I'm no master. I don't even have koi. At 1000 gallons and three feet deep, my pond really isn't big enough for them. But I can tell you of a few fishpond pitfalls you seem to be headed for.
The rule of thumb for small ponds is to turn the water over at least once an hour, hence it would be good to have two to four times the pump you have now. Have you tested for pH, ammonia, and nitrate? If you haven't, you definitely should. You can't tell if water is healthy for fish just by looking at it.
Your fish will outgrow your current pond. If someone tells you that "koi will grow to the size of the pond", what that really means is that your fish will be stunted if their pond is too small. Adult koi are big fish. They need to be able to dive at least four feet to feel safe and get enough exercise. Six feet would be better, especially if you have cold winters. Rules of thumb are 1/2 inch of koi per square foot of surface area and 1000 gallons for the first adult koi plus 250 for each additional koi. Yes, if you look around the forums it's obvious many people stock much more heavily, but seeing as you're just getting started, you should be conservative. Having plenty of pond will provide you with a margin of safety that will get your fish through the mistakes you'll inevitably make. Not having enough pond will make pond keeping a difficult balancing act. A constant struggle to keep the pond from turning into a bog and keep the fish healthy takes the fun out of it, so just don't go there. Your fish may be small now, but it's their genetic destiny to grow into very large, riverine carp, hence, you should plan to build a bigger pond or trade those koi in on a few goldfish.
Goldfish can be had with similar color patterns and only grow to about a foot long, where adult koi are two to three times as large, and hence need four to nine times as much pond. Goldfish are often called the poor man's koi, and they're a good fish to start with if you don't have a large pond. If you go with goldfish, avoid the "fancy" varieties, though, as they are more delicate and can't swim fast to save their lives. Stick to fish-shaped goldfish (standards, comets, and shubunkins) until you really know what you're doing.
Fish in shallow water are an easy meal for a heron. Put something in the pond the fish can hide under, and consider either keeping a net over the pond or getting one of those heron sprinklers. Outdoor dogs are an effective heron deterrent as well.
If you have trees anywhere near the the pond, figure out what you're going to do about the leaves before they start falling. Likewise for icy winters.
You have already avoided the #1 newbie mistake. You're asking questions before you have trouble. Best of luck with your new pond.
05-07-2009
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