stacks bio-media (ceramic rings) plus foam filters plus a stack of charcoal/zeolite sp? media. Aeration fountain and some more filtration is provided by a Pondmaster submersible unit, which houses a UV sterilizer. Have been doing this about 60 days since it was set up.

[MikeM]

Dick's approach is surely the better one. ...About 10%+ per day, Dick?

I am not in a position to do a continuous trickle, since I must rely on a sump pump to dispose of the overflow water. I am not comfortable relying on it 24/7. If anything went wrong, the filter pit would flood. If I was on a hill, I'd want to use Dick's method. But, since I'm not... Each Saturday I start the day by letting a hose run into the pond full blast, with dechlorinator added, while I take care of cleaning filters, dumping settlement vortex, etc., and then dispose of sufficient water (through a waste line that irrigates the garden) so that 30-35% of the pondwater is replaced. It takes 5 hours or so from start until the pond is re-filled, during which time I get yard work done. During the week, settlement dumping disposes of 300-400 gallons a day, so over the course of the week approx. 40-55% of the pond is replaced. This is a bit more than I was doing a year ago. If I didn't work, I'd probably do my Saturday routine on Tuesdays as well.

[UnkleTim]

Dick's way is darned good. My water changes are done twice a week and consist of backwashing the bead filter and emptying that monster polytank that I use for a settling chamber. I replace around 1200 gallons each time. I am fortunate that I am on a well so that I don't have to treat the water for chlorine. I am considering that flow through design too as I am sure that the fish would enjoy fresh water as much as we enjoy fresh air! Here is a pic of the polytank installed and the day that Reuben and Aquitori delivered it. An event that I am sure they still have nightmares over. Unk