Maintaining Your Koi Pond

The ease of maintaining your koi pond is often overlooked in the designing and building stage of the project. Size, shape and materials used in the pond can all contribute to the process of maintaining your koi pond.

Pond maintenance is a critical part of your koi’s overall health as well as your own stress level. And the old adage is true: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. What you take care of on the front end will save a lot of time, effort and hassle later.

Here are a few helpful tips for proper pond maintenance.

Water Quality

Healthy water means healthy fish, so make testing the water a weekly event—especially if your pond is new. It is good to check nitrite, ammonia and pH levels to make sure that your water quality is correct. Raised levels can indicate that issues might be on the way.

Water changes (25% in the warmer months and 10% during winter) should also be a weekly event. When adding water, dechlorinate (or neutralize the chlorine or chloramine) where possible and add it slowly, as the water temperatures will be different and it can stress your koi.

Monitor the water level when outside temperatures start to rise. Evaporation can contribute to water loss. If the water level drop is drastic, it could represent an issue with the pond’s construction or filtration system.

Algae

Algae are a normal and important part of pond life. They can be helpful filters that feed on naturally occurring waste byproducts. Algae blooms, however, tell you that the pond’s balance is off and something needs to be done.

If using algaecides, use them in moderation so as not to throw off the oxygen balance too much. Algaecides should be used as a curative rather than a preventative agent. Some enthusiasts employ koi clay or barley straw (whose effectiveness is debated by enthusiasts) to manage algae growth.

Plants can be helpful in maintaining a good algae balance. However, as koi will eat them, some enthusiasts recommend creating a barrier between the plants and fish.

Debris

If you are using a naturally shaded area to regulate pond temperature (or create a serene environment), you will have to contend with leaves. Any leftover food should be cleared out after 10 minutes, too. It may take a little time, but not as much time as having to deal with it when it accumulates on the bottom.

Pond skimmers and filters

They are a good way of collecting those things you may have missed, both on the surface and the bottom. There are many different models available, but check them both at least once a week and clear out their contents to ensure good water quality in your koi pond.

Nets and Netting

A mesh leaf net is useful in getting the leaves off the surface before they clog up the skimmer. And in the winter months, some enthusiasts opt for netting over the pond to help with keeping the majority of surface debris out of their pond.

Vacuuming

Where applicable, vacuuming the bottom of your pond is helpful in removing the debris and sediment that your skimmer and bottom filter miss.

This is a quick look at some things you can do to maintain your koi pond and keep your koi healthy. Next Day Koi looks forward to helping you stock your pond with koi fish for sale sourced from some of the biggest and best koi farms in the world. We have also leveraged our high volume of shipping through UPS to bring you some of the most competitive Next Day Air shipping rates in the industry.

Contact one of our representatives to see how we can use our koi fish for sale to help you stock your pond.