| First, there's the dream. You
imagine yourself sipping a glass of wine on a lovely spring evening beside
your beautiful pond filled with colorful and playful koi and goldfish while
the breeze carries the scent of a nearby water lily blossom...
That's where we come in. Not into your dream, per
say, but as an information source to make that dream into reality.
The reality is that a koi or goldfish pond or water
garden is something that does not happen naturally and does take a lot of
thought and planning before any equipment is purchased or digging is done -
if it's done right.
- Decide What Type of Pond You Want
We are working with the three basic types of ponds most often built by the
do-it-yourselfer. The water garden, the koi pond and the goldfish
pond. What you want from your pond will determine which type of pond
you should build.
The Water Garden is basically a garden and
doesn't normally have fish. Frogs will inhabit the water garden as
will other home-seekers that happen to come along. The pond is built
with plants in mind with plenty of plant shelves and most often located in
the sun so that water lilies and lotus will bloom to their fullest.
Although the water garden does not necessarily need biological filtration
it can certainly benefit from mechanical filtration to keep it clean and
healthy for any animal that drinks from it or child that plays in it.
A true Koi Pond is built with the welfare of
the koi in mind and plants are usually NOT part of the equation. Koi
are playful so plants tend to become toys and, in their minds, the plants
are there only for their amusement. The water MUST stay healthy and
clear for koi to live without disease and problems to the koi-keeper.
For that reason, biological and mechanical filtration are very important
to the koi pond's design as is the depth and way the pond is constructed.
A Goldfish Pond is a combination of
everything. It can have plants and koi too. It's probably the
most commonly built type of ornamental pond of all three types. It
has to be built to sustain life in many forms. The best goldfish
ponds incorporate good filtration techniques with smart design to achieve
the perfect plant and fish ecosystem. Add plants to a koi pond or
fish to a water garden and you basically have the same thing.
If you want both a koi pond and a water garden you
can split your pond into two sections. This works extremely well in
an area where you have several terraced levels. The pond on the top
level is usually smaller and can hold the plants. Then you can have
a beautiful waterfall drop from that pond to the lower pond which could be
filled with koi. This way, you can have the best of both worlds
without losing your plants to the playfulness of the koi and keeping a
clean environment for the koi. One word of caution - should you want
to put the koi on the top level you should know that they do belly-surf
down the waterfall and can easily injure themselves.
Where Should Your Pond be Located?
Once you decide what type of pond you want to build you should determine the
best spot in your yard for it to go. The rule-of-thumb is to locate
the pond wherever you can enjoy it most. Then all you have to do
is plan for any problems you might encounter in that location. For
example, if there is a lot of sunshine you will be getting green water
within a week or two so you might as well plan to place a UV Light on your
filtering system. If it's located under trees you most definitely
should consider a skimmer to continuously "rake" the leaves off the top of
the water.
Many people build it right next to their decks so that
they can hear the lovely sound of the waterfall while dining alfresco or
easily toss the hungry koi or goldfish food while enjoying the company of
friends. That's usually okay as long as there is some consideration
taken so that people (and kids) don't simply fall into the pond.
Beside the deck may not be the best place for a water garden if it's not
sunny. Water plants generally do not flower well in partial to full
shade.
If you want a pond in the shade where you can enjoy
sitting by it you might consider a koi pond or goldfish pond that has a
nice-sounding waterfall or fountain. Falling leaves and debris from
the overhanging tree limbs will add more organics to the water so you should
also plan to install a bead filter on the pond for its ability to remove
solids from the water.
Here are a few suggestions of where NOT to install a
pond of any type:
- In the path of rain runoff.
- Anywhere water collects after a rain.
- Over a septic tank.
- Where neighborhood children play or gather.
Ponds on a Sloping Terrain
The answer is "yes" even before you ask it. Yes,
you can build a pond on a hill. It's done all the time. It does,
however, require the construction of a wall on the low end so that the top
of the pond is level. A pond on a hill is a perfect place for a
waterfall to be built because the waterfall appears to be naturally falling
from the top of the hill. It is more expensive to build a wall so if
you want to build a pond on a slope you must include the cost of the wall in
your budget.
Speaking of budgets...
Create a Realistic Budget
Please notice that the word "realistic" is italicized. That is
because it is very important that you are not misled by folks who say that
you can build a pond for $500. Sure - you might find a little pond kit
at Sam's for $200 but that's not the type pond we are talking about.
We are talking about a real pond that can sustain fish and/or plant life.
Those $200 to $500 ponds are really just water features, like a fountain.
Like a car, ponds come in different price
ranges. Unlike a car, you simply cannot pull up a "price" unless you
contract with a pond builder. There are pond "kits" available but we
do NOT like them. Ponds are not one-size-fits-all by any stretch of
the imagination. We know they are trying to make it easier for you by
creating pond kits and we've even tried it ourselves but what it all boils
down to is that even the most thought-out pond kit does not fit every
situation - even for two ponds of the same size!
With that in mind, it's really tough to plan a budget
so we've created a ballpark budget for different components to help you
decide what size pond you can comfortably have and equipment you can afford. The
ball park budgets below are for pond equipment only. They do not
include labor, landscape materials (such as rock!!) or equipment rental.
Oh, and before you get sticker shock -- remember that
the equipment here is top-of-the-line, state-of-the-art and will create the
lowest maintenance system you can get on a pond. There are ways to
shave some of the cost if you opt for equipment that isn't as good quality
and requires more work to maintain.
- Basic Small Pond of about 1200 gallons
(Liner, External Pump, Drain, Bead Filter, Plumbing)....Approx. $1850
- Add 1 Eduction Jet + $150
- Add Fish Safe Skimmer + $175
- Add Ultraviolet Water Clarifier + $300
- Basic Medium Pond of about 3000 gallons
(Liner, External Pump, Drain, Bead Filter, Plumbing)....Approx. $2000
- Add 1 Eduction Jet + $150
- Add Fish Safe Skimmer + $175
- Add UV Light + 750
- Basic Large Pond of about 5000 gallons
(Liner, External Pump, Drain, Bead Filter, Plumbing).....Approx. $ 2300
- Add 2 Eduction Jets @ $150 each + $300
- Add Fish Safe Skimmer +$175
- Add UV Light + $900
- Double the 3000-gallon budget for 8000 gallons.
- Double the 5000-gallon budget for 10,000 gallons.
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Answer These Questions Before You Go
To the Next Step:
Other
Informative Articles
on Pond Planning
Pond Planning Pitfalls & Problems
The Difference Between a Water Garden and a
Koi Pond
The Doc's Dream System -- A Construction
Guide to Backyard Ponds
Our Project Pond:
We are going to create a pond together and
follow our step-by-step process of building it.
During this step we are deciding what type of
pond it is and we'll create a budget for it.
Our Project Pond is a fairly large one so
keep in mind that your expenses may only be half or less than what we are
doing...
Our project pond will be a
true koi pond that will house huge koi so we will need it to be about 5500
gallons or so. We will want the best of everything on it. We
want it to be low-maintenance and have enough biological filtration to
comfortably house an extremely high fish load. We will place an
Ultraviolet Water Clarifier on it to keep it clear and to help with
destroying bad bacteria. It will have an external pump, eduction jets
and a skimmer.
Because I want a LOT of
filtering on our Project Koi Pond I'm opting to go up to the a little above
the 5000 gallon tier for budgeting purposes. (Remember, yours may not
be anywhere near this cost!)
The Basic System....$3000
2 ea. Eduction Jets...$300
Fish Safe Skimmer...$175
UV
Light...................$1500
Labor & Expenses......$500
Rocks......................$1000
Total Budget: $6475.00
Go To the Next Step:
The Designing Stage
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