SIZE: 2,500 Gallons PLANTS: Water Lillies, Umbrella Palms, Water Hyacinth FISH: 10 Koi (butterfly/standard fin, ranging size from 2"-6"+), Several Comet Goldfish FILTRATION: AQUA Ultima II OTHER EQUIPMENT: Surface Skimmer
We had this pond built when we moved into this house, which was about 5 years ago. We had a builder who "thought" he knew what he was doing, but he didn't. The plumbing was all messed up, which eventually led to a broken pump and filter. Thankfully we found someone else who really knew a lot about ponds, so he fixed it all up and it's been running well for the past few years. :icon_mrgr
Yeah we have two ponds and a pool so i bet it's a lot.. i don't know though since my parents handle it. :hihi:
i guess i need to speak up,few things bothering me.
first let me say my wife is the one on here asking some questions(not getting much for answers) as i have turned a 150 gallon tank over to her(i said sell it or salt water)
anyway,I am big into koi,decided i should speak up.
first welcome to koi ponding but
rocks have no place in a true koi pond(boy will this create heated debates).
plants are kind of iffy also for true koi(they will more then likely destroy them)
should have a skimmer(maybe missed in picture)
BUT what REALLY bothers me with your pics.the pump looks like an energy hog pool pump.good pumps cost more but will save in long run.
BUT WORSE THAT BOTHERS ME IS THE FILTER
the ultima filter well the size of it is a model 2,000 but the valve on top is one that should be on a 20,000 size filter.will not effect performance with pipe size and such but is very misleading on the max. 125 gpm.a 2,000 size filter should be only max. 34 gallons a minute.
so your pump and filter do not match at all plus pond size looks a lot less then 5,000 gallons.
People need to know exact gallonage of a pond and that LxWxD does not work at all.if you ever need to medicate the pond say your pond is only 3,000 gallons and you dose for 5,000 depending on medication you could kill all the fish.
so decided i did not want to be the one that sits back and says nothing.now hopefully a few others will help my wife.
Thank you for the suggestions, but we are not in the high-end koi hobby. My family simply had this pond built because we enjoy koi. Our pond may be the "pirate ship, blue gravel, plastic plant aquarium" of ponds (to some people), but we enjoy it and the fish are happy and healthy. The plants are growing very well, and the koi haven't seemed to "destroy" them during the past 5 years that we've had it set up. We have a professional pond-keeper who comes once a week to inspect, dose and backwash the filter. My family was told that it was 5,000 gallons, but it is actually close to 2,500 gallons according to the pond-keeper (i just called him - not sure why we thought it was 5000!). And about the rocks - i'm not really sure what else you would build a pond out if in arizona? We were planning on using a plastic liner, but once the construction crew started digging, it was impossible to dig down deep enough even with machines. The soil here is very dry and hard. I appreciate your comments and concerns, but we like our pond the way it is.
i guess i need to speak up,few things bothering me.
first let me say my wife is the one on here asking some questions(not getting much for answers) as i have turned a 150 gallon tank over to her(i said sell it or salt water)
anyway,I am big into koi,decided i should speak up.
first welcome to koi ponding but
rocks have no place in a true koi pond(boy will this create heated debates).
plants are kind of iffy also for true koi(they will more then likely destroy them)
should have a skimmer(maybe missed in picture)
BUT what REALLY bothers me with your pics.the pump looks like an energy hog pool pump.good pumps cost more but will save in long run.
BUT WORSE THAT BOTHERS ME IS THE FILTER
the ultima filter well the size of it is a model 2,000 but the valve on top is one that should be on a 20,000 size filter.will not effect performance with pipe size and such but is very misleading on the max. 125 gpm.a 2,000 size filter should be only max. 34 gallons a minute.
so your pump and filter do not match at all plus pond size looks a lot less then 5,000 gallons.
People need to know exact gallonage of a pond and that LxWxD does not work at all.if you ever need to medicate the pond say your pond is only 3,000 gallons and you dose for 5,000 depending on medication you could kill all the fish.
so decided i did not want to be the one that sits back and says nothing.now hopefully a few others will help my wife.
high end or not you need to be VERY concerned about the pump does not match up with the filter.like i said the top valve assembly is for a 20,000 gallon size hence the flow rate but the body of filter is only the 2,000 gallon size . where if it had its true valve assembly it would say max 34 gpm.that is where you should have the flow rate matching the filter.trying to figure why there was a switch.
good luck and as the years come and the koi grow you will learn about the other things in my other post.experience will be the true lessons learned.
Awesome pond! I like the waterfall and the rocks in the pond. I hope someday to have a nice pond when I get a house with a yard. (condo right now) :smile:
Maybe swap out the koi for mbuna then having the rocks will be okay? :tongue:
Not a fan of koi myself, I live in Hawaii and I get tired of mostly seeing koi in ponds all over, maybe I should start seeding them with cichlids hehehe...but I like your pond a lot.
I really like it. I hope to have a nice pond out back one of these years, but with the hard clay it is a bear to dig it down deep enough. That is about the size I would like to try.
Awesome pond! I like the waterfall and the rocks in the pond. I hope someday to have a nice pond when I get a house with a yard. (condo right now)
Maybe swap out the koi for mbuna then having the rocks will be okay?
Not a fan of koi myself, I live in Hawaii and I get tired of mostly seeing koi in ponds all over, maybe I should start seeding them with cichlids hehehe...but I like your pond a lot.
Thanks! I didn't know koi were popular in hawaii - is it a pretty big thing there amongst fish keepers?
I really like it. I hope to have a nice pond out back one of these years, but with the hard clay it is a bear to dig it down deep enough. That is about the size I would like to try.
Awesome! Your back yard is so cool. You don't have to mow grass!!!!!!!!!!! The pond looks great and I'm glad you didn't let the snappy comments on p.1 get you down. Felt like we were on youtube for a second.
Checking out the turtle pond now. I wish you had moved to Greensboro so your parents could build a cool pond here, but it seems like you have it made out there in AZ too.
Awesome! Your back yard is so cool. You don't have to mow grass!!!!!!!!!!! The pond looks great and I'm glad you didn't let the snappy comments on p.1 get you down. Felt like we were on youtube for a second.
Checking out the turtle pond now. I wish you had moved to Greensboro so your parents could build a cool pond here, but it seems like you have it made out there in AZ too.
I am not meaning to insult your efforts and beauty of your pond.
But unfortunately, this is not really a koi pond. It is more of a water garden that houses koi.
You may think that they are the same thing, but they are not.
By koi pond, i mean a pond with koi.
I know no one is trying to insult, but i wish people wouldn't criticize for it not being a "true koi pond" or whatever.
These are the kinds of ponds people have in Arizona, lol. Can't really have a lush, green setup in the desert.
VERY cool pond! I've been to arizona and that's about the most greenery I've seen! :hihi:
So I was looking at your turtle pond thread and I have what is maybe a dumb question....why not bring the walls of the turtle pond back down and let the turtles wander between the two if they want? Or would they injure the koi or the ecosystem? I don't know much about turtles or koi OR ponds :redface: so please pardon my ignorance if there is a really simple answer to this question. roud: I was just curious
Either way, both bonds are very cool, I LOVE the waterfall and the water lilies in this one too! well done!
AzFishKid nice koi pond You need to get a uv for that though this way you enjoy it alot more.. I am glad your not taking others comments to heart. Maybe they can show us what there real koi ponds look like in there backyards....
Here is a pic of some of my koi waiting for food to come down the current from the waterfall.
6000 gallon koi pond. 35 koi, much bigger than this picture shows. Old picture.
Ultima II 6k, 6500gph pump, 5 JETS, 1 bottom drain, wished we put two in... v(^.^)V
Thinking about purchasing some koi from a local koi breeder. Here's the ones i'm interested in. All of them are 18"-22", except for the white one which i'm told is 12"-15".
Mine was actually just sarcasm back at lilhelper. Just trying to lighten up those people who have been so "anal" about what is a koi pond and what isn't.
Your pond looks awesome, his pond looks great too. I'm not sure why people can't just chill and admire a pond for what it is.
Thats a great pond AZ. I feel like every is against you in your journal =/. I read your turtle journal and this one as well. When i went to myrtle beach resort. They had a huge pond by the ocean that had carp and turtles. To get water into the pond they had public showers to rise the salt off adn the bad water went into the ponds. It was so heartbreaking =/. I still like your pond btw =D
Thanks! I'm glad some people like it. :biggrin: I know i sure do!
Poor turtles. Shower water in a pond? Ew.
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