Koi Pond Design – Down to Earth Landscapes

No matter how beautiful a koi pond is, if the basics for a successful koi pond are not incorporated during the construction of the pond the owner will never be satisfied with it. Koi ponds are unique to themselves. The requirements for a successful water garden or even a gold fish pond are minimal. On the other hand, because koi fish are fast growing, produce a lot of waste and need very good water quality to flourish, they require a very special pond. A successful koi pond will address these issues, but at the same time it should be as easy as possible to maintain. The following information is provided to help you plan your Perfect Pond.

1) How large should I make my pond? One of the most common mistakes people make with their first pond is that they build it too small. For koi fish, the smallest pond we recommend building is 1500 gallons, which would be approximately 7 feet wide by 8 feet long and 4 feet deep. That may sound huge to many beginners, but most people who already have a koi pond, will agree that if you build a pond much smaller than that, you will not be happy with it. The problem is that koi fish are extremely addictive and it is hard to be content with just a few. Also, keep in mind that you may start out with several 6 inch long koi, but within 3 or 4 years they could grow to 24 inches or more. With few exceptions, most people, after a while, wish they had made their first pond bigger. On the other hand, you can also make your pond too big. Bigger is not always better. The largest pond we recommend building is 15,000 gallons, which would be approximately 17 feet wide by 21 feet long and 6 feet deep. If you build a pond much larger than that you run into several problems. In a very large pond it can become almost impossible to catch the fish if you need to. It can also be very expensive to medicate the pond if that becomes necessary. Additionally, all the water in the pond will need to be filtered at least once every three hours. Running pumps large enough to accomplish this can cost several hundreds of dollars per month. Finally, if you build the pond too large you may not enjoy the koi as much, because in a very large pond the koi are not always visible.

2) Where should I place my pond? There are several things to consider. First, koi ponds do better in a shaded area than in full sun. Full sun will work, but a shaded area will generally slow the algae growth down and will prevent the water from possibly getting too hot during the summer months. If you chose to build in a sunny area it might be practical to think of building some type of arbor, either now or in the future, to give your pond some shade. Unlike a swimming pool, leaves from trees near the pond should not create a problem if the pond is properly designed.* In many areas local building codes require any pond deeper than 2 feet be within a fenced in area, which could present a problem if you want to build it in your front yard. Once you have chosen a general location for the pond, we recommend you use a garden hose to outline the exact location, size and shape of the pond. This can be extremely helpful in giving you a better idea of exactly how the pond will look. After placing the hose where you plan to build the pond, stand back and examine it from several locations and ask yourself. Will it be the size pond that I want? Will it be as visible as I would like it to be from, say, the back deck, the kitchen window or wherever I would like to be able to see it? Keep in mind, this pond will most likely be the central feature of your whole landscaping. Once you have the general outline shape of the pond established you can get a approximate idea of how many gallons it would be by multiplying the (average length) x (average width) x (average depth) x (7.5 gallons per cubic foot).

*One note of caution: Pine trees are the one exception. Pine needles tend to create a real mess in a koi pond. Unlike leaves, needles can travel through the skimmer basket and the leaf basket on the pump and end up in your pump impeller. If possible, do not build a koi pond near a pine tree. Redwood trees, although messy, are not near the problem pine trees are.

3) Can I grow plants in my pond? If you really want to grow plants in your koi pond you can, but they really complicate things. Here is why:

If you place shelves in the pond to support the plants and the shelves are less than 2 feet deep, you risk the chance of loosing your koi to predators. Even if the shelves are deeper than 2 feet below the water level you may still have a problem. If when you place a potted plant on the shelf and the top of the pot is less than 2 feet from the pond surface a blue heroin may wait until a fish swims over the pot and then strike, pinning the fish against the plant pot.

Most water plants do not like water movement so you cannot use jets in the pond. Therefore, most of the leaves that fall in the pond will sink to the bottom before they reach the skimmer and may have to be netted out by hand.

Often times new plants will have parasites on them so you will need to treat them with potassium permanganate before you introduce them to the pond.

If parasites do get into your pond you will need to treat the whole pond. Most chemicals used to treat for parasites in koi ponds are toxic to plants. This means you will need to remove all the plants while you treat the pond. Additionally, you will need to treat the plants separately before you return them to the pond.

One of the most effective ways to combat string algae in a koi pond is to increase the salt level in the pond to .4%. This is not an option when you have plants in the pond because, most plants cannot tolerate salt and will die.

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Koi Pond Design - Down to Earth Landscapes