Check out the new “Koi Articles” section of our website. We recently added more articles. Let us know if there are other topics you would like to see added.
Archive for November, 2009
New Articles Added
Monday, November 30th, 2009Electricty in the New Grow-out Greenhouse
Monday, November 30th, 2009One of the very last components to heating our new Grow-out Greenhouse is bringing electricity to fire up the boilers. Below is a picture of the electric box and conduits. The work is almost complete, we will be firing up the heaters soon!
Calling all Quality Koi Keepers!
Tuesday, November 24th, 2009We would like to do a series of blog entries where YOU supply the koi! Send us progression photos of your koi from Quality Koi. Maybe it’s a photo and measurement of the koi when you purchased it, then a photo of the koi now (or sometime in the recent past) and the measurement. You can also include as many details as you would like us to post that would be informative to your fellow koi keepers, including photos of your pond, photos of your QT, size and filtration of your pond, and what koi food you are using including quantity. Some of you may have a series of progressions photos, send them all! Just include date and size. For those of you who would like Mat’s assessment of the koi, just let us know and we will include it in the post.
Our blog allows readers to leave comments on each entry, so fellow koi keepers can comment on your koi and also ask you questions about your koi.
Please send all information to info@qualitykoi.com
If you would like us to not include your name please let us know.
Grow-out Greenhouse Filtration, Part 3
Monday, November 23rd, 2009We have been posting about the two different types of filtration in our new Grow-out Greenhouse. Today’s post will explain our Polygeyser setup. For this particular filtration system, we bought an off the shelf filter with no pre-filtration. However, instead of using the suction pressure it is gravity fed. According to the manual, we can feed up to 10lbs of food per day per system. While this is a smaller footprint than the vortex system, the price tag is higher at about $3800. The big advantage to this system is that it automatically backwashes using a small amount of air. Both the vortex system and the Polygeyser are both air driven to dump dirt and water. They are both set to do this automatically six times a day. This is how we attempted to level the playing field between the two different systems.
More Articles Posted
Friday, November 20th, 2009Check out the Koi Articles section on our website, we have just updated the section with new articles.
Holidays Are Right Around the Corner
Thursday, November 19th, 2009What can you get for your favorite koi enthusiast? Great holiday gift ideas are our American Bred t-shirts and our baseball caps, which we offer in khaki and navy. You can purchase any of these directly through our online catalog or contact us directly. We also offer Quality Koi Company Gift Certificates in any denomination, just call or email us.
![show_image_in_imgtag[7]](http://www.qualitykoi.com/koi-fish-blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/show_image_in_imgtag71.jpg "show_image_in_imgtag[7]")
![show_image_in_imgtag[9]](http://www.qualitykoi.com/koi-fish-blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/show_image_in_imgtag9.jpg "show_image_in_imgtag[9]")
Find Your Nisai in Quarantine!
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009My last photos of happy koi in quarantine showed Sansai and older…for those of you with Nisai, see if you can find yours (this does not include the BETN koi)…
Indirect Heating System Added to Nisai Greenhouse
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009In an earlier post, we showed the copper tubing running underground from our new Grow-out Greenhouse to our Nisai Greenhouse. We have just finished the installation of the new heat exchanger in the Nisai Greenhouse. Whereas the heat exchangers in the new Grow-out Greenhouse are external to the water, this heat exchanger is set inside the filter pit. It is a series of coils that are filled with the warmed water, which heats the surrounding pond water. We installed it in the filter pit instead of the actual tank just so that the koi would not injure themselves if they brushed up against. The system we are heating contain our BETN koi and our 555 koi.
![Grid[1]](http://www.qualitykoi.com/koi-fish-blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Grid1.jpg "Grid[1]")
Grow-out Greenhouse Filtration, Part 2
Monday, November 16th, 2009As promised, we’d like to share some details about the different filtration systems we are using in our Grow-out Greenhouse. This greenhouse is designed for the growing of our small high-quality koi. These koi were chosen during their harvest this fall. There are 12, 10’ diameter fiberglass tanks, approximately 1800 gallons each. Every set of two tanks has its own filtration. Three sets of two tanks are using our new vortex system and the other three sets of tanks are using Polygeysers. Today’s post will go into more details about the vortex system.
For the filtration, we utilized two vortexes for each system. One is setup as a true gravity fed vortex for settlement (mechanical filtration). We have branched off the waste line to an airlift so that we can do periodic automated dumps of the accumulated solids. This will allow us to do set water changes per day. The other one has been adapted for a central aeration source to mobilize K1 (moving bed, media). This design resulted in a very small amount of air to drive 13 cubic feet of K1. We have learned that a cylinder shape uses the least amount of air to mobilize K1. Lastly, with the 13 cubic feet of K1, we should be able to feed 4lbs of food per day per system.
To summarize, the vortex system allowed us to purchase an off the shelf stand filter and retrofit it to use K1. This was advantageous due to its low cost of approximately $2000. The disadvantage is that it takes up a larger footprint. For your pond setup, space is something important to consider.
Keep an eye out for the post that details our Polygeyser setup…
The Power Shaver Has Arrived
Thursday, November 12th, 2009As a 43 acre koi farm, our power consumption is quite large. In the past year we have looked at ways to reduce our energy costs including solar and wind. However, the initial investment is considerably large and it takes many years to see a return. Instead, we had a Power Shaver installed today. Essentially this unit conditions the power that is coming in to the farm. It converts unusable energy to usable energy. Before the unit was installed today, we were able to utilize 84% of the energy coming in. After the unit was installed, we are able to utilize 94% of the power. We are having another Power Shaver “Uses” unit installed which should bring us closer to 100%. These units are also available for residential use, and the cost per unit is based on a households overall consumption. Also, it is important to keep in mind that these units are designed to increase the efficiency of motor loads. The Power Shaver company anticipates that we will see a 10-12% savings on our electricity bill. An analysis will be done after our next bill. We will keep you updated as we learn more information.
