Preparing Your Koi Pond - Buying a Filter
One of the most vital investments for your Koi pond is a water filtration system.
The Koi species is unusually perceptive of the quality of its water, and many fish have been known to lose the vibrancy of their colors if the water is not maintained under strict conditions.
The most common pollutant found in Koi ponds is ammonia, which is present in Koi waste.
Because Koi have no stomachs to hold food, anything that you give them will pass right through to the other end, so a proper diet is also helpful in maintaining a healthy living environment.
For the rest, a Koi filter will do the job.
Since no one wants to clean their fish pond every day, a purifying filter is a necessity for almost all Koi owners.
Keeping your fish healthy and beautiful means providing them with clean, nutritive water.
Most owners will want biological filters, which utilize two bacteria in their cleaning process.
The first is known as Nitrosomonas, which converts the toxic ammonia from Koi waste into the less toxic nitrites, and the second is Nitrobacter, which converts the nitrites then into nitrates, resulting in non-toxic, environmentally safe compounds.
These types of Koi filters are especially useful in small ponds, with a small fish population.
In larger or more populated ponds, biological filters tend to be less efficient, since larger amounts of sediment will require frequent cleaning in order for the Koi filter to work properly.
Owners of large Koi ponds are likely to find that a mechanical filter may be more useful to them.
These tend to do a much better job of cleaning pests, insects, and algae, but a drain must be installed in the bottom of the pond to collect waste, which may lead to a more expensive installation.
Another useful item you may want to consider is a pump to create a flow of water in the pond to help gather sediment.
Buying a pump is a good idea for several other reasons, such as dispersing nutrients and oxygen evenly throughout the water.
After your installation is complete it is very important to test the water for chemicals and wastes to know if your Koi filter is working properly.
Testing the water is the only way to know the quality of your pond water, and it is a task that should be done weekly.
Always remember that your Koi are much more sensitive to the quality of water than you are.
Now on to what I know you're wondering: just how much money is all this going cost? Well, a filter for a 250 gallon Koi pond will usually range from $160-$200; a 1000 gallon Koi pond is $300-$400; and a 2000 gallon Koi pond filter typically goes for $500-$600.
A water pump, if needed, costs $350, and the water testing kits can be bought for $7 at any pet store.
The Koi species is unusually perceptive of the quality of its water, and many fish have been known to lose the vibrancy of their colors if the water is not maintained under strict conditions.
The most common pollutant found in Koi ponds is ammonia, which is present in Koi waste.
Because Koi have no stomachs to hold food, anything that you give them will pass right through to the other end, so a proper diet is also helpful in maintaining a healthy living environment.
For the rest, a Koi filter will do the job.
Since no one wants to clean their fish pond every day, a purifying filter is a necessity for almost all Koi owners.
Keeping your fish healthy and beautiful means providing them with clean, nutritive water.
Most owners will want biological filters, which utilize two bacteria in their cleaning process.
The first is known as Nitrosomonas, which converts the toxic ammonia from Koi waste into the less toxic nitrites, and the second is Nitrobacter, which converts the nitrites then into nitrates, resulting in non-toxic, environmentally safe compounds.
These types of Koi filters are especially useful in small ponds, with a small fish population.
In larger or more populated ponds, biological filters tend to be less efficient, since larger amounts of sediment will require frequent cleaning in order for the Koi filter to work properly.
Owners of large Koi ponds are likely to find that a mechanical filter may be more useful to them.
These tend to do a much better job of cleaning pests, insects, and algae, but a drain must be installed in the bottom of the pond to collect waste, which may lead to a more expensive installation.
Another useful item you may want to consider is a pump to create a flow of water in the pond to help gather sediment.
Buying a pump is a good idea for several other reasons, such as dispersing nutrients and oxygen evenly throughout the water.
After your installation is complete it is very important to test the water for chemicals and wastes to know if your Koi filter is working properly.
Testing the water is the only way to know the quality of your pond water, and it is a task that should be done weekly.
Always remember that your Koi are much more sensitive to the quality of water than you are.
Now on to what I know you're wondering: just how much money is all this going cost? Well, a filter for a 250 gallon Koi pond will usually range from $160-$200; a 1000 gallon Koi pond is $300-$400; and a 2000 gallon Koi pond filter typically goes for $500-$600.
A water pump, if needed, costs $350, and the water testing kits can be bought for $7 at any pet store.