Rain Effects Your Koi Pond

  It's been raining cats and dogs in the last few days but the koi don't seem to mind. It's rare for a bit of rain to cause any problems but there are a few things to keep an eye on.

Smaller ground level ponds are most at risk from overflowing and pollution washing in from ground water. After a very heavy down pour it's a good idea to give your pond a check just to make sure things are OK. The best precaution is to have an overflow fitted, often easily placed in a gravity filter chamber sharing the same drain and can also allow for a continuous top up system. This is nice to have but not essential if you monitor the level regularly and reduced it if needs be with a submersible pump.

A koi pond that's built in a low lying area where the ground doesn't drain well can have problems with water running off the surface and back pressure. Liner ponds are particularly vulnerable to this and water can actually seep in between the wall and the liner causing it to bulge out. In a block built pond a gap left between the wall and the earth should help prevent this but in areas where there's a high water table a sump chamber that drains to the sewer may be necessary.

If you live in an area prone to flooding then a concrete above ground pond is the safest option. All rain water is soft and can be slightly acidic so it's worth checking your ponds pH to make sure it hasn't changed too much. Small water changes and crushed oyster shells should keep things stable but for some people they prefer to avoid any fluctuations by building a roof over their koi pond. In industrial areas a roof would be useful to avoid the problems of pollution, but for most people's ponds nothing more than the regular water changes are usually needed.

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