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If I have a waterfall can I do without a biological filter and aerator?
I was told that I need a bio-filter and aerator for my koi pond, but it seems like if I have a waterfall it will be okay without those. Am I right?
2 Answers
To a point yes your are right. However for proper aeration your water fall would need to be no less the 2 feet high. There are aeration testers on the market that you can use. Then again even with a 100 foot water fall if your pond is more then 5 feet deep you will need something to move the water around. After five feet deep the water tends to die super fast as the pressure of the water squeezes out the air. This can be fixed with the placement of the pump.
As far as bio filters go you can use anything such as lava rocks with many holes and cracks even a sand filter would work. The bio filter is a place for good bacteria to grow and help in getting rid of the bad smells in the water. Some plants can do this but the water has to go through it to work. Some fish will also help with this such as Tilapia fish.
Just try to make your pond act like a real pond but you need to think of temperatures too. You can also use crayfish and clams and keep your PH around 6 to 7 With the right plants and the right amount of fish and fish types and the right food amounts and temps and PH a pond will live on its own.
Try to never use city water and if at possible you should fill your pond with water from another pond as a new pond will take about 4 to 5 weeks to be self sustainable. With borrowed pond water even a little bit would cut this time down. With my pond being 2 to 3 feet deep with 5 inches of compost and 2 inches of sand and then 2 to 6 inch rocks covering the bottom with a few center blocks and plants for hiding spots I filled it half way with city water and then let it sit for 4 days then I topped it off with creek water and some moss covered rock for the creek as well as some minnows the kids caught. With in 2 days you can see the pond water changing and becoming alive. We just kept adding fish that we found and caught even frogs.
One way to tell if you have good water is when mosquito's come to lay eggs. They will only lay in good water. same as dragon flies. We put in a night light in the water and the frogs are fat and can hardly jump. I even set out a bucket of water from the pond and let the mosquito's lay eggs and then I put the larva in the pond and the fish went nuts.
fish ponds are fun and great for kids to learn from. The cray fish are a kick in the head to play with as they eat meat like tuna in water not oil and you can catch them day after day. They cray fish do prefer vegetation so they will keep the pond moss down to a minimum for you.
Don't be afraid to play and have fun with your pond.
As far as bio filters go you can use anything such as lava rocks with many holes and cracks even a sand filter would work. The bio filter is a place for good bacteria to grow and help in getting rid of the bad smells in the water. Some plants can do this but the water has to go through it to work. Some fish will also help with this such as Tilapia fish.
Just try to make your pond act like a real pond but you need to think of temperatures too. You can also use crayfish and clams and keep your PH around 6 to 7 With the right plants and the right amount of fish and fish types and the right food amounts and temps and PH a pond will live on its own.
Try to never use city water and if at possible you should fill your pond with water from another pond as a new pond will take about 4 to 5 weeks to be self sustainable. With borrowed pond water even a little bit would cut this time down. With my pond being 2 to 3 feet deep with 5 inches of compost and 2 inches of sand and then 2 to 6 inch rocks covering the bottom with a few center blocks and plants for hiding spots I filled it half way with city water and then let it sit for 4 days then I topped it off with creek water and some moss covered rock for the creek as well as some minnows the kids caught. With in 2 days you can see the pond water changing and becoming alive. We just kept adding fish that we found and caught even frogs.
One way to tell if you have good water is when mosquito's come to lay eggs. They will only lay in good water. same as dragon flies. We put in a night light in the water and the frogs are fat and can hardly jump. I even set out a bucket of water from the pond and let the mosquito's lay eggs and then I put the larva in the pond and the fish went nuts.
fish ponds are fun and great for kids to learn from. The cray fish are a kick in the head to play with as they eat meat like tuna in water not oil and you can catch them day after day. They cray fish do prefer vegetation so they will keep the pond moss down to a minimum for you.
Don't be afraid to play and have fun with your pond.
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