Newbie Questions

[mumrah]

So i purchased a townhome recently that came with a pond in the back yard. It has two basins, one largish, one smaller. I have no idea what exact size they are. Anyways, when i started to clean the muck out of the bottom one, i discovered about 9 5-7" coi. The filter had come loose from the pump so the water was nasty thick with algae.

So i tore down the filter, cleaned it out the best i could, and reassmebled it. A few weeks later, the water had cleared up signigicantly. Now i'm pressed with the question, what now?

I have no experience with ponds, but i want these fish to be happy! They managed somehow to survive for about 8 months with no human element, so they are very resiliant. I also want to make this pond look nice.

Please, share your wisdom.
-David

[Billsgate]

I would advice you to go out and get a good book that has all the basics in it about ponds. I have no experience with ponds, but in my fishkeeping experience i know it's important to do research and read books+search the web.

HTH

[jacktheknife]

just like any new endeavor, research research, research. if you want to make the fish happy you need to find out what makes them happy in the enviroment they are in.

[ReefNooB]

The first thing you need to do when considering filtration for a pond is the volume of the pond. (length x width x depth x 7.5) will get you really close but u have to consider any shelves that may be in the pond for plants and adjust properly. Koi need massive amounts of water when full grown, 9 koi full grown would need at least 3000g and that would be with relativly high amounts of filtering. Koi in good conditions can grow from 4-6 inches a year and average around 3 feet fully grown. You will need to keep that in mind when considering the wellbeing of you fish