How To Have A Healthy Koi Pond

By:


If you want healthy koi, the most important factor you must keep in mind is koi pond water quality. Koi are long-lived and can grow very large, but they don't flourish in a poor pond environment. The environment is a fairly narrow range where these beautiful pets will do well. Although many koi owners purchase testing kits, they may not be faithful about testing pond water on a regular basis.

Oxygen is the most important factor in a healthy pond for your koi. Lack of oxygen will kill the koi. If your pond is set up and operating, koi owners assume that the oxygen levels are correct. It is difficult to test for the amount of oxygen in the water, so, if the fish are living and feeding, you must assume that the oxygen level is adequate.

There are some other factors though, that you should be monitoring regularly to prevent an excess. The first of these is ammonia. Ammonia comes from fish waste. Koi do best when the ammonia levels in pond water are less than . 1 parts per million. Nitrites should be less than .2 parts per million to be safe for the koi. You should also test for the level of nitrates, pH level, alkalinity, hardness, salinity, phosphates and copper.

It is recommended that you change a percentage of the water in your pond periodically. The amount of water that should be changed is approximately 20% at a time. Because the pond is an unnatural balanced environment, even the best care and maintenance will gradually cause toxic products to build up over time. If you change a percentage of the water periodically, the unwanted products are diluted by the fresh water.

You can tell that you need a water change if your nitrate levels rise above 25 parts per million. This is not an exact measurement, but if you are carrying out regular testing on the water, you will be able to better maintain excellent water quality for the koi. The amount of time between changes will vary depending upon the size of the pond, number of fish, plants and other organisms in the pond and its location.

A koi pond will provide years, sometimes even generations of beautiful pets for your backyard area. Keeping the fish healthy should be a major goal. Constant testing and monitoring of the water in the pond is critical for good fish health.

About the Author:
Koi pond is one of the perfect attractions to put in the garden and to offer a more relaxing environment for your own garden.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


Tags:

|

Loading...
Related....
Videos...

Recent Landscaping-Gardening Articles

Comments

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Loading

Site Navigation:

Copyright 2005-2011 ArticleSnatch, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.