Prospect new pond owner

[Charmai101]

Hello, my name is Charlie, from Philadelphia, PA. I'm looking to build a DYI koi pond, because I can't afford to have a professional build it. I'm doing research on how to design and build my own pond. The concept I have so far is I want a pond that's 8x12x4.5 with a 4" bottom drain. Everything else is still under consideration. I hope by joining this forum, it'll help me learn more about building koi pond and keeping koi. Thanks!

Charlie

 

[SherrysPond]

Hi Charlie! Everybody is so nice and helpful on this site. I built my own pond, dug it myself, hauled in rocks, ect. and I love my pond! It is about the size of yours, and i actually wish i had gone a little bigger, so I could have more koi. They get really big, really fast, i have one koi, and 10 shubunkins and comets..............you will have a great time.

 

[j.w]

@Charmai101
You'll wish you went w/a bigger pond for koi. Only a couple might live comfortably in that size pond after they grow to 2 ft each. Too many in a pond that size will eventually probably not survive too long. You would do much better w/Shubunkin fish which I think are just as pretty as koi only much smaller.

These are a few colors combo's they come in but there are many more variations:

 

[Charmai101]

Hi, Sherry, and J.W,

I have always love koi, and koi only. I thought with that pond size, i could have up to 15 koi or so? with the rule of thumb that 200 gallons of water per koi? Maybe I'm wrong. If that's the case, i need to rethink my pond size. I've plenty of space in my backyard. Thanks!

Charlie

 

[Tula]

Check out koiphen.com and read their pond build threads. They are a koi only forum Of course, you're welcome here too I have 4 adult koi in 1700 which is my limit. I've struggled with organics this summer, probably need to increase my filtration again.

 

[j.w]

Here is a way to calculate how many fish you can have according to this site: https://russellwatergardens.com/pages/how-many-fish-can-i-have-in-my-pond

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome Charlie!

It's so interesting that you mention "200 gallons per koi" and I was just responding to a thread where the poster was using 10 gallons per inch of fish. I think many of these "rules" are coming from the aquarium hobby where fish don't get 2 feet long very often. The biomass of a koi is incredible compared to say a goldfish. Check out the link @j.w posted and in particular look at the difference between a 10 inch koi and a 20 inch koi - you can see why the "inch per gallon" rule won't work, and your 200 gallons per koi rule wouldn't make much sense either.

Koi are wonderful fish, but they get big and their sheer size adds challenges you don't have with goldfish (which by the way are equally wonderful and come in lots of amazing colors and patterns!). Make sure you know what you're getting into. A DIY pond is great - lots of us built our own - but lots of research is your best starting point!

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum!

You pond will be around 3200 gallons. Those that have smaller ponds with a load of koi have massive filtration systems set up.

I do not have koi, just passing on info from other members. Quite often you read I had xxx koi and all of a sudden they all started dying.

This is a decent write up

How Many Koi Can I Have in a Pond? - POND Trade Magazine

Shane Stepek, owner of Water Garden Gems answers the very complicated question of how many koi can I have in a pond.

www.pondtrademag.com

Another good write up

Dangerous Rules: How Many Koi Can I Have In My Pond?

Beware of the Dangerous Rules Of Thumb surrounding this question. How Many Koi Can You Have In Your Pond? This is certainly one of the first […]

theponddigger.com

another

Number of Koi

www.smartkoi.com

 

[GBBUDD]

The bigger the pond the more stable the water stays. within reason, if you get too big it becomes electric cost prohibited. But if you want koi i'd lean toward twice your planed size still 4 feet deep. Like they say here theres very few who ever complain they made the pond too big but almost all say they wish they had made theirs bigger

 

[addy1]

Here is link that @Lisak1 posted about biomass and koi.

Koi Length and Weight - Ammonia Produced, and Waste Produced

This chart also lists koi weight by weight and how much ammonia and waste they produce. Koi get heavier as they grow and produce more ammonia and waste.

russellwatergardens.com

 

[Lisak1]

Thanks @addy1 ! I find that chart so eye-opening! It explains why so many ponds suddenly start losing fish after years of status quo - they hit the point of no return on filtration vs biomass!

 

[addy1]

Thanks @addy1 ! I find that chart so eye-opening! It explains why so many ponds suddenly start losing fish after years of status quo - they hit the point of no return on filtration vs biomass!

one reason I stuck with shubbies, prefer and good running easy pond and they are pretty!