Newbie questions - koi garden pond

[GBBUDD]

Thank you! I’ve been looking through your work for a while now and it is very impressive! I hope to end up with a similar style to what you’ve built (but smaller ).

Did you find the showcase . That's loaded with what to think abouts in building a pond .

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

 

[Pablo]

Welcome to the forum. All great questions and you definitely will have more. Best to do the homework now like you are doing rather than in the middle of the build. Be prepared for changes to your plans, as things do happen that you were not prepared for.
You may want to dial back the number of koi you are planning on. I will defer to @Lisak1 on a safe number as she is really good with setting people's expectations when it comes to the number of fish you should have. Your pond is probably going to be under 4k gallons, at this stage it is hard to calculate exactly how many gallons you will have. It will depend on your shelves and the stones you use that will cut into the volume. I thought I was going to be over 4k gallons in my pond which is 25' by average of 12' wide and 3.5' deep, some of my shelves ended up being wider in some spots, which looks great to have variety but it cuts down on the volume. I used a water meter when I was filling it and ended up over 3700 gallons plus about 400 in the bog. I just filled it in September so I did not fully stock right away, just added 5 shubbies to start with. I will have some koi but will limit them (because I fear the wrath of @Lisak1) Just kidding Lisa
Do not skimp on the liner or the pump. Everyone always say to try to go larger on the size of your pond then you initially think because when you are done you always wish it was larger.

 

[PondWish]

Welcome to the forum. All great questions and you definitely will have more. Best to do the homework now like you are doing rather than in the middle of the build. Be prepared for changes to your plans, as things do happen that you were not prepared for.
You may want to dial back the number of koi you are planning on. I will defer to @Lisak1 on a safe number as she is really good with setting people's expectations when it comes to the number of fish you should have. Your pond is probably going to be under 4k gallons, at this stage it is hard to calculate exactly how many gallons you will have. It will depend on your shelves and the stones you use that will cut into the volume. I thought I was going to be over 4k gallons in my pond which is 25' by average of 12' wide and 3.5' deep, some of my shelves ended up being wider in some spots, which looks great to have variety but it cuts down on the volume. I used a water meter when I was filling it and ended up over 3700 gallons plus about 400 in the bog. I just filled it in September so I did not fully stock right away, just added 5 shubbies to start with. I will have some koi but will limit them (because I fear the wrath of @Lisak1) Just kidding Lisa
Do not skimp on the liner or the pump. Everyone always say to try to go larger on the size of your pond then you initially think because when you are done you always wish it was larger.

Hi!

I would love to go bigger, but since it’s our first DIY pond, I have a lot of apprehension as to how to do physically handle some things. For example - with making it larger, how do you place a 300lbs liner?! We’re planning on 1-2 man boulders being the largest we work with. I won’t aim for too many Koi, but I’ll see how the pond does over time. I’ll only start with 7 or so I’m sure. I agree we’ll see what we end with in terms of gallons, the capacity of the filter, and how big the koi I select actually get. I just can’t make things weigh less or there be less rock to move.

 

[Pablo]

Hi!

I would love to go bigger, but since it’s our first DIY pond, I have a lot of apprehension as to how to do physically handle some things. For example - with making it larger, how do you place a 300lbs liner?! We’re planning on 1-2 man boulders being the largest we work with. I won’t aim for too many Koi, but I’ll see how the pond does over time. I’ll only start with 7 or so I’m sure. I agree we’ll see what we end with in terms of gallons, the capacity of the filter, and how big the koi I select actually get. I just can’t make things weigh less or there be less rock to move.

In another thread someone else had a concern about the liner weight. Do not size your pond because of the liner weight. It is 250-300lbs all rolled up, but you unroll it when you are ready to place in the pond. The liner is delivered like a roll of carpeting. Liner is definitely awkward to handle but once you roll it out it is not that bad weight wise. You most likely will need help getting it off the delivery truck if it does not have a liftgate but they will tell you that when you order it. I have a small kubota tractor which helped with the liner, but many other people here on the forum do not have the heavy equipment and were able to figure out the liner placement.

 

[GBBUDD]

Here's a couple tips on how to get even a 700 pound roll off the truck. You'll need some pipe or any hd tubing that's not overly large and a pry bar of some sort and a few blocks of wood. place the wood block at the end use the pry bar. 6 foot long to lift he roll ON ONE END. SLIDE A couple pipe under it but leave space between the pipes. Lift the other end the same way but push it under as far as you can. then when you push toward the tail gate slip some used carpet or hd drop cloth /cardboard on the edge of the tail of the truck and as you push you may need to re adjust the pipes but you'll get to a teetering point make sure there's no rocks on the ground / asphalt let the end slowly drop to the ground . but be careful one minute its a controlled balance fall then it's going and you are not going to want to even think about stopping it one one end is down roll the other off the truck or have the driver pull up a little again being careful to make sure the tail of the truck is covered well. so long as there's no rocks twigs sticks that could puncture the rubber dropping it won't hurt it one bit