A new way to remove Ammonia from your Koi pond!

British Koi fanatics recently made a major contribution to the Koi world with an interesting study… removing ammonia from Koi ponds using nothing but fresh air. The study showed that up to 50% of ammonia can be driven out of a pond within a 48-hour time frame, using nothing but vigorous aeration.

Strongly aerating your Koi pond has obvious benefits for your Koi and your biological filter (bacteria) system, and now it has extra benefits in helping to drive off ammonia.

Note that such aeration is more effective when the pond water is circulated through a venturi. Surface aeration is useful for increasing dissolved oxygen levels nearer to the surface, but bubbling the whole pond through an aerated vessel (venturi) is far more efficient. This is because the entire pond volume is in contact with the aeration bubbles and it is the oxygen that causes a reaction with the ammonia, reducing it to free nitrogen.
Note that aeration is not a certain cure for removing all ammonia. However, any ongoing reduction of ammonia by aeration means that there is less work for the bio filter to do.

Don’t make the mistake of opting for a smaller bio filter though. Remember the golden rule – you can never have enough filtration, only too little. Whilst removing ammonia via aeration in a Koi pond is a brilliant thing to know about, it cannot be relied on solely.