Please help me how to do my new pond :)

[Mmathis]

HI everyone,
Im starting to build my first fish pond.
it will be a 170 meters lenth on 1.20 meters width and 60 cm depth,now ive tried to clculate the volume of the pond and it was between 1250-1350 liters,is this right?
and please tell what recomended gear should i buy,what filter and pump etc...
and all other gear for my pond and what materials should i use.
what fish to put in what plants and what designs do you think will be beautiful.
please replay fast cause ive allready started digging the whole.
Thanks

First of all, welcome!

So, maybe slow down a little. You sound excited, and ready to get started but..... There are a lot of things you need to know......

I agree with the other posters! You need to do some research BEFORE you start digging the hole. Your volume comes out to around 350 gallons, I believe. That can be a very nice pond, but it's a small one. Fish, especially koi, will grow. They need a lot of room to stay happy & healthy. They also produce a lot of waste. Goldfish are good pond fish, but I would only start with a few.

Look at what you have to work with and work backward from there. You will need a pump and a filter to start out. I have no recommendations regarding which ones to get, but it's best to go by the amount of water you want to move, such as 1.5 times your volume per hour.

What kind of liner do you have or plan to get?

BTW, where do you live? You probably meant 1.70 meters instead of 170 meters...... That would make your pond about 5.5 ft x 4 ft x 2 ft deep, and around 350 gallons, as you had previously calculated [sorry, but I can't think in metric].

 

[sissy]

I use laguna and I built my own filter I really don't like pressure filters .Plus my pond is around 4000 gallons and my koi are 10 years old and I have given 200+ babies away because you just cannot stop the breeding and you also have to watch because they can jump out .I did not understand koi either ( my mistake ) they produce a lot of waste so I built 2 filters and have 2 pumps going

 

[Dave 54]

You obviously havent done your homework on this have you Alon as koi by their very nature are large fish when they mature, they can reach legths of 30"+
As such Koi need ponds between 4ft and 5ft in depth this allows them the room they need to grow.
Bu also as importantly your going to need the depth to over winter them, if you get heavy icing on a shallower pond then unless you heat the pond they will die.
You dont say where your from but if you live where winters get exremely cold and you dont dig a deeper pond dont say we didnt warn you .
Koi are also predigious producer's of deritus and as diesilplower says ammonia which they pass through their gills.
As such a good size filtration system is a must if you can fit a 4"bottom drain which connects to your filters also fit a 4" slide valve just prior to your filtration unit so that you can isolate the pond drain your settlement chamber/vortex of the large bits of fish waste it collects which you drainby opening up a 2" valve at the bottom of the settlement/vortex this allows you to flush the drain clean , and do water changes on a regular basis .
May I suggest you buy a good book on how to keep koi before you even start and read it thuroughly may I suggest , "Koi Health and Disease " Beginner to advanced -Life Saving Technology by Erik L Johnson DVM.
It will tell you all you need to know
Along with a good filter system your going to need a UV-C and an inline pump capable of coping with the pond as well as a skimmer .

Dave

 

[Alon Y amin]

So maybe I could bring koi's and when they'll get larger I just give them away and get new ones.
I live in israel.
And I won't dig a 4f depth or a 4000 gallons for a start.
I want a small pond something like 350 gallons and I'll just raise small koi'a and when they get larger I'll give them away

 

[j.w]

Alon why don't you just get some pretty goldfish? Then you won't have to give away any except for maybe if they ever have babies. Lots of nice colored goldfish like Shubunkins for example and Watoni, Sarassa and long flowing tailed comets.

Shubunkin

Long Finned Goldfish

Wakin

Veil tail

 

[Mmathis]

So maybe I could bring koi's and when they'll get larger I just give them away and get new ones.
I live in israel.
And I won't dig a 4f depth or a 4000 gallons for a start.
I want a small pond something like 350 gallons and I'll just raise small koi'a and when they get larger I'll give them away

I agree, why not start out with smaller fish, like goldfish. Then, when you have more experience, you can build a bigger pond that would be better for koi. Even 1 koi would not do well in a pond as small as yours. Koi need a lot of room to swim around -- think of yourself always being in a very small room where you could never get out for exercise. That wouldn't be fun -- or healthy -- for you, and likewise for the fish.

And koi can grow large quickly. And you'd be giving them away just when they were getting pretty and turning into pets.

 

[Lisaebetten]

HI everyone,
Im starting to build my first fish pond.
it will be a 170 meters lenth on 1.20 meters width and 60 cm depth,now ive tried to clculate the volume of the pond and it was between 1250-1350 liters,is this right?
and please tell what recomended gear should i buy,what filter and pump etc...
and all other gear for my pond and what materials should i use.
what fish to put in what plants and what designs do you think will be beautiful.
please replay fast cause ive allready started digging the whole.
Thanks

You'll get plenty of answers by reading tons of posts! Many people have links to their ponds in their signatures. Just start searching and you will find more info then you can handle at one time. Make lists, take notes and I am gathering on this forum that not all ponds are alike!!!

 

[Lisaebetten]

So maybe I could bring koi's and when they'll get larger I just give them away and get new ones.
I live in israel.
And I won't dig a 4f depth or a 4000 gallons for a start.
I want a small pond something like 350 gallons and I'll just raise small koi'a and when they get larger I'll give them away

No offense but koi grow and you can't stop them, they also have babies and you can't stop them. You should not have them if you want to give them away when they get to big. Koi also can live a LONG time. You will get attached in your caring for them. There are so many beautiful fish that don't get that big and don't produce the amount of toxic waste that koi do. It's like having children and when they get a certain size you give them away and start over again, not good.
If your starting small with your pond you should follow suit with starting small scale with your fish.
Best wishes and keep us posted with what you put together!

 

[Alon Y amin]

Thanks everyone,
I've decided to to a larger pond.
The new one will be something about 2.5 meter maybe more,1.5 meter width maybe just a little wider, and a depth of 60-70 cm.
So so you think that koi will work fine there?
And If not when they get too large for the new pond I'll give them.

 

[j.w]

So that would be about 7ft x 3&1/2ft if I have it right and a couple of feet deep. Not big enough in my opinion for very long and you would have to give them away eventually if not soon depending on how fast they grow. Can you make it twice that big and deep? That would be much better.

 

[Alon Y amin]

No I'm sorry that's too big for my garden I'll try to make it a little bigger but I think it should be fine

 

[j.w]

Ok Alon I hope so and as long as they are small they should have the room but when they get big you will either have to clean and keep the water spotless for them or like you said give them away which will be sad for you to do I know but better for the huge fish that they will become. Maybe someday you can make a bigger pond somewhere and keep the koi. That would be really nice

 

[Mmathis]

Alon, this is just my opinion, but please consider the happiness & health of the fish you plan to keep. Koi are very nice fish, but I don't understand why you are determined to have koi if your pond isn't big enough. Maybe if you could share your thoughts on that with us........?

I know it's a personal choice, but please think about what's best for the fish....

 

[mrsclem]

Alon- Hi- I have been keeping koi for over 20 years. learned a lot , mostly by losing fish. Yes koi are a great fish. I have raised them and sold them for many years. In the last couple of years I have had people buy koi from me and 3 month later I see my fish on Craigslist and they are in aquariums! I now make it a point to sell only to people who have ponds that are large enough. My koi grow 12+ inches in 1 year. Please reconsider a different fish. I'm afraid if you get koi you will be back on the forum with fish health issues. I wish I had belonged to this forum when I started with koi. We lost dozens of fish every year because we didn't know how to care for them. I do still lose the occasional fish and it makes me sick but we learn as we go. Please start out slowly- it will pay off in the long run- good luck.

 

[Alon Y amin]

So what fish can I put in?