Advice on Pond Design

[Mark]

Would greatly appreciate any advice on design features or methods of construction of a 15,000-20,000 gallon pond. The criteria for the design are as follows: Free form and below grade. Concrete based construction. Heated and above all else, construction must be accomplished by a nonprofessional (that’s me).

Keep in mind this will be built in a colder climate in Wisconsin and is intended to house up to ten of the best grow out koi.



I was inspired by Mike M’s Polyurea Spray Liner Pond thread. So we may all share and learn I intend to post progress reports with pictures and comments as the project progresses. Construction starts in 6 weeks. I want to thank everyone in advance for their input. Thank you



Mark

[MikeM]

I'm looking forward to photos and progress reports.

When you say "free form", do you mean lots of curves? Odd shapes? If so, you will have a real challenge avoiding gunk settling in dead spots around the pond. That was one of the problems with my old pond.

Tell us about your filtration/returns plan.

[dick benbow]

Like Mike I have concerns about free form. 25 years ago I built a figure 8 pond with arched bridge and it sets in what people say is the most beautiful japanese garden.

all i see is debris from the trees, antiquated design of the pond and if i had to do it over the last thing i'd be concerned about is astetics and an open ouitside pond. get a roof over it and have removable sides for winter insulation or summer ventilation. take your depth and double it for the width and double that for the length. make one end shallower and the oposite end deeper and slope the pond from shallow to deep end. bottom drains every ten feet. Figure a good heating system and a back up electrical panel for quick hook up to a reliable generator have all pumps and items like valves that eventually will wear out on
plumbing that can be easily/quickly changed.

I'm not kidding about how the pond looks. When you get great koi it's about having the ability to control situations. Open ponds are subject to predation, flukes other problems that will eventually get old. When i bring the koi in for winter i never have any problems. outside ( it's been two weeks now) and i've got scratching because of flukes from the constant exposure to brids/bathing and putting droppings in the water.

When you look thru KB and see the japanese who are serious about their koi,
ever wonder why so many of them have indoor facilities. One of the up and coming stars in the breeders world ( can you say peach boy ) would much rather maintain his koi inside than out? gee, i wonder "Y"....
don't misunderstand me, I'd like you to do it right so you can enjoy the hobby. take the advice of someone who's been at it for awhile. design you pond for the koi and their health. When it's zero outside in the winter, and your koi are happily passing winter in the lower 50's, you'll thank me and so will they!