Koi Ponds Don't Need to Look Like Black Liner Pools
There are basically two types of Koi ponds. The strict, traditional Koi pond construction includes sophisticated and expensive filtration equipment which may include a biological and sand filter as well as an ultraviolet system. The traditional Koi pond also includes an exposed black liner in the bottom of the pond to promote easier cleaning through an installed bottom drain that recirculates through the filters. This type of Koi pond with the exposed black liner presents an unnatural pond appearance.
The second type of Koi pond, as represented by the photos, relies on more natural filtering processes and includes a natural looking stone lined bottom and sides. The filtration basically consists of plants covering approximately 30% of the pond surface, removing fallen leaves from the water and adding beneficial bacteria on a regular basis to the water. The bacteria can be purchased online or from most pond supply businesses. The beneficial bacteria feeds on nitrogen in the water which is the food source of algae, thereby minimizing the food source of the pesty algae. Adding white albino catfish to the pond also contributes to controlling of pond algae. The albino catfish can be purchased online and will need to be replaced with smaller ones every 18 months or so as they grow out of scale with the pond.
The second type of Koi pond, as represented by the photos, relies on more natural filtering processes and includes a natural looking stone lined bottom and sides. The filtration basically consists of plants covering approximately 30% of the pond surface, removing fallen leaves from the water and adding beneficial bacteria on a regular basis to the water. The bacteria can be purchased online or from most pond supply businesses. The beneficial bacteria feeds on nitrogen in the water which is the food source of algae, thereby minimizing the food source of the pesty algae. Adding white albino catfish to the pond also contributes to controlling of pond algae. The albino catfish can be purchased online and will need to be replaced with smaller ones every 18 months or so as they grow out of scale with the pond.
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creeser You must've been reading vibes. I told my husband Saturday, I wanted a koi pond. Can't wait to show him this. Thank you for posting!
3 months ago · Like
peetsoo The pond looks beautiful but I have to disagree with your filtration methods. In my experience this might do for a few goldfish but for ponders that want to keep large and healthy koi (and they grow rapidly) for many years, mechanical and biological filtration both are required. The other factor here is that there should not be any sharp/abrasive objects in the pond as fish can get nasty ulcers and bacterial infections if they scrape their slime coat. I would be willing to bet that this kind of pond will have a nasty stench when organic matter breaks down in the gravel and has nowhere to go (it will not all get taken care of by bacteria in the gravel I promise you). Anerobic bacteria is more likely to grow in the gravel (not the kind that is beneficial to the pond). When the time does come to ckean this out I would not want to be the one doing it with all of the rock in there. And if by chance there is pond liner under the rock, there is a good chance of puncturing the liner when standing in the pond. I suppose if one has the cash to have it professionally emptied and flushed out regularly this could work but this completely wipes out the good bacteria in the process and can send water parameters to extremes (Koi need very specific ph levels and can't tolerate wide swings) Please don't get me wrong, the pond is beautiful - gorgeous in fact (more beautiful than mine I will admit - mine has rock on the plant shelf and as edging only) but I would not recommend that koi be kept in a pond that relies on "natural filtration". Many and frequent water changes would be needed with this set up. Goldfish might do well however I would just encourage people looking to put in a pond to do their research on the requirements of koi before creating the environment for them. A koi pond should also be a minimum of 4 feet deep to avoid rapid fluctuations in heat or cold and at this depth the bottom is not really visible. I'm sure there are other koi people who may disagree but just wanted to chime in on this ..........
3 months ago · Like
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