Chlorine is added to all city water. Chlorine can be very toxic to koi. It can burn their
gills and can cause death. Chlorine evaporates rather easily so adding small amounts
of city water through an auto fill, for instance or through a very slow flowing drip line
usually does not present a problem. On the other hand, if you change more than a
couple inches of the water at one time you should take steps to either remove the
chlorine from the fill water before it reaches the pond or neutralize it once it enters the
pond. The most common way to solve this problem is to simply add some dechlorinator
(sodium thiosulfate) to the pond before you add the fill water. Another solution is to
install a carbon filter to the fill water line. A good quality carbon filter will automatically
remove all chlorine from the water before it reaches the pond. This is a great solution
but you need to make sure you change the carbon in the filter on a regular basis.
(see carbon filter at sacramentokoi.com)

What is the condition of the water you are adding?

Before you begin performing serious water changes you would do well to test the
water you are adding to the pond. You might be surprised what you find. Knowing what
you are adding to your pond will give you the chance to make adjustments to the water,
as you add it to the pond, if necessary. You should consider testing the new water for
the following;

Temperature
Ph
Alkalinity
Hardness
Chlorine
Chloramine
Ammonia
Phosphate

There is a lot of discussion on this topic. To start with I suggest that you first consider
what you hope to accomplish with your water changes. Andrew with Andrews Koi in
Anaheim California has been conducting a koi growing contest with his customers each
year for over 10 years now. His main focus for water changes when he started was to
see how large they could grow these koi in just one season. He started out 10 years
ago recommending changing out 10% each week. After examining the results of the
growing contest each year he is now recommending 10% water change each day.
At Sacramento Koi we tried something a little different. We were more concerned with
the basic health benefits of a regular water change. We set up a drip system in half our
tanks that automatically changed out 10% of the water each week, where as, in the
other tanks we didn’t perform any water changes other than regular back washing of the
filters, which amounted to less than 2% each week. We ran this test for one year. What
we noticed was that in the tanks that received the regular 10% water changes, the koi
grew a little faster than the koi in the other tanks. But, the big difference was that these
koi remained significantly healthier than the koi that received no regular water change.
Additionally, the water looked noticeably clearer.
What becomes obvious is that regular water changes are very important to the health
and growth of the koi. You have to decide what you are hoping to accomplish with your
koi. If you are just looking to raise your koi and keep them healthy you should consider
performing at least a 10% to 20% water change each week if possible. If your goal
is to raise your koi to their full potential both in color and size you then might want to
consider performing even larger water changes. There seems to be a direct correlation
between koi health and growth, and how much water is changed each week.

2) How much should you change at one time?

There are a number of individuals who like to perform large changes, up to 70% at
one time, every so often. The logic is that the more water you change at one time,
the more of the old water you are replacing. When you change smaller amounts on a
regular basis you end up changing out some of the new water you recently added along
with the old water. This may be a more efficient way to replace the old pond water but
it can cause more stress to the koi than is necessary. Koi particularly do not like large
changes to their environment such as changes to the water temperature, ph, alkalinity
or salinity.
Changing smaller amounts of water on a more regular basis creates much less stress
to the koi. The new Advantage GROW System offers the best of both worlds. It allows
you to perform regular water changes at a rate that will not stress the koi and at the
same time, allows you to perform these water changes without wasting a drop of water.

If you are paying for water the GROW System can actually save you money. (See
advantagegrowsystem )

Why are water changes so important?

Regular water changes are a very important part of raising healthy koi to their full
potential. The following are just a few of the reasons why regular water changes are so
important;

- Regular water changes prevent the build up of anti-growth hormone in the pond. Koi,
like many other fish, are constantly giving off an anti-growth hormone which, if allowed
to build up in the pond water, will greatly reduce the ability of the koi to grow, no matter
how much food you give them. In general, koi tend to grow bigger in a large pond rather
than in a smaller one. This is more a factor of how much of this anti-growth hormone
has built up in the water rather than how large the pond is. A large pond having more
water and requiring more fresh water to clean it’s filter from time to time will usually have
a lower level of this hormone in it. In a smaller pond this hormone can build up very
quickly. Regular water changes will keep this anti-growth hormone from building up at
all, thereby allowing a koi to grow to its full size potential.

- Regular water changes can reduce the level of organics in the pond water. Organics
in the pond water can come from a number of different sources such as, koi waste,
excess food, decaying debris and a number of other sources. These organics can
become so small that they will travel right through the ponds filter and are often referred
to as Dissolved Organic Compounds or DOCs. Therefor, these DOCs can cause
the water to appear cloudy and can form on the water’s surface causing bubbles.
Additionally, these DOCs are a source of food for any bad bacteria in the pond. Regular
water changes can greatly reduce the level of bad bacteria in the pond water, thereby,
reducing the chances of your koi getting sick due to a bacterial infection.

- Regular water changes will help reduce the build up of nitrates in the pond water.
The biological filter on a pond converts the ammonia produced by the fish to nitrites
and eventually to nitrates. Nitrates, which are not nearly as toxic to koi as ammonia and
nitrites are, we’re felt by many to be harmless to koi for years. More recently however,
studies have found that medium to high levels of nitrates are associated with stress in
koi, along with lowering the koi’s immune system and a number of other serious health
issues. Regular water changes can keep the nitrate level in a pond down to almost zero.
Truly, regular water changes can greatly improve not only the koi’s health but can also
improve the quality and the clarity of the pond’s water.

Filtration – provide clear and healthy water.
Biological
Mechanical
Easy to operate.

Advantage Filter

Water Quality. Extremely important
Ammonia. O
Nitrite. O
Nitrate O
Ph. 7.0 – 8.5
Alkalinity 90 – 120
ORP range 250 – 350

Water changes.
Oxygen in pond.

Importance. Show chart
How to add. Waterfall, jets, air pump.

Bottom drain cover w/ air
Air pump

Pond Design – need to provide a place to grow your koi.
Proper size
Proper depth
Water movement very important for conformation
Location. Easy to see. Too much sun.
No sharp objects in pond.
Proper sized pipes
Bottom drain.
Lights?
See 20 questions brochure
Design plans

Showing off your koi
Lights in pond. LED Don’t seem to bother koi.
Window?

Led lights for ponds

For lack of a better name I call this phenomena “New Pond Syndrome”. What I have noticed over the years is that no matter how well you build a pond, what filter you install on the pond or how closely you monitor the water, the koi are prone to getting sick during the first year.  This is not to say that building a great pond, with a great filter and watching the water quality closely does not help. All I am saying is that with a new pond the koi are prone to getting sick during the first year. If any of the koi you add have any parasites at all, these parasites will spread like wildfire and can easily kill some koi before you know it. If any of the koi develop an ulcer, it seems to take longer than normal for the ulcer to cure. Even if you are forced to perform a larger water change than normal, due to high ammonia or nitrite build up, the koi seem to get overly stressed. It can be very frustrating and a real heart ache to a new hobbyist. The good news is that it goes away after the first year.

I have spoke to several veterinarians about this phenomena and they all agree it is a real problem. The problem seems to be that the new pond has not had a chance to mature. We often talk about how important it is for the new filter to mature which usually takes at least 6 weeks. What we sometimes overlook is how long it takes for the pond itself to mature. We often get concerned about the lye from a concrete pond or from the rockwork around a liner pond leaching into the pond. This lye can cause a very high ph reading in the pond water. The problem is that once we get the ph down to a manageable level we start feeling everything is perfect. There are some, including myself, that feel very strongly that there are other chemicals being released in such small quantities that they are very hard to measure but are very stressful to the koi. Once the pond matures and a healthy layer (¼ inch) of algae covers all the surfaces of the pond, these trace chemicals seem to go away. Dr. Erik Johnson, jokingly, calls it “mojo”. He says he can’t explain it but once the pond “mojo” develops the stress level of the koi goes way down. When they are no longer stressed they then have the ability to fight off both parasites and diseases.

What can you do with this knowledge? Work with your pond for the first year. Do not overload a new pond with fish. Try to resist the temptation to put expensive koi in the pond for the first year. Be careful where you get your koi from to prevent introducing parasites. Your friend may want to give you some of his excess koi but you need to realize that his pond is 10 years old. His koi could easily have a low level of parasites but are able to function well because they are not under stress. Healthy koi, that are not stressed, are often times able to fight off the parasites due to a healthy slime coat. When they get into your new pond and become stressed they may soon loose that ability. Watch your water quality closely. Try to keep your ammonia and nitrites as close to 0 as you can and do not let your ph crash. More than anything else be patient. After the first year all this will go away and then you can relax.