Thanks Paul ... I thought it was the Coprox. Looks like it is already getting a bit less.

Well there is a dramatic improvement in water clarity in the system. I can see the botom of the veggie pond clearly, the No #1 pond I can see the drain. This dam is around 1.6 meters deep. No #2 is over two meters deep and I can just make out the edge of the floor.

I am feeling a lot better ... on Sunday I could barely see the floor of the Veggie pond and that is around 1.2 meters deep.

Will post some shots later. I am now off to go and get the bulk of the material I need for the Tanks.

Thursday morning and my water is crystal clear ... I can see the bottom of the deepest pond clearly. I am really happy. I still have a little foam but will do a good water change today and see what gives. Today the material is going into the big tanks and I will post details about it later.

Today the electrical work is being done and now I see some serious costs

The goldfish in the veggie pond is looking very happy so I am thinking about getting 8 koi to split into two groups of 4 and go into the big ponds. Sort of scouts for the big stocking process.

Nice,

You know your ponds are going to go green very soon.
It is always good for a new pond to help with maturation process to let it stay green for about a month.

Yes Jaco ... the #2 and #3 was like peasoup till Monday.

Electrical work is done and pumps are no longer on leads ... that is nice.

In general I am really a very happy man and the landscaping is coming along very nicely too.

Next phase will be to incorporate the bottomdrains into the system but after lots of discussions I have found a good way to do that.

The kois went in ... 8 per dam and they look very happy. Swimming around at all depths.

Tomorrow I should have some pictures.

This deserves a post ... 1,000 views

Today I will post a series of shots that shows the components in my filtration system ...



Now I have to wait for the bio-media to kick in and mature. The water condition is good for now and it improves by the day. I am sure I will get another algae bloom but I am not too concerned about that. There are signs that the vegetation is taking well and in the next week or so I will link the bottom drains into the system. Currently I use the bottomdrains to shed water only.

Comments are more than welcome.

The 24th of July 2008 was an important day ... after almost two years the day finally dawned that I felt confident to place some Koi in my ponds. After lots of soul searching and weighing up the risks of bringing Koi in from various sources I finally decided to bite the bullet and get all my initial stock from one breeder.

On arriving at the farm I spent a long time just listening to the breeder and asking lots of questions. After telling him my story he was confident that the fish would be fine and he surprised me by offering me 16 fish for free to check the ponds.

After 3 days the fish are all eating and they look happy and healthy and very mobile, cruise on all levels of the ponds and feasting on the algae from the floor and walls ... so much that I have quite a lot of pieces floating in the ponds.



Well let us see what the future holds ... I think I am going to get my stock today.

Wie is die dealer? Van die vissies lyk nogal goed veral in die tweede laaste photo.

Is die plante nog in potgrond? Kry die somer vir jou hiasinte, net nie sê ek sê so nie.
Vir 'n nuweling in ons hobby lyk dit glad nie sleg nie.
Welgedaan.

wayneb wrote:

Wie is die dealer? Van die vissies lyk nogal goed veral in die tweede laaste photo.

Sy volle besonderhede ... hy is 'n vriend van my broer en boer met die visse aan die oewer van die Krokodil rivier.

Madelief Visplaas ... 0824604817

Nicky Steenkamp.

Jaco wrote:

Is die plante nog in potgrond? Kry die somer vir jou hiasinte, net nie sê ek sê so nie.
Vir 'n nuweling in ons hobby lyk dit glad nie sleg nie.
Welgedaan.

Dankie Jaco ... ek is baie opgewonde en angstig. Op hierdie stadium is ek verlig omdat die meeste van die groot spoke waarvoor ek bang was is toe nie so erg gewees nie. Natuurlik sit ek nou met alge probleme maar dit sal weggaan mettertyd.

Die plante het baie min grond ... bulk in die bakke is kwarts klip en gruis. Dit lik asof almal nou gevat het en ek sien nuwe groei.

Ek het so paar hiasinte en die laaste paar dae sien ek dat almal so aantal nuwe suiers maak ... so binne a paar weke behoort my veggie dam redelik vold te wees.

Ek het ook a klompie waterslaai gekry en hulle behin ook nou nuwe plantjies maak.

Vandag het ek a bos "Amason Swords" gekry vir die waterval en dit lyk goed.

My volgende mission is nou om die bottom drains in die damme te inkorporeer. Die sement het opgedaag en ek sal seker so by Donderdag die fase begin.

Colyn jy moet onthou dat jy jou dam kan besmet met bakterie en parasiete deur plante, veral as die plante uit water kom.

Jaco wrote:

Colyn jy moet onthou dat jy jou dam kan besmet met bakterie en parasiete deur plante, veral as die plante uit water kom.

Yep ek verstaan en is versigtig met waar die goed vandaan kom.

My stock of fish is now settled in and they are eating. As could be expected the after is turning quite green and now I have to wait for the biological process to get up to speed. Obviously one is anxious to get the water clear but truth is that the fish are more comfortable in the green water. The mechanical side of my filtration is now complete but I have lots of room over to add more if needed. All the plants appear to be settled in and I see signs of new growth.

This morning I can see signs of algae going brown in the vegetation pond. Apparently it is the first signs of things that are changing. I am also seeing brown and black streaks appearing in the algae growth on the pond walls and overflows.

Every Koi keeper most probably cherishes the moments of the first fish going into his pond and I am no different. Yesterday I placed to wedges of orange in each pond and the fish in pond #2 cleaned theirs' out and I can see signs of eating on the ones in pond #1. Pond #2 has a healthy algae population on the walls and pond #1 is only now beginning to show signs of growth on the walls. It is as if the fish in pond #1 is also getting more relaxed and I see them nibbling on the walls.

I will have to restrain myself from taking too many shots. The following is a collection of shots showing most of the fish. From now on I will try and get bigger shots of individuals. It will be a new field for me to explore with my camera.

To me the collection looks nice and I have seen a few individuals that looks great to my untrained eye.



The breeder that supplied me with fish visited my ponds yesterday and he is happy with what he saw. We are now doing the Bottom Drains and that should be done by next Friday.

Comments are welcome.

Those fish look very happy, but they would be even happier with good koi food.

Jaco wrote:

Those fish look very happy, but they would be even happier with good koi food.

What do you suggest ?

Here are a few shots that I did with the 40D and 100-400 ... not there where I want it but in these shots you can see more detail of the fish.



The more I see the fish the more I see in the fish ... there are some really good looking fish amongst the collection and currently my pictures cannot do them justice.

Enjoy.

get shogun,aquanutro or koi exellence or mix them, not those 2 colour goldfish food .
Do You Like The Butterfly Koi's?

Eugen wrote:

get shogun,aquanutro or koi exellence or mix them, not those 2 colour goldfish food .
Do You Like The Butterfly Koi's?

Ok thanks I will go shopping ... problem is ... options are limited in Nelspruit.

Yes I love the Butterfly Koi ... they look really graceful. I have not seen big ones yet and this is the first hatch of the guy I bought it from. The parents were not in the tanks when I collected my fish.

Do you like them ?

yeah they look nice but remind me to much of goldfish lol

Colyn from the looks of things you are a perfectionist.
Those koi are in good hands.
All the suggestions Eugen made are good.
Buy 20kg Shogun from Chris Neaves, he makes it, good stuff.

Jaco wrote:

Colyn from the looks of things you are a perfectionist.
Those koi are in good hands.
All the suggestions Eugen made are good.
Buy 20kg Shogun from Chris Neaves, he makes it, good stuff.

Thanks ... where is he stationed ?

I am seeing brownish algae forming on the spillovers and in the streams. The pond colours are also changing from very green to a more brownish green.

The algae are eating me alive ... I would like some tell tale signs to look for to know that the biological process is starting up.

The algae is currently the winners by far. Water clarity is getting worse by the day and visibility down is around 500mm. Many voices in my head are screaming for me to do something and do something quick. However the soft whisper of sanity is still in control. It is quite obvious that whatever I do now to clear the algae away will mostly be a case of handling and managing a symptom and not the cause.

The fish are looking very healthy and happy and I can see no signs of stress.

That brings me to a point that makes me smile ... as many of you may know, I am a serious photographer and I love long distance riding on my bike. Now the matter of what food for the Koi is like asking on the Photography forum which camera is the best or asking on the bike forum which bike is the best ... 10 guys, ten answers.

Something I noticed this afternoon is that I am seeing a clear reduction in the amount of foam that is generated. I also noticed that all the plants in the pots are showing new growth and new shoots. The hyacinths are all forming lots of new suckers and I guess that by the end of September the whole veggie pond will be covered with a dense mat. I am also seeing lots of brown algae films forming under the stones in the river and on all the spillways. Some places a mat of green algae is busy forming on the brown and it looks quite healthy.

Today I covered the sumps with shade cloth to keep dust, leaves and sunlight out.

All I am going to do now is concentrate on the bottom drains and let nature go it's way. If the water does not clear up by the end of August I will re-evaluate my position and make a decision then. At this moment I want to stay true to my vision and try and get the whole system to be as low-tech as possible with the veggie pond as the heart of the system.