Do Not Be Led into
Over- Aerating your pond.Carp
are a still water fish they're not salmon. They're not genetically built to
burn calories at speed by fighting the current just to stand still. Carp are
lazy fish, not blue finned tuna, they swim about as though they're smoking
marihuana. They like rummaging about, not being shot about as though on a pin
board machine.
I don't know where this trend is coming from - 100L of
air per 1000 gallons that's rubbish.
Air curtains on bottom drains - I
am told you are advised to pump enough air to them to float the titanic - you
are told this will force the debris into the drain! That's complete claptrap!
What do you think its doing to your fish? Its burning all their calories away
trying to stand still, and turning your pond into a spar or an alka-seltzer
tub.
Apart from the disturbance - and you will kill off the koi nervous
system with the constant noise - your poor fish must be terrified. Your water
must look like a white whirling mist to your fish, and it's also why you cannot
see your fish.
I can understand one air curtain in a 2 drain system of
10,000gals or more, but in a 1,500-2,500 gallon pond with one drain? Just sell
up and get yourself a hot tub - that's just the same only heated.
Please don't believe all you hear. I strongly believe that most of what
you hear is just sales pitch not fish welfare.
Oxygenating water can only be
done by first removing the C02 (carbon dioxide). To do this you have to expose
the surface with either air or water. The greater the exposure the more
exchange you will get. If you start to get foam on the surface you have
inadequate filters - all this about so called de-foamers is rubbish - you
cannot bodge a filter with gadgets. Koi at 20°C need a minimum of 12-14
milligrams per litre of oxygen to power there bodily functions. This also helps
with the control of ammonia and nitrites, which in turn allows sun light into
the water molecules.