Making a bigger pond - which size?

[shaunb]

ok right now I have about a 150 gallon pond. I am wanting to upgrade. and have at least a 1100 gallon pond if I could for koi. I'm wondering what size in feet I will have to make it. I'm going to shoot for at least 3.5 feet deep but trying to get for I don't have a huge area to make one so want the best bang for my buck.. please help..

 

[Lisak1]

6x8 would get you roughly 1200 gallons, but that's assuming 3.5 feet deep all around. You'd need to go bigger to allow for shallower areas for shelves.

Having said that, 1100 gallons is at about the minimum for ONE koi - much more suited to goldfish at that size.

 

[sissy]

Not sure how colleen does it but her koi are huge but her ponds are not and her water is clear except for the new pond .

 

[Mmathis]

Hello! Just how much space do you have available for a pond? And how deep can you reasonably dig? As @Lisak1 said, you might be only looking at space for smaller fish like goldfish. Koi require a lot of room, and 1 koi would need all of that 1200 gallons. You can google "pond volume calculator" and there are sites where you can plug in numbers for length and width and depth to see how many gallons that is. Here is the one I used for the image below: http://www.apifishcare.com/help-calculator.php

If your pond was 7'x7' and 3.5' deep, it would be just shy of 1300 gallons. Use the above calculator to play with different figures.

To assure healthy fish, most koi ponds are a minimum of 3000 gallons. Then you have to plan on room for the equipment. People are successful keeping koi in smaller volumes, but these are the experienced koi-keepers.

Then, when it's time to figure out how much liner you'll need, there are "pond liner calculator" sites as well. Or you can use math.

 

[sissy]

fat fantails are better for smaller ponds since they do not breed much or in my case breed at all

 

[Usman]

if u have budget but less space then u can do as much in width and length then go deeper like 4 or 5 , it can add some gallons to it at same place or other think u can do is if u have narrow longer place u can make stream type pond .

 

[Usman]

Not sure how colleen does it but her koi are huge but her ponds are not and her water is clear except for the new pond .

yes i think so , it can b done if u have some experience with good filtration and current flow , main thing is water quality and space for them to do exercise that may lack in smaller system , if u can mimic that , it dsnt mater .

 

[Mmathis]

if u have budget but less space then u can do as much in width and length then go deeper like 4 or 5 , it can add some gallons to it at same place or other think u can do is if u have narrow longer place u can make stream type pond .

But this way, you would have less surface area, and that's where the gas exchange takes place. Just something to think about.

 

[Usman]

But this way, you would have less surface area, and that's where the gas exchange takes place. Just something to think about.

why wud surface area change if he goes 2ft or 4ft deep?

 

[Faebinder]

My pond is 1000 gallons. I got one koi and 35 goldfish, half of which are fancy. This wouldn't be possible without a good filter and nice bog.

If I had to redo it again I would have two male koi and giant ranchus/orandas and that's it. It will guarantee no spawning. With exception of one fry that had a wakin look, all the spawns in my pond were single tailed.

 

[Tula]

I've got 4 koi in 1700 gallons. Pond has straight sides, no plant shelves. There are advantages to a single gender pond

 

[Mmathis]

why wud surface area change if he goes 2ft or 4ft deep?

I read it as exchanging length & width for depth. Given 2 ponds with the same gallonage, where one is wide & shallow, and the other one is narrow and deep, the wide/shallow one has more surface area, therefore, more area for gas exchange. But with adequate filtration and aeration, it might never be an issue. Just pointing out that the layout of a pond can make a difference.

 

[Usman]

where one is wide & shallow, and the other one is narrow and deep, the wide/shallow one has more surface area, therefore, more area for gas exchange.

but we r not making it narrow or wide here , he has fixed length width just increasing depth u made me confused too

indoor aquariums are good eg , they have dept some times more then there width to b compact acquiring less space yet more volume .

i think surface area will remain same if u go 2 ft or 4ft with same amount of fish , just added space and volume of water , it can b managed by other things like current and aeration if some one has restricted resources or space and if stream like then it has more surface area then round of square

but ur rite its better to b shallow if u have fixed volume suppose 1gallon if poured in a bottle it will have less surface then if u pour in a bowl ... but here he has same surface area no choice .

 

[Meyer Jordan]

@Mmathis is absolutely correct, One may have the same capacity in gallons with a deeper pond with less surface area, but it will not be naturally Oxygenated. The deeper areas will not have as much Oxygen as the upper levels. The general accepted ratio of surface area to depth is 20:1. For example, an 8' x 10' pond will comfortably support an average depth of 4 feet or less. Anything over this and aeration becomes a necessity and not an option. In addition, going deeper than this ratio will not support any additional fish load for the reason stated......low oxygen.

 

[Usman]

@Mmathis is absolutely correct, One may have the same capacity in gallons with a deeper pond with less surface area, but it will not be natura

@Mmathis is absolutely correct, One may have the same capacity in gallons with a deeper pond with less surface area, but it will not be naturally Oxygenated. The deeper areas will not have as much Oxygen as the upper levels. The general accepted ratio of surface area to depth is 20:1. For example, an 8' x 10' pond will comfortably support an average depth of 4 feet or less. Anything over this and aeration becomes a necessity and not an option. In addition, going deeper than this ratio will not support any additional fish load for the reason stated......low oxygen.

lly Oxygenated. The deeper areas will not have as much Oxygen as the upper levels. The general accepted ratio of surface area to depth is 20:1. For example, an 8' x 10' pond will comfortably support an average depth of 4 feet or less. Anything over this and aeration becomes a necessity and not an option. In addition, going deeper than this ratio will not support any additional fish load for the reason stated......low oxygen.

yes i stated this fact about ratio of depth length ... but back to the point in which context i said eventual gas exchange will b same in both cases with equal square ft surface area, just the distribution pattern will vary , this added volume of water will b plus point while fish can swim freely and water quality will remain more stable while the aeration pr waterfall will compensate the depth oxygen depletion , infact u can easily cheaply increase aeration and water flow in any pond later on but its some times impossible to add volume when u have restricted space , this is best option if u have restricted space , other one i gave is stream type some times ppl dont have wide area but they have long narrow space , this shape will have more surface area then rounded or square ponds even .