Pondage

 Collected 3 pumps, one a 1.1kW whopper, for £50. Also a 200W UV-C system from Cardiff for £80.

The guy in Cardiff was Vietnamese and had a wonderful, yet very expensive setup to filter a relatively small koi pond in his garden. Filters and UV systems galore. Couldn't understand a word he said though, despite him having been here 20 years. He probably couldn't understand me either. A series of nods, smiles and pointings sufficed.

I then spent about twice that that for bloody pipes and joints to connect everything, and was still short of a few connectors. It would seem that plumbing, pond and pool systems have differing connectors.

I connected the UV system to the pump I'd bought previously so as to at least mark time on the algae growth, although I really need about 3 of the UV systems for a pond the size of ours.

The missing connectors should be in stock by the end of the week, so I'll make more progress then. However, the UV system should be placed after a filter, not instead of it, but I'm still pondering how to position the two filters, which will be in a cascade formation.

The previous owner of the filters have them jacked up on concrete blocks indoors, but my ground isn't as sturdy. Those stands for water butts seem ideal, but they'll need to be placed on a level surface or a concrete pad.

It seems to me that a lot of people are getting rid of their koi because it has pushed up their electricity bill considerably and hence there's a lot of reasonably priced pond accessories on the market; however, I have the advantage of solar PV, which means it costs me nothing to run a power-intensive system during the daylight hours.

Watch this space.