Koi Ahoy. Jean Jahr, President. Bob Haugland, Editor. Pauline Sakai, Photos KOI STUFF GARAGE SALE

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1 Koi Ahoy Volume 26 Number 11 November, 2015 Jean Jahr, President Bob Haugland, Editor Pauline Sakai, Photos KOI STUFF GARAGE SALE Board Meeting, General Meeting, Spaghetti Contest, Two Ponds, Swap Meet. Food, Fun, Fish, You Name it Folks, We Got It! Sunday, November 15, 2015 You ll notice that the date has been moved up a little to free up your Happy Thanksgiving. We ll be meeting at the ponds of Jerry & Phyliss Kyle and Jack & Barbara Flockhart. Both are within a half block of each other in Lodi. The Board meets at noon and anyone can sit in. The General Meeting is at 1pm. Bring a little something to share, or better yet, enter the Spagetti Contest. Go to the Kyle pond first: 327 Del Mont St., Lodi, CA Here s a link to a google map: ,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x809aa05d93985b4b:0xde103554ca78618e Spaghetti Contest rules: You cook up and bring a sauce, pasta will be provided. That s it! There are no rules. In fact, cheating is encouraged. It doesn t have to be a red sauce either, Clam Sauce or Alfredo sounds good too. Or you may want to bring a salad, side dish, or desert. Everyone who attends will be given the opportunity to sample every sauce. Voting ballots will be distributed and winners awarded based on the ballot results. Once the food has been eaten and the awards awardeded, then we walk or drive around the block to the Flockhart s pond for dessert and the garage sale. The meeting this month will be in Lodi at the Kyle's and Flockhart's. Two ponds for the price of one. Spaghetti Feed at Kyles and Dessert Meeting at Flockharts. Jack has upped the anti with a Koi Equipment Garage Sale and everyone who may have some items they wish to sell can bring their items. Jack never throws anything away so has a number of pumps and motors that he originally used before upsizing equipment for greater water flow. An inexpensive backup for emergencies is a good idea. 1/4 HP and 1/3 Hp available. He also will be selling his quarantine tank. Complete system; tank, motor, pump, filter, plumbing, everything. Jack is asking only $250 for entire system. Tank is worth that. So is motor and pump, filter system too. Everything is pennies on the dollar for value. That is what a garage sale is all about. We just want to find a good home for usable things that are being wasted or sitting on shelves. CKC Members are invited to bring anything they also have to sell, including potted plants, both bog type and otherwise. Books, artwork, shade cloths, test equipment, yadda- yadda- yadda. Please, no fish (this time). Wow, Christmas in November. * If anyone buys Jack s Qtank, Bob will deliver it back to the Sacramento area.

Koi Ahoy, November, 2015 page 2 October Meeting @ the Tsuchida Pond Mike & Molly laid out another great spread of BBQ d brisket and the CKC faithful supplied the salads and deserts.

(This month s KP 101 was inspired by Mike s misfortune) Continuing with the theme, even the dessert was scary (right). UCD Presentation, Viral & Latent Diseases in Koi Drs.

KHV is Koi Herpes Virus. SVC is Spring Viremia of Carp. KSD is Koi Sleepy Disease.

2 Koi Ahoy, November, 2015 page 2 October the Tsuchida Pond Mike & Molly laid out another great spread of BBQ d brisket and the CKC faithful supplied the salads and deserts. Mike regaled us with his version of how easy it is for a bead filter to get totally clogged and cause innumerable problems. (This month s KP 101 was inspired by Mike s misfortune) Continuing with the theme, even the dessert was scary (right). UCD Presentation, Viral & Latent Diseases in Koi Drs. Esteban Soto and Brittany Stevens presented a power point lecture about the various viral and potentially lethal diseases in koi ponds. KHV, SVC, and KSD were all discussed at length. KHV is Koi Herpes Virus. SVC is Spring Viremia of Carp. KSD is Koi Sleepy Disease. Symptoms of all of these usually fatal and very contagious diseases can include: Piping, increased breathing rate, excessive mucus, eroded gills, ulcerations, eroded fins, skin may develop a sandpaper texture, erratic swimming, and a notch over the nose. If you suspect that your pond has one of these diseases, you should seek professional help, ie; UC Davis. They can help with tests that will positively identify the problem. SVC, Spring Viremia of Carp is what s refered to as a reportable disease, meaning that it must be reported to the USDA and depopulation of the pond is mandatory. Maybe you have a less severe problem. Call the number at the right and make an appointment.

Koi Ahoy, November, 2015 page 3 KP 101, Seasonal Maintenance, by Bob Haugland, KHA Fort Bragg, NC, 1968. We were all lined up for inspection.

The military question is a trick question, almost a riddle considered amusing amongst the draftees in the 1968 Army. When does a good soldier need a haircut? The answer is: Never.

3 Koi Ahoy, November, 2015 page 3 KP 101, Seasonal Maintenance, by Bob Haugland, KHA Fort Bragg, NC, We were all lined up for inspection. As the Captain went down the line, he stopped at me and asked, When does a good soldier need a haircut? Now you re asking yourself, What the heck does this have to do with koi? The military question is a trick question, almost a riddle considered amusing amongst the draftees in the 1968 Army. When does a good soldier need a haircut? The answer is: Never. The same holds true for your filter maintenance. If you wait until your filter needs maintenance, it s too late. You should set up a regular schedule for cleaning your filter(s). Quarterly as the seasons change is a good starting point. This maintenance should not be confused with back flushing, which should be done a lot more frequently. Your filter s job is to grab the crud from the water and return only water to the pond. That means your filter is collecting crud, you must go in periodically and remove the crud from the filter. It s like taking out the trash. So perhaps your filter came with instructions on how to clean it. Do that. If you have no instructions then the basic procedure would be to turn off the UV light and pump, open up the filter, take out whatever comes out, clean it, and re- assemble. Maybe even use a wet/dry vacuum to slurp up some of the hard to reach places. Since this is KP 101 let s assume you have a young pond. This means that you are only beginning to cultivate the bio film in your pond and filter. Avoid killing off a young bio film by rinsing the parts in clean pond water or chlorine free tap (well) water. Chlorinated tap water can kill a some of your bio filter. The bio film can tolerate the spray force of a hose, but not the chlorine. Also, don t stop your filter for more than 4 hours and don t allow the parts to dry out. If you have more than one filter don t clean them all at the same time. Space them out at least a week apart. It s also a good idea to test the water for ammonia & nitrites before and a few days after anytime you clean stuff, just to see if you ve harmed the bio- film. Based on how mucked up the filter was when you opened it, you can try to establish a cleaning schedule. If you found lots of goo and some tubes were almost clogged, then a quarterly cleaning my not be enough. Not much goo? Then once or twice a year would be good. November is a good time to do this kind of maintenance because it s not too cold or wet outside. If you wait until January you re not going to want to put down your hot chocolate and go out in the cold & wet to scoop goo. This is also a good time to consider using a ph pill to ward off some of the acid rain we might get this winter. Here s a little blurb from Jerry Kyle on that subject: WHAT IS A ph PILL? or HOW BAD CAN RAIN BE? One bag or pail of Plaster of Paris mixed with water and allowed to completely dry makes a Plaster of Paris Brick (Pill?) Put in a pond it will slowly dissolve until alkalinity gets up to ppm (different for different areas of country) and then will stop dissolving until only as needed to help maintain a more stable alkalinity level. Different levels in different areas with different water but with enough alkalinity ph will not crash. Why would it crash? Answer: Lack of water changes but, more probably, that rain washing all the pollutants out of the air is not called "acid rain" for nothing and at a time we are trying to save water by doing minimal water changes too many ponds live too close to the edge (below 50 ppm Alkalinity). Rainwater that can be as low as 6.4 ph, and has zero alkalinity, slowly but surely lowers the alkalinity level to a point it can not sustain the ph any longer. Alkalinity slowly drops to around 30 +/- and then ph drops (crashes?) overnight. In my case (in the San Joaquin Valley) from a high of 7.8 to 6.5 ph. That much - - that fast. Fish are not immediately dead but filter bacteria are and without knowing a bio- filter is dead it will be too late to save the babies when you finely recognize something is wrong. In my case, I luckily was doing a water test and discovered the problem just in time and added baking soda (the whole darn box) and within 15 minutes ph was back above 7. My opened box of baking soda in the fridge keeps it smelling fresh and was a great emergency back- up for the pond. It never gets too old to work in the pond. Better yet - - With a promised wet winter, maybe it's time to get a KH test kit to learn how close to the edge we already may be. Maybe you don't need the pill if your KH is above 100 but, your Koi need you to know what you are dealing with since its better to be safe than sorry. Nope. Nobody here needs a haircut.

Koi Ahoy, November 2015 page 4 How to Build a Foam Fractionator a.k.a. Protein Skimmer By Pauline Sakai, November 2015 8 13 9 8 Filler for the tower Water - Out 7 1 2 3 4 10 5 6 11 12 # Qty Item Description Cost 1 1 3 to 2 ABS reducer $6.

99 8 2 1-1/4 ABS 90 Degree 3.78 Elbow 9 1 12 length of 1 ¼ ABS 2.95 10 1 1 ½ to ¾ PVC reducer.45 11 1 Venturi Tee, 1 x1 x3/4 5.36 12 1 1 PVC cap.

4 Koi Ahoy, November 2015 page 4 How to Build a Foam Fractionator a.k.a. Protein Skimmer By Pauline Sakai, November Filler for the tower Water - Out # Qty Item Description Cost to 2 ABS reducer $ length of 3 ABS pipe perforated shower 1.92 drain ABS Wye, to 1 ½ to 1 ½ ABS Tee cap for ABS ½ to 1 ¼ ABS reducer /4 ABS 90 Degree 3.78 Elbow length of 1 ¼ ABS ½ to ¾ PVC reducer Venturi Tee, 1 x1 x3/ PVC cap gal Water - In Foam - Out Figure-1: Diagram for building a DIY Foam Fractionator Hair curlers or scrubbers 5.00 TOTAL: $55.75 A few months ago I described a contraption that I built for my pond to remove dissolved organic compounds (DOC). I showed you the brown-stained water that was removed via this device and reported that the clarity of my water was greatly improved. This article describes how you can build your own Foam Fractionator (FF), also known as a Protein Skimmer for less than $100. Figure-1 shows the parts needed to build the FF. Since I did not glue any of the parts (they were just press-fit) the FF leaked. I placed the FF in my filter so it didn t matter if it leaked. My plans are to glue everything once I finish tweaking the design. Then it can reside outside of my bio-filter. In addition to the parts listed, you will need: A pump to move water into the device [1] or if located appropriately, use gravity to flow water into it. Tubing or additional piping for water flowing out [8]. Tubing or piping to catch to foam and leachates [11]. The commercial Clarity TM device has the foam flow onto the ground. Parts Description: (numbers correspond to diagram) [1] Reducer helps so the water input tubing doesn t pop out. [2] The tower. You can make this taller if you want. [3] Prevents media from falling out. [4] Where foam is created and advances up the exit. [5] Where water will return to pond. [6] To cap the tower at the bottom. [7] Reduce from 1 ½ to 1 ¼. Smaller pipe is cheaper. [8] and [9] Adjustment arm to create the correct water height in the tower to create foam. [10] To reduce down to fit ¾ the venturi-tee. [11] To save money, you can make your own Venturi from a tee and a cap (shave the cap to fit inside the tee, drill small holes in cap). [12] Removable cap for peeing at the foam production. Don t glue this cap. [13] Fill the tower with some sort of biomedia. Bio-balls are a good media but pricey. I used 5 pkgs of pink hair curlers (cut in half) from the Dollar Store. You can also use plastic pan scrubbers. Assembly: First dry fit all the parts and run it. Once satisfied, glue everything but parts 8, 9 and 12. I have seen other designs that used a valve to adjust the water level for foam production. Instead of this, I just raise or lower the arm (parts 8 and 9) and tweak until I get the desired foam wetness. By next year I hope to have perfected my design. Ask me about it next year and maybe you can order one for me to build for you. *Pauline is using a 300gph pump to power this.

5 Koi Ahoy, November, 2015 page 5 Classifieds Dennis Tran has a filter for sale. Alpha Bead 2.5 with brand new beads. $300 obo or dvtran21@sbcglobal.net Ken Rothaus also has a filter for sale. A two stage bio filter, Nimbus Pool s Eliminator. It s two 3 foot boxes with brushes & media. He supplied photos. $300, obo krothaus@pacbell.net Baby It s Cold Outside We trade newsletters with Northwest Koi & Goldfish Club, courtesy of Jim Nice whom I met at this summers KHA Wet Lab. There was an article about not stressing koi by breaking pond ice violently. I was curious about this problem so I got back to him via like this: Hi Jim, Thanks for sending your newsletter to me. I'm finishing up ours by this weekend and I'll send a copy your way. I have question for you. I read the article about frozen ponds and I'd like to know: Do some of your ponds totally freeze over? Every year? Sometimes? Here in Sacramento, last winter was very mild and none of the ponds got below 50. The lowest I've ever seen my pond was three years ago at 46. Today's pond is 65. Thanks, Bob This is his reply: Yes some our members have ponds that freeze over. We do -- we have a 170,000 gallon mud pond that will frequently freeze over for some part of the winter. It is 10 feet deep and has an aeration system to keep a small area free of the ice. Our 12,000 gallon pond by the house froze over 2 years ago with about 6"+ of ice. Last year we setup a 15 foot diameter, 4 foot deep above ground swimming pool with pump, filter and heater in a building adjacent to the house. Many of our koi "winter" indoors. We have two smaller ones in the house that are used for smaller fish and quarantine/treatment. Our pond by the house is down to 52 today -- we had a pretty good frost last night. About the warmest our pond gets is the upper 60's. Our Property adjoins BLM land with a 4,000 foot mountain and lots of trees to the south of us. Of course we are a bit unusual in our location -- we live on the lower slopes of Mt. Hood in the Cascades. Beautiful area to live, but it does get cool and wet!! We typically get about 3 times the rainfall that the city of Portland does. Many of our members are much more "urban" and do not get as cold as we do. Many have some type of cover for their pond, a couple are extensive and keep the pond heated all winter. Right now it is 43 outside. Jim

Koi Ahoy, November, 2015 page 6 Koi Terminology Part 2 GoSanke Continued by Pauline Sakai In the last article, basic counting in Japanese (one through five) was described and the Kohaku variety.

6 Koi Ahoy, November, 2015 page 6 Koi Terminology Part 2 GoSanke Continued by Pauline Sakai In the last article, basic counting in Japanese (one through five) was described and the Kohaku variety. Before we go onto more varieties let s do some more terminology. Let s learn colors. In the koi hobby, various Japanese terms used to describe RED. Aka [ah- ka] basic red. Used when describing a solid color rather than a red pattern, i.e. Aka Bekko, Aka Matsuba. Hi [ hee] fire, sun general red Used to describe the brightness, shininess or luster of the red. The same hi in Hikari used to describe a shiny fish. Beni [Ben knee] lipstick red deep red the most ancient word for red, Used when describing parts of a fish, i.e. kuchibeni (lipstick) or an all red fish including its fins, benigoi. Two more colors: White = Shiro [she row]. Shiroji [shee- roh- gee] is the white skin. Black = Sumi [sue' me]. In Japanese sumi means ink. GoSanke = Kohaku, Sanke and Showa The most popular group of koi is known as Gosanke, or literally in Japanese, Three Families (named for the original the three branches of the Tokugawa Clan in Japan). Gosanke in the koi hobby is comprised of the Kohaku, Taisho Sanshoku (Sanke), and Showa Sanshoku varieties. Of the thirteen recognized classes of koi (and over 80 varieties), these three are the most popular, and almost always found in every collector s pond. These varieties are so significant that they each have their own classification at Koi Shows: Kohaku, Showa and Sanke The basis for any good Kohaku though is a strong red pattern on a white background. The Shiroji (white) should be pure as snow, and the Hi (red) should be visually balanced. Ideally the red color should be more red than orange- red although both are acceptable. A more detailed discussion of desired attributes of the various koi categories will be covered in future articles. Taisho Sanshoku (aka Taisho Sanke, or usually just Sanke) Think of a Sanke as a Kohaku with well- balanced sumi (black) markings. The base color, or Shiroji (white), should be pure white, with a balance of Sumi (black) and Hi (red). Nidan Taisho Sanshoku A Sanke with two major Hi (red) plates. Tsubo Sumi Taisho Sanshoku Tsubo Sumi means critical sumi (black). In other words, sumi with a strategic placement that balances the pattern, it can appear in the Hi (red) or Shiroji (white), i.e. shoulder sumi focuses the viewer s eye to the head, while when absent of shoulder sumi the eye tends to wander down the body.

Koi Ahoy, November, 2015 page 7 Here are some nice examples of Sanke Showa

difference is the Showa is a black bodied fish with some hi (red) and

A Sanke by comparison is a white bodied fish with some hi (red) and sumi

The difference between a white body and a b lack body is whether there is

Black on the head generally means that the fish is a black base body.

highlighted S hiroji (white), mostly an orange or red fish with some white

balanced appearance over a body with a considerably greater amount of

Here are some examples of Showa: Old-style Showa Modern Showa Hi Showa

7 Koi Ahoy, November, 2015 page 7 Here are some nice examples of Sanke Showa Sanshoku Showa Sanshoku or just Showa Very similar to a Sanke The main difference is the Showa is a black bodied fish with some hi (red) and shiroji (white). A Sanke by comparison is a white bodied fish with some hi (red) and sumi (black). The difference between a white body and a b lack body is whether there is black on the head. Black on the head generally means that the fish is a black base body. Hi Showa A Showa that is primarily covered in Hi (red), with some highlighted S hiroji (white), mostly an orange or red fish with some white highlights and black markings that extend to the head. Kindai Showa A modern Showa. These fish exhibit a lot of Shiroji, with Sumi and Hi presenting a m ore balanced appearance over a body with a considerably greater amount of Shiroji than the original Hi Showa. Here are some examples of Showa: Old-style Showa Modern Showa Hi Showa Tancho Showa Doitsu Showa Send your koi photos to Pauline Sakai at: sakaip@surewest.net. We ll do a practice benching (placement of koi in the show categories) at the February or March meeting. Include the following: Your name Koi Variety. If unknown say that. Size in inches including tail Show category if you know it. You may not know this yet. This should be a fun experience!

8 Koi Ahoy, November, 2015 page 8 Mark Your Calendar For Our Christmas Party December 6, 1:00pm to 4pm We ve reserved a room at Cabo s Mexican Restaurant in Granite Bay for about people. Cabo s want to know which it is, 40 or 50? So we re now asking you to reserve your spot by letting Georgia know that you and yours are coming. The cost will be $15 per person. That covers your buffet dinner, a beverage, and the tip. If you d like an alcoholic drink, please pay for that yourself. Club dues aren t due until January, but this is a good opportunity to just combine them all and only be bothered with paying once. So there s a lot of options here, except that the first option isn t optional 1) You must let Georgia know if you and what s- his- face are coming to the party. You don t have to pay yet, but we need that head count by Nov ) You can pay for the buffet when you arrive, but if you reserve & don t show, we ll bill you. 3) 2016 dues are $30 per household, so you can include that with the buffet cost, if you want. 4) Georgia can be reached by phone or Georgiav@earthlink.net, or you can find her at the Spaghetti Fest in Lodi. CKC Monthly Report to AKCA, This is the last club report to AKCA for the year. This month will see a Spaghetti Cook Off Contest and Feed at the Kyle Pond (over 5000 gal) in Lodi. Then the club will move down one city block to the Flockhart pond (over 8000 gal) for a Dessert Meeting and elect new officers for Beautiful upscale size 7 and 8 prize winning koi and upscale food will be enjoyed along with a "Garage Sale" where members who have excess or under utilized equipment will make it available at garage sale prices to members who need it. This month again demonstrates what the CKC is all about. Meetings held at superb ponds, superb Koi, superb food, superb members helping new members. We will also get an update on the Koi Show CKC will have next spring. Fairgrounds have already been rented. That will be in next report to AKCA but, first, we will have our annual December Christmas Dinner Meeting. Again, more new members joined us last month. Will see what happens this month. Good Koi, good ponds, good food, good Koi Show, good people grow a club. Bob Haugland, Sacramento h thenewmrbob@gmail.com Jerry Kyle, Lodi jeroldkyle@yahoo.com Jean Jahr, Antelope c jkjahr@gmail.com Koi Health Advisors Bob & Sandy Mascadri, Cameron Park, c or c koigardens@comcast.net Pauline Sakai, Roseville sakaip@surewest.net

9 Koi Ahoy, November, 2015 page Calendar November 15.Spaghetti Contest..Jerry & Phyliss Kyle/Jack & Barbara Flockhart December 6.Party...Cabos Restaurant, Granite Bay Suggestions for additional topics, speakers, and activities should be directed to our Vice President, Mike Tsuchida. Tentative 2016 CKC Calendar January The Year Ahead..Speaker: Jean Jahr.Site TBD February 28..OPEN.. March Maybe Sue Golden, Pond Plants.... Golden Pond April CKC Koi Show...Placer County Fairgrounds, Roseville May 22. speaker TBD Jack & Juliet Lokoff s, Bay Point June speaker TBD.. Doug & Carol Porter s, Lincoln. July 31 OPEN August 28...Koi Auction & Ice Cream Social...Duane & Melody Carlson s, Granite Bay September 25..OPEN October speaker TBD...Mike & Molly Tsucida, Sacramento November 13.. Spaghetti Contest..Jerry & Phyliss Kyle/Jack & Barbara Flockhart December 4.Christmas Party...TBD 2015 Board of Directors & Staff President: Jean Jahr Vice President: Mike Tsuchida Director: Sam Niebank Treasurer: Georgia Vonk Director: Molly Tsuchida Directors: Doug & Carol Porter Koi Ahoy Editor: Bob Haugland Immediate Past President: Jerry Kyle CKC Photographer: Pauline Sakai Secretary: Sandy Mascadri jkjahr@gmail.com mollyl@sbcglobal.net sniebank69@gmail.com georgiav@earthlink.net mollyl@sbcglobal.net dgporter311@sbcglobal.net thenewmrbob@gmail.com jeroldkyle@yahoo.com sakaip@surewest.net koigardens@comcast.net

Koi Ahoy, November, 2015 page 10 Financials Georgia Vonk, Treasurer Financials: Beginning Balance: $7635.29 Expenses 240.00 $40 host fee and $200 down payment Koi Show 4/16-4/17/2016 Income 35.70 $5.

10 Koi Ahoy, November, 2015 page 10 Financials Georgia Vonk, Treasurer Financials: Beginning Balance: $ Expenses $40 host fee and $200 down payment Koi Show 4/16-4/17/2016 Income $5.70 Groupon and $30 New membership Ending Balance $ Welcome New Members Al and Anna Maria Sablan We hope we ll see you at the next meeting in Lodi. We may be kichi, but it s all about the fish. Camellia Koi minutes Meeting held at Mike and Molly s home in Sacramento Old Business: Changes to 2016 Calendar. Change May, going to the home of the Lokhoff and in June we will be going to the home of the Porter s. At the Xmas party members need to bring a koi related gift for the secret Santa. Nominations: For those that didn t attend meeting check and make sure you weren t voted into an office by proxy. J Director: Lyn Pitts Director: Mike Treasure: Georgia Vonk Vice president: to be announced We will be voting next meeting and if anyone would like to take an office contact Jean koi Show: Meeting at Sam s on November 4, 2015 anyone is invited to attend. We have been able to reserve the show at Placer Fair grounds for April 16 and 17, Sam needs lots of help with Venders, sponsors, advertisement. Etc. any and all help would be welcomed. Let s not let Sam do this alone. Our meeting was with Dr. Soto from UCDavis. Talking on the subject of KHV (Koi Herpes) and Sprng viraemia of carp along with Koi carp pox

Koi Ahoy. Pond Spawn Update starts on p. 3. There are still some dates open to host a meeting at your pond. See the Calendar on page 5

Koi Ahoy. Pond Spawn Update starts on p. 3. There are still some dates open to host a meeting at your pond. See the Calendar on page 5 Camellia Koi Club Koi Ahoy Volume 27 Number 13 January, 2015 20142014 Jean Jahr, President Bob Haugland, Editor Pauline Sakai, Photos Pond Spawn Update starts on p. 3 There s More Inside: There are still