The secret to Building a Good Koi Pond

Koi ponds add a particularly charming and vibrant touch to outside living room and landscapes, but they don’t need more work than other water characteristics. Although koi ponds do need continuing maintenance, the majority of the work needed to get a successful koi pond is finished in the planning stage of the endeavor. Bad planning and a lack of comprehension concerning what koi need can doom a koi pond to failure before pond construction even begins. Prior to break ground in your new koi pond, make certain achievement by knowing where you want to put it, then what size your pond must be, what equipment you’ll need and what care schedule you’ll have to maintain after the pond is installed and stocked.

Location

For optimum enjoyment, place your koi pond at part of the yard which may be readily seen from inside the home in addition to the yard or garden. This may mean a bit more work, either as trees or older concrete patios may need to be eliminated, but is well worth it. Koi ponds need an investment of cash, effort and time, and you’ll receive considerably more reward to your effort when the pond is located where it is possible to enjoy it without trekking to the farthest corners of your property. Your koi pond should be located in an area where it receives some colour, instead of direct sunlight all day. Ideally, this colour will come from a source other than deciduous shrubs or trees which can drop leaves and shake filters. If direct sunlight is all you have, plan to include water lilies and other floating plants to the pond to provide the koi with shade.

Size

Koi ponds must be at least 4 feet deep, but 8 feet is a more desirable thickness. Four feet provides enough thickness to keep raccoons from consuming your fish, but you’ll have to earn the pond at least 8 feet deep to prevent problems with kingfishers, blue herons and other birds. Building the pond no more than 13 feet wide makes it a lot easier to mesh fish from outside the pond when necessary; nets long enough to reach farther than that become unwieldy and difficult to handle. Raising the borders of the koi pond in order that they are at least 6 inches taller than the than the water and the surrounding earth stops the koi from leaping out of the pond, makes it more difficult for the fish to pull outside plants to the pond and also stops sand runoff from entering the pond.

Equipment

Koi ponds need to have a bottom drain in addition to a water pump strong enough to cycle all the water at the pond. A filtration system which comprises an ultraviolet sterilizer and a protein skimmer is going to continue to keep the pond water clean for one fish. They can also keep the water free of algae and other microbes so that it remains clear enough for one to see the fish. While it can be pricey up front to install all the necessary pond equipment, it is very important to resist the urge to skip the UV filter or find the least expensive pump. The koi themselves may also be a considerable investment, depending on the breed and amount of fish you choose, and the right gear is the best way to protect your investment. Koi ponds also require a heater in any place in which the water temperature is predicted to fall below 55 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter.

Ongoing Attention

Koi are voracious feeders and have to be fed frequently. Inadequate feeding will cause them eating everything that they can, including any water lilies or aquatic plants you have added to your pond. Koi pond owners should also regularly monitor and, if necessary, fix, the pond’s pH, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, chlorine, phosphate, copper and oxygen levels. Weekly water replacement can be vital to maintain a healthy koi pond, with 5 to 10 percent of the water replaced during winter weeks and 25 percent altered each week at summer. Regular filter and skimmer cleanings are also vital.

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