On completing your new pond it is important to understand that the natural process of maturing a biological pond filter will take approximately 6 weeks. The addition of filter start bacteria will reduce the period of time it takes to mature a biological filter to approximately 4 weeks, however there are various factors that influence the period of time it takes to mature a filter.

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Initail Filling Pond & Fish Stocking
1) Fill the pond with cold tap water
2) Add correct dose of de-chlorinator (see label) to make tap water safe for fish.
3) Float fish in closed bag for ½ hour.
4) Open bag and allow fish to swim into pond.
5) Don't feed fish for first 24 hours.
6) Fish will jump in a new environment, therefore cover pond for a minimum of 1 week
7) The addition of an air pump will speed up filter bacteria growth and reduce the maturing period.

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Initial Maintenance (First 4-6 weeks)
1) Feed fish sparingly every other day.
After two days add filter start bacteria to the pond daily for 5 days to speed up the maturing process.
3) Turn UV off for 1 week whilst adding filter bacteria.
4) Test pond water every 2-3 days for the first 6 weeks.
5) Change 25% of the pond water every week.
6) Refill the pond using cold water, add dechlorinator before refilling.
7) Watch carefully for white spot disease (White dots smaller than a grain of salt) whilst regularly changing the water.
8 If the pond becomes cloudy change a maximum of half of the water and reduce feed, until the water quality and clarity returns. Preferentially, if this occurs test
the water or bring a sample in to Koi Water Garden.
9) Preferentially, test the water or bring samples to Koi Water Garden.
10) The filters will take 4-6 weeks to establish enough bacteria to break down the fishes waste. Under no circumstances totally clean out the pond and filter as this will
kill all the beneficial filter bacteria already established and the 4-6 weeks establishing period will start at day 1 again.

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Routine Maintenance (After filter is established)
Feed fish a minimum of twice daily. during the summer months
2) Test water weekly. (For ammonia, nitrite & pH.)
3) Change 25% of the pond water monthly using a pond vacuum. This will clear the fish waste from the pond floor.
4) When changing the water, use a dechlorinator before refilling..
5) Never clean the filter in tap water (even if dechlorinated)
6) Never add tap water directly to the filter as this will kill the beneficial water, top up the pond instead.

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Fish Health
Check the fish carefully on a regular basis. If any of the following problems occur, please contact us for assistance immediately as the fish may well require medication.
- Cloudy velvet skin (Usually parasite problem.)

- White spot disease (Fine white dots found often after water changes.)

- Fin rot (Fins fraying usually due to poor water quality.)

- Body ulcers (Regular maintenance will reduce risk of this.)

- Flicking and scratching (This shows the fish are irritated and needs investigated as to why)

- Jumping (If persistent also shows signs of irritation and needs investigating)