Building A Koi Pond

[cranorm7]

Hi All,

I need abit of Advice or help. At the moment i got an old bath tub. Which i got when i moved from my old house and i had to leave the Pond there and I wanted to take my fish with me. I have 4 koi, 2 Ghost Carp and a few goldfish and orfes. Im using a standard Garden Centre Pump, which Ive connected to a UV and this is connected to a Fiiter Box and back into the Bath tube..

Im thinking of building a 6ft (72inches) Long by 4ft (48 inches) wide & 3ft 1/2 half (42 inches) high Pond made from Blocks.. i was also thinking of getting a Pond liner or just dry line it..

I would like to install a Bottom drain and get it to work on a gravity fed pump.. but I have no idea on how they work or how to build or install one.. Im on a Tight Budge..

Any help or Information would be great..

Thanks

[powerman]

Quote: Originally Posted by cranorm7 Hi All, I need abit of Advice or help. At the moment i got an old bath tub. Which i got when i moved from my old house and i had to leave the Pond there and I wanted to take my fish with me. I have 4 koi, 2 Ghost Carp and a few goldfish and orfes. Im using a standard Garden Centre Pump, which Ive connected to a UV and this is connected to a Fiiter Box and back into the Bath tube.. Im thinking of building a 6ft (72inches) Long by 4ft (48 inches) wide & 3ft 1/2 half (42 inches) high Pond made from Blocks.. i was also thinking of getting a Pond liner or just dry line it.. I would like to install a Bottom drain and get it to work on a gravity fed pump.. but I have no idea on how they work or how to build or install one.. Im on a Tight Budge.. Any help or Information would be great.. Thanks

i am a newbie too...as far as pond designs go..and i am still in a learning mode about what to do to keep fish healthy..i do know this.... it is easier if your quantity of water is larger and your water conditions are stable and favorable to the koi...and i would say in your situation it is imperative to go bigger and to sink at least half of your pond into the ground...i dont know where you live or what your climate is like but raising it above ground 3 and a half feet tall would allow to much temperature fluctuation...if you do go above ground,then put some sheets of insulation between your block and your liner...your demensions listed dont even add up to 1000 gallons so you should think about increasing the size to double or triple that...as far as how to make a bottom drain work....you should look all that up in a good koi book because the choices in filtration are many and varied but a gravity fed vortex is a really good start...this requires the water level in the vortex be the same as the water level of the pond..the bottom drain feeds into the vortex by gravity...at the bottom of the vortex you will need a valve to waste....the top of it can over flow to another barrell which could be homemade as you said money is an object..this second barrell should be for some mechanical filtration....and you could clean this regularly along with flushing out the vortex unit..from there it could go to whatever your choice is for bio...either another vessel with aerated media or a homemade shower...a homemade shower could be lava rock.... but lava rock submerged is not a good idea... any way there are lots of choices in filtration but the general principals are the same...mechanical first....remove the poop and floating debris ..bio second....have lots of surface area for the good bacteria to break down the ammonia...and the nirite..good bacteria require lots of oxygen...as do koi...read and understand the nitrification cycle..water changes..especially a trickle of new water into the pond will also help alot...as far as the rest...research.........at least you are asking......when i built my first koi pond i did lots of things wrong....now i am obsessed with getting it right....or at least trying to get it right.... this is a good forum to lurk in....read and absorb as much as you can................good luck to you