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Old 05-24-2008   #11 (permalink)
Oyagoi
 
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Unfortunately none of those ideas about feeding are going to change the time interval between needed water changes. The reason being that koi impact their environment in more ways than dumping undigested food into it. They also drain the environment of micro nutrients and minerals and effect alkaline reserve and thereofre osmotic performance.
what you can do is reduce the number of fish you keep. It is remarkable what just removing two or three fish does to the pressure on water quality.
You can also feed less. We all feed our koi WAY TOO MUCH. Koi are browsers. Cutting back feeding just 25% will yield water quality results.
And overfeeding leeads to an over active biofilter. This is a very hard concept for beginners to grasp as the scourge of ammonia is a baptism by fire that trains the newbie into the false principle that you can never have too much filtration. In truth, you can have no more filtration than the fish can feed with theri normal ammonia output. BUT you can have too much ammonia produced in a 24 hour period for the size of the pond and this results in large amounts of the end product - nitrAte. If you reduce the number of fish, the feeding amounts and the excess protein, you will have less nitrAte in the end.

Finally, you can do things to both prep your water before adding it to the pond and also to recycle your water in a holding tank to restore it in the absence of fish life. A dwell pond or dwell system can be designed that holds old water, circulates it thru gravel stone and oyster shells and aerates it. You can add back clays and you can use plant materials to sweeten the water ( without any fish in it). This water can then be added back at a 50% mix with fresh prefiltered tap water reducing water use by 50%.
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Old 05-24-2008   #12 (permalink)
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good stuff! Thanks All

Any other ideas are surely welcomed....
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