Constant trickle system? any thoughts

[An Ly]

I was made a believer today when i visited a local ponds, what an amazing set up, the guy pond is about 900 gallons with at least 30 koi ranging in size from 12-20inch. His theory was to have a constant tricle system where fresh water is constantly flowing in and gravity fed suction out. he stated that he replace his entire volume of water in about 3-4 days, has been doing it for past 20 years, his kois were amazing all so very healthy and active in such little space. ponds does not have bottom drain, no uv, no air, just a 3000gph pump feeding a 55gallons diy filter. When ask if he was concern about the chloring in the fresh water? his replies was it evaporated and not to be concern since water is being replaced slowly.

Amazing how it has worked out for him for so long and no health issue with koi.

Any thoughts on this constant fresh water system flowing in. Anyone out there doing it this way?

An

[KoiCop]

I'd say the constant inflow of fresh water is the only good thing about that guy's setup.

[Lam Nguyen]

Hi An, from what I have learned, I believe that many hobbyists are doing this, especially those who are at the high end of this hobby. There have been many discussions about water change rates and also whether a constant trickle is better than a once-weekly large water change. I would definitely do a search on this forum to read up on the multiple discussions. But if you want short answers to your questions, then here is what I have learned:

1. Any thoughts on this constant fresh water system flow-in?

Yes, it is better to have a constant trickle than to have a huge once-weekly water change. The reasoning is it keeps the water parameters constant, thereby minimizing stress to the koi.

2. Anyone out there doing it this way?

Yes. I know that there are "tons" of kichis on this forum who utilize this method of water replacement, but the one person that comes to mind is Dick Benbow. I have also been using this method in my ponds by having a constant trickle that will replace about 20% of the pond water a week. I find that the koi do much better this way.

3. Freshwater dechlorination?

There are still two schools of thoughts on this: some say that it's not necessary (in fact, there's a great article in one of the recent koi mags written by Dr. Conrad (?) about this, while others say that it's not necessary. I myself use a dechlorinator when I dump my Nexus. However, I don't use a dechlorinator for the constant trickle. However, my goal is to come up with a dechlorinator for this constant trickle as I intend to maximize my koi's environment.

Do I recommend a constant trickle? Yes.

Do others recommend a constant trickle? Heck yes.

[Lam Nguyen]

Quote: Originally Posted by KoiCop I'd say the constant inflow of fresh water is the only good thing about that guy's setup.

Hahahaha! That's exactly what crossed my mind when I read An's post. It's pretty scary having that many koi and only a small 55 gal DIY filter, AND he only completely changes the 900 gals of water once every 3-4 days. It's definitely an accident waiting to happen. But then again, I have seen/heard of extreme cases *****scratching head*****.

[An Ly]

hi Lam, thanks for the info, i started setting up my trickle system after seeing his set up, i used to change only about 10% a week but i think that is not enough, now i will be changing at least 20%/day and possible adding more fish, i have a 2000gallon pond but only 10 fish in it from 14-18 inch. so be constanltly changing water i think the toxic ie, ammonia,nitrite,nitrate won't be detected, and with constant trickle system pH is more stable no dramatic change. I think it is the way to go be constantly changing water more often to have healthier and faster growing koi.

An

[gcuss]

One little thing to add here as far as the dechlor goes.

I believe I learned it here, but it's my understanding that if you have a lot of organic waste in your pond, you can get away without de-chlorinating as the chlorine is consumed almost immediately breaking down all that waste. However, if you have a "clean" pond, there isn't anything to consume the chlorine and you've got a problem.

Makes real good sense to me. I can add chlorine to the hot tub, leave it alone for a few weeks. If it's unused during that time, the chlorine is about where it was three weeks ago. However, if the hot tub is used I continually need to add chlorine to keep it clean.

I'm sure given the description of his pond, he has a fair amount of organic waste so he can probably get away with it. But if your pond is moderately clean, better safe than sorry....

IMO anyway,

Grant

[MikeM]

Right on, Grant. Use some ST until a carbon filter can be installed for the permanent trickle. ST is cheap.

[powerman]

peter waddington in koi kichi says that the constant trickle is the most important single thing you can do for water quality........i don't know about replacing all of the water every few days......thats a little much.....but i like a small flow thru.....i use a carbon filter.....but even before i had one i would trickle from a hose and only used sodium thiosulphate as a de-chlor when i was replacing alot of water after dumping vortexes and backwashing the bead filter....now i don't need dechlor....i am sure the fish like it better...