Hi Folks,

I look forward to seeing you June 11th. Charlie Gardner

Office of the Secretary by: Anne

We had a nice turn out for our May meeting, especially since it was Mother’s Day, with

30 members present plus several visitors. Dave and Sherri Brown were again excellent hosts, Thank you so much for opening your home to us.

Charlie opened the meeting with information about the Young Fish Show. We had 14 members show this year and 72 Koi were judged and on display. Several of our junior members had fish entered as did Dave and Sherri Brown, who were showing for the first time. Charlie also told us that Jim Roberts will stay active in the club and will remain a board member, something we were glad to hear.

Fred Leib gave a talk on various types of pond plumbing supplies and a demonstration on how to make a DIY bulkhead fitting complete with a self-liner gasket. We all learned some thing new or interesting from him about the plumbing side of liner pond construction.

Joanne Rutherford brought in garden stakes that she donated as door prizes; Mary Robinson, Geneva Jackson, and Pete Akers won them. Teresa Leib had the winning ticket for a lovely vase Charlie Gardner made and donated. Congratulations to the winners.

Tracey Jackson brought in some of his young Koi to give away and all were grabbed up and on their way to new homes.

Rod Lawton handed out surprise certificates for last year’s AFKAPS volunteers.

Pond Tour Flyers and ticket were available at the meeting from Teresa Leib. This year the tickets will be $5.00 in advance and $6.00 the weekend of the Tour. If you want tickets, please let Teresa know. The club will be selling raffle tickets during the pond tour for a nice preformed pond including the pump; these tickets will be available at the tour starting points.

See you on the tour or at the next meeting!

Koi Chat with Sandee

When asked about advice for a new Koi Keeper, Connie said to build your first pond in a place that is big enough with plenty of room around it because everyone she knows who has a pond always finds something to add or change. Connie says hers is too close to the porch to make some of the changes she would like. Connie also advises that you quarantine any new fish when your pond is stocked. She has experienced major fish loss when she failed to quarantine a new fish.

Caught In The Net ByTodo

One of the best sites on the web for koi lovers is What’s Up Doc, (www.ponddoc.com). I have mentioned them before, but as good as the site was then, it’s better now. Peggy and Doc are very active in koi circles in Atlanta. They even close their store just to attend the annual Atlanta Koi Show. They have Q&A sections, articles and pond supplies. Give them a look.

How Many Fish Can My Pond Hold?

The answer may shock you! You probably have too many now. With "normal" bio-filtration we say about 1 (one) 12" koi - including fins - per 100 gallons of water is pushing it. What we mean by "normal" bio-filtration is at least the bio-filtration capacity of a gravity bio-filter on a 1000 gallon pond. Then, you must take into consideration that these 12" koi will grow! The more you beef up your bios the more fish you can put in, however, be aware that overcrowding the pond, no matter how much filtration you have, can be a major factor in causing gill disease and other fish health problems. You may rock along for a year or two with an overcrowded pond then one day walk out and see that Mother Nature has thinned your pond out her "way" and taken your largest and most prized fish. It's best to thin out the population yourself before Mother Nature decides it's time for her to do it.

© copyright 1999, The Pond Doc. All rights reserved. Revised: December 28, 1999. http://www.ponddoc.com

Installing a UV

The only true way to completely rid your pond of free-flowing algae (green water) and keep it clear from algae is to install an Ultra Violet Water Clarifying Sterilizer Unit, affectionately known as a "UV".

A UV is a bulb inside a PVC tube that is protected from water by a tube of glass. Water flows through the PVC tube and passes by the long bulb so that the ultra violet rays emitted from the bulb can sterilize microscopic algae that flows along with the water. This prohibits reproduction and growth of the algae and it quickly dies back. A UV is not effective against string algae because this type of algae attaches to the sides of the pond and rocks in the waterfall and does not pass through the light.

The strength of the UV that should be installed is solely dependent on the amount of water you are trying to clear. Use the following table to determine what size UV is needed for your pond:

Minimum Gal.      Maximum Gal.      Wattage

0                         400                        8-watt

400                     800                       15-watt

800                    1500                      25-watt

1500                  2500                     40-watt

2500                 4000                      65-watt

4000                 5000                      80-watt

5000                 7000                     120-watt

If your pond size is on the borderline most the time you’ll want to bump up to the higher wattage UV. For example, most ponds receive a fair amount of sunshine during the day. Sun promotes growth of algae and makes the UV work harder. If you have a 1500 gallon pond out in the sun you’ll do much better by investing in a 40-watt UV rather than being conservative and going with the 25 watt.

A UV is installed into the PVC line or flex hose that carries the water from the pump and through the system and must be installed outside of the pond and not submerged. Locate it preferably after the biofilter.

The rate of water as it flows through the UV will have a direct bearing on how effective the UV is on the algae kill rate. If the water is flowing too quickly through the unit, the algae is not given enough exposure to the ultra violet rays and the unit may not work effectively. For that reason, it’s a good idea to install the UV on a line that by-passes the main line and allows only a portion of the water to flow through it at a much slower rate. We prefer to use PVC and tee the main line, placing gate valves where they can effectively slow down the water flow in specific areas. The UV line that was tee’d off from the main line can then be rejoined to the main line or returned to the pond through a separate return line.

Do not run your UV while your biofilter is trying to seed. It takes time for the bacteria to seed in a new filter. UV’s will kill some free-flowing bacteria making it more difficult for the bacteria to grow inside the filter. Though we all hate that green water it’s best to put up with it until the bacteria in your biofilter has had a chance to fully develop. Green water doesn’t kill fish but lack of bios does.

We understand how difficult it can be to properly size and install an Ultra Violet Water Clarifying System. The advantage of purchasing the system through us is that you can benefit from our experience. We will be happy to help you with the installation by offering our free in-house consultation with every step of the buying and installation process.

From The Millenium Edition of What's Up, Doc?, February 2000. © Copyright 2000, The Pond Doc's Water Garden Center. All rights Reserved.

Let’s give the Long Fins a fair shake by Todo

At the Young Fish Show my fish and I experienced a snub that has happened before, but needs to come to an end. One fish was a kohaku and the other a doitsu kujaku, but neither was allowed to compete with other koi of their class. Why? Because they were long fins. Long fin koi have suffered under a prejudice for standard finned koi for some time. Even to the point that some purists do not consider them koi at all. Of course the fact that they breed freely with standard koi belies this view. The reality we see in our own ponds is that most koi keepers today have both standard and long finned fish. Still, when long finned koi are formally judged all of them are lumped together regardless of their color, while standard finned fish are divided and sub-divided into over 100 color classes. Are we to take form this that the only distinction on long fins is their finnage and nothing else?

At AFKAPS this year there was only one long fin in competition, it took 1^st under 16". The question is why are not more of these fish brought to shows? Could it be that koi keepers are not keen on having all their pretty long fins ganged together by judges following guidelines that are little more than a stacked deck. I need to point out that I have no dispute with the judges at the Young Fish Show or with judges in general. They try hard to judge fairly though they must follow what has been established. Still, it is time to end this inequity.

So, what can we in the North Florida Koi Club do to strike a blow for fairness in out hobby? The total solution would be to have a full slate of long fin koi competing in all the color classes. However, that would be a giant step and might be difficult for the club to absorb all at once. We could also have a completely separate long fin show, but this too is out of our reach.

An alternative comes to mind that was discussed by some of us at the Young Fish Show. Viewing color classes in a broad light there are perhaps three general categories; Go Sanke (Kohaku, Showa and Sanke), Utsuri/Bekko and Kowarimono (all colors not otherwise listed). The present all in one long fin category could easily be expanded to these 3 groups (or 6 groups if divided into under/over 12") without adversely extending the judging. After all, it is not abnormal to see size categories in shows from 6" to 36" with only two inch intervals. Our own show has used 13-15 categories divided into two size groups. Compared with other shows like Atlanta or AFKAPS, this is a modest slate and could accommodate the addition of the long fin groups easily.

There are some logical questions that come to mind following the previous proposal.

Q: What about Doitsu and Gin Rin:

A: A similar case may be made for doitsu fish, which are also lumped together. However, these fish are often included with others in the same color category (i.e. all sankes), Doitsu and fully scaled being judged together. It is felt in some quarters that a doitsu would have an advantage as they naturally have sharper kiwa (the edging of each color). But, judges know this and can discount this fact as they view the fish.

Another lump-them-together category is the Gin Rin. Few will argue the stunning appearance of a diamond studded koi flashing its scales in the sun. However, just as with the doitsu, judges have over looked these scales in the past and viewed the fish based on its conformation and pattern. It would seem reasonable in both the Doitsu and Gin Rin groups to allow the koi keeper to decide how they wanted their fish judged; lumped by scale type or compete by color class. I do wonder where a long fin doitsu gin rin might be judged?

Q: Why would long fins not be able to be judged under the keepers choice?

A: Though criteria for judging long fins is not as well established as for standard finned koi, some standards seem obvious

1) Body: The body of a long fin tends to be longer (tail and torso combined) than a standard fish of the same length. This effects its conformation. Good conformation for a standard and a long fin are therefore different and should not be judged against each other.

2) Fins: The fins of a long fin are by nature extended and the trailing edges are not robust. Where as the trailing edges of a standard koi’s fins should show no splits or gaps, it is a rare long fin of medium to large size that does not show some gaps on the ends. Of course this does not mean that the edges can be frayed, chewed or otherwise damaged. Still, where a split in a standard would be a fault, it might not be so in a long fin.

3) Movement: Though the elegance of movement among koi is renown this aspect reaches a state of near perfection in the long fin. Hence, though a standard koi could be judged standing still, or even by photograph. To get the true flavor of a long fin it must be observed in motion. A long fin that sits on the bottom with its fins drooping around it is a poor specimen.

I ask all members to consider this proposal and invite comment and debate. The committee for the fall show has not been formed as yet, so this is a good time to consider changes to the judging categories.

Resources: "Where do long fin koi belong" by Bob Finnegan, AKCA web site.;   Emails with Burt Ballou and Art Lembke, AKCA judges in good standing.