Starting 20K+ gal koi pond/water garden project

[unprofessional]

Met with my pond guy today, and now I have some questions for you guys. I was planning on doing an oval, about 25' by 30', 4.5' deep with epdm liner, uv filtration, waterfall, and all that good stuff, but he said he could go twice that size for the same price. Obviously, though, adding so much area would greatly increase my liner and filtration costs. Because the ground here is clay, he thinks I'll still have good water visibility if it's a natural bottom - I'm not so sure. If I were to go with the clay bottom, aside from a massive planting (this will have full sun a majority of the day), is there a way I could keep water quality high? Visibility is very important to me, since the main point of this project is just so that I can enjoy koi and shubunkin.

Another issue is that there is the old style tile running through where the pond will be. He suggested that we feed the pond with the runoff from the field next to the yard (unfertilized, unsprayed hay field), and then have it it continue on it's way on the other side of the pond. If we do a liner, we'll have to move the tile. Any thoughts on this?

Here's a picture of the portion of the yard (it's a big yard) where the pond will be right now:

He's on another job right now, but digging starts in ten days, if there are no delays. I want to do this right, but I also want to get as much from my money as possible.

 

[groovitudedude]

This is gonna be big.

 

[Muske]

Sorry, but unfamilar w/clay bottom ponds. Sounds like it would work, but the big red flag for me is the old drain tile. How much furthur does it run past the pond site? If possible, or needed for the field, try to re-route it. If you do a liner, it will cause hydrostatic pressure under the liner that will need to be relieved. There is a pressure relief valve that can be installed in the liner, but it is a hole cut into the liner only makes a spot for possible future failure. The clarity issues should not be a problem. I've seen hundreds of ponds w/o liners that are perfectly clear.

 

[frasertheking]

koi do great in clay ponds. thats how they raise the best quality stock.

 

[Dr Joe]

Depends on the clay, Koi are originally bottom feeders. If the clay is hard enough it may be ok.

It can take 6 mo.s to 2 yrs for a clay pond to clear.

Placing plants in a hardened bottom may cause leaking (again depending on the type of clay and depth of it).

Since you have so much area consider a bog (as large as possible) starting with pea gravel where the water enters and going thru sand before re-entering the pond, for some of your filtering. Load it up with local cattails, iris', day/rain lilies. The plants will keep the nutrients out of the water column and help stave off algae problems.

Your going to need some form of circulation / aeration (not just a waterfall at one end) or the water can stratify and have dead (stagnant) spots. Enough aeration will keep ice from forming completely across the pond too/

Get some references from your 'pond guy' and go visit them. A day trip now could save you alot of problems later Make sure they have Koi like you want to keep.

What part of Michigan do you hail from?

What is the frost line in your area?

With that much surface area and open fields you going to loose alot of heat from convection cooling (so you may want to go deeper for over-wintering the fish.

Good luck and hope we can help.

Dr Joe

.

 

[unprofessional]

Been doing some more researching, and have basically come to the conclusion that I will go with the clay bottom. Ecologically, I feel better about this decision. Like you suggested, Joe, I think I will be dedicating more of my space to a bog area than I had first planned.

The pond fella was recommended by somebody down the road who had a pond put in, and is very happy with it. I do plan on visiting it later today or tomorrow.

The frost line for Michigan is always listed as 42", but I'm in Hillsdale county, about as far south you can go, and far enough away to avoid any lake effect snow from either side, so I feel okay with 4.5', but may decide to go to 5', just to be safe.

The tile runs all the way through the yard (maybe another 300 feet or more), and drains into a culvert that goes under the road.

What recommendations would you have for circulation/aeration? My plan had been to have bog areas on each of the narrow ends, and the waterfall area in the middle, but obviously with the size scaling up, I do need to think about water movement more.

You guys will be getting many pictures when the build gets fully started.

 

[Muske]

Cirr./areation can be done w/air powered diffusers, basically a large air stone made for ponds. You can get weighted hose so it sits on the bottom and several diffusers. Like Joe said, the main thing you don't want is the water to stratify. Meaning, layers of water at different temps. The top 6-10" will be really warm, with the bottom cold. This will cause probs. for the fish and other inhabitants. This also causes dead spots and areas w/ low oxygen. Getting cirrulation at the bottom of the pond will help BB break down waste and debris(leaves and other organic stuff) that will accumulate there.

 

[unprofessional]

Day 1 - dimensions were decided at approximately 80' x 20'. I've decided against koi, for now.

Starting the dig:

The backhoe works so fast:

Lot of dirt coming out:

This was only maybe an hour after starting:

Giving the edges a more natural curve:

You can start to see the different levels of depth in this picture:

There were actually two tiles running through this area, that drained the hay field behind it. Here, the backhoe guy is starting to dig the trench that will divert the tile around the pond:

Little further along with the trench digging:

 

[unprofessional]

Here's some new style tile:

You can see the old clay-style tile in these pictures:

And here's the pond where it stands right now. My contractor has run off to get the new tile, and after that's in place, he'll get started again:

 

[Nic]

looking forward to seeing it finished....