An authentic Japanese koi pond goes far beyond the classic garden pond. To get started with the ambitious construction project, you should collect important basic information if you are building the pond system yourself. This guide provides an overview of the minimum requirements for the perfect koi pond in the hobby garden. Be inspired by ideas for a creative design.

Koi are beautiful fish but quite demanding when it comes to where they live

Table of Contents

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  1. the essentials in brief
  2. Building a Koi Pond Overview
  3. Build your own koi pond
  4. Create koi pond ideas
  5. salting koi pond?
  6. frequently asked Questions

    7. the essentials in brief

    • The basic requirements for a koi pond are: 10,000-20,000 liters of water, 1.50 m depth, filter system, skimmer and plants. Useful accessories are: oxygen pump, winter cover, frost guard.
    • Building a koi pond in the hobby garden can be done on your own with a pond tub or pond liner. Challenging expert options are: build a koi pond out of concrete or brick.
    • Adding salt to the koi pond is not an effective way to combat algae.

    Building a koi pond - What does it involve?

    A koi pond is a challenging garden project

    There are worlds between a conventional garden pond and an original koi pond. In the koi pond, everything revolves around the well-being of the magnificent brocade carp. The following table provides an insight into the obligatory general conditions for building a koi pond and lists important accessories for clear water and happy fish. Be inspired by creative ideas for a picturesque water world that invites you to dream and linger.

    planning/construction Pay attention to what? equipment tips Creating/planting ideas
    Minimum size 10,000-20,000 liters filter system Pond filter with floor drain edge planting cattails, bamboo
    minimum depth 150 cm (at the deepest point) skimmers floating extractor aquatic plants water lilies, floating fern
    Amount of water per koi 1,000-2,000 liters UV lamp decorative bacteria killer underwater plants mermaid, waterweed
    location partially shaded, near the house ventilation Air lift to ozone system Deco algae killer plant island
    material Pond liner, pond tub pond heater Frost guard to heat exchanger oxygen plus waterfall

    In the following video, an experienced koi expert has his say with practical tips for the ideal koi pond in the hobby garden.

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    Build your own koi pond - tips for newcomers

    The information in the table above indicates it. When planning and constructing a koi pond, dimensions must be taken into account that a small hobby garden cannot offer. Mandatory accessories for clear water and healthy fish require a well-padded financial budget. Please read the following detailed information if you are building a pond for koi carp yourself:

    planning and construction

    The simplest version for building a koi pond yourself is the pond tub. Scope, koi-friendly depth and capacity are specified. If you want more flexibility, you can use pond liner. In both cases, a rented mini excavator digs the pit, including trenches for the inflow and outflow pipes. Saving foxes use the excavated earth to create a decorative plant mound instead of digging deep into their pockets for disposal. The whole family lends a hand when it comes to laying the pond liner and root protection fleece.

    Hobby gardeners with well-filled wallets build a koi pond out of concrete for eternity. With a little manual skill, you can brick the pond system yourself to cover the higher costs compared to building with pond liner. Whether brick or concrete - in both cases knowledgeable experts are required who are at your side with advice and action during planning and construction. It is a risky undertaking to simply download building instructions from the internet and use them without checking them.

    Pond construction with pond liner is cheaper than concrete, but less durable

    basic accessories

    A filter system with a bottom drain is mandatory for every koi pond. Builders are spoiled for choice among numerous models with different functionalities. Biofilters, brush filters, drum filters, cartridge filters, plant filters, multi-chamber filters, endless belt filters, barrel filters and many more are offered. Most pond filters are pump operated and contain special filter material, such as zeolite, which also absorbs excess nitrite. So that green water is a foreign word for your koi pond, we recommend purchasing additional accessories:

    • floor drain: For every 10,000 liters of pond water, a 110 mm floor drain at the bottom of the pond
    • skimmers: floating surface cleaner sucks away debris
    • UV lamp: Fight bacteria, algae and thread algae with light, modern, innovative and without chemicals
    • ventilation: Oxygen supply simply with air lift, classic with flow pump, modern with ozone system

    Winter puts koi carp to a hard test. Because temperatures below 5° Celsius mean the death sentence for the valuable fish, you should cover the koi pond in winter and make it winter-proof in this way. A pond cover buffers the high heat loss via the water surface. In addition to the winter cover, install a pond heater. Even an inexpensive frost monitor prevents a fatal drop in temperature. High-quality solutions regulate the water temperature to a Koi-friendly 15° to 20° Celsius using heat exchangers.

    tips

    Robust breeds with a size of 20 cm or more are recommended as the first residents in the koi pond. Ideally, you should opt for koi carp aged 3 to 4 years, which, thanks to their life experience, forgive one or the other beginner's mistake and cope with it without harm.

    Creating a koi pond - ideas for creative design

    Embedding the koi pond in its natural environment while always keeping an eye on the well-being of the fish is one of the special challenges. In terms of green design, hobby gardeners have a clear advantage thanks to their experience in dealing with the plant world. Against this background, the bridge to creative planting succeeds, which at the same time purifies the water and supplies oxygen. Be inspired by the following ideas:

    • edge planting: Irises (Iris), Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), Brookbunge (Veronica beccabunga)
    • aquatic plants: water lily/water lily (Nymphea marliacea), duckweed (Lemna trisulca), mussel flower (Pistia stratiotes),
    • underwater plants: Crested Pondweed (Potamogeton pectinatus), Water Feather (Hottonia palustris), Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum)

    A floating plant island harmonises wonderfully with water lilies and brings variety to the appearance. Easy-care pond plants such as dwarf rush (Juncus ensifolius), marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) or water mint (Mentha aquatica), which are useful as natural algae killers, are perfect for planting.

    The optical highlight and natural oxygen supplier is a waterfall that you can easily build yourself.

    digression

    Koi - demanding, trusting, long-lived

    Kois are very demanding fish

    The bar is set high when you build the right pond for demanding koi carp yourself. The reward for months of planning, exhausting toil and high costs is a romantic water world as an oasis of well-being for the whole family. When the noble brocade carp swim around weightlessly, crystal-clear water gently ripples and blooming pond plants sway gently in the wind, the worries of everyday life recede into the distance. The majestic fish trustingly seek your closeness on the shore and make your heart beat faster. The relaxing idyll accompanies your life from now on, because a koi can live up to 60 years.

    salting koi pond? - Tips for best water quality

    The supreme discipline in koi pond care is water quality in top form. Green water and harmful pH levels are particularly common headaches for newcomers. Home remedies are circulating on the Internet as a solution to the problem, which at best have no effect and at worst cause considerable damage. Salt and milk, for example, have failed to combat algae. The following tips sum up what needs to be done to improve the water parameters:

    Green water - what to do?

    Green water in the koi pond is caused by an algal bloom. The explosive proliferation of green algae, floating algae and filamentous algae is triggered by rotting plants, rotten fish food, soil or fertilizer washed in and fish carcasses. How to act correctly:

    • Netting impurities from the water, such as leaves, parts of plants, carcasses, uneaten food
    • Sprinkle organic products from specialist shops into the water, such as KOIPON Teichklar
    • Install UV lamp to flocculate algae and make it easy to remove

    Preventive measures are to use a floating plant island and numerous aquatic plants as biofilters in the koi pond.

    PH value is wrong - what to do?

    Regular water tests are a must when caring for a koi pond. In particular, the pH value must be checked promptly, because too high or too low a value is fatal for koi carp. According to the table, the ideal pH value for the koi pond is between 6.5 and 8.5. What to do if the pH is not right:

    • PH value greater than 8.5: Fill a cotton bag with unfertilized peat and hang it in the water, put the oak branch in the water, buy pH-Minus from a specialist shop and add it to the pond water according to the instructions
    • PH value less than 6.5: Water changes with tap water, put limestone in the water

    There is a close connection between the pH value, the carbonate hardness and the Co2 content (carbon dioxide). Therefore, please subject all water values to a continuous check in order to intervene in good time to regulate fluctuations.

    frequently asked Questions

    How big does a koi pond have to be for 5 fish?

    A koi pond must be big enough

    Plan a space requirement of around 30 square meters for a koi pond with 5 fish. A koi carp needs 2,000 liters of water to develop healthily and vigorously. This means that you can calculate a pond volume of at least 10,000 liters (10 m³).

    Which filter is suitable for a koi pond?

    The best filter system for the pond is a topic that fills the entire evening among koi lovers. The range on the market is dizzying and ranges from natural filter trenches to simple fleece filters to high-quality, technical filter systems such as the fully automatic drum filter with an integrated bio-chamber for several thousand euros. As a rule of thumb, the best filter should circulate the pond water at least once an hour. All further decisions depend on the local conditions and of course the wallet.

    How much salt goes in a koi pond?

    You should only add salt to a koi pond if all of the koi in it are suffering from dropsy. In this case, a dosage of 2 to 5 kg of iodized salt per m³ of pond volume is beneficial. If isolated specimens suffer from the disease, we recommend a salt bath in a separate treatment tank. Contrary to popular belief, adding salt to the koi pond will have no effect in combating algae.

    Foam floats on the surface of the water in my koi pond. What to do?

    Foam formation on the water is a serious warning signal for the biological balance in the pond. The foaming water surface is caused by excrement and uneaten food, which produce excess protein. You can solve the problem effectively and permanently with a protein skimmer, a special device used in pond technology. An immediate water change also ensures clear conditions in the foaming koi pond.

    tips

    Spoiled koi love to feed several times a day. An automatic feeder serves meals to the fish when you are at work or on vacation. Simple, battery-powered devices can be bought for less than 80 euros. Luxury models work energy-consciously with solar power, are a decorative feast for the eyes and cost up to 1,000 euros.

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Garden design