How to Keep Your Koi Fish Pond Clear

One of the most asked questions I get from people who own Koi ponds, is "how to you keep your Koi pond so clear"? The very first thing that I ask them is how many fish do you have in your pond and how what is the size of your pond. Keeping a pond clear is really a many step process. I have listed a few suggestions below.

First you must keep your fish waste to a minimum using the rule of thumb that one 12 inch Koi per 100 gallons of water. Most people always have more fish than their pond can handle waste. The only other way that you can alleviate this problem is to make sure your pond has a bottom drain system. This means your pump is outside of the pond. A good bottom drain system will increase the flow of water which will cycle your water more per hour.

Another important part of the pond system is your filtration. Without good filtration the waste you pick up by your pump can end up right back in your pond. I am an advocate of bigger is better, and that is also true for your pond. Next time you visit your local pond store look at the pond filters; you will see 500, 750, 1000, meaning gallons of water they can handle. Why not purchase a pond filtration system that will handle 500 gallons more than the water in your pond. However, you always want to match your pump to the filter system you buy.

Now I am going to let you in on a little secret. I use a multi-stage filtration system and in the second to last stage I use lava rock. Lava rock is great for filtering out very small particles that may get by your mesh filters, thus making your pond even clearer! But, that is not my secret; my real secret is alfalfa. If you place a tightly woven amount of alfalfa into your Koi pond, you will be amazed of how it reacts to break down waste. I even have a small ball of alfalfa in my filter box.

Using these few ideas above you should be able to maintain a wonderful environment for your Koi fish. Now you know how to keep your Koi pond clean with healthy fish that you can enjoy for many years to come. This is how I learned about pond maintenance from other people who also want to enjoy their garden pond. Feel free to explore my other resources at my website listed below.