Koi Diary 146 - To scrape or not to scrape and mud

[@marciabigg469]

Hope everything OK, haven't seen a video this week. Take care 👍

[@progressivepondkeeping]

Loving the filter house key chain mate 👌👍

[@JMacFlyFishing]

Awesome, thanks for sharing 👍 Those keyrings look great 👍

[@homemadefish164]

Keep on rambling! That's why we watch😁

[@PaulsKoipond]

Ponds looking really good bud

[@LeTwistedOne]

Looking good there Andy mate 👌👌👌glad to see that you have stopped teasing the babies 😂😂😂😂

[@koidiaries]

HAha, if truth be told the food was already there i went out and was like WTF they doing, so im not a bad man really lol

[@LeTwistedOne]

@@koidiaries 😂😂😂not fully mean then just a ikkle mean 💯 😂😂😂😂😂

[@jameshudson2587]

I thought you had the cement mixer going when the feeder was going off 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Veterankoi]

Been using JPD shogun since last year. During the summer I mixed it with Shori and the koi loved it. The best part is the water clarity. Just as you say the shogun leaves very little trace of poo floating any where or settling on the bottom of the pond. It does it’s job so the extra money is well worth it. The pond is looking great by the way and those windows just set it right off!

[@koidiaries]

Cheers, yeah well i did feed Shogun a lot of last year but when it was out of stock everwhere i switched to the cheaper whetgerm but its deffo a btter food this JPD now ive compared it

[@vicwiseman2340]

I'd put shingle on that membrane behind the filter house, bark will breakdown over time and eventually you'll end up with a weed patch. More expensive initially but will look better and it's a more permanent solution.

[@koidiaries]

Yeah good shout! Cant be doing with more weeds!!!!!

[@hukcoi]

Looking good, was going to say about the slate but you got your thinking cap on. See you soon 😊

[@jolleykoi5970]

Great video again andy!! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@ACKoi]

Another great video mate should have it all finished in 3 or 4 years 🤣🤣🤣 loving watching with the official koi diaries tea mug 😁👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@koidiaries]

YEah doubting itll be done next year now having a quick calculation of materials, then the labour on top its crazy, I think im going to do 2 phases maybe 3, depends on the all important thing, money! lol

[@ACKoi]

@@koidiaries yeah mate massive garden means massive costs but the most important part is done fish are in and filters running. You will get there with the rest one day 🤣 at least you know you have content for a couple of years 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@LauMagroTheFrenchKOInection]

Nice video Andy. I find that food really good. I was thinking, although you have already probably thought about it, when you put your covers on, to protect the top of the glass, you could use the long foam tubes, either that people use at the beach, or the insulating foam tubes, and you just slot them on the top of the glass. You've done lots in the garden. It looks good.

[@koidiaries]

YEah i have some insulation left from pipes and had already though of this, but i hadnt thought about the pool noodles lol

[@LauMagroTheFrenchKOInection]

@@koidiaries my English is getting better and better with KZbin. 😃 Pool noodles, I didn't know how you called them. Thank you. That are better material than foam insulation pipes from what I can understand, safer for the fish.

[@beedonskoi5101]

Looks better each video mate, definitely true about less waste and clarity with good food, bet you can't wait till all the pavers are down and you are just watching the fish through the windows with a cup of tea or 3, nice job mate👍

[@koidiaries]

I cant imagine it being complete lol but it will get there. Hopefully next summer i can at least see some of it getting done!

[@ACKoi]

Get in finally agreeing coffee can go in but I may just go the other way and stick in a gin and juice 🤪👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@koidiaries]

Haha get on the Gin!!

[@ACKoi]

@@koidiaries oh I did yesterday had a few but Chris went one better with the Vodka's and slept with a bucket. I blame the sunshine and not the starting at 4 o'clock 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼

[@martystules8567]

Fantastic!

[@thomasheight4164]

Looking nice now Andrew

[@Tom_Prendiville]

The weather has definitely changed, I nearly put a jacket on the other day but yesterday i was out doing stuff in the garden and now have sunburn 🙄 in October. Fish are looking well mate and the garden takes time to get where you want it to be but it will happen. You haven't mentioned where the hot tub is going? 🤣

[@koidiaries]

18.20c here yesterday! Felt like summer when out cycling yesterday was very weird thinking its October lol, im not moaning though! Haha deffo no hot tub!

[@Tom_Prendiville]

@@koidiaries my brother came up for a few days and couldn't believe how warm it was especially here in the northeast. When you are ready for a swimming pool or hot tub let me know as Mrs P's best friend owns a company that does all that stuff 😉🤣🤣

[@mykoiobsession]

Fish are looking great. Hopefully nothing serious happening to cause the occasional flashing. Yard work is coming along nicely. Looking forward to seeing it all done although probably not as much as you are. Cheers.

[@koidiaries]

Yeah flashing is still going on so we'll see next week, water tests today so see if that throws anything up. And cant wait to get garden done, just need a boat load of money to finish lol

[@richd-koi]

Im a JPD convert now too its giving me excellent results very little waste. Nice update as per 21 well ur a wealthier man than me 🤣👍🐟

[@koidiaries]

Haha i have slightly overpaid through summer on my elec bill so it feels like i have a bit of free heat. Im going to start turning it down end of month, i want to have some money left lol

[@richd-koi]

@@koidiaries yeah eat into that credit 🤣

[@beedonskoi5101]

One thing I found when I changed foods was my chag kept spitting out food and still does, it seems he prefers it soaked and once the food has been in the pond for 5 mins he eats normally.

[@koidiaries]

Ahhh ok, never seen mine do this before, but i suppose with the window its easily seen

[@RS20O0]

Definitely something not right with the flashing. Last new koi I added was April 2020, then a Costia outbreak, FMG did nothing, Alparex nailed the Costia but almost killed the koi. In the entire 18 months since I've not seen a single flash or had any sign of any issue, it's been almost boring with nothing to panic about, but also reassuring to see the koi so healthy. I'm convinced any sign of flashing is a sign of an underlying issue (except flashing immediately after feeding dusty food which is likely to be irritation).

[@koidiaries]

Same here witht he Alparex, i used it 5 years ago or so and thought i killed all mine. They are still at it this morning every so often so water test in order then we'll see, theres deffo something not right like i say you just know how your fish act and mine only flash when air is off and occasionally after feed like you say

[@RS20O0]

@@koidiaries look how many times you have had to treat over the years. A QT set up would surely have paid for itself by now in saved treatments (I don't have one either lol, hence why I hardly ever buy new koi). It's the worst part of the hobby for sure.

[@markcartwright3473]

Hi Andy can you let me know where you got your insulation sheet that you are putting on pond window how thick is your sheet ? 👍

[@koidiaries]

That huge sheet of polystyrene came from Travis Perkins, its 100mm thick

[@wlliamwilson9880]

How much are the mugs mate

[@koidiaries]

www.koidiaries.net/online-store Here they are :-)

[@RaymondStarr007]

Can you explain to me why have you got the pond heated for they are a cold water fish when I had my pond it was never heated even in the depths of winter all they do is go to the bottom where it’s warmer then the top even in winter you don’t really feed them maybe once or twice a week but with the heater on they will be feeding all year round .?

[@koidiaries]

A few things, it stabilises the temp so there no swings, more so in spring and autumn when it can be roasting hot in the day and quite cold at night a unheated pond could suffer up to a 10 degree swing from day to night, this isnt good. Also like you say you can increase the growing season, im still at 21c and the food is still being fed at peak summer rates so the fish can continue to grow. I may winter them when the weather is at it coldest, we;ll see im not sure yet

[@PhilGsKoiPond]

Loving the pond and the clarity. 👍🏻 I’ve just purchased jpd shogun after using coppens all summer… talking of covers, when you had the bakki shower outside how did you make the covers for it?

[@koidiaries]

I made a cover out of 10mm poly carb, 5 pieces cut slightly bigger than the sides, end and the top, stuck it together with all weather tape and folded it round the shower. Worked a treat!

[@edlesboroughkoipondstevech3546]

Andy, pond looks good, tea looked weak! Is your terracotta warrior fibreglass or reconstituted stone?

[@koidiaries]

Yeah im not a fan of strong tea but this was a tad weak even for me lol. The warrior is made from a resin, its not too heavy so easy to move and transport, probably weight 10kg, the Mrs got it from TK Maxx of all places was £60.

[@leeoliver4063]

I noticed that the dearer the food less waist saki hikari im shocked at how little waste there is

[@jamesdawson5905]

Looking at the size of the garden v pond, I wonder when its all cleared if you will be extending the pond size again 🙂 Surely with that huge area to be ultimately paved, you can scrape off enough topsoil for behind the sleepers?

[@koidiaries]

Id love a pond twice the size, that would be my "Dream" pond, but the reality of running it, heating it, filling food, treatments, and more fish deffo a no, well for next few years anyway never say never but at im happy with current size

[@davemead4504]

Question for you andy. I’ve had a drop in kh and ph last week, used buffer to bring it back up to acceptable level but noticed my shiro is quite veiny. Anything I should be doing?

[@koidiaries]

Keep an eye on it, pH swings can irritate koi so just keep an eye on water parameters. My Shiro does the same if its a bit p'd off, first one to show veins.

[@dorsetkoipond]

Hi Andy I found Jpd good definitely on waste as far as scrap peace of mind and all of that before winter Defo good call on brick s not another sleeper way I would go 👍🏻

[@MrMagnat007]

I think it is supposed to go , Observe, Test, Scrape and then.. Panic.

[@koidiaries]

Or in my case skip straight to PANIC!! lol

[@leeoliver4063]

Flashing leads to jumping ect fish leaving pond 🤯 get scraping