Well done Albie. The nightmare paid off. Looking good.

Albie moet asseblief nie daai kos voer nie, dis sommer k@k.

Albie and I are going halvies on a 20kg bag of shogun from Chris Neaves......just need to go collect which will be this weekend or early next week!!!

Hope this makes you feel better now

Cliff,

Not really, stopped using it. Using AquaNutro.

In my opinion Shogun makes Koi develops a “pot-belly”.

Yes, I did mention it to Chris.

thats the problem I had when I bought those pellets......all of it basically ended up on the floor and just created a lot of waste.....the shogun nothing goes to waste.

Potbelly's ........why should it only be that dogs look like their owners!!!!

Hi Albie

Well done nice to see the pond finally up and running after all you have been through and the fish look happy too.

Cheers
Lee

Just to put things into perspective-

I have been feeding Ichiban for the past year, bought from Shelley at King Koi, but with the hurry of getting the fish sorted out, I quickly bought Aqua Plus at Airport Pets as King Koi was closed. I mixed it with small Ichiban pellets. Didn't know it had quite a reputation!!

Any ideas on how to split the 2 streams? (question posted with the photos)

Hi Albie, congratulations on your new pond, and .....

Congratulations, your topic has just became the most viewed topic on this forum today with 3112 views after Colyn's Rhenoster Kop ponds thread was in the first place for more than a year.

Baie geluk Albie

Om terug te keer na jou inlet / outlet probleem.
Ek weet nie of ek jou setup reg verstaan nie, maar indien dit is soos op die foto kan jy dalk probeer om 90* of 45* bends aan die pype te koppel. Draai hulle dat dit na die kant van die dam wys, dan behoort jy ‘n ‘sirkel’ van watervloei te kry. Dit behoort ook beter te lyk as wat jy die pype sou moes verleng.

Skuus, my tekenwerk is maar woes

I have posted this before in another post, way back, but my set up was not too successful.

Marius, the flow is correct. Remember, There are three inlets and the waterfall.



There are two outlets, the bottom drain and the top drain that ends up in a small sedimentation tank. As far as I can see, there are no "dead" areas.



So, no problem with the flow. If the waterfall is off, then all the debris land in the top drain and the surface is clean.

The problem is, with the waterfall on, it "pushes" the surface rubbish away and the surface doesn't look clean.

So, I need a "divider" between the top drain and where the water splashes.



I used this pipe in the past- with water and air, but it did not do the job properly. Any ideas? Less water in the pipe (I fixed it with fish line to the sides), perhaps a log or even some perspex just behind the top drain



So, this is the location where I need something. I let some water out to work today around the pond. I put some chicken mesh on top for the time being, what do other people use?

What about adding something like a rectangular flower box below the waterfall (with the sides a few cm above the water)? You can cut away the bottom of the box and maybe one hole on the side facing the venture. You will not spoil the looks of the waterfall and at least the water flow will not push the debri away from drain.

I would use the plastic diamond mesh that you can buy from a nursery or hardware store to cover the drain. It can't rust away

Sort of off topic ... that planter system you have in your waterfall will become one annoying source of contamination as time goes by and will get more severe during thunderstorms and heavy down pours.

Why dont you clean all soil out of it, plant some yellow irises in there that is only held in place by fairly large stones ?

I didn't get comments about my complicated/crazy filter system, so I have added some more info/sketches

My filter system after I rebuilt the pond: (Remember, I tried to keep the bio media alive- the water was crystal clear when I removed the koi from the Portapool

I thought of posting my filter system- probably too many "extras", with the individual areas to small. My water is not yet 100% clear, but I see some algae along the sides of the pond. My water tests are absolutely fine.

I have basically two systems, and the system might be difficult to follow. But I've posted quite a few pics. Some are very "hand-made", especially my trickle tower!

The basic system



Bottom drain:





Combines with another pipe (more detail later) and into the sand filter system. I am not a LG- backwash and stir every weekend! (although I must really get a lid without screws)





Back into the pond:





Relatively straight forward.

The other system(s) a bit more complicated:

Top drain from the pond (still need to change the mesh):



Into small sedimentation chamber, enters only half way and I have added a cone like area to the bottom. The idea is that a circular motion is created with the sediment going to the bottom.:



Another system:



A submersible drain pumps water to this "box". Pieter didn't like the box, as there is a possibility of stagnant water, but I'm not so sure of that. When I installed the box, the water clarity improved dramatically. I clean the foam every 3-4 weeks.









From the "box" to the flower container (remember, it is a top to bottom approach in the flower box) with PVC pipes at the bottom, forming a rectangle and with holes in that rectangle so that water circulate upwards, until it exists from the top.









And now the up and down... (The last wall has a big hole at the bottom)



And the water goes to the sand filter.

Not finished yet- a cheap Trickle Tower:(Any ideas of a nice box system that I can enclose this, with racks and an outlet at the bottom?)





Some media layers:





Any thoughts, changes, advice will be welcome. Please be critical!