Koi Pond Project
- Thread starter 94Gt5.0
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Bog filters are great.
Any upflow filter will provide bio and have an open area for Hyacinths in the summer.
Plants will help the cause....
Any upflow filter will provide bio and have an open area for Hyacinths in the summer.
Plants will help the cause....
Agreed, balancing out a pond with plants is one of the surest ways to stabalize the water if you have enough healthy plants. Many ponds stay clear with plants as a primary filter. If you want to focus on koi they are not alwys the best route though. Koi turn into gigantic messy fish. I have read but have no personal experience that they can wreck havoc on lillies.
The clear pool is a bit more work to achieve but can be very rewarding (and frustrating while getting there.)
The island is a cool idea but I would reconsider how you want to tackle it. If you go with a large liner you will end up with a ton of folds and wrinkles that will show up visually and also trap debris. The wrinkles seem like a small detail, but if you have a clear pond and are particular like me they will bug you every time you look at them. Some people go as far as to put liner tape over every fold to keep the entire surface flat like a pool.
Islands can be made in the pond both floating and fixed. A 55 gal drum painted stone fleck would get covered in algae and look pretty natural in a few months.
If you want to keep koi and light it at night a bottom drain is 100% necessary IMO. Without it even when it looks clear during the day if you turn the lights on at night all the tiny suspended debris that can't be pulled out by a surface skimmer will light up. Every tail movement and rooting of the fish will kick up more settled debris as the fish get larger.
I know its going to seem like a lot to swallow at once, but with your dimensions I would recommend a return in the shallow end, bottom drain with aerated dome where the island is, and skimmer on the far wall above the deep end.
For filters you can build 10x the system for 1/10th the price of commercial if you go diy. 55 gall on drums and large poly totes are common and easy containers. Typically for a BD you want to gravity feed to a settlement chamber which is basically an empty tank. It is 1,000x easier to open a drain and flush out leaves and poo than to scrub it out of media. Many koi keepers like to run the settlement tank to a fluidized media filter (55 drum with kaldness and some air for circulation) which takes care of the bio. From there you can pump it to a pressure or mat filter for the fines. A common fines DIY is a 55gallon drum sand/gravel filter, (easy and cheap) or commercially a bead filter. Mats and sponges are great for aquariums, but maintaing them regulary on a pond can be a full time job.
If you decide to make it an official koi pond do some reading on koi sites and make sure its what you want. It is a much larger job keeping it filtered efficiently than with smaller cleaner fish.
I think your island idea is pretty cool but idk how your gonna do the liner around it. Id say get rid of the island and put the liner in then use a big drum or something to recreate the island. It will be easier then having to work the liner around the island. Any ideas on what kinds of koi you want? Ive got a bunch of butterfly koi and they are beautiful.
mrunlucky07;4082304; said:
yayfish24;4082334; said:
Thanks for the replys guys. I was looking it over today and have really been reconsidering the island, as cool as it may look. Id have to get a much larger liner than necessary, and when I priced that liner out today I almost **** myself! Was almost $1000 for liner alone, so I think the island is going by by and Ill make a rock island, or a drum island down the line. The DIY filtration sounds like an awesome idea as well, Id really like to see some more info on that(diagrams specifically), b/c for some reason I cant wrap my head around how this filtration system will work, and what plumbing needs to go where.
Also, does anyone know of any places to get the liner cheaper? My LFS seemed pretty damn steep in pricing..
If you're going to spend the extra money on that much liner, I suggest buying liquid rubber. Look it up, it's pretty expensive, but worth it (disclaimer: i have never used it, only have heard from other people on this forum) apparently. What you would do is cement the pond and then put a couple of layer of this stuff on, that way you can keep your island and the overall effect will look much nicer, and it will probably last longer as it is supported by concrete. JMO. BTW, subscribed. I want to see this thing done 
Thanks Ill look into it Matt ^^
Went to Eddies Aquarium today and got the schematics and priced alot of things out, sadly I think the island is going to get leveled. Without it I can use a 25X30 liner which is half the cost of the 30X50! Looks like total Im still going to be spending alot of money though.. Heres the rundown on what they suggested
Firestone 25X30 45mil liner
ShinMaywa 4800 Pump
Oase 4000 Filter
Savio 31'' waterfall wier
and misc tubing/fittings
They also recommended a skimmer, but I would be looking at another ~$500 or so..
Went to Eddies Aquarium today and got the schematics and priced alot of things out, sadly I think the island is going to get leveled. Without it I can use a 25X30 liner which is half the cost of the 30X50! Looks like total Im still going to be spending alot of money though.. Heres the rundown on what they suggested
Firestone 25X30 45mil liner
ShinMaywa 4800 Pump
Oase 4000 Filter
Savio 31'' waterfall wier
and misc tubing/fittings
They also recommended a skimmer, but I would be looking at another ~$500 or so..
18" at the shallow end is fine. Where in NY are you located? City, Upstate, Buffalo? Your winter freeze depth will govern your required pond depth. I agree with an earlier post, deeper is better, your fish need deep water to escape the heat and the cold. 3 foot is probably the minimum I would go.
