Build An Easy Koi Fish Pond. Easy To Build Backyard Koi Fish Pond With Full Illustrations, eBook(R) & Bonus.
You may think that it is silly to have to use a pond filter in your garden pond when no pond out in nature uses a filter. Why should you have to? Well, although a pond filter is still a good idea, there are some things that you can do to encourage nature to keep your pond clean, too. Why not let nature do the hard work?
· Water lilies – If you do not have any water lilies in your pond, it is definitely time to get some. Most obviously, you should include water lilies in your pond because they are beautiful. What you may not have known, though, is that water lilies will also help keep your pond clean. How? If you have problems with green water, you should cover over half of the surface of your pond with water plants, and water lilies spread out across your pond with ease. Another benefit to water lilies is that they give your fish a place to hide when it is sunny or when there are predators about.
· Other plants – other plants are also beneficial in your pond. Plants do not just add beauty to your pond (although, the beauty that they add seems like reason enough to include them in your pond). Plants are a living filtration system. They remove and process organic waste materials. Use both floating and submerged plants. Submerged plants are great for releasing oxygen into the water, and they provide an overall clearer water and better water quality. Floating plants great also because their roots are the home to lots of beneficial microorganisms that eat up the organic debris that clouds up your water.
Discuss – However, if you still do want to keep potted plants in your KOI pond, we recommend wrapping netting over the tops of the pots, to keep the fish from digging in the pots. Another thing you can do is to top the pots with 1′ of pea gravel, and then larger river stones or similar over that.
· Waterfalls – again, like water lilies and plants, waterfalls are not just beautiful additions to your pond: they are also helpful additions. Having moving water in your pond helps transport organic materials. Moving water also creates a more oxygen-rich environment which is required for beneficial bacteria to function well.
· Bacteria – as you may have been able to tell already, bacteria is necessary in your pond. Many of us think of bacteria as being bad, but there are, in fact, plenty of beneficial bacteria. You can encourage bacteria to colonize in your pond by having a good pond filter.
All of these things are helpful for pond filtration (including a store-bought pond filter), but let us just go over the benefits one more time of aquatic plants in your pond – they act as pond filters and also protect your fish in these ways:
Discuss – Ensure that you have good mechanical and biological filtration and that your pump will turn the pond water over totally at least twice per day.
· They move carbon dioxide from the water while adding oxygen. · They rid your pond of pollutants like toxic heavy metals, ammonium, nitrates, etc. · They provide areas for beneficial bacteria and biofilms. · They control algae - no peas-soup water! They both consume and inhibit algae.
Let nature help you keep your pond nice and clean and a nice habitat for any fish that you keep in it. Paired with a store-bought pond filter, these natural filters can do wonders for your pond.
Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, and home decor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on gardening and ponds, please visit Pond Filters.
Filed under Koi Pond Maintenance by on Jul 19th, 2008. Comment. 
Discuss – Be careful where you dig your fish pond. Where the fish pond is located can determine how much work a person has to put in to maintain a clean fish pond.
Hi, today I will show you how to build a water pond by yourself.
The first thing you need to do is, ask yourself where you want to put the pond. It should be in a place where you see it instantly upon entering the yard. You may also choose to install it at the back of your back yard. By installing the pond in the back portion of your yard, you will make the yard look deeper. I recommend installing the pond where it can be visible from the house at almost any angle.
The second step is to pick the liner for your pond. You can choose a pre-formed liner or a soft liner. For this article we will discuss using the pre-formed liner. This liner is more durable, easier to install, and easier to clean. You have to choose the form before digging so you will have the exact shape and the depth of the hole. Now that you know how big, how deep, and where your pond is going to be, you may need to check with local housing authorities to ensure your plans conform to established zoning rules. Better safe than sorry! When this is complete, it’s time to dig. Trace the form of your pond on your lawn and measure how deep you will have to dig. Be sure to dig two inches deeper than the depth of the pond liner. To fit your liner properly, put two inches of sand in the hole before inserting your liner. This will provide a much better fit, while at the same time protecting the liner from rocks.
Discuss – Building a fish pond entails more work than just digging a hole in the ground, and filling it with water. The first thing individuals have to do is use a plastic lining to separate the ground from what to become the fish pond.
The third step is to bring electricity to the pond. This step should be done by a professional, if more than one extension cord is needed. You can purchase a solar pump to avoid the hassle of cords. Now you can put water into your new pond to see if everything is right. Start the pump to make sure it’s working properly before you start decorating your pond.
Discuss – Location is everything. First individuals must decide where they want to dig their fish pond.
The fourth step, the one people like the most, is decorating your pond. Make it look as natural as you can. Use rocks and plants to hide extension cords and to hide the contour of the liner. You can now add decorative solar lighting which will provide a nice accent to your pond at night.
The only limitation you have in decorating your pond is your own imagination! Don’t be afraid to experiment. You will love the result! The thing I love the most about this hobby is that I can upgrade or change things as much as I want. Every year I add something or change something, which becomes a great conversation piece when we have friends or family over for a visit.
Good luck!
My name is Patrick Lorrain
I own and operate http://www.mywaterpondsite.com.
I am dedicated to everything that can make a home look spectacular. A few years ago I discover the garden pond, it
Filed under Koi Pond Do It Yourself, Koi Pond Maintenance by on Jul 13th, 2008. Comment.
Discuss – When used to reduce stress in separate treatment tanks or during fish transportation, use 4 tablespoons full (95.2g) of Pond Salt for each 10 gallons (37.
A QUALITY UV
Proper UV sterilization starts with the proper UV, contact time, water turbidity, water temperature, bio load, and more. Proper filtration of the water before entering the UV sterilizer helps with turbidity, many UV’s now available do not have proper contact time or advertise too high a flow rate. I would recommend 20-45 gph per watt of UVC. I have produced a 15 watt UV that is extremely effective when installed properly.
WHY SHOULD YOU USE AN ULTRA-VIOLET STERILIZER? (Educational information about how UV sterilization works)
Ultra violet sterilization is one of the most effective means of controlling algae in ponds and is also effective at disease prevention in aquariums and ponds.
Discuss – Pick a design for the fish pond. First individuals would have to decide on the size of the pond they want to build.
UVs are also useful in Reef aquaria, especially new ones where the chance of disease introduction is high and the UVs help in keeping a balanced Redox Potential is useful. As the reef aquaria ages the sterilizer can be placed on a timer or turned on and off as needed.
As for the Redox Potential, this is an often overlooked aspect of both freshwater and saltwater aquarists. The Redox Potential is basically the oxidation properties of water. This is VERY important for proper breakdown of organic waste!, especially in aquariums where the fish/invertebrates come from waters of low turbidity (African Ciclids) or tend to produce alot of waste (Goldfish).
Discuss – Provide adequate shade by having 60 to 70% of the pond’s surface area covered with floating plants or other types of shade.
The key to success is water flow, water temperature and cleanliness of the bulb or quartz sleeve. It is important to have a flow rate that will turn over the pond or aquarium at least once every two hours for disease prevention or every three hours for green algae control. Example: 100 gph will service a 100 gallon pond well. The reason I mentioned such seemingly slow rates is too high a rate will not usually allow for adequate contact time with uvc radiation. Follow manufacturer’s recommendations for flow rate [our m15 watt model is 200-350 gph]. The other key is temperature. 60 to 85 degrees [F] has worked best for me. Quartz sleeves help keep up a higher temperature but don’t allow for as good of contact with the water and are difficult to keep clean. Which brings me to key # 3, keeping the bulb or quartz sleeve clean? First, you want to change the bulb every 6 months for disease prevention or once every year at the beginning of the growing season for green algae prevention. You want to clean the quartz sleeve at this time too, which is one reason for a simple model without a quartz sleeve, use just throw away the dirty bulb. [Although the temperature aspects of a quartz sleeve are worthy of note]
Discuss – Outline the edges with rock. One should be careful when selecting the rocks that will line the edges of the pond.
Here is more information that further explains the properties of UVC Sterilization:
All gases, liquids, and solids are made up of elements. The fundamental building blocks of elements are atoms, which in turn are made of electrons, neutrons and protons…all held together by electronic attraction. This is referred to as polarity, the principle that positive and negative poles attract and remain bound together based upon the strength of that attraction.There are over 100 elements known in our universe. It is the elements that form compounds.
Elements combine to form gases, liquids or solids. For example, water is made of two molecules of hydrogen and one molecule of oxygen. Carbon dioxide is one molecule of carbon and two molecules of oxygen. These and all other combinations of elements are bound together by the force of attraction or polarity at the level of the atoms. Organic compounds. The compounds of our focus are those structures that are organic in nature. Primarily it is the organic molecules that are the basis of indoor contamination. We need to understand these compounds so we know how to clean and purify the home. Organic compounds are carbon based. Life is determined by carbon based DNA and amino acid chains. Carbon is not only found in “life,” but a whole range of chemicals. A number of useful organic compounds are made up of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen and traces of other elements.The most recognizable organic compound is based upon the carbon and hydrogen combination, or hydrocarbons. Plastics, petroleum products and gasoline are hydrocarbons. Hydrocarbon Organic compounds tend to break down or decay faster than non-organic. The decaying process means hydrogen and carbon molecules separate. For example, if the plastic (organic) in milk bottle is left in the sun for a couple of years, much of it will decay. Skin, hair, tissue (all organic) decays rather rapidly.
Discuss – However, if you still do want to keep potted plants in your KOI pond, we recommend wrapping netting over the tops of the pots, to keep the fish from digging in the pots. Another thing you can do is to top the pots with 1′ of pea gravel, and then larger river stones or similar over that.
The toxic VOC gases in our homes such as formaldehydes and benzenes are hydrocarbons. Airborne indoor dust particles, like dander, hair, dust mite feces, etc. are based upon organic compounds generally associated with the lipid group. And, of course, bacteria, molds and viruses are based upon carbon. Here is the thread that runs through all indoor contaminates; those things that pollute our homes are almost entirely based upon organic or carbon based compounds.
With that understanding, we now focus on the forces that will break down organic and carbon based contaminate molecules. In short, a photochemical process, initiated by short-wave ultraviolet can do this. Short-Wave UltravioletWe all accept but don’t understand the damaging effects of x-ray and gamma ray radiation. Why isn’t visible light as destructive on human cells or bacteria as x-ray and short wave UV have been shown to be? X-ray, gamma, ultraviolet, infrared and visible light energy all fit in a category called “electromagnetic” energy. They all have the same characteristic “lazy S” energy wave, that travel at the speed of light. The light ray energy is called photons that oscillate, resulting in wave frequency. The difference in each type of wave energy is the wavelength, the distance across this wave. By definition, the shorter the distance across the wave, the more powerful the wave will be. The difference in the wavelength determines how the wave affects its surroundings. It is this wavelength difference that allows short-wave x-ray to pass through walls, while longer-wave visible light cannot pass though the same material; short-wave ultraviolet and x-ray can destroy DNA in living microorganisms and breakdown organic material while visible light will not.
Nanometers: Measuring Light Energy All light energy is measured on a “nanometer” (nm) scale. Nanometer means one-billionth of a meter. The lower end of the scale has the shortest wavelength, and the upper the longest. Cosmic, gamma, x-rays and “C” band UV are all classified short-wave energy. Visible light is at middle ground, at 400-700 NM on the scale. Infrared light is in the upper end of the spectrum, running from about 800 to 1400 NM, and radio waves are longer yet in the 1400 to 2200 NM range. Spectrograph: Charting Light Energy in Nanometers. What is Ultraviolet Light? Ultraviolet light is toward the low end of this scale, from about 100 to 400 NM, with three categories, “A,” “B” and “C.” UV is beyond the range of visible light and cannot be seen. We only see evidence of its presence. Short-wave UV, called “C” band (100 – 280 NM) is known as UVC. Most C band radiation is screened from the sun before reaching the earth by the production of ozone in the upper atmosphere. Useful UVC is entirely manmade, found in today’s low-pressure UVC lamps. The most effective sterilizing range for UV is within the C bandwidth. This range is called the germicidal bandwidth. The ideal germicidal curve is considered 240 NM to 280 NM, with the most effective at 265 NM. With the initial exposure, UVC has properties that alter the cells of living tissue, particularly microbes. UVC radiation triggers the formation of peptide bonds between certain amino acids in the microbe’s DNA molecules. This renders bacteria, viruses and molds harmless by robbing them of the ability to reproduce. If the germ cells are exposed for longer periods, they start breaking down to the molecular level (carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen ions, etc.).
Discuss – There is no universal guidebook to use when building a Koi pond, be sure to keep in mind however the major differences between a Koi pond and a water garden and know which one you are truly wanting before you make the sizable investment of time, money, and energy. Be sure to consult a professional landscaper with extensive experience specifically with Koi ponds, as he will be aware of dangers that you may not be aware of as well as knowing where the best place to place the pond on your property would be.
UVC Germicidal
Effectiveness
Wave length, NM Relative germicidal effectiveness
240 .62
245 .72
250 .90
255 1.03
260 1.12
265 1.15
270 1.08
257 .98
280 .87
285 .73
290 .60
It has been determined that the optimal wavelength for germicidal effectiveness is 265 NM
Aquarium and Pond UV Sterilizers
Why use a UV Sterilizer-More Information
By Carl Strohmeyer
Filed under Koi Pond Maintenance, Koi Water Pond by on Jul 1st, 2008. Comment.