I have kept a 1300 gallon (6000 Ltr) pond for the past 30 years & like most koi ponds is is well overstocked with fish, but despite that I have not made any treatments for at least 10 years & not lost any fish in the last 5 years. When I built the pond I redirected most of my rainwater gutters to the pond & that catchment area is around 110 square meters (a lot) so when it rains there is a massive influx of rain water into my pond which gives a big water change. A 10mm downpour creates about 1100 litres of water & there is never any change in the behaviour of the fish, in fact is seems to freshen everything up. I cannot say I have ever had a problem that I could put down to rainwater so I do think it is better (& cheaper) than chlorinated tap water & my experience says any amount of rainwater is safe to use.
@@thep0ndman Yes, I think that this is a major myth that rainwater is not suitable for a pond. The average rainfall where I live is 835mm per year, so my pond is getting a free of charge water change of 92,000 litres per annum & much better for it. Our wettest month is October with 95mm, so then my pond gets 10,000 litres in that month, which is more than one and a half times the pond volume & no problems as a result.
The one thing about rain water that concerns me a bit is what kind of chemicals may have leeched into the water from the roof of your house where it is probably being gathered from. Do the shingles cause problems? Can they? I know this is a different situation than a home but my wife has a photography studio in our town in a building and there is an area outside which is like an enclosed deck. Shes kept a flower planter out there on the wooden railing one of those long thin ones that acutally fits on the railing. 2 years ago the run off from the roof of that building poured in there during a storm and the plants all died. There was drainage out of the bottom of the pot so they didnt die from drowning anyway that incident has caused me to be hesitant about using rain water run off from rooves but maybe that being a large commercial building it used to be a creamery and has been various other things since that time, now there are appartments up stairs and various office spaces downstairs including my wifes studio causes it to have things that would not normally be found on a home roof.
If pond needs topping up is it better to use rainwater or tap water? And is it best to use aquasafe, tap safe or some treatment like that with either of them to be on the safe side? Thanks
Top up with tap water most of the time and you can use tap safe or something if you like too. If your topping up a small amount it won’t make much difference if you didn’t add anything to it tbh. Use rainwater every now and then, make sure it’s fresh and not been sat in a water bit for too long thanks for the comment
I run my house gutter into my pond and have an overflow Incase it does fill up too much, alongside water changes with the tap but I’ve never had an issue using rainwater. Tbh if I didn’t use rain along side my tap I’d probably have to get rid off the pond it’s self due to being on a water meter.
I keep koi in a natural pond with only rain water. Ph is 5,8 and the fish has been in there for 6 years now. Started with 4 of them, but I think they are more than 20 now. Am I doing something wrong?
@@thep0ndman Thanks! Do you know where the idea that koi needs hard water and high ph comes from? As far as I understand the common carp is more frequent in soft water than in hard water. At least up here, where they are not native.
They can live in either that’s why you find them in plenty of different countries around the world. There are loads of crazy ideas out there. If it’s working for you keep up the good work
do I need water conditioner / treatment if I use rain water? Im building a mini pond/aquaponics out of a half 55 gallon barrel, im using a solar pump, and the rain ill fill the tank this friday.
I have used rainwater only in my little pond for well over 5 years. My rainwater pH is 7.0. If your rainwater is 5.0 I worry you have acid rain. My city water pH is 9.0. You have less algae if you use rainwater. The only time I had string algae was when I had to use city water (no rain) for a while. Rain water is for sure better than city water.
We have had like 40 days of rain in northeast us. And water is brown. 5 inches at least. Now it's brown. Can't figure it out. Don't want to take drastic measures. 5000 gallon pond. Fish seem ok
If it’s brown it’s usually run off nearby? Or some sort of sediment from plant pots perhaps, usually the filters will sort it you may just need to do a fair few filter cleans to remove the sediment when the filters start blocking up
I have always used tap water then add some equaliser and I’ve never had a problem. Test strips always come up in range so I don’t see the problem with using tap water.
Great video. Can you put stones at the bottom of a pond which has goldfish and goldfish in? I have read on Internet that its a great idea and a very bad idea.
They may look pretty for a while but all the dirt debris will get trapped in the stones and will become an absolute mess after time. Stone on the edge etc are fine but definitely not the bottom! I will be making a video on this at some point good question!
Interesting video 😁👍 In the future I want an indoor pond, not outside. Catching rain water in rain barrel. I live in the Netherlands, and they really don't want us to do this🤦♂️ So my questions are, what do I need to treat rain water in a rain barrel and do I need a filter with activated carbon? and RO machine? Of course test water before using it. 😁 Hope you could answer my question and maybe some info about minerals to use. Gr from Amsterdam
An indoor pond would be awsome! Send us some pics when you get it done. So it’s pretty much the same thing you would add to RO water. Minerals need to be added, so you should be able to buy these from your local aquatics store or online. It depends what type of fish for the minerals needed, it comes in a powdered form so just mix it in and away you go. Thanks for comment!
@@thep0ndman : that will be no problem. And will treat water before using. First my bamboo shrimp will go in, after that my few small tetra's and Pardalis pleco gold will go in the pond. Don't want to much in my pond when I start with it
@@thep0ndman : It will be in the future, but will do research everything. Indoor tropical South American jungle river Hill stream pond / riparium idea. So that my shrimp can climb higher up driftwood, close to the stream and catch food. At this moment I have moluccensis shrimp, little smaller, but it's to test if my pleco will leave the shrimp. It's now 2 weeks and both seems to enjoy and enough vegetables give to my pleco. - Hyphessobrycon eques - Hyphessobrycon megalopterus - Atya Gabonensis shrimp (african shrimp) - Epiplatys Annulatus -pterygoplichthys pardalis gold pleco - Hemiancistrus L128 blue phantom pleco, this will be a group of fish that I want learn to breed. My favo fish 💯 I care more about space for fish then aquarium. Those polyester ponds are definitely worth to do. Will do bottom heater and will use clay mix wit French laterite. With good plants, like South American water lily, eleodea etc. Glad to hear it's possible and will keep in touch. When i got pictures in the future, I will send them. 👍
@leesutton1845 yes but you said rain is bad for ponds. No it’s not, if it was do you think fish would survive outside for millions of years, it’s just ridiculous.
@thep0ndman I get that but it lower your kh too much plus kh is important because it keeps your pH stable if you have no kh then your pH comes down and it can crash your pond and possibly kill fish I've seen it myself
if you are referring to a koi cage style pond, just a box, water and koi how can you be surprised of fluctuations, its not natural so expect problems, but don't blame it on the rain please
Really there’s so much contradiction out there. This really helps as I don’t have fish in my pond, but I do have frogs and don’t want to hurt anything. Water is so dirty in the pond that I’m going to replace some with this water but fresh rain. Thanks for advice.
Thanks for sharing this information! We live in the tropics with heavy rains and fish as well as the water lilies are doing well 🪷
I have kept a 1300 gallon (6000 Ltr) pond for the past 30 years & like most koi ponds is is well overstocked with fish, but despite that I have not made any treatments for at least 10 years & not lost any fish in the last 5 years. When I built the pond I redirected most of my rainwater gutters to the pond & that catchment area is around 110 square meters (a lot) so when it rains there is a massive influx of rain water into my pond which gives a big water change. A 10mm downpour creates about 1100 litres of water & there is never any change in the behaviour of the fish, in fact is seems to freshen everything up. I cannot say I have ever had a problem that I could put down to rainwater so I do think it is better (& cheaper) than chlorinated tap water & my experience says any amount of rainwater is safe to use.
You are not on your own on that, so many of our customers do the same and no problems ever. Thanks for the comment
@@thep0ndman Yes, I think that this is a major myth that rainwater is not suitable for a pond. The average rainfall where I live is 835mm per year, so my pond is getting a free of charge water change of 92,000 litres per annum & much better for it. Our wettest month is October with 95mm, so then my pond gets 10,000 litres in that month, which is more than one and a half times the pond volume & no problems as a result.
@@daveanderson3768 Thanks for this im going to do the same.
The one thing about rain water that concerns me a bit is what kind of chemicals may have leeched into the water from the roof of your house where it is probably being gathered from. Do the shingles cause problems? Can they? I know this is a different situation than a home but my wife has a photography studio in our town in a building and there is an area outside which is like an enclosed deck. Shes kept a flower planter out there on the wooden railing one of those long thin ones that acutally fits on the railing. 2 years ago the run off from the roof of that building poured in there during a storm and the plants all died. There was drainage out of the bottom of the pot so they didnt die from drowning anyway that incident has caused me to be hesitant about using rain water run off from rooves but maybe that being a large commercial building it used to be a creamery and has been various other things since that time, now there are appartments up stairs and various office spaces downstairs including my wifes studio causes it to have things that would not normally be found on a home roof.
Thanks for the comment. Rainwater itself is fine but im not sure about your roof etc, its usually ok...
If pond needs topping up is it better to use rainwater or tap water? And is it best to use aquasafe, tap safe or some treatment like that with either of them to be on the safe side?
Thanks
Top up with tap water most of the time and you can use tap safe or something if you like too. If your topping up a small amount it won’t make much difference if you didn’t add anything to it tbh. Use rainwater every now and then, make sure it’s fresh and not been sat in a water bit for too long thanks for the comment
Thanks
Simple but very helpful information 👍
I run my house gutter into my pond and have an overflow Incase it does fill up too much, alongside water changes with the tap but I’ve never had an issue using rainwater. Tbh if I didn’t use rain along side my tap I’d probably have to get rid off the pond it’s self due to being on a water meter.
Nothing wrong with rainwater
I keep koi in a natural pond with only rain water. Ph is 5,8 and the fish has been in there for 6 years now. Started with 4 of them, but I think they are more than 20 now. Am I doing something wrong?
No! Thanks for the comment
@@thep0ndman Thanks! Do you know where the idea that koi needs hard water and high ph comes from? As far as I understand the common carp is more frequent in soft water than in hard water. At least up here, where they are not native.
They can live in either that’s why you find them in plenty of different countries around the world. There are loads of crazy ideas out there. If it’s working for you keep up the good work
Last time I checked wild fish exist so it probably doesn't matter
Thanks for the conment
do I need water conditioner / treatment if I use rain water? Im building a mini pond/aquaponics out of a half 55 gallon barrel, im using a solar pump, and the rain ill fill the tank this friday.
Sorry for the delay. It really depends on where you live and the fish you want to keep etc.
Very helpful information. 👌
Thanks a lot
I have used rainwater only in my little pond for well over 5 years. My rainwater pH is 7.0. If your rainwater is 5.0 I worry you have acid rain. My city water pH is 9.0. You have less algae if you use rainwater. The only time I had string algae was when I had to use city water (no rain) for a while. Rain water is for sure better than city water.
Keep up the good work thanks for the comment
We have had like 40 days of rain in northeast us. And water is brown. 5 inches at least. Now it's brown. Can't figure it out. Don't want to take drastic measures. 5000 gallon pond. Fish seem ok
If it’s brown it’s usually run off nearby? Or some sort of sediment from plant pots perhaps, usually the filters will sort it you may just need to do a fair few filter cleans to remove the sediment when the filters start blocking up
@@thep0ndman I put 3 pots with gravel in the pond with the blue flag plants. It makes sense now why it is brown. 3rd year koi pond owner. Thank you.
very interesting video
Glad you liked it Thanks manda!
I have always used tap water then add some equaliser and I’ve never had a problem. Test strips always come up in range so I don’t see the problem with using tap water.
Tap water isn’t actually that bad thnx for the comment
The birds usually go into the pond anyway.
yes thanks for the comment
Great video. Can you put stones at the bottom of a pond which has goldfish and goldfish in? I have read on Internet that its a great idea and a very bad idea.
Goldfish and kio
They may look pretty for a while but all the dirt debris will get trapped in the stones and will become an absolute mess after time. Stone on the edge etc are fine but definitely not the bottom! I will be making a video on this at some point good question!
@@thep0ndman thanks for the reply very helpful.
Thanks for the commonsense.
You bet
Interesting video 😁👍
In the future I want an indoor pond, not outside. Catching rain water in rain barrel.
I live in the Netherlands, and they really don't want us to do this🤦♂️
So my questions are, what do I need to treat rain water in a rain barrel and do I need a filter with activated carbon? and RO machine?
Of course test water before using it. 😁
Hope you could answer my question and maybe some info about minerals to use.
Gr from Amsterdam
An indoor pond would be awsome! Send us some pics when you get it done. So it’s pretty much the same thing you would add to RO water. Minerals need to be added, so you should be able to buy these from your local aquatics store or online. It depends what type of fish for the minerals needed, it comes in a powdered form so just mix it in and away you go. Thanks for comment!
@@thep0ndman : that will be no problem. And will treat water before using. First my bamboo shrimp will go in, after that my few small tetra's and Pardalis pleco gold will go in the pond. Don't want to much in my pond when I start with it
@@thep0ndman : It will be in the future, but will do research everything.
Indoor tropical South American jungle river Hill stream pond / riparium idea. So that my shrimp can climb higher up driftwood, close to the stream and catch food. At this moment I have moluccensis shrimp, little smaller, but it's to test if my pleco will leave the shrimp. It's now 2 weeks and both seems to enjoy and enough vegetables give to my pleco.
- Hyphessobrycon eques
- Hyphessobrycon
megalopterus
- Atya Gabonensis shrimp
(african shrimp)
- Epiplatys Annulatus
-pterygoplichthys pardalis
gold pleco
- Hemiancistrus L128 blue
phantom pleco, this will be
a group of fish that I want
learn to breed. My favo
fish 💯
I care more about space for fish then aquarium. Those polyester ponds are definitely worth to do. Will do bottom heater and will use clay mix wit French laterite. With good plants, like South American water lily, eleodea etc.
Glad to hear it's possible and will keep in touch. When i got pictures in the future, I will send them. 👍
@@thep0ndman will go to the website of the company 👍
Rain is bad for ponds it lowers ph and kh thats not good ive been told that
Such a random thing to believe…
@thep0ndman it's true thoo because I've tested my pond water after a gd rain fall it's dropped
@leesutton1845 yes but you said rain is bad for ponds. No it’s not, if it was do you think fish would survive outside for millions of years, it’s just ridiculous.
@thep0ndman I get that but it lower your kh too much plus kh is important because it keeps your pH stable if you have no kh then your pH comes down and it can crash your pond and possibly kill fish I've seen it myself
if you are referring to a koi cage style pond, just a box, water and koi how can you be surprised of fluctuations, its not natural so expect problems, but don't blame it on the rain please
Really there’s so much contradiction out there. This really helps as I don’t have fish in my pond, but I do have frogs and don’t want to hurt anything. Water is so dirty in the pond that I’m going to replace some with this water but fresh rain. Thanks for advice.
Sure no problem. If you needed to use large amounts of rain water you can buy a buffer for it. It’s cheap but just maintains correct hardness levels.
Can you do a talk on porch ponds with koi to then transfer into a big pond.