Experts recommend feeding koi fish in ponds once a day. Avoid spreading too much fish food since what remains ends up feeding the algae and causing them to bloom.
What is a Koi Pond?
A koi pond is a beautiful water feature specially built for raising koi fish. Some say it’s “a koi swimming pool.” Others describe it as an oversized fish tank. It’s at least 4 feet deep, 7 feet by 8 feet or larger, and uses a rubber or concrete liner to keep the water in. In this article, we’ll tell you what a koi pond is and the details of how it works.
A koi pond includes a high-quality filtration system and houses colorful, hearty koi that swim all day and eat from your hand. Most homeowners get an outdoor koi pond for its positive energy vibe, stress relief effect, and increase in property value. In Japan, the koi fish is a symbol of good fortune and prosperity.
In this article:
- What Does a Koi Pond Look Like?
- Koi Pond’s Shape and Size
- How Does a Koi Pond Work?
- Koi Pond Maintenance
- Where Can You Install a Koi Pond?
- Starting Your Koi Fish Pond
- What Are Koi Fish?
- Other Types of Fish You Can Grow in a Koi Pond
- Swimming in a Koi Fish Pond
- Why Should You Get a Backyard Koi Fish Pond?
- FAQ
What Does a Koi Pond Look Like?
Some koi ponds are built in the ground, and others are partially above the soil. The most exciting raised models have glass windows, so you can see the fish swimming as if you were in an aquarium. Others have bridges passing over the water, letting you watch the fish from above.
Koi ponds are beautifully landscaped with stone, concrete, or wood edging. Colorful water lilies float on the surface, and waterfalls break the silence with a soft, trickling sound. Tall trees shade from the sides, and all the devices that keep the fish healthy are carefully hidden.
A koi pond can look deceivingly similar to a typical garden pond. Except it’s not. Let’s dive in for a second.
On a curious note: “Coy pond” or “koy pond” are common misspellings of koi pond.
Koi Pond’s Shape and Size
Under the water’s surface, a koi pond has perfectly vertical walls. In regular backyard ponds, walls have shelves for placing aquatic plants and rocks. But shelves can be dangerous in koi ponds. Any fish swimming in such shallow areas becomes easy prey for wild animals such as herons and raccoons.
Koi pond walls go down for 4 to 8 feet to keep the fish safe and warm during winter. They can reach 21 feet in bottomless ponds, but fish are harder to enjoy in such deep waters. The pond’s interior is covered in rubber, plastic, or concrete liner.
Its corners are rounded, and the base has a concave profile leading to a bottom drain. This shape prevents debris from clogging the corners. It also helps solids travel smoothly to the drain. Now that you know the basics of a koi pond, check out these koi pond design ideas for some creative inspiration to make your pond unique.
Top 5 Factors To Consider With Building A Koi Pond
Having a koi pond in your backyard not only helps improve the value and look of your home, but it provides an instant stress reliever right in your backyard. Koi fish have amazing colors and live a
long life. They are graceful fish. Plus, they have a variety of characteristics that make them perfect for backyard ponds. Here are a few things to keep in mind when building a koi pond:
- Size Matters: Koi have a tendency to grow large, so the pond needs to be big enough to accommodate their growth. That means the koi pond needs to hold at least 500 gallons of water.
- Watch The Temp: The temperature and the quality of water in the pond helps determine how healthy they are. Koi tend to thrive in cold water but seem to do best when the water hovers around 60-70 degrees.
- Make Shade: Koi take comfort in the shade, and water lilies are great for that. So, owners can cover their ponds with up to 70 percent of its surface by lilies. Lilies reduce the extent of algae in the water, other than the fact that they provide the koi with cover and shade. These fish can only tolerate about 5-6 hours of direct sunlight, so they need cover. Also, the water lilies help attract insects and other plants that the koi eat, so they serve a dual purpose.
- Make More Shade: When building a koi pond, take advantage of other sources of natural protection such as surrounding trees. This greater limits the direct sunlight that the koi have to endure. The only thing to consider is that if you build the pond under the tree, it can expose the surface to debris from the tree like falling leaves, twigs or branches.
- Save The Fish! Raccoons and Blue Heron apparently love the taste of fresh koi sushi, so it’s important to factor that in when building a pond. This means you need to have a deep enough pond and provide hiding places so that the fish can hide from natural predators.
Koi ponds are a wonderful addition to any backyard. They can include other water features as well such as water fountains or waterfalls that can turn your backyard into your own private paradise. It’s a great way to relieve stress and give yourself a quiet place for reflection.
Universal Aquatics has been building koi ponds and other water features for more than a decade now. We provide waterfalls, pondless waterfalls, ponds of all types and water fountains. We’ve had our work displayed on the TV show “Pond Stars”. Call us if you’d like a koi pond in your backyard!
By mil-admin | 2019-01-29T16:06:27+00:00 November 21st, 2014 | koi ponds Atlanta | 0 Comments
