Koi Ponds

[Naam]

still waiting for your advice where to buy copper sulphate Jai Dee.

Any pool supply shop Doc. (I did answer in the previous post).

I use Pattaya Home and Pool on third road.

thanks. will start monday and try homeopathic doses.

[Jai Dee]

Well, it's been 3 weeks since I posted last on this thread, and I'm happy to report that no green algae has reappeared.

I found that little fish place down in Ban Chang, and bought about 20 of those sucker fish (about 100mm long), 50 other small fish (about 20mm long) that swim deep beneath the surface, and 100 of those mosquito larvae eating fish (about 20-25mm long) with the brightly coloured tails that swim just beneath the surface.

As I couldn't find any nurseries that sold surface floating aquatic plants, I bought about 10 lotus plants to put in the pond, which now cover about 25% of the water surface.

I now only run the waterfall twice a day... once in the morning at first light for about an hour, and again at dusk for about an hour. This seems enough to oxygenate the pond adequately.

The fish and the plants seem to have adapted quite well, with only about 8 fish in total dying over the past 2 weeks. Although I rarely see them (as they are bottom dwellers) I know that the sucker fish are doing OK and breeding, as the other day I saw a baby one near the surface.

Fingers crossed... the algae will not return and I may be able to introduce Koi again soon.

Anyone know if they will happily cohabit with the fish I already have?

[bkkmadness]

Yep they will all mix fine.

"(about 20-25mm long) with the brightly coloured tails that swim just beneath the surface." - (quote function not working for some reason).

If these are guppies, then they will be males if they have brightly coloured tails. Might wanna buy some females to keep the population going.

(wanted to add a pic of the guppies, but now my image button not working either!)

Jai Dee, why don't you just run the waterfall constantly? Is it hooked up in line with the filter or seperate?

[Jai Dee]

Jai Dee, why don't you just run the waterfall constantly? Is it hooked up in line with the filter or seperate?

The missus wants to "save light"...

Our electric bill comes in at around 5-6000 baht per month and she reckons that by not running unnecessary power consumers we'll save some money.

And no, I have no filtration system on the pumping arrangement. I have 2 submersible pumps - one to supply the waterfall and one to feed a couple of jets around the pond. The jets ensure that all surface water is moving to some degree and also help oxygenate the water. The only filters in the system are those grilles on the pumps.

I'll try to take a couple of photos of the pond (I call it "the moat") and post them so you can see the arrangement.

Thanks for the good news on the cohabitation front bkkmadness... I wouldn't want to introduce a predatory fish into our brand new little eco-system... it seems to be doing OK.

BTW Dr. Naam, those 4 floating aquatic plants I got some time ago are sending out runners (similar to a strawberry plant) and having babies. Soon I may be able to give you some too, as they look like being fairly prolific.

[Naam]

Dr. Naam, those 4 floating aquatic plants I got some time ago are sending out runners (similar to a strawberry plant) and having babies. Soon I may be able to give you some too, as they look like being fairly prolific.

i appreciate your offer Jai Dee but presently i am thinking of a dozen trucks loaded with earth and 50 workers with wheel barrows.

[Jai Dee]

Dr. Naam, those 4 floating aquatic plants I got some time ago are sending out runners (similar to a strawberry plant) and having babies. Soon I may be able to give you some too, as they look like being fairly prolific.

i appreciate your offer Jai Dee but presently i am thinking of a dozen trucks loaded with earth and 50 workers with wheel barrows.

Don't give up yet mate... your pond is a thing of beauty and brings a vista of peace and tranquility to your garden.

It would be a shame to fill it in.

If you do however, I'd be happy to buy some of your surplus fish from you...

[Jai Dee]

Bump!

How's your pond going now Dr. Naam?

Mine is now crystal clear with minimal algae growth and plenty of heathy breeding fish.

BTW, my maid spotted a klong close to our house and brought back heaps of floating aquatic plants.

My pond surface coverage is now about 50% so knocking back the sunlight and adding more plants seems to have worked.

PM me if you're interested in collecting some plants... the klong is on public (read government) property.

[Naam]

How's your pond going now Dr. Naam?

thanks for the offer to PM you Jai Dee. will do for sure next week. presently i am still busy with the complete remodeling of my dining room (aka my teeth).

grind.. grind.. drill.. drill.. r o o o t c a n a l... cap... cap..

Edited September 3, 2007 by Dr. Naam

[Jai Dee]

I got a surprise last night... came home after work and went to feed the fish as usual. After 5 min or so, Iafter the usual feeding frenzy subsided, I noticed some small black blobs around the stems and roots of one of the plants in the pond. I looked a bit closer... and discovered tadpoles. Some frog has laid eggs in my pond and now I have hundreds of tadpoles swimming around in it.

Is this likely to be a problem?

The fish seem to be OK cohabiting with the taddies now , but what about later?

[Naam]

I got a surprise last night... came home after work and went to feed the fish as usual. After 5 min or so, Iafter the usual feeding frenzy subsided, I noticed some small black blobs around the stems and roots of one of the plants in the pond. I looked a bit closer... and discovered tadpoles. Some frog has laid eggs in my pond and now I have hundreds of tadpoles swimming around in it.

Is this likely to be a problem?

The fish seem to be OK cohabiting with the taddies now , but what about later?

i had a zillion tadpoles in my pond some months ago. the kois chopped them all.

[steelepulse]

I got a surprise last night... came home after work and went to feed the fish as usual. After 5 min or so, Iafter the usual feeding frenzy subsided, I noticed some small black blobs around the stems and roots of one of the plants in the pond. I looked a bit closer... and discovered tadpoles. Some frog has laid eggs in my pond and now I have hundreds of tadpoles swimming around in it.

Is this likely to be a problem?

The fish seem to be OK cohabiting with the taddies now , but what about later?

i had a zillion tadpoles in my pond some months ago. the kois chopped them all.

When I see a string of frog eggs, I try to get them out before they hatch.  Otherwise you end up with a bunch of frogs who in turn invite the snakes.  A couple of weeks ago I saw a cobra out sunning himself after feasting, I went and got the slow cobra only to see a huge frog pop out of his mouth.  With small kids around my house, I don't want to invite any more snakes in.  I've got a few already thanks.

[Jai Dee]

When I see a string of frog eggs, I try to get them out before they hatch.  Otherwise you end up with a bunch of frogs who in turn invite the snakes.  A couple of weeks ago I saw a cobra out sunning himself after feasting, I went and got the slow cobra only to see a huge frog pop out of his mouth.  With small kids around my house, I don't want to invite any more snakes in.  I've got a few already thanks.

Hmmm... a good point.

There is a commercial cobra farm only 50 yards from our moo-barn.

[wackysleet]

I then refilled the entire pond and have added a couple of plants in pots (so the earth doesn't dirty up the water). I have not reintroduced fish yet.

but how will you prevent the earth in the pots from diluting and mucking up the water?

Naam some of the advice is v/good some other seems like hearsay, do not use dirt for your plants use clay and cover the top with golf ball sized or slightly larger rocks and you will not be bothered by muddy water, your UV light is far too small for the size of your pond which is really exposed to the sun along with far too much nitrates in the water again acting like a fertiliser.

It's a pity that your water does not travel through a vegetable filter first to dissipate some of the nitrates but the only way to go is via the planting of more vegetation, a local type of bullrush is very good along with water lillies, I suspect that your filter is not of adequate size but it is not there to clear algae, forget the advice on using barley straw, it's a waste of time, it contains minute quantities of peroxide, further along on this topic you will see photos of my pond, algae free please take a look, the proof is in the pudding, I do have about 140 watts of UV but only turned it on for the first six months of the ponds life, it is now two and a half yrs old. Wacky.

[tampasailor]

Section off the plants in some way so the Koi can't get to them. Let them grow to be a nice number and then you can let them out to the main pond. Algae is building up because you have just filled your pond with tap water which is full of nitrate and the algae is feeding off it. Get those plants growing and it'll start to use all the nitrate itself. I did say you'll need to be patient and let the pond find a balance, it can take a while, months even.

I am happy to see this discussion on Koi and Pond Plants. Sun and Nitrates = Alge. That is a big pond to cover to keep the light down but you might be able to float some black plastic over some areas. Maybe stretched over a bamboo frame? Do you have a mosquito problem? Do you have some small mosquito fish in the Pond? They are small live bearers similar to guppies.

http://www.mosquitoes.org/FISHPAGE.html

enzymes to control alge http://www.algae-solution.com/?gclid=CMLv7...CFQNbxwodwxIn-g

if you have broadband here are videos on alge control http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=pond...;emb=0&aq=f#

Aquatic Plants are for sale at the JJ Market.

You can buy Lotus seeds on ebay Thailand http://search.ebay.com/ws/search/SaleSearc...l=3&frpp=50 go ahead click it~!

You can buy Lotus seeds on Ebay too http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?f...tle=lotus+seeds

Here is how to start your seeds: http://www.faculty.sbc.edu/simpson/Lotus/index.htm

I am looking forward to visiting this discussion.

[Rimmer]

When I see a string of frog eggs, I try to get them out before they hatch.  Otherwise you end up with a bunch of frogs who in turn invite the snakes.  A couple of weeks ago I saw a cobra out sunning himself after feasting, I went and got the slow cobra only to see a huge frog pop out of his mouth.  With small kids around my house, I don't want to invite any more snakes in.  I've got a few already thanks.

Hmmm... a good point.

There is a commercial cobra farm only 50 yards from our moo-barn.

You're back!!

A natural pond will support Koi.

A natural pond will support Tilapia,

Tilapia eat frog spawn and tadpoles,

Tilapia filter the water through their gills without the need for filters.

Check back in this thread to see my pond and the type of weed I have that the Koi eat.

The small market in Baan Ampur by the bridge have a nice selection of Koi, the lady there likes to tell you they come form Japan duh, price is right about 150 baht each though.

[ndwgolf]

Can anyone recommend a shop in Thailand that sells pond liners (I need a liner size 10 x 6 metres) and also bottom drains?

Thanks in advance

 

Neil

[nevets81]

Any luck DNWGOLF? I have been to Chatuchak before I got serious about building a pond. Covid has put a damper on the project for various reasons, but I am aiming to build a small L275cm x W235cm x D1.2cm pond for koi and goldfish. It will be close to 6000liters.  I'll be making my list for materials and heading to Chatuchak again, one of these days. I'd like to keep the pond simple, with DIY filter gravity fed system with bottom drain. I'll need to dig and do some cement work, but I'd like to us a rubber pond liner too. A pump of course between filtration and waterfall back into the pond and perhaps UV lighting system. I think getting a good pond liner would be important. I am also wondering if the stacks of rice sacks I have could be used as a cushion. I'm just getting started, perhaps yours is up and running already.