thanks for the pics Bobby, explains a lot to a new guy like myself !

No mouthful from the SF gang?

Bobby,

Daar is 'n gesegde in Sport ( Rugby)..........."Check the scoreboard"

Wat ek eintlik vir jou will se is dit................"Check my crystal clean water, period!"

Bobs looks like you have better plumbing than most municipalities - you should drink out of your pond!

Thanks Q, I have just returned from our friend Ernst, I will drink the water, no problem, and even promote SF's in public, as long as I can get the growth the master is getting. We need to get hold of his secret recipe.

Pieter J de Villiers wrote:

Bobby,
Wat ek eintlik vir jou will se is dit................"Check my crystal clean water, period!":

Naand SF , Mooi man met daardie klein elektriese rekening....kie kan jy sekerlik elke dag al jou water vervang

Pieter wrote:

between R 5 500-R 6 200 per month...................

Pieter jy gaan mos die nuwe koi manne laat dam toegooi nog voor hulle begin bou het. Ek seker die Eskom manne kyk goed na jou, anders gaan 'n paar manne nie pay nie

LG

Your pond is magnificent!!
I can only dream...
I've never seen a a nexus filter before. Looks like it is very efficient.

Thanks Stumble
There are many good pond around in our country, should you be in the Cape area you are welcome to a visit. I cannot wait to see what kind of growth I will get from my new pond.
My 10000lt pond gave exceptional growth in 2008/09 by taking my koi up to and close to the 60cm mark, this year was disappointing with 1-2 cm only but they added some bulk. Maybe they were on strike waiting for new pond. Maybe the genetics are not there?

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Die Meester in sy Filter kamer onverwags betrap.

Blikses Christie, moet die eerste foto wat jy oplaai nou dit wees, kyk hoe spoil jy nou die image van my KoiCare filter kamer.

Bobby wrote:

Thanks Stumble
There are many good pond around in our country, should you be in the Cape area you are welcome to a visit. I cannot wait to see what kind of growth I will get from my new pond.
My 10000lt pond gave exceptional growth in 2008/09 by taking my koi up to and close to the 60cm mark, this year was disappointing with 1-2 cm only but they added some bulk. Maybe they were on strike waiting for new pond. Maybe the genetics are not there?

thanks Bobby. If ever I am in that area I would love to come and look. Hope you get good growth with this pond.

Hi all, I urgently need for the forum keepers to share with me your experience in shading your pond. I am getting suppliers from today to quote on adding a shade structure on my pond. My average temp is 25c and I need to do something as my Koi are not very happy with the direct sun. I am seeking suggestions on how to cover my pond that will esthetically look acceptable from all angles and therefore will ask for 3D proposals. I have been advised it would be better to cover the complete pond. Let say for the moment it comes down to the carport type shading!
What will the recommended density of the shade cloth be for a Koi Pond 80% ? 50%

If you are willing to post a structure that is in use it will appreciated. All ideas welcome

I replied to another topic about this before, and honestly think with your pond it would just make it look crap with carport type shading. If it were me and I had to do some shading on my pond, and my pond looked like yours I would get those "Stick Sheets" or whatever you call them that the guys make on the side of the roads and make a roof with those. Especially when it's stained dark brown and covering over you pond I think it would add a very nice rustic, natural look.

Like I said that's just me, but think it would look quite nice with that setup.

Hi Bobby, what about the type of shading used by Ernst:

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Bobby I already sent you a mail on this....

I would not cover the whole pond with a dense shade - ie: 80% - very good reasons:
1) Koi need some sun for their colours.... I saw a clients Goshiki turn white in an indoor pond...and it has taken more than 2 years in the sun for the black to return..... this is just one example....
2) Also remember that your pond is your front entrance - and you do not want tomake your entrance hall and study dark
3) If you had to go for the carport type with shade cloth I would not exceed 50% or 60%. I have used from 85% down to 50% and have found that 50% is better! It does not cool the water dramatically - it stil allows sufficient sun and light through for the koi.... I went with shade ports initially to try and stop birds..... problem with this is that the birds eventually become un-affraid of the shade ports...so nets was then the next option....
4) Remember that any dense shade will cool your pond dramatically - and over winter this is not something you want.... at 25 your fish are actually still happy, just adjusting to their new pond.... you will find that as the sun moves so will they to the areas that are protected by the side walls.... but if you covered say 50 or 60% of the pond with a shade sail it would give them more space to relax....

I have emailed you various links to Shade Sails - these are very pretty, will not restrict light into your house...and will not spoilt the appearance of your pond.

Durbanville
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Bloubergstrand
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I would most certainly not go for any wooden structure as they require maintenance annually to look good.....and some wood and wood treatments are toxic to koi....so you would not want the mess in your pond... when it come time to maintain them...and I would not risk the rain and possible water contamination... sorry but I am anal about this sort of thing.... I know that many people have used them and had good results...but again I have a lot of wooden fences and structures on our property and every year they need to be sanded and re-varnished to look good..luckily none are close to water..but still a real pain.....
If you did decide to gothis route..please investigate carefully about the toxicity of the treatments for the wood.......

I also would not put a shade sail 100% over the pond - I would cover a portion of the pond...[right]

Ya Bobby - like Ernst.... see the links I sent you.....
This would also fit into your very modern style home..... in my humble opinion...

I very much like the pond open like it is a present.....looks awesome, think any cover would seriously effect the look.
Maybe a silly question, but is there not a mechanical way of cooling the water? What do they do in big plants / industry when water needs to be cooled down rapidly? advantage would be you can then control the temperature and in winter switch it off.

Thanks for the wonderful feedback and thank you for telling me the carport design will be shite, at least I now know the keepers are taking a serious interest.
I am looking at the sails type of design. A rep from Shadeplus has just left, but going through his available material the colour that should fit here (similar to Ernst, i would prefer it to be less solid,maybe more smaller sails) is only available at a density of 72%
I am waiting for some other companies to see what they have available.

Thanks Adi
Its not only the water temp that is at stake. The Hi gets effected from direct sun and could also be a contributing factor to Hikui on a Kohako
Therefore I am looking for a shade that will only have a density of between 50 and 60 %

Hi Bobby

I agree with Julie. A wooden structure will deffinately cause issues come maintenance.
Takeda once told me that for the colour to develope optimal on koi ( specifically Shiru ), the koi needs 50% sun and 50% shade. I truly do not think that you need a high % sun block.


Christie

Hi All
I would never consider a wooden structure. The best i have been offered so far is 72% shade, I will have to look and leave some gaps should 72% be the best offer available

Ok, another thought what about those alumium shutter thingies that you can turn, and create shade as you require?
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Still in my opinion better then a net.....

I also like the aluminum roof. Got a quite in Bloem for a proper one, where you can open or close the blinds and the roof is 100% water tight. It is expensive at R900 per square but comes with a 15year guarantee. Similar to the following link

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Not a bad option Maruis, something to consider! What is the opinion of the posters. The sides looks to be well finished, the only negative will be it will probarly darken the area a lot when closed. I need to do about 20m2

Is 20M the whole area, why not do a section?