20 replies to this topic

[runko]

Post Best Koi Ponds with waterfalls

Include gallons and L X W

[DrDave]

So where is yours???

[runko]

DrDave,

I will start my pond build this winter to house....koi...rosy reds...and goldies

I am shooting for 50,000 gallon build...

Would like to see some designs......

[koiguy1969]

look in the photography forum... and the gallery, and 100 other sites on the web

[runko]

I have.......nothing to professional or big.....quite a few nice ones......

[runko]

This is my favorite atm.........http://picasaweb.goo...est.thomas/Pond


I would love to see something like this on a bigger scale and a bridge......

around 30-40k gallons

[DrCase]

YEA That is a nice one...thats all we got ..we are just normal ponders here..you might try ...moneytoburnkoiponds.com :icon_mrgreen:

[DoDad]

I have koi ponds 1 is 4200+ and the other in the making is 13,000+
Be prepared to spend some bucks. Just the UV alone cost well over $1200 for the 13,000+
The following is from a pro koi keeper an breeder.
How big does a koi pond need to be?
While very young koi can be kept in a relatively small container, they grow rapidly and require considerable room in which to do so. Also part of the consideration is the amount of filtration associated with the pond. We recommend an absolute minimum of 900 gallons as a koi pond. A much better size, even for a beginning hobbyist, would be 2000 to 5000 gallons. Some koi ponds are 10,000 gallons to over 200,000 gallons.

How deep should a koi pond be?
Koi can live in very shallow water, but are not comfortablewithout access to deep water. Particularly in hot climates, like Texas, they require deepwater and shade as refuge from the hot summer sun. We recommend an absoluteminimum depth of 42 inches for a koi pond. Koi derive musculature by swimmingup and down in the water and a better depth for a koi pond would be 60” to 84”.Koi ponds can and should have both deep and shallow areas.

How many koi can I keep in my pond?
Koi can grow very large, as long as three feet in some cases. While many small koi can be kept in a pond, the same pond will hold only a few large koi. The capacity of a pond is also very dependent on the type and amount of filtration the pond has. For most koi keepers, about 50 to 100 gallons per small koi (under 12”), and 500 to 1000 gallons per large koi (over 24”) is a good rule of thumb in a properly filtered pond. A good philosophy for collecting koi is to be very selective and have a smaller number of higher quality specimens.

What type and how much filtration does a koi pond need?
Koi will eat a lot; this is especially true in warm weather.This implies a great deal of wastes that must be filtered from the pond.Biological wastes come in many forms and require different approaches tofiltration in the same system (pond). We recommend that koi ponds be plumbed insuch a way as to remove water from the bottom, mid-level, and the surface forfiltration. We also recommend at least two separate filtration systemsincluding two pumps. Usually this consists of one system for bottom waterfiltration and another system for surface (skimmer) and/or mid-level waterfiltration. We do not recommend circulating any water that is not filtered. Thecombined filtration system should filter and return at least one pond volumeper hour on small ponds (under 5000 gallons) and one volume per hour and a halfon larger ponds (over 5000 gallons). A combination of mechanical (solidsremoval) and biological (ammonia conversion to nitrate) filtration is requiredto properly filter a koi pond.

[DrDave]

And some people have to live in McMansions... This sounds like a commercial for a pond builder with a McMansion to support.

I don't disagree with more is better, but most of us are on beer diets. You just described champagne and Russian Caviar.

Realistically, and I speak with 41 years experience with ponds, a lot less will do if you can maintain the water quality. The permit alone to build what you are describing would cost more in California that all the money I have spent over the past 41 years, for all my ponds. And then there is liability insurance to consider.

A fellow breeder who has 250,000 Koi in Japan and 80,000 here in So. Cal does not even come close to what you have described.

UV is overated, before you could even buy them, we were building, maybe even inventing them for salt water aquariums. That said, my pond is crystal clear without one.

[runko]

I am on a beer and crown royal diet.....

Saving until winter to start........trying to save 10k for this project......

The point Im making is I want a rather large pond with @ least 2 waterfalls....

very min I want 5k gallons....but would like something between 15k-35k.....

doing all masonary work......Want it to look professional.... but I'll do it all...

[DoDad]

I don't think Richard would suggest any less for a koi pond. After all his fish aren't grown to there full capacity, There grown to sell mostly in their first year. . Ask him what type of pond he would build himself if he wanted to grow koi to their full potential. Better yet invite him here to bash me as you did. You can do the work on a large pond and save a lot of money. Do DIY on Filters and Settling chambers. How many koi do you have over 30".

[quote name='DrDave']
A fellow breeder who has 250,000 Koi in Japan and 80,000 here in So. Cal does not even come close to what you have described.

QUOTE]

[DoDad]

Go for it. Just do it right and you won't be sorry. If you could post a sketch or drawing maybe someone could steer you in the right direction.

runko said:

I am on a beer and crown royal diet.....

Saving until winter to start........trying to save 10k for this project......

The point Im making is I want a rather large pond with @ least 2 waterfalls....

very min I want 5k gallons....but would like something between 15k-35k.....

doing all masonary work......Want it to look professional.... but I'll do it all...

[runko]

ill upload that when I get home from work l0l

[DrDave]

DoDad; my attempt was not to bash you but to educate everyone that might have been missled by the pond you described. Many ponders here are doing with far less and their Koi are very healthy.

Higher grade Koi, such as Sanke and Kohaku, do not grow as large as the more drab, multi colored ones. it is rare to find a 30" koi.

I'm sorry that you are that easily offended.

[DrCase]

No one is trying to bash any one DoDad...I think it was the way runko asked for the pics ..this is all we got here...no giant brick formal ponds,, just familys with shovels and ideas...we are very interested in what you have to say,,and we know you got a great pond build going on right now...you have the closest thing to what runko wants..