hi a newbie here
i was hoping to get a bit of advice
i have a small preformed pond about 180 gallon i have had it for about 4 years with 5 koi which i got when tiny and which are now 12 inches longish
and 3 goldfish
i have decided to build a bigger pond on the patio which we are in the process of now
it will hold 900 gallon when finished
a friend of ours dad has got about 8 koi 4 of them quite big
and he wants us to take them of his hands
my dilemma is that i dont want to damage my fish so
what do you suggest we have already agreed to take them
i was thinking of transfering as much of our original water as poss to new pond set up the filter etc and put the goldfish in to try to mature it also adding some bought good bacteria
then slowly introduce our other fish
then put the donated fish into our old pond to acclimatise them to our water and then slowly over time put them in the new pond
soz that this is so long but its a big thing to me thanks haze

I really hate to say this, especially if you're well into the pond project, but 900 gallons isn't enough for 13 koi. One rule of thumb is 1000 gallons for the first koi, and 100 for each additional koi. Keep in mind that these fish grow to two or three feet long. They also need at least four feet of depth to be comfortable. People claim koi will "grow to the size of the pond", but it seems to me that if any animal's growth is stunted by the size of its quarters at any stage in its development, it is being abused. Now, with aggressive filtration you could stock more heavily, but 13 adult Koi are too many for a 900 gallon pond. That's like trying to raise goldfish in a one gallon bowl.

And no, I'm not a big pond snob. I have an 1100 gallon pond just over three feet deep, and I won't have koi or orfe becuase I just don't have enough pond for them.

hi
i have done my calculations wrong as it stands now my pond will hold 1196 gallons
so if i go a foot deeper it will then hold 1600 gallons
which you say would just accomodate 6 fish
if i did this i could possibly offer the other fish to a neighbour who has a pond that is 25 foot by 12 foot and is in the process of restocking maybe this would solve the dilemnma if not i will ave to keep the 2 ponds going
for now and before you say it yes i know that theyre still not big enough
thanks for your advice
haze

Actually, by that formula 1600 gallons is room enough for 7 fully grown koi. This is fairly conservative, and you should check out other methods determining how many fish you can have. But if you can avoid overstocking, you'll have fewer problems.

hi otter
i was just thinking about the new pond set up
would it be a good or bad idea to soak the new sponge filters out of my new filter in the old pond to collect some of the bacteria so as to give the filter a head start

or what would you suggest
haze

Yes, it would be a good idea to soak your new filter media in the old pond. If you've got room, put them right in the filter, just downstream of the old media. You can also buy a bacterial starter gel.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sa ... l+inurl%3A.uk&btnG=Search

Pumping in water from your old pond is a great idea, but I suggest that you seed the water in the new pond with a bacterial additive as well. I use Microbe Lift "Professional Blend" in the warmer months, but there are many similar products.

Another thing you should consider adding is barley straw. This will decompose and release substances which inhibit algae. The amount of straw depends on the surface area of the pond. For a new pond, try 50 g/m². Half that will probably do once the pond is established. Put the straw in a nylon bag so you can easily remove it when it's used up. Each load of barley will last about six months. Because this method depends on bacteria to decompose the barley, you might want to use barley extract for the first couple months. Here is a good article for you to read.
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/plants/barley.htm

hi otter
yes i have used the barley straw in my small pond to great effect so i will definatly do that and i will of course buy some bacteria media as well
thanx
haze