Koi Water: Things You Need To Do With Your Pond After The Storm

What are the things you need to do with your Koi pond after it has experienced the storm? First, relax and just take your time to breathe, as your fish are just okay: they have just been traumatized by what they have experienced (which is just a normal reaction for any pet who's been put into an unusual situation). Unless there's a lot of damage to your pond, you don't need to worry about the health of your fish. You should rather focus on their home, which may need some repairs.

Now, you may have either prepared completely for the storm or may have been taken by surprise by it… but no matter what your case is, take the necessary action so as to make sure that no further damage will be done to it.

So here are the things that you need to do. First, undo all of the storm precautions that you have made to survey possible damages that have occurred. If your pond has been covered by a net, remove as many debris as you can off the net before removing it. Once it has been removed, you will be able to survey the damage and check your pets' condition.

If you were expecting high waters and then your sand has extended outward beyond the usual point in the area around the pond, you should remove all of the sand bags for you to have an easy access in your pond (given that the water level is normal too). Do not worry if things seem so out of place, as it may not be that bad compared to the original setup.

After the net and other precautions has been detached, take your time to observe and examine the area. If you see any debris, skim them over and net them so that they will be removed. If the surrounding plants or other decorations has been uprooted or put out of their places, just put them again to their original spot.

If your pond has experienced a major damage, make it a point to remove your fish as soon as you can from the pond. Although proper bagging as well as transporting techniques are needed if the damage will take some time to get fixed, there are some transitory options that you can have if the damaged can be fixed fast. You can always use a children's pool as a temporary place for your fish. Contact your local pet store or local zoo and ask them of an available program to help you in housing your fish until the necessary maintenance can be made.

If only small repairs are required, what you should focus on is the water quality. The appearance of your pond now is dark or cloudy because of the storm and the extra water given by the rainfall. You should be worrying about ammonia issues if the storm lasted for a long time. Then test your water if it contains Nitrates. If these are present, what you do is you add the right amount of salt to the water (about three-fourths to a pound of salt per 100 gallons of water).

It may be a good idea to add more salt if your fish got shocked by the storm or if they got any type of injuries (if you got plants around your pond, you should remove them before you add the salt). Just keep in mind that your fish should be prioritized instead of your plants.

If you have KH issues (especially those that fall below 100), what you can do is add baking soda to your Koi pond (1 cup of unpacked baking soda per 1000 gallons of water). This will serve as a protection for your Koi pond from the pH crashes that may occur in the future.