Puddle Pond

07-07-2008, 04:32 PM

Heres a few quick vids of my fish! Theres one big white Koi with black spots. Thats Saki! She sticks her head out of the water and sucks all the food in. I call her "The Hoover" We added 2 new ones a few weeks back Yosuki which is orange with blacks spots, and a grey butterfly named Banzuke. Banzuke vanished and was presumed dead. Today we added 2 more, Komodo which is a tangerine colored butterfly, and Kabuki who is white with a gold forehead. We added them in and out pops Banzuke! He's alive after all!! I didnt take video of the new ones yet.

MVI_3247.flv - Video - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

MVI_3248.flv - Video - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

07-07-2008, 04:50 PM

Do I see netting over the pond?
I want to build one but we have too many cats running loose.

07-07-2008, 05:05 PM

Yeah, we had to put a net on to keep the Great Blue Heron out. It ate more fish a few weeks back. Ill take a wide angle pic so you can see the set up.

07-07-2008, 06:18 PM

You are just too much! That is so beautiful! I have always wanted a pond like that! Now I have to go fix my makeup to cover up the green!

07-08-2008, 10:08 AM

OH LEIGH! I am SOOO envious of your koi pond!

They want $10,000 to put one in for us

Will you kill me in on pond filtration and airation and stuff? I want koi...

07-08-2008, 10:09 AM

Also...I looove the names!

07-08-2008, 10:28 AM

Its relatively inexpensive to do yourself when you compare it to a pro job. The worst part is digging. For us, the soil is heavy clay so it was a real job. Once you determine the place you want it, be sure theres no run off issues where chemicals can get in it. You want to dig 18 to 24 inches minimum. That will ensure your fish will stay cool. For us its a freeze issue. We used a heavy mil liner bought at a pond supply store. You give them your dimension of width & depth and they tell you how many gallons you have. For instance ours is 10x14 at its widest points. It has a 9" deep shelf with an 18" center. They estimated us at 1100 gallons. If you want a waterfall the best thing to get is a biofilter/filterfall. That sits above ground, contains the, media, and filters. So the pump itself goes in the deep end andthe hose comes out to the back of biofilter. You will need a U/V lamp to kill bacteria. SO remember, wherever you build you will need electricity with enough outlets for a pump, u/v. lights, and any aerators you might want. Some more expensive biofilters come with a u/v in it. You may also want to consider a skimmer option if you plan to go really big. You want to make sure you use the dirt from the hole to build a raised margin and plant beds around it. We used field stone as our outer structure for stacking. Ill take more pics for you. The best thing you can do is go to Home Depot and buy a pond book. They are straight forward and easy to follow. A good pond supply store will also fill you in on things like, how big your pump needs to be in order to push water through the biofilter to make you waterfall. The level of sound from the waterfall all depends on how you place your rocks in front of it. You also need extra liner to go from the waterfall mouthpiece down into the basin that gets attached with 2 sided tape. Overall the pond its self ran us $1100 to $1500. We have made many upgrades. The replacement bulb for the u/v is about $100 a season, maybe every other season. Mistakes to avoid...go deep as you can the FIRST TIME you dig. This was our biggest mistake. Get a good pump and dont go cheap. Get the heaviest mil liner you can get. Preforms crack. If you want fancy Koi, go to Petsmart and get them for $4.99. In a year they will be $100 fish, trust me! Ill ramble on Missi so if you have questions that are specific fire away.

07-08-2008, 11:00 AM

Heres a few pics. The net is held by pvc spray painted with outdoor flat black paint so it blends in. The net is deer netting from Home Depot. The pvc base is a larger diameter cut at a 45 at the base so its like a stake. Then the thinner pvc is fitted into it and net draped over it. We used bread bag twisties to hold it on.

07-08-2008, 11:02 AM

2 more...........

07-08-2008, 01:13 PM

More, more, MORE photos please!

That is one GORGEOUS pond!

Wow...so $1500 is not bad at all! Where the heck do they get $10,000 from?! Labor?! They use immigrants to do all the work...I really appreciate you sharing all that info with me! Sounds like a LOT of maintenence. Is it? That's one thing that is REALLY holding me back from jumping in head first into a pond project...I've already got a bunch to do but I know I'd really enjoy watching and feeding the koi....hrrrmmmmmmmm......

*EDIT* OH! And the electricity bill...I'm trying to lower that. May I ask how much the electricity goes up? I know it went up like $30 when I had all my reptile in doors with one filter running and 6 tpyes of heat/UVA/UVB bulbs...