The links below are to web sites that I think you will find helpful. When you "click" on a link, it will be opened in a *new window*. While there will be some club web sites, most will be personal sites. I picked them for the "content," meaning information provided, pictures that can inspire you, or at least give you some new ideas to work with. Some have some *very* good DIY information! If you have a web site, or know of one that would fit in with these, feel free to send them in. I'll take a look and if it "fits in," I'll add it to the page.

Let the LINKS begin!

The Associated Koi Clubs of America web site is one site that everyone should bookmark. Want to find a Koi club to join? Want to know when the next Koi show is being held, and where? Got any idea who placed what, in the last show? You can find all that, and more on the AKCA web site. This site has a large number of links to both commercial and non-commercial web sites. You can search them by location, too! Plenty of good articles here, *especially* the Koi Health Advisor program training modules. These should be downloaded and SAVED! Go to the AKCA web site and dig in!

Water Quality is *the Key* to keeping a good pond! There is just ONE person to turn to when you want to know what should be changed, what shouldn't, and how to make any changes SAFELY. His name is Roark. He's a bit of a rouge, a chemical magician, and one heck of an innovator. (Ok, maybe a bit of an instigator, at times.) Look around on his web site, you'll not only learn how to manage your water chemistry, but you'll find some really cool and *very* essential calculators that you won't find anywhere else. Roark wrote the code for these and they are great! Aside from the chemistry, there's a *lot* of good ideas to be found here. There's also a web board on Roark's site. You'll find some big-time brain-power at work in there! You *will* have to register to use the web site, but it's FREE. You won't start getting any junk email from doing this, either. Go to Roark's Experimental Puddle, now. WARNING! Roark has a *fully* operational sense of humor!

Nishikigoi International magazine is also a web site. This is where you go to see how the high-end Koi are kept so well! There's a web board (forum) on this site where you can "lurk" and glean a tremendous amount of information from the "best of the best." Or, dive right in and ask that question you've been dying to. Before you ask, be *sure* you really want to know! British rules apply! Peter Waddington and friends trade information and occasionally some jibes here. Go to the Nishikigoi International web site and look it over.

Graham Hawkins has a great web site, with a number of DIY projects on it. His home-made bottom drain is covered in my DIY section. Graham also has a good filter system, all DIY, and has recently added a DIY Vortex system to his site. It's well worth a look! Go to Graham's web site.

Another *great* hobbyist's web site comes to us from the "far side of the Pond." Duncan Griffiths puts a lot of time and energy into research and it looks to me like it is time *well* spent! Like Roark, Dunc has a way of taking a complicated subject and breaking it down into bite-sized pieces, making it pretty easy to digest. Take a look at KOI-UNLEASHED! Duncan is one of the hobby's "best kept secrets." I think it's time for that to change!

Greg Bickal was doing the "DIY thing," long before it became so popular. Over the years, Greg has created a unique pond that has worked out quite well, using a number of DIY projects. The web site has plenty of pictures and drawings, along with a good narrative that explains each of his projects. And he isn't through, yet! It seems Greg has some *new* stuff in the works. (When he comes out with it, I'll be sure to let you know.) Take a little trip to Toddville, Iowa and see what Greg has been up to. You'll love that pond!

There's a major Koi Show in Florida, every year. It's put on by all the AKCA clubs in the state, in a marvel of cooperation! It's in Orlando, and this year the show was from Friday, March 22, through Sunday, March 24, 2002. Check out theAll Florida Koi and Pond Show web site!

I'm located in Florida, and we do have a number of good clubs down here, but the Tampa Bay Koi and Water Garden Club is my "home club." It's a relatively new one, but has already had its second annual show. The first show was impressive, the second was even better, and I'm sure the next one will continue that pattern. *GREAT* bunch of people! Take a look at the club's web site. If you are near-by, you'd have a lot to gain by *joining* it. The club's web site is HERE.

Larry and Laura are another pair of "cold weather" Koi keepers that indulge in some DIY Koi keeping. Need a foam fractionator? They can show you how! The site has several other DIY projects and some very good text pages, as well. Nice pictures, so you can see the results of their DIY projects. Just click on their names, Larry & Laura, and see their web site.

I was looking for a picture of a DIY Low Space Bioreactor. Sure enough, a link was posted on the KoiVet forum, of just such a project! That's how I found Terri and Ian's web site. Lots of talk lately, about that LSB and they beat me to a DIY version! Their web site has a number of pages, with a lot of good pictures. Now, those pics may make the site load a bit slowly, but you'll find them worth the wait. First time I've seen a DIY vortex with a 3 bay filter, all in concrete! Good-looking water fall, too. This web site will give you some good ideas, and a high mark to shoot for! Terri $ Ian's web site can be seen HERE.

Well, that's it for now! As usual, More Later!