Koi fish can live for several years but their survival and lifespan usually depend on whether they have an environment built to allow them to thrive. To ensure that your fish and turtles can thrive, it’s important to take the best care of your Koi pond and consider a drain and clean at least 1-2x per year depending on how your pond or fountain was built. In order provide a great living environment for Koi fish and turtle, you have to provide the best equipment paired with the best maintenance company for your water feature.
Top Tips for Caring for Your Koi & Turtle Pond
A pond that has healthy fish can no undoubtedly be aesthetically pleasing, but in order to maintain the beauty of your pond, we’ve taken the time to discuss three top maintenance tips you can implement to help you keep your pond healthy.
1. Consider changing the water in your pond frequently if needed
Let’s face it – not all water features are built the same. There’s no shame in swapping water 1-2x per year. Ideally you can get a deep or light cleaning in at the same time. Similar to that of a fish tank – you can do this annually or every 6 months if needed. Anything beyond that and you might want to consider upgrading your pond equipment. Click here for more information regarding proper pond maintenance.
Important Note – When adding city water to your pond, make sure to add a dechlorinator, sometimes referred to as a “chlorine neutralizer” or a “chlorine remover.” This is a chemical additive that renders the chlorine and chloramine in your pond water source harmless to your fish and biological filter.
Typically as the water level in your pond diminishes, substances and minerals can be left behind which can lower the quality of pond water and pose a lot of danger to your fish. This is why we suggest cleaning your pond if you do a water change.
Water Evaporation
Sometimes it’s evaporation, sometimes it’s splash, other times it’s a leak – we suggest adding an auto-fill to your water feature in order to keep the water levels high and wildlife safe. Although with that being said – make sure to add dechlore when a large amount of tap water is introduced to your water feature (if it has fish or turtles that is)
2.Ensure You Backwash Your Filtration
in order to give Koi fish the most optimal living environment, you should ensure that you backwash your biological pond filters at least twice each month or as much as your system requires. To understand if your filter needs to be cleaned, you can check the pressure gauge on your pond. If the gauge shows a reading that is too high, it could be an indicator that your filter needs back-washing. (an increase in pressure on your pond filtration means there could be fish, turtle, and vegetation particulate needing to go to waste)
3. Control the Growth of Algae in Your Pond
As the pond water is filtered, the ammonia in the water can turn into nitrate which is relatively harmless to your fish or turtles. However, as the level of nitrate in your pond increases, algae usually tend to thrive and with time can overpopulate your pond. In addition to lowering the aesthetic appeal of your pond, algae can end depriving oxygen to your Koi fish. Thus causing your fish to stress, potentially dying due to the lack of oxygen.
To control the level of algae growth in the pond, pond owners can use chemicals such as algaecides. However, before acquiring and using algaecides, you should do thorough research in order to identify the best algaecide to use. The ideal algaecide will depend on the algae growing in your pond. The best option is to get equipment that can handle this vs use chemical.
Alternatively, you can control the growth of algae in your pond using ultraviolet pond lights. You can acquire special UV lamps to stop the growth of harmful algae in your koi pond. UV light usually controls algae by killing the bacteria before they can reproduce and populate your pond. To keep your pond free from algae, you can add special UV lamps to the filtration system in your pond. To ensure that algae remain controlled effectively, change the UV lamps at least once annually.
When in doubt
Taking care of your koi pond and aquatic pets requires more than simply giving your pets the right type of feed. In order to create and maintain the healthiest and best environment for your Koi fish, you can follow the tips discussed in this article.
Do you need assistance in maintaining your Orange County Koi pond in the best condition? Get in touch with us for the best professional pond cleaning, repair and maintenance services.
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Original Content Source: https://www.koipros.co