Struggling to get water volume for koi

[Dabs]

Hello and thank you for having me, I’m in the process of designing a railway sleep raised pond and to be honest struggling to get the recommended for1000 gallon mark for koi, I’ve Managed 997 of the 1000 gallon mark so my question is this going to be enough for 2 koi max the rest will be other types of fish. My pond will be 8 feet length and 4 feet width and 5 feet deep. Dose this sound ok? Many thanks in advance

 

[Chucker's 50]

By my calculation's
4'X8'X5' = 160 cubic ft.
160 X 7.5 = 1200 Gallons
So you should be good.
What have you planned for filtration, water flow, and number of plants ?
These are as (if not more so) important as the volume of water.

 

[Dabs]

Hi there chucked, thank you for replying, I was going to use an easypod with the built in uv into it. It’s the newest addition. And I’m going to have a water fall at one end and Lilly’s and other pond plants. Also a bottom drain hole feeding the filter.

 

[mrsclem]

The total volume is ok but what concerns me is 4' width. I have several koi that are 30-36". Not a lot of room to turn around if yours get that big.

 

[poconojoe]

I suggest you look into shubunkin instead of koi. Koi get huge real fast and keep in mind they most likely multiply and overpopulate the pond.

 

[j.w]

@Dabs
I too would not recommend koi for a pond that size. I love Shubunkins!

 

[Dabs]

How big do shubunkin get? Will a 1200 gallon pond be overkill for these fish?

 

[j.w]

12 to 14 inches about the same as goldfish. Comes in many mixed colors.

 

[j.w]

1200 gal pond will be perfect for them.

 

[Dabs]

Thank you everyone for facts. I’ll look into shubunkin for my pond.

 

[poconojoe]

I have koi well over 2 feet and tremendous girth. Wish I knew better when I started out. I would have stayed with only shubunkin and goldfish.

 

[Tula]

I love my 4 koi. I've had them about 16 years and they've grown big. My pond is only 1700 gallons but pretty wide....I agree with @mrsclem a 4 foot wide pond would be a tight fit for an adult koi. Shubunkin are beautiful, you won't be disappointed.

 

[IPA]

Since you are doing a new pond construction may I suggest reading @addy1 ’s bog build. It’s what brought a lot of us here and even if you don’t wan’t 30% of your pond to be a bog any amount is helpful. For many it’s the last “filter” we will ever buy (build) and maintenance basically amounts to the effort to open a can of beer or pour a glass of wine while you enjoy you shubunkin .

Bog building, also called upflow filter, eco filter, wetland filter

I was asked to start a thread on how to build a bog. This is my rendition on bog building 101............. Building a bog: Before you decide to build a bog, you need to know what you want its primary purpose to be. Total pond filtration bog filtration combined with another filter. If you...

www.gardenpondforum.com

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum!

When you start building make a construction thread, we love to help.

Shubbies are really pretty, that is what I have in my pond which is pretty big. I also have them in a 1000 gallon stock tank pond.
You can see I also have some throw backs, so far staying black, greenish gold colored fish. They are welcome to swim with the others.

 

[Dabs]

Since you are doing a new pond construction may I suggest reading @addy1 ’s bog build. It’s what brought a lot of us here and even if you don’t wan’t 30% of your pond to be a bog any amount is helpful. For many it’s the last “filter” we will ever buy (build) and maintenance basically amounts to the effort to open a can of beer or pour a glass of wine while you enjoy you shubunkin .

Bog building, also called upflow filter, eco filter, wetland filter

I was asked to start a thread on how to build a bog. This is my rendition on bog building 101............. Building a bog: Before you decide to build a bog, you need to know what you want its primary purpose to be. Total pond filtration bog filtration combined with another filter. If you...

www.gardenpondforum.com

I’ve had a good look into this. It seems quite do able too. Only thing is you loose some pond for it. But I guess it has its benefits.