Hi from Rushden Northamptonshire UK

[JasonRichards]

Hi I am about to start building a pond at the bottom of my garden, to become the home for a collection of Koi that I have been given. (there are 7 KOI from 16-18" and about 100 in varying sizes down to 2 or 3" It is going to be a big project and I have no experience of pond building, though I am ok with DIY. The corner has a deck at present, which I am going to repair and turn into a Gazebo I hope to create something like this:-

The site looks like this at present:-


All help and advice gratefully accepted....

 

[addy1]

to our group!

Make it big and deep with good filtration. You will need that with the number of koi you are mentioning. Ask away, everybody will help you, or at least enjoy watching you work!

 

[JasonRichards]

Thank you addy.

My plan to date is to get a mini digger in and dig 2 ponds, One big one something like the layout of the hose, and then a smaller one, but shallow to create a cascading waterfall. I intend to use the excavation material to create a gentle slope up for the cascade.

I read somewhere that sloping lawns with ponds at the bottom can be bad for Koi and that drainage away from the pond is a good idea.

Wow, I just looked at your pictures! That is some slope you have and a remarkable looking water feature, it makes my slope look very tame!!

 

[sissy]

well come and as a koi owner I use 2 filters which I am now making bigger they are really fussy fish and yes a slope can be great for a waterfall but you do have to make sure you have raised sides and an overflow built in where fish cannot get to it .

 

[JasonRichards]

Hi Sissy,

Thank you, you too have quite a slope going on. Whilst I have the excavator on site I think I will dig a drainage trench so that any fertilizer etc from the lawn drains elsewhere.

 

[Fishylove]

Welcome Jason :wave:

 

[JasonRichards]

Welcome Jason :wave:

Thanks Wendy, You are right God has a hand in everything.

 

[j.w]

Jason
Well you picked a nice pond to model yours after and you have the room to make a nice big pond for the koi. I agree, go deep, at least 4 ft would be good, deeper than that is even better. Looking forward to watching you build it and we're here for ya if ya need any help.

 

[JasonRichards]

Jason
Well you picked a nice pond to model yours after and you have the room to make a nice big pond for the koi. I agree, go deep, at least 4 ft would be good, deeper than that is even better. Looking forward to watching you build it and we're here for ya if ya need any help.

Thanks j.w.

I am not too sure how deep I can go yet, I reckon I will be able to get down to at least 4 feet. The soil here has a lot of clay after the first 12 inches, so I should be ok to dig deep sides.

 

[taherrmann4]

Welcome to the forum. As the others have stated go deep and as big as you can. When you are digging your pond and have the size you want, step back take a look and then dig it bigger. Most ponders make their pond and then when they are complete they wish they had made it bigger. So go as big as you can the first time, especially with all the fish you are going to be housing. Filtration will be very important so do lots of reading and asking questions.

 

[JasonRichards]

Tmann,

Thank you, we will goo deep and big!

 

[JasonRichards]

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2439-dig-day-1-1/




Well the dig has started, the deck is too rotten to repair so it has to come out.....

 

[JasonRichards]

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2463-day2/



https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2462-day-2/



https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2461-day-2/



So day 2 of digging and fence repairs and we have made good progress, but am I making a mistake by digging deep sides without steps? I am planning on using a pond liner?

 

[sissy]

I have steep sides but I left 3 plant shelves and at the water fall end made steps there in case I have to go in the pond and when not needed they make good plant steps .If you have predators then the first step should be at least 18 inches deep .It is really hard to form the liner on them unless you leave it in the hot sun for awhile so it is more pliable

 

[JasonRichards]

Day 4 of digging and levelling and it starts to look like a pond now. There is a lot more levelling required to keep the depth of water and make the thing look good. I moved all the soil with pick, shovel and barrow. My helper disappeared this weekend so I was on my own. I used a tiller to break up the soil and hired a petrol tamper/leveller to compress the soil down.


https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/2546-day-4-looking-like-a-pond-now-instead-of-a-hole/



see my abum for all the pictures


https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/album/290-the-site-sept-2012/

Album: The Site Sept 2012
26 images
0 comments