Adorable How to Keep the Water in Your Koi Pond Healthy and Clean

For a Koi hobbyist, making sure the quality of water in their aquarium or pond is one of the top priorities of taking care of their pets. Water is where fish get their oxygen from, just like we get ours from the surrounding atmosphere. Think about it, what happens to us when the air we breathe becomes dusty or clogged with all sorts of pollutants? This is the same thing with fish. For owners of Japanese Carp, the maintenance of water in their pond is one of the things they have to do to make sure their fish stay happy and healthy. True, Koi are relatively hardier than most tropical fish, but since they're swimming around in an outdoor pond and not an aquarium in your living room, their home is more exposed to dirt, parasites and disease.
 
Keeping close watch on the quality of the water in your pond will also help ensure that your Koi aren't stressed out. Stress is a big factor in diminishing the appetite of these fish, so making sure they have a clean comfortable pond to swim around in means they'll keep eating properly and reach their full size (36 inches) and color development (depends on variety).
 
A good filtration system is one of the best ways of ensuring the water quality of your pond. This can gather the various debris and foreign matter floating around in the water and force them through filter chambers. The biological component of a Koi pond filter keeps the amount of toxins such as ammonia in your pond in check. There are bacteria that convert the ammonia excreted by Koi, transforming this into benign nitrites. Make sure that the filter you get has a pump that's ideal for the size of your pond. Filter pumps should be able to handle 33% of the total amount of water in your pond in order to be able to work efficiently.
 
Aside from the presence of ammonia and nitrates, Koi can also be sensitive to ph levels of the water. It's important therefore to have test kits for these substances on hand so you can keep a close watch on the levels and make sure they don't fluctuate. Koi can live with a ph level of 7 to 9, but drastic changes can spell disaster. Experts say a ph level of 7.4 is ideal for Koi, so it's best to keep it around that.
 
Last, but certainly not least is the oxygen content of your Koi pond water. Just as in aquariums, Koi ponds need proper aeration to keep the fish healthy. Aeration in ponds can come in the form of waterfalls or air stones which blow out bubbles in the water while submerged. Waterfalls, although a bit more costly to have constructed, have the dual purpose of providing oxygen and improving the aesthetics to your pond.