How do I control this foam? (and there was a pic of foam on the pond).
My reply>>>as many have noted, too much proteins or DOCs in the water. It indicates either spawning or you are now on alert for water quality. Most likely, debris in the pond decaying or you're overfeeding (again, unless you're seeing spawning behavior). Not a believer in water changes but in lots of plants and bog filtration. Never used a chemical in 12 years, fish and pond are doing fine.
A different responder——so basically no water changes so you koi are living in a toilet you never flush and change the water. Yes plants take out some of the nutrients but not all of them. So Every ecosystem gets refreshed from rain except yours? Just curious how that works ?
Myself again>>>it works like it does in nature's springless ponds; there is no such thing as pristine water and if you know your chemistry, everything breaks down. You live in a toilet too; consider what you're breathing much? Fish aren't people, they can survive habitats we can't, so that whole 'toilet' think is human-made personification. The ONLY time is matters if the system is NOT balanced and concentrations affect the biology, as in ammonia burn among others. The way it works is the way it's worked since the beginning; naturally. Like that natural pond, my pond gets rain. The ONLY difference, and it's significant (I'm not neglecting this) is our pond stocking level vs Nature's is usually higher. Ever hear of fish kills? That's Nature taking care of an overstocked situation. Same could happen with garden ponds if we don't have that balance. The reason I can do 'almost' nothing for 12 years is BECAUSE of the bog filter and the plants in the pond. They go hand in hand with the immense surface area colonized by the bog. And plants will take out heavy metals too, not to mention some bacteria strains. And the amount of water percentage 'refreshed' by rain on any natural pond is minuscule re effectly altering any of the chemistry. You'd need a flood situation to do that and as you should know, changing the system parameters that fast actually hurts the inhabitants, not helps. I'm not telling you to not change water or put in chems, bottles of bacteria, or use UV, I'm saying none of it is necessary if you balance the system.
heh heh, some of this just gets my blood roiling and I can't help myself; sowwy, I'll try to stay in my lane but really....!!!!
