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General Koi Carp ChatKoi News and discussion
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Top Poster: markf1fan (3,497)
Hi im new to site but not to fish keeping, got two ponds and about to change the depth on main pond, moving all mixed fish to top pond and put koi in lower pond.
All ready got 4" bottom drain and pipe work to go in, along with home made sieve and filters.
Please could you recommend depth [min ] size of lower pond 5mts x 1.5mts, depth at present only 500mm. thank you.
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Its not the size of the pond but the water quality which is the key to keeping koi as they can get big quick and eat loads.
What type of biological filtration are you going to use ?
Have you seen many koi ponds before as getting out to see others is a great way to get some idea on what is needed and what types of filtration there is out there ?
A good depth for a koi pond is 6ft some go more some goes less it depends on how much digging you want to do Could you make it any wider to give them a bit more room as its good to have a bit of swimming room.
How are you looking at building with blocks,liner,fiberglass and inside the ground although i do think partly raised is the best as its easier to look at the fish and you can sit on the wall with a beer or glass of wine
Its not the size of the pond but the water quality which is the key to keeping koi as they can get big quick and eat loads.
What type of biological filtration are you going to use ?
Have you seen many koi ponds before as getting out to see others is a great way to get some idea on what is needed and what types of filtration there is out there ?
A good depth for a koi pond is 6ft some go more some goes less it depends on how much digging you want to do Could you make it any wider to give them a bit more room as its good to have a bit of swimming room.
How are you looking at building with blocks,liner,fiberglass and inside the ground although i do think partly raised is the best as its easier to look at the fish and you can sit on the wall with a beer or glass of wine
pond sides from concrete dence blocks with liner top pond filter fishmate 15ooo boi /uv photo of ponds lower pond homemade filter gravity feed brushes/pads/ boi media with waterfall outlet.
It really depends on how well you can keep the water, Koi have a real annoying habit of getting bigger if you give them a reasonable environment.
Agree with Gaz, I’d be looking at a minimum of 4’6” in depth and ideally 5-6’and a tad wider than 1.5m to give them chance to turn round.
Dave
Thanks guys got to dig deeper and raise walling , will not make wider due to space but can make it deeper.
Still need to know a safe number of koi to be in this envioment, as to qualitity of water mine very clear and tested weekly reguardless of weather. bio filter on 24/7.
Hi There is no magic number per gallon it all depends on water,filters and the amount of food and maintenance you do as although koi start off small they soon grow
I am not sure on your filter and this will be something you need to check out especially if your going to make the pond bigger and a little tip just because the manufacturer say it will do a fish pond of lets say 1000gls does not mean it will do a koi pond of the same and i would never go on their recommendations as none of them have tested them on fully stocked koi ponds.
If you cant build the walls out more, keep digging for more gallons you may not like the excersize but the Koi will love the extra depth and keep them in good shapely trim. I`ve seen the 1 fish to 100 gallons recommended, but any more fish - the better the filtration must be, I run 3 pumps from 3 separate filters fed from 3 separate RCD`s, each filter usually cleaned at different intervals depending on the muck that needs flushing out. My water tests show me when to flush and when not to feed so much.
If you cant build the walls out more, keep digging for more gallons you may not like the excersize but the Koi will love the extra depth and keep them in good shapely trim. I`ve seen the 1 fish to 100 gallons recommended, but any more fish - the better the filtration must be, I run 3 pumps from 3 separate filters fed from 3 separate RCD`s, each filter usually cleaned at different intervals depending on the muck that needs flushing out. My water tests show me when to flush and when not to feed so much.
Thanks guys got two fishmate 15,000 filters one bio the other bio/uv both running on 9,000 pumps plus my own home made filter [ 6 x 12" brushes,filter foam coarse/medium and fine onto media[alfagrag] there also a spare section for [carbon or eggshells etc in summer months] on 3,500pump.
Will change depth to six foot and remove waterfall and replace with mushroom baskets to form a tower unit for one of the returns back into pond, my blocks come today [88] from less2build, so will move all fish to front pond until revamp finished and up and running for two weeks before returning them to top pond.
Ditch the Fishmates; they are not suitable if you want a Koi pond.
Before you start digging you need to make a decision that you really want to keep koi - if so then it starts with adequate filtration.
Keeping Koi can give you massive satisfaction and enjoyment but everything starts with the environment you keep them in and the filtration underpins this and I'd suggest that you need to focus on this before you start.
lol i must of been looking the filters up as you was posting
The filters you are looking to use on this pond will be a complete waste of time and even if the manufacturers recommendations was bang on it will still be way under filtered
Most manufactures recommendations are well out so you may need to have a look around and perhaps get out and seeing some set ups which will hopefully give you a good idea on what you may need on your pond especially if its for koi.
Koi can produce a massive amount of waste and toxins so getting the filtration correct is the main thing.
new to koi --how many can i keep 
Could you make it any wider to give them a bit more room as its good to have a bit of swimming room.
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