Water

Splashtastic Aquatics goes back to Chicago to help M out with the Koi Whisperer Sanctuary. Here is the article MaryEllen wrote up on the work I did for her and the sanctuary.

In June 2010, my indoor koi pond was updated and a waterfall feature was added. For a number of months the system worked well however water conditions and clarity were always a problem and alot of work and effort had to be done daily to maintain the pond for the health and welfare of the koi imported here. I never had water problems before, and even with a high stocking level of imported koi, routine water changes was sufficeint with the external pump filtration I had installed. In March of this year, 2011, many of our KWS Koi Keepers read the devastating news that the pond had collapsed and I woke up to a koi pond full of boulders, stone, muck, and waste.... and my imported Nishikigoi struggling at the bottom in only a few inches of water! The pond was rebuilt with my own specifications which was adhered to by the pond builders. If you missed the article it is available to read by clicking here.

The Koi Whisperer Sanctuary is thrilled to announce it's First International Celebration of our Living Jewels, with a full day event held at The Koi Whisperer Sanctuary in St. Charles, Illinois. The Holistic Koi Care program, 2011 is a full day of guest speakers, including water and aquatic specialists, Koi specialists and Koi pond and garden designers.  This weekend event will educate and inspire you on the history and knowledge to truly care for your koi and their water. This event is designed for koi keepers on all levels... hobbyists, pond owners, Koi health advisers, pond builders and pond club members and organizations who truly want to make a difference that receiving current education on Koi care can do. The Koi Whisperer's Kids for Koi program is also a highlighted event this weekend offering children the opportunity to learn first hand about caring for their Koi and Ponds... including a COLOR ME KOI contest! The Koi Whisperer Sanctuary Holistic Koi Care booklet will be given out at the Workshops!

Holistic Koi Health is a concept that all potential contributing factors which may and can affect a koi's well being are taken into consideration when assessing a koi's overall health. Most importantly,the Koi are cared for in the most natural and holistic manner possible. - The Koi Whisperer

The Holistic Koi Care Event will be held 08 October, 2011  10-6pm  at The Koi Whisperer Sanctuary, located on the Fox River in St Charles, Illinois.

Exhibitors will be on display for Our Living Jewels - An International Celebration which will include exhibitors for Koi Ponds, Koi Merchandise including Koi Books and T shirts, Koi Foods and Meds, Water Testing Kits. Koi Nets, Nishikigoi, Koi for sale, Aquatic plants, and an exclusive photography exhibition of work that was inspired from photography workshops held at the KWS.

Vortex filters are often incorporated into the build of a filter or can be added to an existing filter via a stand alone unit.
There are various filters on the market that incorporate a vortex and with the possibility of a stand alone unit many koi keepers have addapted there main filter to add additional filter media by simply moving the various medias into the different sections, Then adding a stand alone unit so as to keep a vortex but to also have the extra bay of filter media. Which we will explain later in this article so you can maximise the benefits of your filter. It is worth noteing that the vortex system is not new, over time it has been replaced by the newer mechanical sieves which are much more efficient in their removal of solid waste. We look at sieves in its own section Here

Firstly how does a vortex work?
A vortex is the first chamber of the filtration system from the pump, this can be an in pond pump or a dry mounted pump connected from your bottom drain. They work in a very simple way by using there shape and the placement of the inlet to create a swirl (vortex). The water is forced around the edgaes of the vortex causing heavy solids to sink to the bottom and the cleaner water to flow over a weir or flow through to the main filter. This water is far cleaner already so the next section of the filter usually contains a lager media such as Japanese matting or filter brushes. This water then passes through the rest of the filter before returning back to the pond.

When it comes to pond maintainence many pond owners and fish keepers forget that besides the regular water quality checks and the constant vigulance required monitoring our fish health there is an under the water check that we pond owners should keep an eye out for. This of course is our pond plants and in this instance we look at the distructive possibilities of the water lily.

In mid January Splash was called out to a pond that was drastically losing water, over a foot ( 12 inches ) loss over night. After arranging with the pond owner a suitable time to visit off to their premises armed with nets and emergency quarantine pool for their beloved fish. On arrival we quickly set up the pool and netted the fish using as much pond water as possible.

Splashtastic-Aquatics can now offer our website visitors a free print out of a pond record sheet. When testing water quality a record sheet is perfect to see the changes your pond water goes through during a week, month or how ever often you test your water quality. The testing sheet is easily printed onto one A4 sheet and contains no adverts or fancy images that will use up valuable printer ink. The record sheet has also been designed so that users can download it to their computer and fill in the results via windows basic word pad which is pre installed on all windows operating systems.

We are very pleased to offer this water quality testing sheet completely free.

During a hose pipe ban this is the list of the what you can do and what you cannot do

You can: