Any Koi Pond owners?

[jdeb101]

Anyone own one? I've thought of getting one made for years now but don't really have much clue as to the cost, care & maintenance required, what to do in winter, etc. I'd be interested to hear what other owners have to say and/or any good resources for me to learn (ie. book, website, etc that you recommend?).

 

[mnavick]

Started with one from Home Depot years ago and then upgraded to a 14'x20' figure eight design dug with a Backhoe and formed with a pond liner. Due to cost and upkeep (and Blue Herons) has now become a vegetable garden lol

I used a floating heater over the winter near the water intake and the other end (waterfall) stayed open just from the moving water.

A UV light is a MUST or you'll have X amount of gallons of pea soup!

Depending on size will dictate cost, just like saltwater. Bigger pond=bigger pump=more electricity

Maintenance.....would "vacuum"' bottom once or twice a year. Had plenty of plants to help with natural filtration and over-sized mechanical

 

[ECExotics]

Everything mnavick said is correct, and I agree 100% size dictates cost. The larger volume pumps & equipment make saltwater equipment seem inexpensive

 

[Jbird]

I've been doing koi ponds for over 20 years..biggest mistakes are just poor planning and undersized equipment. It can be expensive at times..but if you do your research and ask a veteran builder/keeper you can go far..like every hobby you get out what you put in..

 

[JTM4UG]

Would love to see pics

 

[Jbird]

 

[Jbird]

 

[DJTank]

Anyone own one? I've thought of getting one made for years now but don't really have much clue as to the cost, care & maintenance required, what to do in winter, etc. I'd be interested to hear what other owners have to say and/or any good resources for me to learn (ie. book, website, etc that you recommend?).

Building a 20x30x 6 ft deep (about 9-10k gallons) Had backhoe dig out first part. Got a guy in Manchester that is $80 and hour and is awesome. He dug my pool with great precision. He was a sub of the pool company when they needed a deep end on above ground dug. Grew up in construction and one of the best I have seen with a small backhoe. From there I hand dug the rest. Laying liner and rock in spring. I will docu3mnet build in spring. I figure $1k for good pump, filter, uv, liner at discounts and sales. Let me know if you find steals. Suggest to look for 45mm liner.

If 5' deep or over the fish can winter in pond but do your research, limits to when and how to feed etc. Plan a way to add a deer netting cover a few inches above the water. It blends in well and keeps burds off. Also plan a good spot for your pumps and filters to be protected, easily cleaned, quickly disconnected for winter, and ease of draining of lines for winter. Didn't get my uv light and filter put away before it froze once and my light was trash. Like a tank, if you plan ahead it doesn't remove work but makes it much quicker and easier.

 

[rmiller151]

I've been doing koi ponds for over 20 years..biggest mistakes are just poor planning and undersized equipment. It can be expensive at times..but if you do your research and ask a veteran builder/keeper you can go far..like every hobby you get out what you put in..

I just purchased a new home that has a koi pond and fish but needs a serious update to both. Any recommendations on someone knowledgable in the Brookline Ma area?

 

[Ortizdrz]

I just purchased a new home that has a koi pond and fish but needs a serious update to both. Any recommendations on someone knowledgable in the Brookline Ma area?

Ill try and look as i cant remember his name , but there is someone here from the Jamaica plain area whom has or had a pond.

 

[JBendel]

A lot of good info already posted .... in winter, I use two "air rings" to keep the ice surface from freezing over 100%. Use a heat ring (on thermostat) to prevent ice build up, but the last couple of winters, the air rings seem to do just as good a job and probably work better with the gas exchange, so will probably not replace the heat ring when it fails.

Be prepared to deal with Heron. A deeper pond will help, but mine is ~ 2 feet deep so plenty of rock ledges to hide under and use electric dog fence running over the water seems to do the trick.

Keeping the edges of the pond "vertical" will keep racoons from wading in ... mink are another story, but it only show up one winter (ate well), and never came back.

Don't feed the koi when water temp drops below 50F ... Pond has been going for about ~ 20 years.