Koi mud pond benefits | How does a backyard koi pond compare
Mud Ponds Are Ideal Environments For Koi.
How Does A Backyard Pond Compare? This article is part 2 of of a step by step guide to successful koi keeping and how to achieve the ideal backyard koi pond. In the first article we identified exactly what a koi requires and what is considered to be the "best koi pond environment". In this article we identify why a koi mud pond is so beneficial to the well being, color and vitality of koi and we see if a backyard koi pond can compare ... Click for other Successful koi keeping articles ...
A comparison of natural mud ponds and backyard koi ponds
In the Northern hemisphere many koi breeders bring their "brood stock" into artificial koi pond environments in late January / Early February. The koi, having spent the previous 6 months in a natural mud pond are in top condition and full of vitality.
During the next few months the koi are kept in heavily filtered, highly aerated artificial ponds that are artificially heated and bombarded with light so as to speed up the maturation of the eggs in the female koi. During this time the koi understandably become a little worse for ware (bumped, bruised) as is the case with most koi living in artificial environments. Their coloration and pigmentation appears to fade, even though they are being kept in the "best of artificial pond environments". Mid May sees the female koi stripped of their eggs and placed back in the natural mud pond until next February.
The following February sees the same koi, having recouped in the mud pond show excellent coloration and vitality. The mud pond with it's turbid conditions obviously supplied something that was missing from the artificial koi ponds. Koi are often placed in a mud pond, by koi breeders, prior to a show to enhance the condition and vitality of their prize koi.
The aim is to achieve the benefits of the mud pond in our biologically filtered koi pond. In order to try to match these conditions we need to regularly test the pond water, checking various conditions.
Biological water conditions
All fish produce ammonia in both liquid and solid form as a by product of eating. Koi are particularly greedy and a koi is capable of eating three times as much as a same sized goldfish. As a result biological filtration in your backyard pond is critical due to the higher concentrations of toxic metabolic by products. It is the job of your biological pond filter to convert the potentially lethal ammonia into relatively harmless nitrate so as not to poison your koi.
Providing that the biofilter is correctly sized for the size of the pond and that it can handle the pond turnover rate (experts recommend that your pond should be circulated once every two hours) then you should aim to gradually introduce new koi, over the next few months. This gives the ammonia oxidizing bacteria, present on your pond filter's biomedia the opportunity to colonize in numbers so as to allow optimum conversion of ammonia to nitrate during the stages of the nitrogen cycle. These colonies will only grow if there is sufficient ammonia, water and oxygen present. This can be a difficult balancing act with a new pond as you don't want too much ammonia but on the other hand the bacteria need it, in order to grow and prosper and to make your bio filter more efficient. Regular testing of the water will identify whether or not your fish load is too high for your filter.
In a mud pond the basic source of the food chain is microscopic suspended algae, that feeds on the end product of the nitrogen cycle, nitrates. However we don't want algae growth (green water) or blanketweed forming in our koi pond as our koi are fed on artificial dry diets and green water is not only an eyesore but spreads out of control rapidly, depleting the pond of vital oxygen, during night time hours. It's important to monitor nitrate levels and try to maintain them below 50ppm. You may need to introduce some form of plant life or part change the water regularly so as to dilute the nitrate levels.
Chemical water conditions
Chemical properties are the difference between the benefits of the spa like mud pond and the artificial koi pond. A mud pond is nutrient rich and therefore contains an underlying level of "green water", caused by floating algae. Pond algae is a microscopic single celled plant that carries out photosynthesis, during daylight hours. Photosynthesis consumes carbon dioxide, producing oxygen. This causes the pH level to rise. At night the opposite occurs. The green water becomes an oxygen consumer, causing the pH to fall.
An artificial koi pond on the other hand doesn't experience the same level of fluctuation because the levels of algae are minimal. Ideally a pH between 7.0 and 9.0 is ideal for your koi pond.
A koi mud pond continually releases minerals through it's clay substrate, helping to condition the water. The pH level is maintained in a mud pond due to the high mineral load, resulting in high levels of both GH (calcium / magnesium salts, causing hard water) and KH (carbonates and bicarbonates) that buffer the pH.
Many koi keepers supplement their man made, inert lined ponds by adding calcium carbonate (fitted in the biofilter) and frequently adding quality clay to the pond water.
Physical conditions
A deep pond supplies our koi with a much more stable water temperature in addition to providing the koi with some stress relief. The stable water temperature is particularly important during the colder, winter months. Many hobbyist koi keepers use heaters to warm the pond water during the winter months, mistakenly believing that this is helping the koi. It isn't. Koi need colder water conditions as a cue for them to be able to alter their biological clock. They use the colder water conditions as an indicator that it is time for them to go into semi hibernation and grow. They also use this time to recover from the previous season.