u/KoiOasis

Completely agree with you. I'm building my first game, and my timeline is 14 months to early access release. It takes time to build something right and to capture your passion and love for the game. And when I get to early access, that'll be just the beginning. I just hope that others will love my game as much as I do 🙂

I figure, it can't hurt, so I do it lol... but as I'm only 4 months into this new adventure, I have no idea 🙂

Love these colour's, but they don't last long, but that's why we get lots of pictures of the kids running through the leaves, etc.

For me, it comes to the time. My bought assets aren't artwork, but things like a voxel terrain system. $100 versus 6 months of development. No brainer lol... or trees with movement built in, etc.

Otherwise, also consistency is crucial, so artwork needs to be consistently bought or made.

Depending upon what you're looking to do, you could try doing it yourself. Working with Cursor is pretty user friendly once you get into it.

You don't need a UV to keep the water clear, sand filters can cover that, however you're looking for basically a cheat on keeping a pond clear. There's plenty of additives that you can get that will bandaid the issue until spring, I can't recommend any because I've never used them. Personally, if you're going to spend the money to improve things in the spring, you just do it now. But that's up to you. You mentioned that winter is coming, if you're going to Winterize the pond soon anyway, then I'd just Winterize it early and address the issues when you want too in the spring. Though theres too many variables for me to really weigh in.

I have to agree with the others. The set up you inherited is not meant for koi. If you want to keep the koi set up a tank indoors, if you have the space, to get them through the winter. By a tank, i mean a set up that is designed for koi, not a 40 gallon tank.

And look at where they're from. My 16 are from all over the world, so it has global appeal lol 😃

Mines holding strong at a whopping 16 lol... I just hope that I can break even on my first game. I have a $2k budget, so I'm hoping that I can atleast get that back. But if nothing else, I'm loving the process and I'm having fun building something that I love 🙂

Completely agree, and this is coming from someone building a game using AI to fill in all the gaps of my own inabilities. But I've spent 4 months so far on my game and I have another 10 months of development left. And that's working about 6 hours every day on it. And most likely my game will fail, but at least I'm putting everything that I can into it.

I have a 1 year plan written out, and I'm spending 4-12 hours a day on the build. It never leaves my mind lol... but I also end the night on a defined point, so it's easy to continue. I'll never end mid-sentence. But this can lead to a 5am night, so you may not want to take my advice lol... FYI, I have a full time job, three kids and a large property to take care of. I never stop moving, I think if I stop I'll just sink, like a shark lol...

I feel that's what makes the difference between a great game and just more slop. Make a game that you love and that you're passionate about and that'll come through in the end product and make your game stand out... at least thats what I keep telling myself lol...

I agreed with the other three comments. Get a proper liner and you'll be much happier in the long run. Also, take whatever sized pond that you're thinking of building and double the size, or more. You'll thank me later lol... it's a lot easier to build it bigger in the first place versus trying to expand it later. Koi are addictive and you'll want to expand it later. My first pond was 1000 gallons. My second pond is over 35,000 gallons lol... I wasn't making the same mistake twice and I built it as big as possible. I built it during COVID and the liners were in short supply and so I got the biggest one I could find and used it. You can join pieces of liner together but I was concerned about leaks. All the best and enjoy your new Koi Pond 🙂🐟🙂

It's okay. We all go through it lol... some people strive for perfection, and in some ways I do too, but with 3 kids, a full time job, a full time side project and a big property to maintain, I allow a little imperfection in my life lol... so long as when you open up the pond in the spring and your Koi are still alive, you've done a good job.

If you place the aerator wrong, then yes, it does more harm than good. You place it about 2ft down so it keep the water oxygenated and the pond open without pulling all the warmer water from the bottom. A heat stone works, but is more expensive to run. Though, the birds will love to bath in the warm water, so thats a perk lol...

Right now, it'll be like drinking from a fire hose. There's too much info. Start with the base instructions. This year, do whatever the previous owner told you to do. Then start learning and taking one thing at a time and question whether it works best for your situation. There are general rules, but theres also a lot of Grey issues. Don't get overwhelmed. Take it one step at a time and know, you have support in the Koi community when you need it.

When they get to this stage, they don't last long, sorry for your loss.

Theres a lot of experts on here that should jump in with some tips, but here's a few to start. Look at the food you're feeding them, it'll say what temp it's good until. Should be either 50 or 60F. Thats the water temp. If you have 4 seasons, you're probably below 50F water temp now. If you need a heater, then it would be best to drain the filter to prevent it from freezing and cracking. Also good to blow out the lines as well just in case. The heater needs to go in just before the pond freezes over. But having an aerator running in the meantime would be helpful for the koi health. Also, you can get away without a heater if you run the aerator all winter, you just need to place it properly and monitor it to make sure it doesnt freeze up. Depending upon what your pond set up is, there could be other things that are needed. As for the plants, i used to pull mine and keep them indoors over the winter. But now, I only have cattails and iris' and they handle the winter just fine. Some people will clean out the debris from the leaves and stuff that end up in the pond, but I leave it until spring to clean out. I have a post about how it's sad to stop feeding the Koi for the year. On that post there's a number of other people who chimmed in with winterizing tips. Feel free to review the comments and ask questions there. Plenty of extremely knowledgeable people have laid out how they handle winterization.

Excellent. Thank you. I'd love some feedback back on what I'm working on. Plus, the early supporters won't be forgotten about. I'll be giving them free advanced access. Doing this solo isn't easy, so any support that I get is greatly appreciated 😃

I can certainly relate. They can become part of the family. I previously had a 1000 gallon indoor tank and I loved it. But that was at my old house. My next goal is to either build an indoor pond or put a geodome over a pond. But those plans are on the back burner for now. Until then, we just wait for spring.

Sad day... Hopefully you get to see all of them in the spring in a happy and healthy condition.

Do you feed them by hand or with a machine? Best way to bond is with feeding them regularly. Otherwise, regular routine and interact with them regularly. Also, Koi are social, I always have a minimum of 3 of them, when I start a new pond. Otherwise, be patient, 2 months is still pretty new.

Yeah, I'm no expert either lol... I just love my Koi. Sorry to hear about you losing all your koi. That is tough and the Heron is certainly one predator to watch for. It's funny, I've watched my Koi scare off ducks, but when the Blue Heron drops in, they don't mess around, they hide and wait. But in the spring when they're still slow, Koi are particularly vulnerable.

At 52f your koi should still be interested in food, but they would be a little hesitant compared to warmer temps. Fall food is good to 50f in general, so below that you just let them go dormant and eat whatever is in the pond. And yes, Koi will pick up on your movements. When mine see me they react, when it's feeding time, I stomp on the dock and they all come raising for food. Koi are smarter than most people give them credit for. Now, this does vary based on what they are. I find that muts have more personality than pure bred koi, just like dogs, the variation in the genetics plays into their personality. Again, people can disagree with me, I'm no expert, but this is what I've experienced with my own Koi over the years.

Absolutely. Knowing the basics is important, but there's also a difference between theory and reality. For what we need to know, use the KISS method lol

Lol yeah... but remember "CAUTION: Coffee is Hot" is the world we now live in.

Lol yeah... I dont have a rope swing or slide set up off the top balcony, sorry 😋