• Be sure to check all water parameters, such as temperature, pH, nitrites, ammonia etc before, during and after the use of medications in your pond, ensure that your filters are in pristoine condition.

• Don't put chemicals i n a pond with water quality problems, such as high or low pH, ammonia, or nitrite.

• Switch off U/V's when medicating your pond.

• Ensure you have diagnosed the problem before treating for parasites, consider in investing in a microscope.

• Never use any chemical in your pond before you have established that you have a health problem that requires it. Chemicals ca impair the performance of your filtration system and in turn can lead to water quality problems.

• Ensure that the gallonage of your pond is correctly calculated as overdosing kills koi, and underdosing is ineffective. You should have used a water meter to record the exact gallonage when built.

• Always read the manufacturers or suppliers instructions carefully for directions of use, dose levels per gallon and frequency of use, never hazard a guess.

• Always wear rubber gloves when hadling chemicals. Protect eyes, skin and clothing.

• Be aware of pond temperaturewhen using treatments, as most chemicals cannot be used below 50°F.

• Introduce additional oxygen when treating a pond. All chemicals will lower the dissollved oxygen content of the pond water. 6mg/l dissolved oxygen is the minimum for koi.

• When putting medication in the pond, mix the measured dose with a larger quantity of pond waterand gradually distribute around the entire pond surface. You may want to add the medication over a period of time, such as an hour.

• Never use metal container's with or for chemicals, use non-toxic plastic. Glass should never be used in or around a pond for obvious reasons.

• Treatments place a strain on filters. If possible stop feeding 48 hours in advance, and during the administration of any treatment. Your koi wont starve.

• Treat the pond at a suitable time of day so that you are there to observe any adverse reaction to the medicaton. If this occurs you should dilute out the medication by carrying out suitable water changes.

• If only one or two koi show adverse reaction, remove and place in a previously prepared container of fresh untreated pond water with adequate aeration.

• Don't carry out any water changes for at least 48 hours after addin g medication to the pond. Allow time for chemicals to breakdown before repeating treatment or before subsequenttreatments with alternative products. Never mix chemicals together.

• Never use chemicals that are past their expiry date, alwaysabel them so that you know the contents and when and how much to use.

• Store all chemicals in a cool dark place; don't ever allow frost or freezing to affect the contents.

• KEEP ALL CHEMICALS SAFELY LOCKED AWAY FROM CHILDREN.

Hints and tips continued.........Medications.