Creating a Koi Pond

Before planning to create a Koi pond, the potential breeder of Koi fish needs to understand one important fact: A Koi pond must be big. A Koi pond should hold at least 500 gallons of water. A breeder will have to deal with many dying fish, if the Koi pond is not sufficiently large.

If the potential breeder feels confident that he or she has room for such a large pond, then digging for the pond can commence. Digging may take some time, because the Koi pond needs to be deep. Experienced breeders recommend a depth of 24 inches.

The Koi pond should have straight walls. The straight walls offer a dual benefit. They help to protect the Koi fish from predators, and they ensure the creation of a pond that will hold a large volume of water.

The Koi pond should have one or more bottom drains. Yet any such drain is useless if the water fails to flow towards the drain. Therefore, the bottom of the Koi pond should slope toward the bottom drain. The bottom drain catches any large pollutants on the bottom of the Koi pond.

Some pollutants do not sink, but instead float on the surface of the pond's water. There should be a skimmer in the area near the Koi pond. The pond owner needs to use the skimmer to remove the large, floating pollutants.

The last essential feature of the Koi pond is a biological filtration system. This biological filtration system uses microorganisms to process the waste from the fish. A pond lacking a filtration system quickly becomes cloudy. A clear Koi pond that relies on a chemical or mechanical filtration system endangers the health of the Koi fish.

The biological filtration system depends on the food preference of two types of bacteria. The biological filtration system has some bacteria that eat ammonia, the waste produced by the Koi fish. However, the bacteria that eat ammonia then produce nitrite. Nitrite is toxic, and should not be allowed to build-up in the Koi pond.