How to Build A Koi Pond

If you are new to the hobby of Koi Keeping and considering putting in a koi pond you need to be aware of the potential pitfalls and expensive mistakes you can make. This Guide briefly covers how to build a pond from concrete, for a more in depth guide pls visit www.happykoi.co.za

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Time
• Planning
• Patience
• Sense Of Humour
• Money

1. Consult A Professional!!! Building A Koi Pond is not easy, and it will save you significant time and money in the long run if you get it right the first time
2. Do Your Homework!!!!! There's so much information out there in books and on the web about building a koi pond. So read up, learn from others mistakes and hopefully get it right the first time, visit www.happykoi.co.za its a great site that covers everything you will need to know and will be more than happy to help you plan your koi pond, as far as books go Koi2Kichi by Peter Waddington is a great introduction to koi ponds and the koi hobby in general.
3. Planning Planning Planning!!!! Now that you've done your research and consulted with a professional, plan out every aspect of your pond.Koi Ponds are Permanent. Koi can live for 30 years and once a pond has been built into the ground and filled with water and fish, fixing problems is nothing short of a nightmare. You have to make sure you get it right from the very beginning.
4. Location Location Location!!!! Location is crucial, Put your pond somewhere you can see it and factor in equations such as sunny vs shade, building restriction etc. Basically at the end of all your hard work you are going to want to have your pond somewhere you can admire it daily.
5. Size! Quite simply... Bigger is better...Build bigger
6. Depth! As with size the deeper the better,1.5m meters is the minimum
7. Bottom Drains! Bottom drains count for the vast majority of circulation in a koi pond, you will need one for the first 15000l and then one for every 10-15000 l therafter.
8. Settlement Chambers! They may not be pretty but they are very useful. Thankfully they can be easily hidden however
9. Filtration!! There are many ways of filtering your koi pond, basically you will need to have a mechanical filter to remove debris, a biological filter where u can grow some good bacteria to take on all the nasty bacteria lurking in your pond and a surface skimmer to keep the surface of your pond nice and clean. I will go into more detail on choosing a filter system in a future how to.
10. Commissioning! Filling your pond can take some time, by now the bottom drains and pipe work should have been fully checked, as now is not the time to discover that one of your bottom drain pipes has been shattered by tons of concrete poured over it.

Tips & Warnings

• consult with a professional, if you have no building experience get a professional koi pond builder in to do the work for you
• planning planning planning