# I hope this is OK to post this photo



## Sammyk (May 31, 2012)

This is my favorite spot in our back yard. The 3 waterfalls that fall into the lower pond where our koi live. The red Japanese maple was nipped by frost after it leafed out this spring.

A 2.5 horse power pump pumps the water from the bottom drains to the bubble bead filter from there it goes up the hill about 40' to to 200 watt UV and then into the upper pond. This gives us maximum flow over the water falls.

Our pond is home to 30 large koi, the largest a male that is 36 inches, my Sunny who will be 27 in a few days. The smallest are the 5 Chinese hi-fin banded sharks from the Yangtze River in China, and the smallest koi is about 22 inches,

Lower pond is 10,000 gallons of water, total pond is 15,000 gallons.


----------



## Deezil (May 31, 2012)

Thats a very nice set up

Being a fish lover before i found wines, i can definitely appreciate what you have going on there although your residents (the koi) arent my personal favorites.

27 though? Definitely a feat, to most, although i know koi fish live quite a while when cared for correctly.

I've always wanted a set up similiar to what you have there, except inside a greenhouse of sorts - i'm a cichlid lover, but live in the northern US 

What kind of filter do you have on that badboy? Some sort of sand-filter sump pump?

These were my fish, they both passed a year or two ago - Genetically recessive, 'Blue' Jack Dempsey cichlids... Male and female. Same two fish, just different lighting

I now have a juvenile Jaguar Cichlid, but not many pics of 'em - not near as pretty as these, but more ferocious


----------



## Sammyk (May 31, 2012)

Bubble bead for 20,000 gallons of water.

I have a live stream video camera in the lower pond. Use this link

http://www.bonniesplants.com/KoiCam.html


----------



## Deezil (May 31, 2012)

a live video feed too?

You're living my dreams..


----------



## Sammyk (May 31, 2012)

It is cloudy and overcast right now, getting ready to rain so the view is not as clear as when the sun is shining


----------



## Deezil (May 31, 2012)

Sammyk said:


> Bubble bead for 20,000 gallons of water.



Ah, havent heard of that - guess thats why i gazed right over it in your initial post 
Whoops!

Over-rated for your pond though, just the way it should be - very nice


----------



## Sammyk (May 31, 2012)

Actually *Deezil* this is what we do for a living. We breed koi, have a commercial greenhouse and hydroponically grow 1,000's of pond plants. We ship all over the USA. We have 30 years experience with ponds.....

Not sure why I decided to share part of our life here. I took the photo today and posted it on my facebook page and just thought what the heck, I will post it here too.


----------



## Sammyk (May 31, 2012)

Check out my live feed! I turn it off at dark and back up in the morning. I am on the east coast so remember the time difference if viewing our koi


----------



## Julie (May 31, 2012)

Sammy very beautiful and very glad you shared with us. I bet you spend a lot of time, when not working in your backyard and with a glass of wine.


----------



## Deezil (May 31, 2012)

I remember you mentioning that was your business, in some other part of this forum which is escaping me right now, and a few years ago if you had asked me what i wanted to do when i "grow up" - it was to be one of your competitors 

Sunny must just be a testament to your devotion to the hobby, takes a lot of work.. 

I originally wanted to get into breeding cichlids & had found a few groups of people to take trips with down to central/south america, who actually do it annually in their breeding endeavors - because of the poor genes in the commercially available fish - but the money stopped me... 3-4 grand for a vacation, that you work on, and who knows what you'll catch?... Sounds like a blast, but sounds like a sketchy way to carve out a living  They import the fish back (another added cost, with permits etc) and breed them for wholesalers.

I specifically wanted to get into Jack Dempsey breeding and figure out the mystery behind the Blue JD's and where they came from.. Anywho, that was a few years ago.. I do wanna get some more Blues though, miss 'em terribly.


----------



## Sammyk (May 31, 2012)

If you look at the live feeds you will see a deck on the above water camera. I actually have 2 live feeds. This is where we spend what little free time with our wine. We designed the deck so that we could view all 3 ponds from the deck.


----------



## Sammyk (May 31, 2012)

Deezil, I am a koi health care specialist. I do injections of anti-biotics, anesthetic and surgery on koi. There are photos on my website of surgeries I have done.


----------



## pjd (May 31, 2012)

I love it!


----------



## Deezil (May 31, 2012)

Sammyk said:


> Deezil, I am a koi health care specialist. I do injections of anti-biotics, anesthetic and surgery on koi. There are photos on my website of surgeries I have done.



Oh wow, thats pretty cool.. I would have only been a competitor in the sense that i wanted to sell some aquatic plants as well lol never had any personal interest in koi fish although i know they have a bit of a cult-following, can live quite some years (as seen by your Sunny), and get quite pricey.. But thats about all i know of koi fish


----------



## Runningwolf (May 31, 2012)

Sammy those ponds are so cool. I was really into aquariums and water gardens about 15 years ago. I had four small ponds and about 20 aquariums. I had plenty of koi and Shubunkins but was mostly into the plants. I made many trips to Trickers in Cleveland for odd ball stuff. My wife would like one at our new house but I did all of this stuff before we were married and really don't want to get back into it now. I have a tendency to go over board. At that time I was also going around to nurseries and clubs doing talks and Q&A sessions. We have a large Koi Breeder by us right now. http://www.hotkoi.com/ Maybe you have heard of them. Thanks for sharing your pictures. I really enjoyed them.


----------



## DirtyDawg10 (May 31, 2012)

Interesting! Wine and aquariums...lol. I have had five fish tanks up and running for several years until the October storm here wiped out our power for 10 days in the cold and all my tropicals died. I plan to start up a native tank when I get a chance but for now I'm taking a break from the aquarium hobby.

Nice looking fish!!


----------

