Koi Pond Pumps and Plumbing

Koi Pond Pumps and Plumbing

Pumps and plumbing must be sized to accommodate the water flow needed for a pond. Plumbers and pool experts generally agreed and recommended the gallons of water flow per hour is equal to or must exceed the total pond volume in gallons.

Pumps can be submersible or external type pumps. Both work effectively well however as the pond owner you should be knowledgeable about the costs of operation and the amount of power required by the pumps. My advice is- don’t swat at flies when elephants are marching by-in other words it is impossible to have Koi as a hobby and worry about the costs operating the pond pumps; don’t get caught up in the de minimis.

Operation costs are on manufactures specification sheet

Pond pumps are low pressure/high volume pumps they pull considerably less amperage than pumps designed for swimming pools and sump pumps however in Las Vegas Nevada I would strongly urge you to invest in swimming pool pump. 

Pond operation: Pumps in Koi ponds should operate continuously with a back-up pump when your primary pump requires maintenance. Clear water is not necessarily quality water; therefore pond water should be tested for ammonia and nitrites on a regular basis and corrective measures taken immediately when they are detected.

Constant aeration is vital in summer months, since warm water hold little oxygen as compared to cold water. Koi can die rapidly when water flow and aeration ceases-for just an hour in Las Vegas so that is why I recommend backup systems including a gas auxiliary generator.

It is advisable to consider alternate aeration methods when your systems fail

In an emergency, hydrogen peroxide (available at any drug store and many other local stores) can be added to the pond water to supply oxygen have these supplies on hand and replace as used.

·        A dosage of 1/2 cup per 100 gallons;

·        3% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) will provide oxygen;

·        for approximately 4 hours;

·        Example 2,000-gallon pond;

·        10 cups of hydrogen peroxide every 4 hours will be needed until your emergency has ended:

Koi Ponds Causes For Excess Ammonia Which Always Includes Nitrites

Clamped Fins; White Burns Caused By Ammonia Poisoning. Goldfish or  Koi Look The Same With Clamped Fins

·        Overstocking Koi

·        Overfeeding Koi

·        Low Oxygen Saturation

·        Undersized Biofilter

·        Immature Filter (good bacterial colonies have not increased to a sufficient number this usually occurs in the spring)

·        Dirty Filter

·        Filter too Aggressively or Frequently Cleaned (especially

·        if chlorinated tap water has been used)

·        Chemical treatments that harms good bacteria;

Symptoms of high ammonia: could include weariness Koi could be lying on bottom of your pond with clamped fins and red streaking-flashing, jumping.

Symptoms of high nitrite: could include sluggishness (sometimes lying on pond bottom with clamped fins, though swimming up for food before going down again)-brown streaking in the pectoral fins-jumping, flashing.

There are 2 types test kits for ammonia:  Nessler and Salicylate.

Nessler kits use one reagent grade-yellow to red; reagent grade defined (a reactant or reagent is a substance consumed during a chemical reaction.[1] Solvents and catalysts, although they are involved in the reaction, are usually not referred to as reactants.

Although the terms reactant and reagent are often used interchangeably, reagent is often used in a more specialized sense as "a test substance that is added to a system in order to bring about a reaction or to see whether a reaction occurs".[1] Examples of such analytical reagents include Fehling's reagent and Tollens' reagent. In organic chemistry, reagents are compounds or mixtures, usually composed of inorganic or small organic molecules, that are used to effect a transformation on an organic substrate. Examples of organic reagents include the Collins reagent, Fenton's reagent, and Grignard reagent.

In another use of the term, when purchasing or preparing chemicals, "reagent-grade" describes chemical substances of sufficient purity for use in chemical analysis, chemical reactions or physical testing. Purity standards for reagents are set by organizations such as ASTM International. For instance, reagent-quality water must have very low levels of impurities like sodium and chloride ions, silica, and bacteria, as well as a very high electrical resistivity and the color goes from. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reagent

There are 2 types test kits for ammonia: Salicylate test kits use two reagents, and the results vary from yellow to shades of green/blue. If you are using chemicals such as ChlorAmX or Ultimate to bind ammonia (or

Chlorine), you MUST use Salicylate tests. 

 

 The problem with the Nessler test: Nessler test reads all ammonia present, including ammonia that is now bound by the chemical, and which is no

longer harmful to the Koi so no matter how much binder you add – the test shows ammonia! 

  

Salicylate tests reads only the unbound ammonia (the type of ammonia which harms your Koi!) and the bound ammonia (which is no longer harmful to your Koi) is invisible-so you will know immediately result of the Salicylate test shows ammonia, then you need to add more ammonia binder.

Treatment for high ammonia:

·        Water changes to dilute ammonia

·        Binders such as ChlorAmX or Ultimate, or in very small pond ecosystem-systems Zeolite rocks which absorb ammonia from your pond system.

·        Remember that salt will release the ammonia bound to the Zeolite-these are all meant to be temporary solutions while your filter may not be working up to capacity.

·        ANY unbound ammonia is harmful to your Koi even extremely small amounts in the water over an extended time may cause permanent gill damage.

Treatment for high nitrite

·        Includes water changes-change 50% of water from bottom

·        Suspended feeding

·        Salting to 0.1% and increased oxygenation. Again, these are meant to only temporarily improve the situation until the filters are working.

In all cases address the underlying cause

·        check your filter

·         In the spring, check ammonia, nitrite, pH and KH (total alkalinity or Carbonates) use your test kits daily until your bacterial colonies are populated each and every spring-then weekly during the summer.

·        Simple precautions will help stop small problem-becoming major disasters.