Home Koi Ponds for Beginners
Koi ponds are undoubtedly beautiful but it can be quite a daunting task for beginners to set up home koi ponds, all on their own. Here is a guide to help them along.
Koi Ponds and Filters
While the motto for koi ponds is “the bigger the better,” just make sure you don’t make one that’s too big to maintain. Try to keep it at about than 20 by 12 feet. Ideally, it needs to be about six feet deep. If you want it shallower, it cannot be shallower than 4 feet.
When it comes to designing the pond, try to design it so that it makes caring for the fish easier. A sloped bottom helps with drainage. Vertical walls increase the pond’s volume and reduce chances of predators getting at the koi. Avoid sharp folds in any plastic linings. Other than that, you are truly free to make your koi pond a work of art.
Larger koi ponds – ponds over 1,000 gallons – need external pumps. This pump will be housed outside the water of the pond so it presents no danger to the fish and it is very easy to clean. While they are more expensive, the fact that they can move more water using less power means they will eventually pay for themselves in electricity bill savings.
Smaller ponds that hold less than 1,000 gallons of water will do fine with a submersible pump. These pumps are inexpensive and come in many different forms and sizes, some of which are designed to match the aesthetics of ponds so nobody even realizes that they are actually filters. They are also easy to install and connect with filtration systems. However, they need to be replaced about once a year.
To maintain a koi pond, filtering is extremely important. A swimming pool filter won’t work in koi ponds. Instead, a biological filter is a good idea. There are many choices: in-pond, down-flow filter systems, out-of-pond, up-flow filter systems, and out-of-pond, down-flow filter systems. Out-of-pond systems are easier to maintain and they work much better than in-pond filters that absorb all kinds of waste and bacteria that can kill the koi.
What Are Koi
Koi fish are often considered ornamental fish which were developed in the 1820s from the Japanese carp. They come in many different colors including white, black, red, blue, yellow, and red. They are coldwater fish that need to live in an environment that’s between 57 and 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Size depends on many factors; the largest can be around 36 inches in length but average koi are usually around 24 inches.
Koi Diseases
Koi can get sick seemingly overnight. Often water quality is the culprit. They can develop multiple illnesses including ICH, which causes small white spots over the body or chilodinella, which are tiny cilia that infect a healthy fish and can kill quickly. Koi can also develop trichodina, a saucer-shaped parasite that can cause lesions on the skin, pseudomonas, fin rot, vibrio, fish lice, anchor worm, aeromonas, which causes holes to develop in a fish’s side, and even simple fungal infections or internal diseases that can kill. All of these have to be treated but most can be prevented by making sure the koi’s water is clean.
Koi First Aid Kit
Having a first aid kit available is a great idea. It should include the following things: a pH test kit, ammonia test kit, and chlorine test kit to test the water such as Dylox, De-chlor, malachite blue or green. There should also be rock salt (to use as a medical treatment), nitrofuran powder or ointment, panalog ointment, formaline, and any book about koi health you find useful. Having all of these things on hand can help save a fish’s life.
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