"Who Else Wants To Learn A Simple Formula For Starting and Maintaining Amazing Koi Ponds That Add Beauty To Your Home And Make Your Friends Jealous?"
Now, you can enjoy your very own outdoor koi pond, without all the headaches and hassle that most people go through to set them up. Whether you are just starting a new Koi pond project or are planning on renovating and existing pond, knowing what you need to think about and plan for will make the project easier and save you money. Avoid those costly mistakes!
I've been a koi lover for many years now, and in that time I've discovered secrets of caring for koi that most people just don't seem to know.
I've compiled some of my best secrets into my "Koi Secrets" email mini-course, which you can get for free below.
Whether you consider yourself an experienced koi owner or a novice, you will benefit enormously from these "tricks of the trade," insider knowledge on starting and maintaining spectacular Koi ponds with healthy and vibrant koi fish.
In my FREE Minicourse, Koi Fish Care, you'll learn:
- How to start an amazing koi pond even on a tight
budget
- Why Koi ponds are so popular and the critical items to keep in mind when buying your fish
- Items to be aware of when building a Koi pond that will save you time, money and frustration
- What's really involved in pond maintenance
- How to get rid of dirty foul-smelling water... and keep it away
- How to add new fish to your pond and acclimate them properly... miss this and trouble could be ahead
- Why quarantining new or sick fish is so critical
- How to reduce the stress in your Kois' life...this is much more important than you probably think
- Proper feeding techniques and how to hand feed... this can be one of the most enjoyable aspects of owning Koi fish
- Disease and treatments
- Fundamentals of Koi fish breeding
- Much, much more!
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10 Critical Koi Pond Design Decisions to Avoid Problems and Save Money
If you want to avoid a lot of headaches, frustration and keep your expenses done, plan these ten critical areas before you move your first shovel of dirt. I can’t count the number of times people have said to me “I wish I had thought about this or that before I ever started my Koi pond project.” The majority of the problems people encounter involves one or more of the following 10 critical design decisions.
Location of Pond – Once you have decided on that perfect location for you r Koi pond, make sure you check what might lie beneath the surface. Make sure you know where the water, gas and electrical utilities run. Plan where the filtration system is going to go and make sure there is easy access to the property for any excavation equipment you might want to use.
Type of Construction – Depending on your preference and your budget there are two main choices for the type of construction used in Koi ponds. You can line the excavation with a flexible sheet of specially formulated rubber lining or you can build up the walls with concrete blocks on a concrete slab flooring. You would then want to line it with a flexible rubber lining and seal it. You could also apply sheets of fiberglass matting to the walls with an adhesive resin. Whatever the choice, decide before you start the project.
Pump or gravity-fed system - This is really part of designing the filtration system and is EXTREMELY important. Basically there are two choices – a pump-fed system or a gravity-fed system. In a gravity fed system the water in the filter is at the same level as the pond. A submersible pump is placed in the last filtration chamber to return water to the pond. A Pump-fed system requires a pump in the Koi pond to get the water up to the filtration system and allow gravity to return the cleaned water. Since the pump is in the pond at the start of the filtration process, it can become clogged with particulate matter and require regular cleaning. This is not an easy task with a pump at the deepest part of the Koi pond. For other reasons as well the gravity-fed pond is the way you want to go for easier maintenance over the long run even though it may require a little extra work and expense on installation.
Type of Filter -There are many types of filter systems available today and the choice can become somewhat confusing. Your choice will ultimately depend on whether you use a pump or gravity-fed system, how much space you have, how much you want to spend and your personal preference. I would recommend in the end you choose a multi-chamber filter with a t least one vortex chamber for removing particulate matter in the first stage. This combined with a gravity-fed system and you will be in good shape for a Koi pond. You will need to make sure the filtration system is sized properly for the size pond you intend to have. Under-sizing the system is asking for continual maintenance problems.
What type of filter media – When you are deciding what type of filter system to install in you r koi pond you should consider what type of filter media you will want to use. There are two types of filtration that you will need. The mechanical filtration traps solids wastes and removes them. Biological filtration supports the growth of bacteria that breaks down pollutants in the water. There are a variety of media to provide both types of filtration including bacballs, flocor, matala, foam sheets, Japanese matting, brushes and aquarock. A good setup for a gravity-fed system would include: A vortex chamber as stage 1. Chamber 2 with Japanese matting and chamber 3 with matting and matala or foam.
Pipes and Valves - Make sure you layout the plumbing system carefully. Draw a schematic that shows the various lengths of pipes, valves and angle connectors needed. Use plenty of valves for isolation of various components for easy repair and maintenance. Rigid plastic pipe is best used for Koi ponds. Solvent-weld connections allow plastic pipe to be glued together resulting in strong clean joints.
Choose the right pump – There are basically two choices to consider – submersible or external pumps. The submersible pump has the obvious disadvantage at cleaning time. In a pump-fed system this is even more difficult being at the bottom of the pond and it will need more cleaning since it is always pumping dirty water. For gravity-fed systems, the external pump is the best choice. It is placed after the filtration system and so pumps clean water needing less cleaning and being external it is also easier to reach. Make sure that whatever type you choose, it has the power to provide an adequate flow rate. Ideally, you want to turn the entire Koi pond volume over every two hours.
Will you need heat – Heating your pond has become much easier to do at a reasonable cost than in the past. Heating reduces those dangerous fluctuations in water temperature and allows your Koi to feed all year. Heating is worth considering if you live in the colder climates. Direct electric heating in the form of an inline electric heater fitted in the pipe returning water to the pond in a gravity-fed system is the easiest. Allow about 1 kilowatt of electrical power per 1000 gallons of pond capacity. Then ideally choose the next larger capacity heater so it is not on continuously during severe cold spells. Make sure you get a heater with a digital readout of the pond temperature.
Skimmers – A surface skimmer is an absolute must have piece of equipment for Koi ponds. Don’t forget this item. It will skim the top layer of water and remove floating leaves and debris. An external pump can be used to pull water through the skimmer.
Aeration Systems – Some way of introducing air into a Koi pond is critical for maintaining the proper levels of dissolved oxygen. Some oxygen will dissolve directly into the water but an aeration system is used to churn the water increasing the surface area and allowing more oxygen to be dissolved. A reasonably priced air pump is the best way to aerate your Koi pond.
Plan these ten elements of your Koi pond corectly and you will be well on your way to a spectacular Koi pond that will make your neighbors jealous and give you years of enjoyment without the many headaches some Koi owners are faced with.
