Koi Care Basics Blog

With Koi pond equipment, as with everything there are both wants and needs. You must be able to determine which are which.

There are also some types of equipment that, while not necessities, make caring for your pond so much easier that you should acquire them if you are able to.

Remember also that you will need to make decisions on some of these things during the initial stages of your Koi pond design and construction. If you leave out the necessities at the beginning it will cost you many times over to add them later.

NEEDS:

Pond Filter:   This piece of equipment is the “heart” of your Koi pond.  It keeps the water clean and healthy for your fish. The filter plays two very important roles. First, it mechanically removes fish waste and anything else that causes cloudiness in your pond.  Second, biological filtering changes the ammonia in your pond into nitrites and then to nitrates which renders them less toxic to your fish.

Bottom Drain:   Bottom drains are of the utmost importance in order to have a successful Koi pond.  Some ponds even need several bottom drains. Without a bottom drain your filter can’t do it’s job correctly.

Pump:   The last piece of necessary Koi pond equipment is your pump. You will want a large enough pump to send all your pond water through your filter every two to three hours. There are several factors to consider when choosing a pump. Make sure you choose an efficient pump designed specifically for Koi ponds.

These are the things you cannot do without to maintain a happy and healthy environment for your Koi. Make sure to invest in quality models of these pieces of Koi pond equipment!

Alan Deacon
KoiCareBasics.com

Just how important is shape in your Koi pond design? The answer is that it’s much more important than many people realize.

Sometimes people will get overly creative with the shape of their pond. This creates many problems they don’t realize until it’s too late.

The consequences of some of these rambling designs become noticeable only after the pond is built and filled with water.

They find that it is very difficult and time consuming to keep these types of ponds clean.

Many times the pond is shaped so that it has “dead” areas where  water doesn’t circulate properly. Organic debris such as leaves, twigs and grasses will collect there and eventually sink. Then this debris will begin decomposing at the bottom of the pond.

The bottom contour of the pond is another important part of your Koi pond design. Flat bottom ponds will need frequent vacuuming to keep them clean.

If you want to build a pond that is as “maintenance free” as possible then you need to pay close attention to both the shape of the pond and the inside contour, right from the edge of your pond all the way to the bottom drain.

You want to contour the bottom of the pond so that, through gravity, debris makes it’s way along the bottom towards the drain.

A well designed pond shape and contour can save you many hours of  work and provide a healthier environment for your Koi through proper Koi pond design!

You can find out how to plan for a well designed Koi pond in my Ebook “Koi Care Basics” available at KoiCareBasics.com.

Alan Deacon
KoiCareBasics.com