Actually MAKE a plan... don't just start digging

• Join a Koi or Water Garden Club (click the Koi USA link above to search for Koi Clubs) or visit other ponds in your area to get ideas before you start... it is MUCH easier to build a pond once than it is to go back and rip out your pond and do it over again (I know THAT for a fact, since when I started I did NOT join a club first, and wound up having to remove my first pond to dig it deeper for winter weather and so the Blue Heron could not wade through my pond (Again!) eating my Koi)
• Compare your plan to your budget, and remember that "just one more Koi" needs to be part of your plan... in other words, don't SKIMP on water quality equipment now or you will pay more later to replace your equipment (or you will have poor quality water and sick fish)

Read about WATER QUALITY before you buy fish

• Go to the Technical page on this site, and read the information at ALL the links on that page - plus click the KoiVet link above for health information
• The Technical page also has a formula to calculate gallons based on the size of your pond, plus a link to an Excel spreadsheet to compare the pounds of Koi to the gallons in your pond

Do not SKIMP when buying equipment

• All of your "high resolves" are very likely going to DISSOLVE the minute you see "just one more Koi" that is PERFECT for your pond... and if you have equipment that is "just barely" adequate for X-Gallons and X-Number of fish, you will have problems when you go to X-Number "plus" fish!
• If you have a 6,000 gallon pond and you are ABSOLUTELY SURE you will not over-crowd your pond... get the filter that is rated for a 6k pond... otherwise, at least consider the 10k filter
• The same for the size UV light you buy (and do remember that you need to replace the bulbs every year, since they gradually stop emitting the UV part of the spectrum that kills algae and bacteria)

Think about water FLOW as well as filtration

• The size pump you buy is going to depend on the size of your pond and filter, plus how far and high you need to move the water from pond to filter
• PLUS... if you want to have a stream and/or waterfall, you will need a larger pump to create the "flow" that you want to see
• To have a "pleasing" stream and/or waterfall, and not flow so much water that your filter and/or UV light are overwhelmed and don't work properly, consider putting a "T" in the output from the pump... with a valve on the part of the T that goes to the stream and/or waterfall, both to adjust the flow, and so you may, if needed, send all the water to the filter for a backflush to wash away the collected fish waste

Bottom Drain and Water VELOCITY

• The water flowing through your pipes, from pond to pump to filter, flows at a high velocity... which is not a problem since there are no fish inside the pipes
• Where the water ENTERS your bottom drain, it needs to be at a LOW velocity, so a Koi won't be sucked against the drain and injured
• This is accomplished by having a fairly WIDE drain opening (the bottom drain on our pond is about one foot square, with a grid over the actual opening) so the water at any given spot is moving at low velocity
• Once the water is past the drain opening, the mechanical structure will "funnel" into the pipe... but by then the water is past the point where it can capture and injure a fish, so the actual size of the pipe is determined by the needs of the plumbing fixtures and the pump

The final thought is a repeat of the first... talk to other pond owners in your area if at all possible... learn from their triumphs and mistakes... THEN go out and build your pond

March 11, 2007