Ponds&Koi- Waterfalls, Ponds, Gardening, Lawn Service, KOI, Planting, Gravel & Rocks

Setting up your Fish Pond/System

As troublesome and confusing as it may seem it is not all that hard to set up your pound/system. It requires that YOU pay attention and follow simple protocols.

1) Add water to the system.

2) Use Dechlorinator Plus. This will eliminate chlorine and other harmful elements, while adding needed nutrients
for fish and nitrifying bacteria.

3) Add your fish and Bio-Seed together. This will establish the nitrifying bacteria that eat ammonia and nitrite.

4) Add salt! Three pounds per one hundred gallons (non-iodized);

5) Ammonia is introduced to the water when your fish urinate. Keep the pH low 6.8 to 7.5 Holding pH in 7.5 is ideal for startup and also optimum to maintain for KOI and Goldfish health. You should know that a high pH and ammonia together will KILL your fish very quickly.

6) Do not feed until you have a complete Nitrifying Cycle.

7) Make a maintenance testing chart for ammonia, pH and nitrites for all tanks/ponds. Test and note readings at

every testing. Test daily until readings are zero (0) with pH constant. Continue testing weekly noting reading on your charts for maintenance (RETAILERS NOTE: Your testers should initial their tests and note any action taken, potential problems and real problems. Accountably will reduce neglect.)

Yon must have the following test kits:

1) pH

2) Ammonia

3) Nitrite

4) Salt

5} Dissolved Oxygen or DO (optional)

Salt will protect the fish from some of the burning that occurs when the ammonia is present. It also prevents Brown Blood Disease when there is nitrite present. Remember and hold on to this very important fact about salt: Salt will kill seven (7) of nine (9) harmful adverse parasites that can affect the health of your fish. Salt is GOOD medicine!

Using Bio-Seed in your system will reduce the Nitrifying Cycle from 4 to 6 weeks to 18 to 20 days. The Nitrifying cycle is when the bacteria have colonized on the filter media and your ammonia and nitrite readings are 0. During the cycle time you will need to check ammonia, nitrite and pH everyday until you have zero ammonia and zero nitrite. It is best to start your new system off with a few fish (10 to 12 Goldfish). Adding more fish will not speed up the nitrifying cycle, it will only speed up the ammonia levels and will kill your fish. Be sure to check for ammonia and nitrite as close to the bottom of your pond system and possible, as these compounds are heavier than water. Once ammonia is present you will need to do partial water changes to delude it until the reading is 0. The next part of the cycle is nitrite. Once this is present you will need to do partial water changes to delude it until the reading is 0. Each time you do a partial water change you will need to add back salt and Dechlorinator Plus to re-establish the ingredients necessary to prevent burning and to enhance the slime coat on the fish and help establish the system. Note: See brochure on Fish Disease for instructions for making a salt test gauge. And once again always replace old/outdated test kits (reagents), as old kits give false readings.

HELPS PREVENT DISEASE * ALL PRODUCTS WORK HAND & HAND

EXCELLENT WATER QUALITY * DESIGNED FOR"CAREFREE"POND KEEPING

This method has been derived from years of dealing with the everyday problems that have caused much aggravation in pond keeping and water gardening. Early on we could see the hobby growing and the need to develop products to solve the problems. You might say this method is the heart of pond keeping.

Some years ago, as the first company to use and place hydroponics in pond keeping, we developed S.P.M. (Soiless potting media). It solved several major problems for pond keepers. * NO DIRT FOR THE KOI TO ROOT OUT * NO INTRODUCTION OF BAD BACTERIA

Le. aeromonas, etc…...... EVERY BASKET BECOMES ADDITIONAL BIOLOGICAL

FILTRATION. THE BASKETS WITH S.P.M. ARE MUCH LIGHTER AND EASIER TO HANDLE, AND THE PLANTS TAKE THEIR NUTRIENTS FROM THE WATER NOT THE DIRT !!! The baskets with holes or slots in them are ideal for planting with S.P.M. In a new pond and to start the plants off you will need a starter fertilizer tab. Once the pond has cycled we see no need to continue with fertilizer, there are few exceptions. We have grown just about every aquatic plant in this media with great success. It last up to two seasons and slowly bio-degrades.

Our understanding of how an ECO-SYSTEM works allowed us to add our touch of expertise. By this I mean to make an eco-system work at maximum efficiency. At this point we introduced a major bacteria necessary for a good pond environment. First by knowing that SLUDGE is a problem and the problems associated with it, WE developed SLUDGE AWAY and SLUDGE EATER. These are made up of bacteria and enzymes. The enzymes break down or liquefy thus allowing the bacteria to digest the organic matter. One of the by-products of this break-down is phosphate or PLANT FOOD. At this point the method was not yet complete. There was a need to develop a preservative formula to allow a very fragile bacteria known as NITRIFYING BACTERIA to live on the shelf. Nitrifying bacteria will develop in time in a pond environment; however, it is that time that KILLS. Also prior to our introduction of BIO-SEED several weeks of hard labor was required doing water changes to break the back of the ever accumulating ammonia in the system. Today’s technology has allowed us to do what they said could not be done. BIO-SEED is that technology at work. This product is live non-pathogenic non-toxic NITROSOMONAS AND NITROBACTER bacteria in a freshwater preservative formula. This formula allows these bacteria to live on the shelf for several months.

It is at this point I would like to add, if you are purchasing a bacteria product that says NITRIFYING and also removes sludge then this is nothing more than something similar to our SLUDGE AWAY/SLUDGE EATER. Organic matter emits ammonia in the decaying process. So if SLUDGE EATER is bio-degrading h prior to emission, wonderful. However, that's not nitrifying!! If it is a Dry Powder it's not nitrifying. If it's a liquid that also removes sludge, well your right back to SLUDGE AWAY/SLUDGE EATER. Nitrifying bacteria should slate Nitrosomonas/Nitrobacter Bacteria on the bottle and of course the sure cure is to test it.

Your cycle time should not be more that 18 days and in ideal conditions less. Ideal being 70 degrees or better water temperatures.

Now with all that being said. Once you've seeded your pond with BIO-SEED you can expect most of the METHOD to be in place, because the cycle of ammonia is in the end , PLANT FOOD, or better stated, the last part of the cycle is nitrates, or plant food .

Lets review: BIO-SEED = Plant food, SLUDGE AWAY/SLUDGE EATER = Plant food. S.P.M. = Maximum performance of an ECO-SYSTEM or maximum utilization of nitrates and phosphates. An efficient Eco-system with no heavy pots, no bad bacteria, no dirt for the Koi to root out, and no odor problems. Also a media that bio-degrades thus allowing h to be consumed by the sludge eating bacteria. No mess to be cleaned up season after season like with kitty litter or other such media. Ammonia and nitrites are under control and sludge is being converted to a usable fertilizer. This is called CAREFREE PONDING without chemicals.

PH: The next potential threat to fish is pH. With our background in aquaculture, we know the stress caused to fish by rapidly moving the pH level up and down. Therefore, we offer pH STABILIZER 7.5 . While this process may not be as profitable as selling pH products to raise and lower the pH of water, it is the best way to prevent a pH CRASH! As ponds age they have a tendency to become more acidic. Our pH STABILIZER 7.5 slowly moves the pH to 7.5 which is perfect for KOI and Goldfish. A 7.5 pH is also the perfect pH for color, growth, and overall good health. Once the pH has arrived at 7.5, simply add the suggested additional dose to achieve two months of Stabilized pH. CAREFREE OR WHAT!!

Why not add icing on the cake. DECHLORIN ATOR PLUS is an all in one product that not only removes chlorine, chlorimine, heavy metals, and other pollutants, it ages the water and has a special herbal formulation that promotes the establishment of beneficial Nitrifying bacteria while providing necessary pH buffers and natural electrolytes and slime coat enhancement, thus a preventive against disease. One gallon does over 15,000 gallons. Keep in mind we are talking pond products..

ULTRA-VIOLET STERILIZERS: This method would not be complete unless we did something about pea-soup green water. Again chemicals are not the answer. Cheap U.V.'s are not the answer. Sure they clear the water for a while then they require major repair or complete replacement. Chemicals kill and by the time you have purchased them a number of times you could have purchased a U.V. Light. Then you have the P.V.C.Lights: These again, clear the water, however, what you have to find out the hard way is that unless the P.V.C. is lined, the only way to protect it, then you get vinyl chloride and hydrocarbons, both of which are proven carcinogens, introduced into the water. If you can't drink water that has been ran through a P.V.C. light for fear of disease, what do you think it is doing to the fish's immune system?? With this knowledge we have created a state of the art STAINLESS STEEL U.V. light. Again we are preventing the possibility of disease. Once this light is added to your pond not only is the water crystal clear, h is free from the toxins mentioned above. This light is easy to use and maintain and with the reflection this light offers more KILLING POWER!! This means a smaller light will handle a larger job and with less energy cost. Sylvania and other lighting companies have proven the merit to reflected U.V. light. The BIG PLUS is it is GUARDING the water and killing pathogens that can cause disease., i.e. bacteria and parasites, etc.

NUTRITION: This holistic approach would not be complete unless we add nutrition. Since we started out as a fish hatchery and KOI Farm we know the importance of nutrition to prevent disease. We currently have over $100,000.00 invested in KOI brood stock. Some years ago we developed a special diet for KOI and Goldfish. The first diet was designed for correct growth and excellent color. The second diet pretty much duplicates the first in ingredients without all the color enhancers. Both of these diets have been formulated for year round feeding. A perfect blend of plant and animal proteins allows the fish to digest this very palatable feed. In fish farming one soon learns the serious need to have the correct AMOUNT of vitamin C in the diet. Sta-C, the manufacturer of our vitamin C, is by far the winner when it comes to STABILIZED VITAMIN C. This allows our food to set on the shelf for a good twelve months and still show vitamin C content. I would like to inject at this point the need to protect the vitamin content of not only fish feed but also anything that you expect to have any nutritional value before and after the purchase. When you purchase vitamins or Pharmaceuticals they do not come in clear plastic bottles or bags. Under all lighting vitamins begin to break down and in just a few days the degradation of the vitamins is complete. The value of the nutritional content in our feeds has been proven to us many times over. We feed our very expensive brood fish this immune stimulate, highly palatable diet with great success. Our feed has the correct protein level and the right vitamins and minerals and is well balanced in plant and animal protein, thus a food for all seasons. These feeds come in reclosable, biodegradable U.V. protected bags.

Most recently, due to the introduction of so many CORN-BASED feeds, which is referred to by Dr. Erik Johnson as, " NEO-CATFISH FEEDS", we introduced our food called ICH1BAN. When you stop and give some thought to corn in the diet your common logic tells you that to fatten pigs, cows, and of course CATFISH the main ingredient is corn. Why worry about that?? Well, because the accumulation of fat in the fish over time builds up and the fish dies prematurely. Hopefully, I've made my point about nutrition. Personally, I feel that most of the companies offering KOI feed have never owned any KOI as evidenced by the feed they offer.

CLEAN UP: Finally, 1 will offer my method on clean up of fish and plants as assurance of not inoculating the live system with disease. This procedure is about 95 percent effective. First we will need three five gallon buckets each filled with dechlorinated pond water the same pH and temperature as the pond water. First bucket add one half pound of plain salt. The second stays plain water. The third add one gram of potassium permanganate. A level teaspoon is roughly six grams. This is a very concentrated chemical; more is not better, PLEASE try to be precise. Do not use Dechlorinator in this bucket, as it will neutralize the Potassium Permanganate. Step one is to place the fish, tadpole, snail, frog, turtle, etc. into a net and place it into the potassium for 60 seconds and then into the clear water bucket. For fish only, place into the salt water until the fish rolls over on its side and then place into the clear water until it re-gains motor functions. Then place the fish in the net and into the P.P. Fish in under 8" 30 seconds. Fish larger than 8" 60 seconds. Do not exceed 60 seconds. Next place the fish into the middle bucket and rinse until all purple is removed and then place into the pond. All other critters above can, with some confidence, be placed into the pond after the potassium treatment. Personally, I prefer not to place any of the other critters into a pond environment. Bullfrog tadpoles, as you know, become large bullfrogs, but what you might not know is that they eat a lot of fish. At the farm we have killed them with 3 to 4 large KOI and goldfish in their belly.

PLANTS: Rinse all dirt from the roots and place in the potassium permanganate for thirty minutes. After the dip place into the clear water and then SPM (see SPM directions) and seed with BIO-SEED Bacteria for additional filtration and plant food after the nitrifying cycle has occurred. If the pond is a new system, use fertilizer tab under second layer of SPM. After pond has established i.e. several months, the need for continued fertilization is optional as the pond is producing it's own fertilizer.

In conclusion, I would like to say that this Method has proven itself very effective for those who have tried it and continue to practice ft. This Method has helped solve lots of the everyday problems that ponders continue to experience. We are very proud to have been on the cutting edge of the technology that has made pond keeping fun and enjoyable. We will continue to perfect our method as technology becomes available. Also, this is an attempt to control disease. Quarantining is still best if you have the facilities for holding and treating. Quarantining also takes a couple of weeks. That is why we do h at the farm to save you the time. However, not every farm will take the time to clean up their fish and can pass on their disease to your pond or holding system.

Misty Mountain is a pioneer at creating the right pond product at the right time for the right price.

Stress - Its Role in Fish Disease¹

Ruth Francis-Floyd⁵