Finally starting my pond!

[Koikeeper99]

So I'm going to start building my koi pond this week and I need to some help. I have 4 koi already and want to get more. So should the pond be like 2000 gallons? And what should the dimensions be about for a nice pond? Like should it be longer or deeper? Or just even all around? Sorry for all the questions I just don't want to screw this up!

 

[jlk]

How is the weather where you live? You want length but I also recommend depth (3-4ft+) in order to help maintain temperature stability through out the seasons.

 

[Koikeeper99]

How is the weather where you live? You want length but I also recommend depth (3-4ft+) in order to help maintain temperature stability through out the seasons.

Minnesota weather is all over the place this year but usually 80-90 in the summers and around 0 during the winter.

 

[Tetra1990]

Make it about 4 feet deep. I'm in Nebraska, so kinda the same type of weather but not as bad of winters as Minnesota for the most part. Deep water = cooler water for the heat of the summers. And if leaving them outside in the winter then the pond ,hopefully, won't ice four feet thick. As for shape, look into a long rectangle.

 

[Koikeeper99]

Ok so how long and wide should it be? I would want maybe 10 or so koi.

 

[jlk]

I do have a quick question- are you planning on doing this yourself or hiring someone?

In respect to size, the bigger, the better. I am not a koi expert by any means (hopefully, Rivercats will provide some insight as well!) but your looking at huge amounts of water per koi. Quite a few koi enthusiasts will argue that 1000g per koi is not sufficient to give you an idea. Size, shape, depth, surface area, planned maintenance schedule and filtration all factor into stocking density as well.

 

[Sharpchick]

If you build it right, 10 koi don't stay 10 koi for long.

And they are very long lived.

If you are going to start with 10 koi, you might want to take a look at this thread (on another forum) by a guy who lives in Nebraska. He estimates his pond to be about 5,000 gallons.

 

[Koikeeper99]

I plan on doing this myself.

 

[jlk]

A few tips to help get you started! Don't build a sloping pond- it should drop straight down if possible. This will help keep predators out. If straight down, you may need to support/reinforce the sides. A ledge atleast a foot deep is great for plants.

Have plans in place for the dirt (what are you going to do with it, where will it go etc). It will be a lot more dirt than you can imagine (and it's not going anywhere once it's rained on).

Also have plans in place for outdoor electric service. If doing it yourself, this involves permits and L&I.

Make sure you know where your water service will be and how you will be doing wcs and filter cleaning before starting anything. Things such as ground drainage around the pond or overflows on the pond or bottom drains in the pond are things worth mentioning.

Do some planning before you start to make things easier in the long run.

 

[Koikeeper99]

A few tips to help get you started! Don't build a sloping pond- it should drop straight down if possible. This will help keep predators out. If straight down, you may need to support/reinforce the sides. A ledge atleast a foot deep is great for plants.

Have plans in place for the dirt (what are you going to do with it, where will it go etc). It will be a lot more dirt than you can imagine (and it's not going anywhere once it's rained on).

Also have plans in place for outdoor electric service. If doing it yourself, this involves permits and L&I.

Make sure you know where your water service will be and how you will be doing wcs and filter cleaning before starting anything. Things such as ground drainage around the pond or overflows on the pond or bottom drains in the pond are things worth mentioning.

Do some planning before you start to make things easier in the long run.

A lot more work than I expected.... I might have to research for another month or hire someone.

 

[Alspond]

I plan on doing this myself.

Rent a backhoe!

 

[FishCr8zy]

If you build it right, 10 koi don't stay 10 koi for long.

And they are very long lived.

If you are going to start with 10 koi, you might want to take a look at this thread (on another forum) by a guy who lives in Nebraska. He estimates his pond to be about 5,000 gallons.

What do you mean 10 koi won't stay as 10 koi? If you mean they breed at a fast pace, it is true but most eggs/fry are eaten and the others starve to death if not properly taken care of.

 

[Sharpchick]

What do you mean 10 koi won't stay as 10 koi? If you mean they breed at a fast pace, it is true but most eggs/fry are eaten and the others starve to death if not properly taken care of.

You didn't read that pond thread, did you? The pond owner talks about the rate of reproduction of the koi and why it slows down if it does.

If you are set on starting with that number of koi, you need to build a pond large enough to handle a whole lot more than that.

It just slays me when people start a thread, appearing to be asking for advice and comment, and what they really want is for everyone to agree with them.

So I guess you should probably build a 2,000 gallon pond, put 10 koi in it, and call it good...

 

[Koikeeper99]

That's probably what I'll end up doing then maybe even larger.



This is the space I have to work with, about how big do you think I could go?

 

[Tetra1990]

That's probably what I'll end up doing then maybe even larger.

This is the space I have to work with, about how big do you think I could go?

IMO, it doesn't look that big. Can you measure it? My uncle has a small front yard and wanted a pond. He found a VERY large 'flower pot', it's 6-7 feet deep and 10 feet in diameter. Every spring he stocks it with a handfull of sunfish. I know it's not a koi pond, but it's an idea.

 

[Koikeeper99]

It's about 12 ft by 12 1/2 ft and Ill make it about 4 feet deep so how many gallons would this be roughly? I could always use a little more space if that's too small.

 

[khoifish89]

1 cubic feet = about 7.5 U.S. gallon

 

[Koikeeper99]

So that's only a 200 gallon pond? Sorry extremely bad at math.

 

[Hyper27]

It's about 12 ft by 12 1/2 ft and Ill make it about 4 feet deep so how many gallons would this be roughly? I could always use a little more space if that's too small.

12 x 12.5 x 4 = 600 cubic feet
If 1 cubic feet is about 7.5 U.S. gallons then 600 x 7.5 = 4500 gallons

 

[jlk]

12 x 12.5 x 4 = 600 cubic feet
If 1 cubic feet is about 7.5 U.S. gallons then 600 x 7.5 = 4500 gallons

It depends on the shape. For a perfectly square or rectangular shape, 7.5 is the multiplier. If its round, elliptical or oval, you need to use 6 as the multiplier. These numbers also assume the pond is straight down and not sloping.