Starting A Fish Pond

[Red Crab]

HI Everyone, we would like to get going a fish pond. Ours has been built by a previous owner , it is attached to the house is under cover and looks like a tailed mini swimming pool (1.5 m x 2 m).

We have already bought a pump, got it going and filled it up with tap water.

I think we may need to add some chemicals to the water to treat the chlorine?

Now we would like to buy some fish (not big and how many for our size?), and fresh water plants.

What is a good place to do shopping? We live by the lake, would some of the lake plants be suitable for our pond or perhaps it would be better to buy the new ones together with the fish?

Any advice and practical tips would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[junglechef]

I went local, pumped some klong water, grabbed a few fish from a rice paddie and bought some lotus flowers from Kamtiem and it's natural and real nice but I guess it depends in where you are.

[zippydedodah]

kamthien behind tesco lotus on the superhighway.... Shogun Farms or Sun Aqua (both are owned by same family) has everything you need....fish, plants, chemicals to take out chlorine, etc...

[noise]

I have a tiled fish pond and went through trials and tribulations to get it working correctly, including killing 2 batches of koi. Luckily I bought small ones.

The pond came with the house new, and the builder put in a gravity fed, two section "filter", and that was it. Little mosquito fish did well, aquatic plants did well, but big fish died. After killing the koi I realized I needed a real filter. I drained the pond and had a real system put in. Still gravity fed with pump return, five sections:

1. In take; settling section
2. fiber filter catches most of the fish crap. I use thick fiber frequently used for blanket/comforter filler. Throw it away weekly.
3. Lava rock
4. Lava rock
5. pump return

#3 & #4: Internet says that bacteria lives in the lava rock and eats/cleans the water (google for more techical explantion) and that washing with tap water (having chlorine) will kill it. By having two sections of lava rock, I can wash one section this month and the other in 3 months and back to the first in 6 months. So there is always live bacteria in the filter.

The filter is higher than the sewer outside my property and is tied into it (again, the builder did it). So each section has a removeable stand pipe allowing gravity draining (see figure included). The figure below does not show it, but the drains are just closed off by simple long pieces of pipe that stick up above the water level and let my just grab them and pull them out to open and push them back in to closed the drain. Easy, low tech solution that works well.

When the contractor put in this filter, he also ran the return feed around the pond, drilled holes through the sides, and put in 6 inlets for O2 generation. I also had him run a feed to the middle of the pond for a fountain, another "O2 generator"

So what worked for me was (a) clean the water and ( generate O2. Been working well for 7 years now. I am probably at my fish load limit now for the approximately 7000 liter pond. I have 19 large koi (20-24 inches long), 6-8 suckers ranging from 6-8 inches to 20 inches, maybe 15 or so 6-8 inch algae eaters, and hundreds of mosquito fish.

I tried aquatic plants but the koi would root up the mud and ate the vegetation; finally gave up.

I change 25% of the water weekly using tap water with no added chemicals. I have forgotten to watch many times and probably added at least 3500 liters with no effect on the fish. But the water is circulating through the filter at about 7000 liters per hour and has constant O2 generator bubblers. That helps disipate the chlorine.

[sfokevin]

What are the model and brand of you water and O2 pumps?

[noise]

What are the model and brand of you water and O2 pumps?

I do not remember the brand of the pump, which has been my main problem. I now run it 24 hrs a day (though I may not have to). I got several brands over the year and finally ended up a fairly expensive one from Germany rated at 260 lph at the pump. Because of the length of the piping and the junctions, the flow is probably restricted to half of that, which still gives me one change over each hour. I see them now in Home Pro, Global House, Home Mall, and even sometimes in Lotus. Good pumps are not too hard to find.

I had the most problem with the red and orange cast iron ones from China. The capacitors kept burning out.

The water return inlets were cut in such a way with a vertical breather pipe that they suck in air and blow bubbles into the water. No separate O2 generator, per se

[zeichen]

Make sure that the alkalinity isn't too strong Just use some litmus paper. If it is, you will need to seal the pond. As others have stated you will need a proper filter if you will have fish of any size. The filter will also reduce the chance of mosquitoes propagating.

Kamthieng market as others have suggested is perfect. They have shops dedicated to plants, fish and pumps. Just drive around and you will find what you want.

I just finished building this last week. You might need to add a few stones to the pots to keep them from floating if your pond is deep.

[zeichen]

well, I tried to attach a picture but it didn't seem to work.

[circusman]

Chlorine will leave your water on its own in a day or two. NO need to spend for chemicals. Buy small koi they grow fast. Biggest mistake you can make is feeding more than the fish eat in a few minutes. Feed twice or three times a day. Once is not enough.

[Red Crab]

Thank you very much for all your information.

[worgeordie]

Don t make the biggest mistake of putting too many fish

in at once and overfeeding them,the pond needs to create

a biological balance,and have a good amount of Aerobic

Bacteria, to start it off,put a cup of urine or a piece of meat

in the pond for a couple of weeks before introducing the fish,

Don't put any plants in if you are getting Koi, they will just eat

them all and make a right mess,put a couple of Guppies or

some other small fish in to eat the Mosquito larvae,

Don't put the pond in full sunlight as it will just turn green,good

for the fish but you wont see them,the O2 generator that Noise

was talking about is called a Venturi,mixes air with water when

its returned to the pond.you can make one yourself,google it.

Just remember NOT too many fish and DON'T overfeed and

you should be OK.

regards Worgeordie

P.S. some Aquatic shops sell UV water clarifier's,they fit in-line

on the returning water from the pump,keep the algae at bay and

can stop some diseases, not expensive at 2-3K THB,you need

to change the lamp inside every 6 months.

[Apiwan2]

Nice topic.

Pics would be nice

[Red Crab]

Well, we got our fish pond going, it's been running now for a about 3 months. The pump and the filter seem to be working fine, the pond is outdoors and under the roof cover, not exposed to the sun.

We seem to be very good at killing the fish though !!!!! Only 3 have survived out of our first batch of 9.

We buy our koi at the Khamtien Market. We did release them from the bag, as instructed, after half - one hrs after immersing them into the pond.

We feed them a little only once a day.

The water comes from the lake and then being filtered. We have changed all water once after the fish have died.

Last week-end we have bought 6 more koi (sml) and all but one have already died.

What are we doing wrong? Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

cheers

Red Crab

[worgeordie]

The most likely cause, is "water from the lake", can you please explain more,

especially about the lake.

Koi are a very hardy fish,so if you are loosing so many it has to be a water problem,

how did the Koi die,were they gasping at water surface,have clamped fins,not eating,

any other information would help.

regards worgeordie

[sly4all]

As posted, describing how the fish are dying (behavior like gasping for air, flashing, jumping, not eating , changes in color, mucus on skin/, white spots, damage to fins...) will be very helpful in trying to understand why.

Could you also describe your water system (pump, filters, aeration...) and the exact size of the pond (depth?). You mention 1.5mx2m which is rather small, have you tried to fill it with tap or well water ? Do you have some equipment to test the water ? (Ph, nitrates, O2 ?). Maybe a few pictures of the whole installation can help.

how small are your fish when you buy them ? My experience with very young koi here is that a lot of them can carry disease and you must quarantine the fish for 2-3 weeks before adding them to an already populated pond. But that would apply to any fish anyway.

Cheers.

[Red Crab]

Thanks for your re-ply Guys! The water in my fish pond is approx. 600 mm deep.

The lake is man made and it's a rain water.

The water must be ok, as there are plenty!!! of fish in it (not koi though). Made a mistake once of introducing a lake fish into my pond and the lake ""piranha"" ate some of my koi! Learnt a lesson.

We have filled up the pond direct with the lake water and then let it to circulate through the filter.

Only one of six koi (approx. 10 cm long) from my last batch has survived so far.

All other were jumping like crazy in the water that is cascading from the pipe, it just looked crazy, my survivors do not do that. Next day they were not eating, became inactive,seating in the corner at the bottom of the pond and that was the end.

Next day floating dead.

No , I did not quarantine them and thanks for the suggestion. Also, I shall change part of the water more often. An equipment to test the water is a great idea, will invest in that.

One thing made me thinking: at the market in the big shop, immediately next to the entrance, the basins were empty,

there were no small koi for sale. Went to the next shop , a smaller one and the seller said something about ""mai sabaj", and yet has sold me the fish. Perhaps they have already carried some disease?

Does that information make any sense?

Thanks again

[csmith]

https://youtu.be/x2yveqpqQPA
 

[Cake Monster]

On 9/30/2014 at 9:34 AM, noise said:

I have a tiled fish pond and went through trials and tribulations to get it working correctly, including killing 2 batches of koi. Luckily I bought small ones.

The pond came with the house new, and the builder put in a gravity fed, two section "filter", and that was it. Little mosquito fish did well, aquatic plants did well, but big fish died. After killing the koi I realized I needed a real filter. I drained the pond and had a real system put in. Still gravity fed with pump return, five sections:

1. In take; settling section
2. fiber filter catches most of the fish <deleted>. I use thick fiber frequently used for blanket/comforter filler. Throw it away weekly.
3. Lava rock
4. Lava rock
5. pump return

#3 & #4: Internet says that bacteria lives in the lava rock and eats/cleans the water (google for more techical explantion) and that washing with tap water (having chlorine) will kill it. By having two sections of lava rock, I can wash one section this month and the other in 3 months and back to the first in 6 months. So there is always live bacteria in the filter.

The filter is higher than the sewer outside my property and is tied into it (again, the builder did it). So each section has a removeable stand pipe allowing gravity draining (see figure included). The figure below does not show it, but the drains are just closed off by simple long pieces of pipe that stick up above the water level and let my just grab them and pull them out to open and push them back in to closed the drain. Easy, low tech solution that works well.

When the contractor put in this filter, he also ran the return feed around the pond, drilled holes through the sides, and put in 6 inlets for O2 generation. I also had him run a feed to the middle of the pond for a fountain, another "O2 generator"

So what worked for me was (a) clean the water and (http://static.thaivisa.com/forum//public/style_emoticons/default/cool.png generate O2. Been working well for 7 years now. I am probably at my fish load limit now for the approximately 7000 liter pond. I have 19 large koi (20-24 inches long), 6-8 suckers ranging from 6-8 inches to 20 inches, maybe 15 or so 6-8 inch algae eaters, and hundreds of mosquito fish.

I tried aquatic plants but the koi would root up the mud and ate the vegetation; finally gave up.

I change 25% of the water weekly using tap water with no added chemicals. I have forgotten to watch many times and probably added at least 3500 liters with no effect on the fish. But the water is circulating through the filter at about 7000 liters per hour and has constant O2 generator bubblers. That helps disipate the chlorine.

Having had many Aquariums over the Years , I can tell you that the Filter is the be all and end all of a successful Aquatic environment

Where to start with this as keeping Fish is nothing like keeping a Dog or Cat.

Firstly its important to have the correct pump for the volume of water to be filtered.

The Pump should be able to turn over 5 Times the Volume of Water in the pond in 1 Hour. ie If volume of water is 2000 Ltr the pump should be able to turn over 10000 ltrs in 1 hour.

Construct the Filter thus, and I would Invert the filter so pump puts water into the top, and the water falls by gravity out into the Pond.

Section 1 ( Top )

Fibre matting Filter ( good Aqautic store should have this ) Coarse texture

Section 2 (Next down) 

Fibre filter wool Fine texture ( Again store )

Section 3 ( still going down )

Plastic Bio - Balls ( Store again and a lot of them )

Section 4 ( Bottom section )

Ceramic Rings ( as many as you are able to fit into the filter ( store again ) These are the Engine of the Filter and I cannot stress enough how important they are.

Explainer for all sections and hopefully not too technical. Now this is all about bacteria, without which your Pond will cease to function.

S1 Coarse Filter Wool removes most of the solid waste from fish and plants etc .Take out and rinse in clean water that you have dechlorinated ( dont throw away - reuse )rinse  once a week -dont throw away any bacteria

S2 As above but rinse only once a Month

S3 leave them in place ( Do not touch ) They will hold a small amount of Bacteria, but are primarily to aerate the water prior to S4

S4 Same (  never, ever even under threat of death touch them )

This is the engine room of the filter.

Aerobic and Anaerobic Bacteria live within this section and the rings hold more of each than any other filter medias ( fact )

Lava Rock tends to get clogged with crud and become ineffective over time, Ceranic Rings because of their shape ( like large macaroni ) have a huge surface are and never clog

Good luck with the Pond, and if its working for you - leave it alone.