My 3 Ponds

Steps to introduce fish into your new Koi pond

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Sat, 19 Aug 2017 07:48:00 +0000

After much time, money and effort spent building a new pond for your Koi keeping hobby, the next steps which is one of the most exciting. It is to introduce the fishes into the pond. Don’t make the mistake of buying and adding expensive and prized fish into your newly built pond.

There are some best practices to consider here.

The biological filter of your new pond will require time to cultivate the bacteria and function properly. Bacteria cannot grow unless there is fish waste or ammonia to feed the bacteria. A good practice is to add some cheap “sacrificial” fish to start the nitrogen cycle. Many beginning Koi keepers suffered the “New Pond Syndrome” where many fish got sick and died in the new pond even though they had build an great pond with excellent filter system, aeration and layout.

Start with a few cheap or pond quality koi in the new pond.

Here are the steps I would suggest:
1. Introduce fish gradually, starting with a few, say 3 to 4.

Buy “cheap” fish or Pond quality fish. Better still, start with Ogons or Chagoi as these are relatively inexpensive as compared to Showa, Sanke or Kohaku or Shiro Utsuri.

Many Chagoi in this pond with crystal clear water.

It is good to have one Chagoi in your pond as Chagoi are more hardly and also tend to less fearful when it comes to feedings. Chagoi will tend to calm the rest of the Koi in your new pond. One-year old Ogons or Chagoi cost about $5 to $10 locally in Singapore.

2. Monitor and test your water regularly.

3. Monitor your Koi and detect sudden behaviour changes. Do not overfeed (a common error for the new pondkeeper). Overfeeding fishes create extra waste which the immature biological filter may not be able to handle.

4. Increase the population slowly, allowing the biological filter to adjust. Normally, this will take about 2 months. Sudden increase in amount of fish, leading to sudden increase in amount of fish waste to process will lead to water quality problems such as spike in nitrite and nitrate levels. The symptoms are sick Koi and green water or excessive algae.

Take time to appreciate the latest addition to your Koi collection before the itch to buy one more new Koi comes. In any case, if you are keeping high-grade Koi, adding one Koi at a time slowly over a longer period of time is easier on your pocket.

5. Let your pond mature. Once the pond stabilises and you gain confidence in your Koi keeping and water maintenance skills, then go splurge on your expensive prized Koi!

Hida Furukawa and its canals full of Koi

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Wed, 28 Sep 2016 08:26:00 +0000

Hida Furukawa is a small town just 20 minutes north of Takayama by Japan Rail (JR)'s local train. Hida Furukawa, like Hida Takayama, is situated along the Miya River and are often referred to as “twins,” and both preserve the atmosphere of the Edo Period. However, it is not as well known and touristy as Takayama.

It featured a beautiful section of the old town with colourful carps swimming in the canals along the street. As a Koi enthusiast, this is something I must see since I am in the vicinity. From Takayama, I planned a short trip to Hida Furukawa taking the relatively frequent train into the Hida Furukawa train station. We arrived shortly after 1 PM. Leaving the small Hida Furukawa train station, we found the town practically deserted in the afternoon.

Hida Furukawa Train Station and the deserted streets.

We mae our way to the famed canals which was not far away. Bingo! There were indeed large Koi swimming in the clear and flowing waters of the canal. We also saw a few residents. Mostly elderly folks, with the younger folks mostly working somewhere outside of town.

The Koi were mostly chagoi and ogons. For me, it was quite disappointing not to see varieties like the sanke, showa, kohaku and other nicer varieties since Japan is the originator of fancy Koi varieties.

There were a few stations with vending machines where we can buy Koi food from.

One of the house had placed a container filled with bread for visitors to feed the Koi with. I feed the Koi with those instead.

The Koi were not very eager with the bread. They must be quite well fed.

One end of the canal lead from the river. It ran across the entire town to the other end where there were temples and shops.

Koi was introduced into these canals as part of the initiative to maintain a clean canals within the town. It worked. Koi needed fairly clean water to thrive and these canals, with water fed continuously from the nearby river, needed no artificial filtration to remove fish waste. Just pump water in from the river, put up some metal gratins to keep the Koi from escaping into the river and a natural balanced eco-system is created and maintained. Only possible in Japan.

The Koi all swam in a line, naturally against the current, much like the Koinobori I saw at the Miyagawa Morning Market in Takayama.

We went pass the Enkoji temple on one side and storehouses with white earth and mortar on the other side of the canals. There we saw a mother with a kid, enjoying the canal walk like us.

The other end of the canal with the shopping area and temples.

We came to the end of the canals and what seems to be the shopping area in Furukawa.

Besides the canals with Koi, Furukawa has also an old town with the look and free like Takayama but without the tourist crowds in the afternoon.

We decided to take the 3 PM train back to Takayama and did not explored Furukawa further. Furukawa also offered an interesting guided cycling tour by Satoyama Experience. My original plan was to do a half day cycling tour with them but decided to skip this.

Overall Hida Furukawa was worth a half day excursion from Takayama just to see the big and thriving Koi in the canals. Or to join a cycling tour for those who have not experienced the rural Japanese countryside with the beautiful rice paddies, mountains, villages and nice local folks.

Hida Takayama and its Miyagawa River where Koi swim free

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Wed, 21 Sep 2016 08:25:00 +0000

Hida Takayama is a city in the mountainous Hida region in Central Japan that is easily accessible from Nagoya or even Kyoto by train. The city has many attractions such as its beautifully preserved old town, morning markets, Hida Folk Village, preserved buildings and its festivals during spring and autumn. I travelled to Takayama the evening before, by bus from Kanazawa via Shirakawago and had planned to use Takayama as a base to explore the surrounding area.

There were two morning markets in Takayama and these were worth seeing while visiting Takayama. While I was on my way to the Jinya Morning Market, I had to cross the red coloured Nakabashi Bridge over the Miyagawa River. Something red caught my eye in the waters below.

I could not believe my eyes that such a beautiful sanke would be swimming free and wild in the river below. I quickly scan the water for more and I saw a few other koi in the river. The river was also supporting other wildlife like a heron that was hunting on the rocks. The water quality in the river must be good to support such big fishes.

From the Jinya Mae morning market, I walked along the streets of Takayama towards the other morning market, located on a road along the Miyagawa River and aptly called the Miyagawa Morning Market. Miyagawa Market was busier and has more stalls than the Jinya Market.

May is the month where Children’s Day is celebrated. Giant Koi-nobori or carp streamers were swaying over the Miyagawa River. In Japanese culture, the carp symbolizes courage and strength because of its ability to swim against the current and up a waterfall. In the old days, it was celebrated as the Boys' Festival, and one streamer was hung for every boy in the family, expressing hope that each boy in the family will grow up healthy and strong like wild carps. Now, it is changed to Children’s Day which includes also daughters.

Beneath the carp streamers were more real life wild carps, playing and feeding in the river.

Koi and carps were living well in the river. Some tourist were feeding them with food bought from an enterprising stall.

I think the Koi would have survived without the handouts from the tourists. The ecosystem in the river would have been clean, balanced and good to sustain these fishes and other wildlife. Awesome!

One last note. If you happen to visit Takayama, don’t just appreciate the Koi and other attractions. You must eat the mouth watering Hida Beef. And time permitting, do a side trip to Hida Furukawa, a sister town near Hida Takayama with even more Koi!

You may enjoy reading about my visit to Takayama in this blog.

Koi ponds along the Nakasendo Trail

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 09:52:00 +0000

I had the privilege of visiting Central Japan in late spring this year, travelling through the post-towns and villages along the Nakasendo Trail, crossing the Japanese Alps and visiting cities like Matsumoto, Kanazawa, Takayama, Hiroshima, Mijyajima and Kyoto. Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to visit Niigata, home of the nishikigoi. Nevertheless, I had the chance to see many Koi ponds during my journey. I would share some of the interesting places with Koi in the next few posts, starting with the Koi ponds I saw along the Nakasendo Way.

Firstly, a quick introduction to the Nakasendo Trail. The Nakasendo Trail or Nakasendo Way is an ancient 533km trail established in the Edo period (1603 to 1868) that connected Edo (now Tokyo) to Kyoto, the imperial capital. During those times, travellers would rest each night at juku or post towns. Today it is still possible to walk part of the route and stay in small local minshuku (guest houses) or ryokans. In particular, my journey involves only about 35km of walking plus a few bus and train transfers between the Kiso Valley towns of Magome, Tsumago and Narai.

My journey along the Naksendo started at Magome, one of the beautifully restored and preserved Edo-era post-towns. Getting to Magome involved taking a train from Nagoya International Airport (where I landed) to Nakatsugawa (which incidentally is also a post-town along the Nakasendo but not as well preserved as Magome), and then transferring to a local bus to Magome. The journey took about 2 hours and transported me from modern Japan to rural Japan.

My first glimpse of rural Japan when I stepped off the bus at Magome was this view. The rice planting season has started. Magome is just 50m away and uphill from where I alighted. The main street of Magome is paved with cobblestone and is lined with old, lattice-windowed residential houses, museums, tea houses, and souvenir shops on both sides. It made one feels like being transported back in time, to the Edo period hundreds of years ago.

There were a couple of ponds and water features along the main street but I particularly like the small pond located near the other end of the town. The naturally set pond is surrounded by spring flowers. As the pond is small, it contains only a few metallic ogons.

From Magome, we walked around 8 km (about 3 to 4 hours at a leisurely pace) over the Magome Pass to Tsumago. This trail is one of the best trails along the old Nakasendo. We got to see a Japan that is very different from what the usual visitors got to see in Japan.

A preserved section of the old Nakasendo Trail between Magome and Tsumago.

Rice paddies just outside of Tsumago.

Tsumago is very different from Magome in that it has a more rustic and rugged feel. I managed to book my stay at the Fujioto Ryokan in Tsumago and this is an excellent place to stay while visiting Tsumago. The bonus is that this ryokan has a beautiful front garden with a large and impressive Koi pond that I got to enjoy during my stay.

Front entrance of the Fujioto Ryokan. The garden is located on the left side.

This pond has an informal layout that blended into the overall garden with numerous large rocks and a stone bridge across the large pond. The pond is aerated by a small waterfall. It was interesting to see the fishes jousting for positions beneath the waterfall.

There is a second pond in the middle courtyard, next to the dining hall. This pond is full of colourful comet goldfishes instead of koi. I spend some time relaxing by this pond after dinner.

About 2 km north of Tsumago is another post town called Nagiso. As we arrived early at Tsumago, we decided to walk this section of the Nakasendo Trail on the same day. We took a taxi to Nagiso and then taking about 1 hour to walk from Nagiso back to Tsumago. The trail between Nagiso and Tsumago passes through bamboo forest and also residential area between the two towns. Most Japanese houses have some sort of water feature outside their main entrance. More lavish ones would have Koi ponds. In this part of the world, there is low crime or no crime and everyone seems to know everyone in the town. There is no fencing between houses and travellers along the trail could walk to the edge of the ponds to admire the Koi and the garden without restrictions.

One such pond features a large water wheel, quite a common sight in these rural towns. The water is crystal clear as can be seen in these pictures. Unfortunately, the fish are mostly chagoi and none of the nicer varieties were seen.

After going through a small bamboo forest, we came to another hamlet where more Koi ponds could be seen along the trail.

Travellers on the Nakasendo Trail can stand up close and admire the ponds while taking a breather.

After an overnight stay at the fabulous Fujioto Ryokan in Tsumago, we took the train to Narai, another of the post town further down the Nakasendo Trail.

Narai is another nice preserved post-town. There are no modern buildings and the look and feel is almost like Tsumago. One feature of the houses in Narai is that the second floor roof is longer and overhangs the first. These eaves extend further to overhang the entire building and protect the interior from rain. The same design and practice of using stones to hold down the metal roof sheets can be also seen on some buildings.

Using Narai as our base, we walked to Yabuhara and then took a train back to Narai. This stretch of the Nakasendo is about 6.2 km and includes crossing the Torii-Touge Pass which is one of the more difficult trails for travellers. We stayed overnight at the Iseya Ryokan in Narai. Iseya Ryokan is located centrally within Narai and is a good place to stay while walking the Nakasendo. After the exertion of crossing the Torii Touge Pass, a hot bath followed by Kaiseki dinner is heavenly.

Iseya Ryokan also boasts of a nice garden and Koi pond in its courtyard.

Beautiful garden and koi pond at the Iseya Ryokan in Narai, a post-town along the Nakasendo Trail.

I really like the informal layout of the pond, with overhanging low pines, well sculptured trees, stone lanterns and rocks on the edges. A purple maple tree adds accent.

Unlike the ponds I saw earlier, the pond at Iseya has much nicer nishikigoi.

Narai was the last town that we visited along the Nakasendo Trail. From there we continue our journey by train to Matsumoto, Kanazawa and Takayama.

I will share the interesting Koi fishes I spotted in Takayama in my next post.

You may enjoy reading about my travels along the Nakasendo Trail in this blog.

Koi Selection Question

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Sat, 25 May 2013 08:17:00 +0000

I received a email from a blog visitor who is deciding which Koi to buy.

Photo below shows a selection of Sakai tosai Sanke, size around 20~25cm.

He has shortlisted Koi 1 or Koi 2 in the photo above. All things being equal, which Koi would you take and why?

Is there any other that you think may be even better? Comments and opinions appreciated.

Koi inspired design

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 04:02:00 +0000

I was on a short vacation to Macau and wandering around within the shopping mall of the Venetian Macao when I saw this on a shop window.

This shop specialises in suitcases. On its own, most will not link the vibrant colours on the suitcase to the “living jewels”. There are croc-skin handbags/suitcases, snake-skin handbags/suitcases and what about having a fish-skin handbag/suitcase. I had seen a TV documentary that people actually made clothes out of dried fish skin. Imagine what you can do with a expensive champion Koi who passes on. LOL.

This suitcase is not made of fish skin. Just nice paintwork.

A few weeks later, back home in Singapore. I chanced upon the similar display in a similar shop at Millenia Walk. So, Koi-inspired design seems to be the flavour of the month.

Plants for Koi Pond– Thalia Geniculata

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 02:36:00 +0000

I have always wanted to get this plant for my Koi pond but somehow could not find it for sale in the nurseries in my neighbourhood. I saw this plant at the biodiversity pond in a local education institution, Raffles Junior College. This plant is also known as the Alligator Flag – “derived from the fact that the plant can be used to alert one to the presence of an alligator as it swims past this aquatic plant and rustle the leaves.” - so says the sign posted at the biodiversity pond.

This is quite a tall plant, with broad leaves like those of the heliconia and purple flowers hanging down like mini-bells from a curved stalk. This would be a good plant to grow in pots by the edge of a large pond. Being tall, it can form the backdrop of a pond and provide some shade for the Koi.

Thalia Geniculata at biodiversity pond in Raffles Junior College

A few weeks later, I chance upon this plant again when I visited a friend who had them growing out of a large water filled earthen pot in his roof garden. He told me he bought them from a local nursery. So it is available locally but have to know where to look!

I will consider getting this plant for a water garden or Koi pond, when grown in pots around the pond’s edge. It can even be displayed as a specimen plant in the middle of a large pond.

Water plants co-existing with large fishes in a Koi pond

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 02:33:00 +0000

Many have wondered if it is possible for aquatic plants to co-exist with large Koi. I saw a good example of how water plants can co-exist with large Koi when I visited Raffles Junior College recently. There is a large, beautifully constructed and well-maintained biodiversity pond located within the campus. There are large carps, catfishes in the well planted pond. Here are some photos.

Biodiversity pond at the Raffles Junior College

Boardwalk to allow you to get up close to the plants.

Underwater fencing to keep the large Koi out from the plant area

Large Koi will naturally treat any plants in the pond as a food source. To protect the plants, some barriers would be needed.

In this case, a steel fencing submerged in the water provides the barrier but it is not too attractive. Would be better to coat this steel mesh with black paint.

Nettings to protect the roots of the floating water lettuce

Floating plants, like the water lettuce would not survived if their dedicate root systems are left unprotected. In this case, black plastic mesh is used to provide all-round defence from the fishes.


The pond also features solar-power lights, which lines the boardwalk. Notice the red dragonfly resting on it?	Venturi system to aerate the pond – same as the system I used in my 3 ponds. This is in addition to the water fall

Water lilies in submerged pots

Water Lily blooming – Spring is in the air!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 17:39:00 +0000

Most people would tell you it is summer all year round in Singapore. Well, not exactly true when it comes to the water lilies in my house.

I noticed that my water lilies would not bloom during the “winter” months of November to February even though it is hot and sunny in Singapore all year round. My lily pond is located right next to my house, on the North Eastern side. So, during this time of year, the hours of direct sun is probably lesser as the house would shade the pond a little bit more.

My water lilies started to bloom again last month. I noticed the direction of the sun has shifted a bit because Singapore is slightly north of the equator and the pond is getting a bit more direct sun each day. Hence the trigger for the plant to flower.

I really like this large flower. As one fades, another would emerged from the water to replace it.

So, there is still signs of spring in Singapore too.

Koi Pond in Juifen Old Tea House

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:24:00 +0000

Juifen was one of the places I visited during my 10 days vacation in Taiwan. It is located outside Taipei city and is famous for the Juifen Old Street where there are many eating places, including tea houses. Many tea houses are located on the high ground overlooking scenic views (if there is no mist!). One of the must-do activity when visiting Juifen is to have tea in one of the tea house. One of the more prominent tea house in Juifen is the Juifen Old Teahouse.

Upon entry, we are ushered to a cosy room, pass the counter where there are rows of hot steaming water, heated on charcoal fires, and racks of Chinese tea leaves.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a Koi pond inside the Juifen Old Teahouse. What a place to locate a Koi Pond; right below the stair well of this 2 storey house.
There were a few Koi, not the best looking Koi I must say. Skinny and underfed which is not too surprising. But what I like about this indoor Koi pond or water feature is its location beneath the stair well and how is the decorated.

Old mill stones are stacked to form a small but tall water cascade running down from the top of the stair well to the pond below. Nice interior design concept for those who wants to have a koi pond indoor.

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Wooden Decking for Koi Pond Filter

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:13:00 +0000

The wooden decking that covers the filter of my third pond is rotting! And they are only about 3 years old. I am not sure why this happens. I think it could be that the wood is not properly treated and painted. Also the prolonged rainy weather over the last year could have played a role. Another factor could be that the wood used is not Balau wood as specified.

The recommended wood material for making the Koi pond decking or any outdoor furniture in South East Asia would be the Chengal or the Balau wood. Chengal wood is better but more expensive, so I have agreed with my contractor to use Balau wood instead.

The wooden decking in my previous pond was much more durable. No signs of rotting even after two to three years in the sun and rain. The material used for that pond decking was Chengal wood, AND the wood planks was painted with Hickson paint before and after installation AND held together using stainless steel nails.

I am going to make sure that my new filter decking is done properly this time….if and when I replace it in the future.

Koi Pond in New World Hotel, Manila (revisited)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 03:13:00 +0000

I have the opportunity to stay in the New World Hotel in Manila again in November 2011 and so I went to see the Koi pond here again. Compare to the pond I saw in May 2011, the condition of the pond now is not something a pond keeper or hotel would be proud of. The water is pea-soup green and not clear like it was before. I could not see the bottom of the pond anymore. The Koi seems to be in distress. A koi pond is supposed to provides good feng-shui and brings good luck to the owner, but not if it is in a poor condition.

If this is your pond, what would you do?

In my earlier post, I have wrote about how to solve water quality problem in Koi pond.

Green water is caused by build up of algae, which is caused by too much nitrate and/or waste matter in the water. Ammonia nitrate and waste matters are nutrients for algae to feed on and multiply.

First thing to do, do a water test and/or check your pond filter. Clogged filter media would reduce the effectiveness of the biological filtration. If you are using a in-ground gravity-fed filter system, a symptom of a clogged filter would be a large difference in water levels between the pond and individual chambers of the filter. The difference is an indicator of the water resistant to water flow. Clogged filter media will not allow water to flow properly and easily through it and hence would have a higher water flow resistant. You should know the baseline or normal levels when the filter is new or well maintained. So any change in the water levels is an indicator that something is amiss. Regular filter maintenance would prevent this from happening.

Next, ask yourself when is the last time you did a partial water change? Regular partial water change is necessary, even if your filter system is functioning properly. Nitrate is a by-product of the filter system and needs to be removed by partial water change. A good filter design will make this task easy and fast.

Next, are you overstocking the pond? In the New World Hotel case, I don’t thing that is the case as the pond is quite big.

What about overfeeding? Left over uneaten food will eventually get into the filter system and impose extra workload for the bacteria in the biological filter.

If the pond water has never ever been clear and in good condition from day one, then perhaps the underlying root cause is poor filter design or pond design. In that case, major rework is needed. Adding an external biological filter and also maybe a UV light filter as well would be quick fix. The UV light filter will kill off the algae but this is like a fire fighting, not fire prevention.

If all else fail, rebuild the pond or cover it up with soil and try gardening instead. Maybe a Koi pond is not for you.

New Shipment of Koi at Summer Koi farm, Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 02:12:00 +0000

For those interested to buy Koi to add to your collection, a new shipment of quality kois from Japan has arrived at Summer Koi farm (Singapore) on 10 Nov 2011.

You can view some of their best selection in their Facebook here :
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.302445706450258.85541.100000544935198&type=1&l=d6415be0d1

Summer Koi Farm
No. 11 Seletar West Farmway 4 (off Jalan Kayu), Singapore 797630.
Tel: +(65) 64833936

Enjoy your Koi hunting.

Singapore Quarry

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 09:05:00 +0000

It is the eve of Singapore National Day (46th birthday) when I went with an old friend to the Dairy Farm Nature Park for a photo-taking outing. We started out from the Rail Mall along Upper Bukit Timah Road. We went up to the old railway bridge and headed south along the disused tracks. It was a nice morning and the bees and butterflies were all out and about!

We went up an incline by the side of the rail tracks and cross over a bridge and ended up on a tar road( **) leading to the Singapore Quarry. Monitor lizards are basking on the tar road. They will slither away as you approach. More butterflies were seen…and photographed.

(** this road will lead to Jalan Asas and the Rail Mall in the other direction)

The Singapore Quarry is beautiful, serene, quiet and makes you feel closer to nature. Even the birds are feeling romantic here.

There are many small indigenous fishes in the water. What surprised me was that there are some big Koi in the water. Kohaku, Shiro Utsuri, Hi Bekko, Showa are some varieties spotted. Could have been released or abandoned.

I spotted some small Luohan cichlids in the water too. Not a good sign since Luohan cichlids are aggressive, predatory fishes, not native to Singapore and breeds easily. Soon they may take over and destroy the local ecosystem.

There are some newly planted aquatic plants there. Once fully grown, the view will be even better. This is a place to visit again in the near future for another photo-shoot or just to appreciate nature.

Koi eat aquatic snails

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 07:52:00 +0000

I was cleaning one of the filter chambers when I noticed many small aquatic snails living inside the filter. These are the size of a small pea and there are hundreds in my filter. Transparent, jelly-like stuff were sticking to the sides of the filter chamber and I suspect they were the eggs. None were found in the ponds, only in the filter. I suspected those who ventured into the main ponds were eaten. So I gathered a few and tossed them into the Koi pond. They were eaten in a flash by the fish. I was expecting them to spit out the shells. But the big Koi seems to chew on these morsels and then swallow them whole. So, while maintaining the filter, it is also feeding time for the Koi.

Koi pond at Rasa Sentosa, Singapore

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:36:00 +0000

This is first week of the school holidays in Singapore. After returning from Manila to Singapore, my family took a short weekend break in Sentosa island, a place popular with tourist and locals. We stayed at the Rasa Sentosa Resort, which had undergone some renovations recently. But what did not changed was the beautiful Koi pond at level 1, which is just outside the lift lobby leading to the beach and swimming pools. There is a placard next to the pond explaining the following:

“Nishikigoi or Koi is considered auspicious, representing long life and prosperity. Contrary to common belief, koi are not indigenous to Japan but originate from Eastern Asia and China, and are descendates of the black common carp. The fascinating and colourful koi varieties that we admire today are the result of almost two centuries of selective breeding and their popularity is fast growing in many parts of the world”.

The Koi pond is massive and the layout and overall pond design is beautiful. I like the stepped design, with water cascading down from a higher pond level to the lower level where the Koi are found.

This is an example of an excellent pond with informal layout, with beautiful landscaping and rocks around the pond. Pandans, bird nest and boston ferns, monstera deliciosa and other tropical plants and tall trees around the perimeter of the pond give it a natural and tropical jungle feel. NICE.

This part of the pond recreates the effect of a stream, with water cascading down into the main pond.

Koi Pond at New World Hotel, Manila (Pt 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Sat, 28 May 2011 02:32:00 +0000

I will be checking out from this hotel later today to catch a flight home. After my breakfast, I visited the koi pond again. There is a person cleaning the pond this morning. He was vacuuming the bottom of the shallow pond using a pool vac. This highlights the importance of having a good pond design. Features like bottom drains and venturi pipes strategically placed to create a water flow around the pond and moving detritus from the bottom drain will reduce or eliminate the need for such back breaking maintenance work. Also, for a deep pond, walking around the pond to vacuum the bottom is impractical, if not impossible.

Another feature lacking in this hotel’s Koi pond is a surface skimmer. The surface skimmer serves to removes oil, scum, floating leaves, dead insects from the water surface Without a skimmer, the pond keeper may have to sieve such dirt out by hand.

This pond also houses several large catfishes called the pleco. The pleco feeds on algae and is a bottom feeder. They are also known to eat floating Koi pellets by swimming inverted at the surface. Some people believes the pleco helps to keeps the pond clean. I tends to disagree. What goes in, must comes out. While they clear the pond from algae or other plant material, they are also producers of waste.

Koi Pond at New World Hotel, Manila

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Thu, 26 May 2011 11:36:00 +0000

I am in Manila this week for work assignment this week and was staying at the New World Hotel in Makati. I was having my breakfast at the hotel when I noticed a Koi pond in the garden at the side of the hotel.

It was a relatively large pond in terms of surface area but the pond was only about a foot or two in depth. Not ideal for keeping or growing large Koi but being in a hotel, the pond is for ornamental purpose and not a Koi hobbyist’s pond.

Overall layout of the pond is informal and quite nice although more water plants would be good. Aeration is provided through a fountain and also a large “rocky” waterfall. Being a large pond, a bridge is laid across it to allow visitors to better view the Koi. This bridge also serves to provide some shade for the fish. Providing sufficient shade is especially key in a shallow pond where water temperatures can rise sharply during sunny days.

Overall, the koi pond is a nice feature for the hotel guests to enjoy at leisure.

Fertiliser for Water Lilies

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 07:17:00 +0000

My water lilies have stopped flowering in during the rainy monsoon season from October to January. Now the weather is turning warmer, with more days of sunny skies. These are ideal conditions for my water lilies to bloom as water lilies needs many hours of direct sunlight to thrive. In fact, one pot is starting to flower almost daily again.

Now is the time to feed the plants with fertiliser and help in growing new leaves and also for them to flower more. I am using the fertilisers in tablet form and exported from Thailand, where plentiful of lotus and water lilies grows. These tablets are used for planting Lotus (according to the packaging) but can be used for water lilies as well.

I push them into the soil, about 2 inches finger deep, using my finger. One to two tablets per pot should suffice. Repeat this every month, until the monsoon seasons starts again and the plant stops flowering due to less sunlight.

I used to buy the fertiliser tablets from a plant nursery near my house but for some strange reason, the owner refuse to sell them when I tried to buy them last year. “They are now not for sale, for my own use only”, so he says. I was looking around for other sources locally. I finally manage to get someone I know, who is a landscape designer and a Thai national, to buy them direct from Thailand.

Koi Pond Pump Selection Tips

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 08:14:00 +0000

The submersible pumps are the heart of the Koi pond.

Key specifications or rating for the pumps:

Voltage = Voltage required in Volts (V).
Current Drawn = Amount of current drawn, rated in Amperes (A)
Power consumption = amount of power consumed rated in Watts (W)
Flow Rate or maximum capacity = volume of water moved over time. Typically in cubic meters per min (m3/min) or litre per min.
Maximum Head = maximum height of water that the pump can push water through. For example, the vertical height between the outlet of pump (e.g. top of waterfall) to the inlet to the pump (e.g. at the bottom of the pond or filter. The flow rate is inversely proportion to the head of water to be pushed.

The flow rate and number of pumps needed depends on many factors. There are many articles written on this subject and the rule of thumb is this: “Half the pond’s capacity (volume) needs to flow through the biological filter every hour”. So, do the calculations to determine the number of pumps and ratings of the pumps needed based on the capacity of the pond.

Depending on size of the pond, try to have a few small pumps than a single large one for redundancy in case one pump fail. In addition, having a number of smaller pumps allows you to adjust the flow rate up or down by turning one or more pumps on or off. Connect them to separate power sources (with circuit breakers for safety) to create higher availability and redundancy. As the electrical power cable for the pumps is usually about a few meters in length only, locate the power supply points as closed to the pump chamber of your filter as possible.

Have a spare pump in your house, especially if buying one requires a lead time longer than a few hours.

Other features to consider would be the auto cut-off when there is no water (useful for drain chamber).

For me, the pumps must be long lasting and be power efficient. I am currently using 2 units of Tsurumi pumps (Model 40PU2.15S). They has been running almost non-stop for over 2 years now and consume a relatively low power of 150W each. In addition, I have another pump with auto-cutoff feature in my drain chamber; the drain pump is only used during pond maintenance.

When installing the pumps, devise a way for them to be removed without having to drain the pond or filter. Have a pipe coupling that allows the pump and attached outlet pipe to be decoupled at the top of the pond or filter. The whole pump, with the attached outlet pipe can then be lifted out for replacement.

Koi Pond Bottom Drains

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 07:10:00 +0000

A key feature of a well-designed Koi pond are drain pipe(s), also known as the Bottom drain(s), linking the bottom of the pond to the inlet of the filter system. In my current 13-ton pond, water enters the filter through two 4-inch diameter (100 mm diameter) pipes. Two other lead-in pipes (75 mm diameter) pull water from my water garden pond and also from the bottom drain of my water feature. See my earlier post on filter design.

Location of bottom drains.

The bottom drains should be near the geometric center(s) of the pond, and evenly spaced out if you have more than one bottom drains. A good pond design will be to slope the bottom of pond towards the bottom drains. This allows any physical dirt at the bottom of the pond to be pulled towards the drains by gravity.

The bottom drains should draw pond water into the filter. Each bottom drain should have its own pipe into the filter chamber. It does not make sense to have 2 or more bottom drains daisy-chained via a single or shared pipe (water will only flow in through the pipe with the least resistance and the other drains will be mostly ineffective). Typical size of pipe is with 75 to 100 mm diameter.

Importance of having a good drain cover.

Drain covers can ranged from simple DYI covers to commercially-built drain covers. My current pond uses a simple mesh, force-fitted onto the top of the drain.

A Koi should not easily dislodge the cover. I have lost a few Koi in my first 2 ponds after the cover was dislodged and a Koi found their way into the filter.

Koi feeding

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 06:03:00 +0000

For anyone who has kept pets, you will understand the pleasure of feeding your pets or watching them eat. Feeding time is a time where you get to interact with your Koi and it is a time where you forget about the day-to-day stress and somewhat just go into a relaxed mood.

I have many young nephews and nieces and whenever they pay me a visit, one of the first thing they would asked when they step into my house would be “Can I feed your fish?”.

A Koi is often judged by its size, body shape and coloration. Hence type of feed, quantity and frequency of feeding is essential for a Koi to develop to its full potential.

Best food for the Koi are commercially produced Koi pellets. The pellets typically comes with different grades: Economy, Staple, High Growth and Colour Enhancing. Economy and Staple typically contains less protein and are relatively cheaper compared to the High Growth and Colour Enhancing Feeds which are frequently used by koi keepers keeping show-grade Koi. High Growth Koi pellet contains wheat germ and higher protein content to make the younger Koi grow faster. Colour Enhancing feeds contains spirulina or carotene to enhance the RED in Kohaku, Showa and Sanke. Some koi keepers also feed their Koi with silk worm pupa but these are expensive.

Occasionally, I have fed them with other food such as boiled barley seeds and also over riped bananas. The fish don’t seem to like the bananas but they eventually got eaten.

Koi is greedy is greedy and will eat almost non-stop. Excess food that cannot be disgested and absorbed goes out as waste at the other end. To grow your Koi fast, it is best to feed them as often as possible, but restrict to small feeds. Give as much as they could eat in 2 to 3 minutes. Ideally two to three times a day. Once in morning, once in evening. Overfeeding will not make the Koi grow faster. Instead it will produce more waste, impose a heavier load on the filter system and impact the water quality. Uneaten food contaminate the pond water.

Using Pineapple to Run-In a Concrete Pond

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 05:43:00 +0000

This is an email i received recently from a blog visitor.

Hi Jeff,

I have just completed my koi pond. My contractor told me to "put in pineapple skins" into the koi pond for a few days to "clean the pond" and rid it of toxins from cement etc. before cycling it and putting fishes.

Is this the right way to do it ?

I guess this could be a good practice to follow for concrete ponds. Since pineapple is acidic and should reacts and neutralise the cement (alkaline) which may leach into the water over time if there is no epoxy sealant used to coat the surface of the concrete pond. In fact, on similar advice from my contractor who built my first 2 ponds, I did put in pineapple skins into my pond water for a week or more before cleaning the pond and doing a 100% water change. I bought half a dozen pineapples and used the skins and core while we ate the flesh. Pineapples are relatively cheap in South East Asia, but I guess other mild acids can probably do the job too.

For my third pond, I told my contractor to coat my concrete pond with epoxy sealant. That will prevent cement leaching alkaline into the water. Choose black colour sealant paint. Your Koi will stand out beautifully against the black background. In any case, my filter compartments are not coated, so I may actually need to do the “pineapples treatment” but I did not. Maybe that was the reason I lost some of my Koi in my new pond initially. But that could be due to other causes e.g. immature biological filter or excessive water changes. Steps to introduce fish to a new pond is a topic for my blog for another day.

So, to be on the safe side, just do the “pineapples treatment” and enjoy your pineapples.

Koi Pond Design Checklist

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 03:49:00 +0000

The following provides a quick summary or overview of the considerations when you are planning or designing your first or subsequent Koi pond. Each point will be further elaborated in future posts if not already shared or discussed in previous posts on this blog.

* Location of your pond

This is the first and most important consideration since it will drive the design of the rest of the pond. Typically, this will be considered together with the size, shape and style of the pond. There may be constraints such as existing layout of your house, environment and other factors. Your personal reasons for having a Koi pond will be key considerations. These could include:

A feature or place in the house for relaxation. In this case, locate the pond close to your house where you can view your Koi easily.
To keep Koi as a hobby
To fit or complement the overall building or house design and to add to its aesthetics.
Geomancy or Feng Shui, i.e. to bring good luck to you and your family. Consult a Feng Shui Master or geomancer if this is a key reason.
To also keep aquatic plants or water gardening. For these, the pond must be located where it will receive at least 4 hours of direct sunlight per day. More if you want your water lilies to flower regularly.
As a garden feature.

Check out my previous posts describing the layout and location for my first, second and third ponds.

* Style or shape of your pond

A formal pond is one with standard geometric shape (rectangle, square, circle or ellipse). A formal pond will look best in a formal setting such as against a tiled up patio, against a house wall or at the centre of a large open lawn. An informal pond is one with a shape that appears to naturally form. Common shape would be kidney shape or any irregular shape that can fit into a garden setting. Formal or informal is a matter of personal preferences. My first and second ponds are informal ponds, while my third pond is a formal pond.

* Size and depth, volume

You will have to consider the Koi environment needs when deciding the size, depth and volume of the pond.

* Pond Construction Material

There are typically 3 options - concrete pond or using a pond liner or use a pre-formed bowl. For large ponds in South-East Asia, most Koi ponds are built using reinforced concrete. Smaller ponds will use a pre-formed fibreglass or plastic bowl or shell.

For concrete ponds, it would be essential to coat the surface with special epoxy sealant paint.

* Filter design or filtration system

The filtration system is the most important element of a Koi pond. Key considerations would be

Build (custom designed in-ground filter) or Buy (commercially designed external filtration systems)
Size of the filter, number of compartments, media type
Location of your filter
Bottom drains

The water quality would depend heavily on the design of filtration system and it will determine the health of your Koi, and overall beauty of the Koi pond and its surroundings. A good filter system will also make filter maintenance and pond maintenance easy.

* Pumps

This is often planned and selected together with the filtration system. If the filter is the “kidney” of the pond, the pumps are its heart. Selection of the right pumps to use is just as important as the filter design as it will affect the water flow rate, effectiveness of the filter system and workings of water features, especially waterfall or fountain.

* Aeration and water features

Koi needs oxygen and so does the bacteria in the biological filter. Besides the natural absorption that occurs at the pond water surface, any ways to agitate the water artificially will increase the oxygen absorption by the pond water. Consider having a waterfall for aesthetic reason, as well as for pond aeration. Waterfalls are ideal for informal ponds. Plants and rocks formation can create a beautiful natural setting. For formal ponds, consider having a fountain. Such water features also create the soothing sounds of gurgling water in my home.

In any case, do consider using venturi pipes.

* Overflow pipe

Don’t forget this small but essential feature. It allows excess water, e.g. during heavy rain, to overflow into a drain.

* Surface skimmer

Every pond ought to have a way to remove floating debris from the water surface. Dust, oil, protein scum, and small floating debris (insects, dead leaves) can be removed with a surface skimmer device.

* Bottom drains

This is important feature for your pond and in-ground filter system for easy maintenance.

* Water plants

Whether to include water plants in your Koi pond or not would depends on the style and shape of your pond. The overall design and layout of your pond will need to be planned carefully, together with the types and species of water plants that are suitable for Koi pond. Check out the various posts I have on this topic.

* Edging

The edging of your pond could serve a few purposes:

Prevent surface water runoff during rain from entering your pond.
aesthetics
safety barrier
platform for feeding and netting or capturing your Koi

If your pond is an informal garden pond, the edging is important as you would want it to blend with the rest of the garden or setting.

* Platform or place for Koi feeding and capturing or netting of your Koi

It is good to consider where you would stand to view and/or feed or catch your Koi safely. Avoid protrusions (e.g. venturi pipe, overflow pipe or skimmer) or even water plants near the place where you intend to feed your Koi as they may feed in frenzy and knock themselves against such protrusions.

* Lightings

One of the considerations when designing your pond is Pond Lighting. Should you include underwater lights, type of lights to use, locations of light points, is it good for the Koi? What about safety, since electricity and water should not mix? Check out what I did for my 3 ponds here.

* UV Light filter

UV light filter may be useful to as a means to control bacteria or parasites, kill germs and sterilise the pond water.

* Water supply

Easy source of water supply must be provided near your pond for water changes and replacement of water lost through evaporation. Have a tap or faucet located next to the pond. Better still; build a water inlet pipe directly into the pond.

* Power source for pumps (and separate one for lightings)

Best is to have multiple power sources, with individual circuit breakers and isolators for each pump that you have. That way, a single pump failure would not knock out all the pumps and stop water circulation and aeration.

* Choosing your Contractor or Build your own

In South East Asia, most Koi ponds are concrete ponds. For a concrete pond, it is best to engage a professional or experienced Koi pond builder.

Pond building is an art and it is good to engage a Koi pond specialist rather than rely on building contractors who may be experienced with building water features or swimming pools but not a Koi pond. A Koi pond has special requirements on depth, filter design and size, pumps to use, locations of venturi pipes and bottom drains, aeration, shape, even special sealant paint for the sides of the pond (not tiles) ....just to name a few. It is best is to design and build it right the first time.

Hope you find this list useful and a good starting point for you to design your pond or discuss your needs or specifications with a professional pond builder.

Water inlet pipe for your pond

noreply@blogger.com (Jeffrey Lee) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 04:30:00 +0000

Ideally if you are refilling your pond using tap water, the water should be de-chlorinated before adding the water to your pond as chlorine harms fish. For me, I would add tap water directly into the pond when doing partial water changes of less than 20% of the pond volume or just topping up water lost through evaporation.

Having a water inlet that leads directly into the pond would save you the trouble of pulling a long garden hose to your pond. So, consider including this feature in your pond design.

Ideally, the pipe should be terminated with a float valve (commonly used in cistern) that automatically shuts off the tap water flow when the desired water level is reached. For my second and third pond, the inlet pipe is located in the first chamber of my in-ground filter as shown above.

I have a bad experience in my first pond where I do not have such a feature installed and I was using a garden hose. Topping up the water in a large pond could take longer than an hour and it is common to leave the water running unattended …and horrors, completely forgotten. This leads to waste of water as excess water goes down the drain through the pond’s overflow pipe. In the worst case, too much chlorinated tap water entering the pond could result in fish harm or death from the excess chlorine in the water.