“Koi Keeping is a challenging hobby, but don’t over complicate it!”… Paul White

When it comes to Koi Keeping there are some very simple rules to follow, that will make your Koi Keeping journey a lot more enjoyable.

As the statement above says, don’t over complicate things.

Fundamentally we are keepers of water, learning how to correctly keep your pond water, will result in happy Koi.

Koi have a set of water parameters that they will thrive in, there are of course things that come into play that will directly affect these set of parameters, and this is why we advocate testing your water regularly.

Getting to know your Koi is a good way to see if there is an issue, before it becomes a serious issue. Observing your Koi on a regular basis and understanding how they behave in your pond, will give you a greater idea that something is a miss, if they start to act strange, or they have an off day. They will generally tell you in a roundabout way that something isn’t quite right, and if you know how they generally behave, you will spot this early warning sign.

Prevention is better than cure, and carrying out some simple Koi husbandry tasks, and having a maintenance regime, is paramount.

We mainly keep our Koi in ponds, a true Koi pond will offer its inhabitants an environment that will be, specific to their needs.

There are certain criteria we would recommend, when it comes to an ideal pond to house them in.

A Koi pond is after all a recirculating system, we have a filtration unit that processes the water, a water pump that is the beating heart and the bit of equipment that creates propulsion, an Ultraviolet Clarifier that provides us with clear water, an air pump that oxygenates the water, and maybe even a heater to keep them nice and warm.

When it comes to the water, and understanding how to keep the water, which you may have read about in the previous section entitled Water Quality, you will quickly learn what is right and wrong. Whether it’s managing your source water with purifiers, using proprietary buffers to maintain the mineral levels, performing water changes, right through to controlling the nuisance that is blanket weed, these are all part of the Koi Keeping hobby.

In a nutshell, if we can provide them with an environment that they can be happy in, in return they will offer you a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction.

Below we look at the topics for discussion within this section.