The most important thing that people can learn about Koi and Goldfish is how to give them the best water conditions possible and to make weekly water changes of 1/3 by removing the water from the bottom of the tank or pond. It is not a good idea to have gravel in the tank with these fish or even in ponds but if you feel that you must, strip the tank down every 8 months to a year and clean out the gravel thoroughly to make sure all sludge and debris has been removed so that your fish stay healthy.
The way to get good water quality is to get a good bio-filter, better yet, make one yourself. Companies never make filters large enough for ponds or tanks, which hold Koi and Goldfish because they just don't realize what dirty fish they are. We have been making our own bio-filters for years and we are more than willing to share that information with anyone who would like to know how to make their own and what to put inside them for bacteria to grow and for easy cleaning.
FOODS:
The other thing to look out for is the food you feed. Don't purchase the cheap foods with lots of corn in them. I think that for those Goldfish, which have the round, egg shaped bodies, some corn is good because it helps them to keep from getting constipated and possibly even from bladder problems but it should not be the first ingredient on the list.. Of course, there are no guarantees but feeding the best foods, adding some lettuce and other types of leafy vegetables, keeping the water conditions good, make water changes, not over feeding or stocking and you should not experience any trouble in the tanks or ponds.
Look for foods, which have spirulina, wheat germ, fish or seafood proteins instead of corn and other plant proteins as the first five or six ingredients. Use Stabilized Vitamin C (Sta-c) versus regular ascorbic acid. Remember too that because fish are in an aquarium it means that they aren't getting the exercise that they would in a pond and do not need to be fed as often. Feed your fish only what they can consume in five minutes if fed once daily and 3 minutes if fed twice daily. Vary your fishes with dried small live worms, frozen bloodworm and brine shrimp and even pure wheat germ from the health food store, etc.
FILTRATION:
We suggest that for every 1,000 gallons of pond water a 45-gallon drum or container of some type be used for filtration. Remember that it takes four to six weeks for a bacterial colony to build up strong enough to remove ammonias and nitrites from the pond or tank so if you have to clean your filters more than that, a good bacterial colony will not be present. For those filters large enough, bottom drains on the first are a good idea and should be backwashed monthly. If the filter is backwashed but you don't think all debris was removed, start the filter up again to fill the filter and backwash one more time to make sure. This will not harm the good bacteria.
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