A filtration system with no bacteria colony is not a proper filter.

Anything that is organic will decompose and form deadly ammonia. What is organic matter? A leaf, a dead frog, pollen, insects, and lots of other things are likely to get into your pond. The nitrogen cycle graphic below is a fact of life and happens 24/7 all over the world. Not just in ponds either, it happens when ANYTHING, plant or animal dies. If a deer dies in the woods the nitrogen cycle decomposes it back into the earth. When you cut your grass, if some of the clippings fall into your pond they decompose by the nitrogen cycle.

Control the nitrogen cycle and you are the master of your pond.

Monitoring for deadly ammonia is the secret key to success. If you do not test you will have dead Koi, or overwhelming algae sooner or later. Buy a test kit locally or get one from us.

A new pond installation will start to develop beneficial bacteria in small amounts on its own. It will take a very long time to get to the desired levels. You can add Commercially Grown Bacteria. This is one of the wisest investments you can ever make in your pond budget. People who have been in the pond and watergarden hobby plant new bacteria farms every spring and fall.

Feed fish sparingly to prevent deadly ammonia spikes. Only feed them twice a day maximum and just for what they can consume in 5 minutes of top feeding. Be extra careful in the spring and fall when the water temps are low and the Koi are not 100% active. Feed one time every other day until the water warms up to 55-60 degrees with Cold Water Koi food.

If there is any indication of ammonia at all, be very concerned. At 1.5 PPM you need to do water changes to lower the ammonia level until your beehive of bacteria can get established.

Visual Warning Signs: Pond people in time can just look at their ponds, or by simple smell can tell if things are out of balance. Dead fish is no-brainer, but also look for cloudy water, too much algae, pond water that smells, or crud floating on the surface. Bad water puts your fish (and plants) in a weakened state and as the water condition doesn't change or gets worse they will die soon. Sometimes fish are flashing or sucking the surface water non stop. The definition of flashing is "Making erratic side to side darts and rubbing on stuff." While flashing is symptomatic of a lot of things, first check your water. Flashing may indicate that your water is toxic.

1. FISH WASTE: Fish produce urine and excreta "fish poop." Waste is also present in the form of uneaten food and pieces of decaying plant fragments. Leaves, grass clippings, pollen and molds may also be present in varying quantities. Animal matter may be present in a wide variety such as dead insects, bird droppings and thousands of other situations. Anything that falls into your pond will decay if it is plant or animal. It is important to check your pond periodically for anything that has fallen into the water and remove it before it overwhelms the pond filter and produces deadly ammonia. If you see a dead frog in your pond bottom, get it out!

Japanese Trapdoor Snails can be a huge help in keeping waste to a minimum. They cruise your pond bottom continuously looking for anything to eat. They eat fish waste, uneaten food and algae! This breed of snails is the preferred species of water gardener's world-wide and they can survive harsh winter climates. If there are raccoon's in your area, or aquatic birds, you may lose some now and then.

2. DECOMPOSED WASTE: This matter is attacked and changed into ammonia by heterotrophic bacteria. World-wide outside of aquaculture as well, any living organism that dies is transformed by bacteria into particulate matter and ammonia is a byproduct of this naturally occurring event.

3. AMMONIA: Ammonia is DEADLY to fish. It is present when first starting a pond and cannot be avoided. New ponds go through a rising ammonia cycle. This can be shortened by seeding with commercial bacteria. New ponds should be planted with fish that are not valuable as you learn to manage the cycle properly. You are on a learning curve, so don't get expensive Koi until you get the hang of what you are doing. You can purchase large cheap goldfish (4"-5") for around a $3.00 each at most pet shop's. Be sure and get the very large comets. Don't use small goldfish as they won't put enough of a fish load on your system. About 6-12 fish are good for breaking in an average size pond.

4. NITRITES: Nitrifying bacteria change the ammonia into nitrites.

5. NITRATES: Nitrate bacteria change the nitrites into less harmful nitrates.

6. PLANTS: Pond plants are like a buffer zone for your pond to fend off spikes in ammonia. Somewhat like the shock absorber on your car they take the rough edges off the ride. Plants alone will do very little. Plants absorb and metabolize nitrates as a food source. Plants clean and pump oxygen into the water.

ALGAE: The excess nitrates that your plants can't absorb remains in your pond and algae then blooms. Mother Nature forms algae to try and consume the excess nitrates. Algae is not dangerous to your pond water in small amounts, and actually helps to clean the water. However if it is allowed to propagate it can become deadly as it turns the water into a green soup and cannot hold live-giving oxygen any longer. The end result of runaway algae is Eutrophication and in extreme cases, anaerobic conditions ensue, promoting growth of bacteria such as Clostridium Botulinum that produces Botulism which is deadly to birds, pets and humans. High levels of oxygen in your pond will prevent runaway algae and Eutrophication. An aeration device pumps out added oxygen and is mandatory for any healthy water garden or pond.

• Algae outbreaks are a sign that:

  • You are overfeeding your fish. (90% of all algae problems are traced to this) Big, fat and submarine-sized Koi are what we all like to see. If you want to overfeed your Koi to insure you get maximum growth you will just have to live with a constant algae problem. Koi are little pigs and they will never refuse food, People who love their fish really enjoy feeding them. It is VERY hard to cut back on the amount of food you feed your fish once you have gotten into a habit. Feed your fish sparingly to prevent ammonia spikes. Twice a day is the maximum and only for what they can consume in 5 minutes of top feeding.

  • You may have too many fish for the size of your pond. The time-tested rule of thumb is to have no more than 1" of fish per 1 square foot of pond surface area for new ponds or water gardens. You can increase that to 2"-3" for established ponds with active bacteria colonies in your biofilter and a healthy plant support system. In time you may find that you can even have more fish. If you have no excess nitrates in your pond you can keep adding Koi to find the edge of what you can support. But, Koi grow and as they grow it will put more pressure on your bio-filtering system. Allow room for Koi growth and keep an eye on any algae outbreak as your first sign that something isn't right.

  • You don't have enough pond plants to consume the excess nitrates. The backbone of all of the submerged oxygenator plants is the Anacharis "Ann-Ack-Er-Iss" and EVERY pond or water garden should have plenty of these growing! Insure you have a 1"-2" bed of gravel in your pond, on top of the liner, and plant several of these every square feet. The second most important plant group is the floating oxygenators. All other plants such as your marginal plants (plants around the edge of your pond that are on shelves) and your showcase plants like lilies and lotus are add-ons and don't contribute as much to your water quality as your submerged and floating plants do.

  • Your water pump and/or biofilter is overwhelmed and needs to be improved, or add another biofilter/pump system to your present configuration.

  • Start a colony of Japanese Trapdoor Snails. The little critters eat their body weight or more every day. What a great deal huh? The are one of the few breeds that are specifically intended for watergardening applications.

7. PARTIAL OXYGEN RETURN: Oxygen is returned to the water from your pond plants. This amount of oxygen is not enough to depend on as a viable source. Plants produce oxygen in the daylight hours and consume oxygen in darkness. Having plants in your pond is a huge plus. Plants control algae outbreaks by using the excess nutrients in the water, plus they look beautiful. You can see our plants by clicking here.

Pro Tip: Healthy water with 1 to 2 pounds of dissolved salt added per 100 gallons is how professional Koi breeders prevent disease. I know you are thinking "Wow, that is a lot of salt." Don't worry it isn't at all, it actually makes it easier for fresh water fish to absorb oxygen through the gills and it also kills about 85% of the parasites and other things that can kill fresh water fish. You can monitor your salt level to a preferred level of .18 with a salinity meter. Take a 5 gallon bucket and predissolve it with the pond water, then add it slowly to keep from burning the gills. If you have 2,500 gallons of water you will need to have 2,500 divided by 100 = 25 (25 to 50 pounds of salt) 25 pounds equals 1 pound per 100 gallons and 50 equals 2 pounds per 100 gallons of water. However: Keep in mind that most water plants cannot tolerate salt. The first plants to start to die and show indications that you have too much salt are floating plants and submerged oxygenators. Lotus cannot tolerate any salt at all. Lilies and bog plants are more tolerant.

*See In-depth information on starting a pond: How to Cycle a New Pond or Water Feature