Simply Koi and More Koi

This is interesting, Duncan, I'd also like to know how it should be done. Have you written about this anywhere with diagrams that show how it should be done correctly?

I've never heard that K1 needs time to become semi buoyant and I can't see any reason why the plastic they are made from should change it's specific gravity and therefore it's buoyancy in a few days. K1 wheels can sink if they build up a microfauna (protozoa, nematode worms, arthropods etc.) that ar...

I could talk you through adding pictures from a PC/laptop but I don't use an iPad so I'm afraid I can't help you with any experience but could you try Googling something like "attaching pictures with an iPad" and see what comes up? Many people use their iPad to access forums and social med...

Your house and your pond design sounds very attractive. We are glad to share what we have learned over the years, John

I didn't realise that your chambers were so large. Correct distribution and the rate of flow of the air is important, as I said, but so is the depth of the media. I have a smaller chamber in my aerated K1 bay but I have a much greater depth, about 150 mm (6 inches) iirc. In order to not allow space ...

Hi John, With aerated K1 the placement of the airstones will determine how the individual wheels distribute themselves and move. It sounds like you have too much air in one place and that the upwelling of the air and water stream is causing the wheels to be pushed outwards. Try reducing the supply a...

Russ, there isn't much you can do other than empty all the water out, clean it and dry it in a warm place for a few days then store it away somewhere dry. If you have high KH/GH/TDS water and/or a thick biofilm build up inside it then that may harden around the impeller over time so it may not start...

I'll leave Duncan to say whether potassium permanganate is compatible with simultaneous dosing with praziquantel. I wouldn't have thought it was but it's more in his area than mine, so I remain to be corrected if it is. However I can work out your dose rate for you. Dose rates are more simple if we ...

Competitive exclusion in biology is a well known principle. If two similar organisms compete for the same resources, the one that uses the most and multiplies the fastest will do better and may even push the other towards extinction. Examples are grey squirrels displacing red squirrels or tall plant...

Woz, If you've built a system in your blue barrels that adequately does the job of mechanical and biofiltration then, strictly, you don't need any more filtration after the skimmer and you could simply use it for what skimmers were really intended for - skimming the surface of any floating debris, s...

One way to look at photosynthesis is to consider that doesn't cause pH variations, it restores your pH to it's normal value. That may seem odd but this might make pH variations easier to understand: Measure your pH at the end a sunny day when photosynthesis has removed as much of the dissolved CO 2 ...

You have now seen first hand why I recommend sodium bicarbonate for adjusting KH and pH. It can't increase the pH out of the accepted range. Any form of calcium carbonate can increase the pH but it's a balancing act between how much is added and its tendency to rapidly raise the pH towards a value b...

If you read that opening expression in it's context rather than take it too literally in isolation you should see that was a hook to intrigue readers so that they would be tempted to read about a form of biofiltration that many would otherwise have thought too technical and boring and which had no p...

If damp has got in, it's probably the electronic ballast unit and there is no practical way that you could check it. You could eliminate the new bulb being faulty (unlikely) by buying a new one which you could keep as a spare after eliminating it as a possible cause. Replacement ballasts are easily ...

Flow rates on a pond are difficult to calculate because the manufacturer's rated flow will have been tested under ideal conditions with minimum pipework and with no head to pump against like this http://www.mankysanke.co.uk/assets/images/autogen/a_Beginner_pump_test_400.jpg When you put a pump into ...