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I have always had a fish pond, and I would not want to live in a house which doesn’t have one. In fact, I have just moved into a new house and the next job is to create a backyard fish pond and stock it with koi carp.
You could just buy a koi pond kit. However, before buying one, it is necessary to choose a site for your koi fish pond. It’s better not to site it on low-lying ground, otherwise you run the risk of the pond overflowing during heavy rains and your fish swimming away. Therefore, try to site your pond ‘up hill’ in your garden, if it is not flat.
The next consideration is shade. If you can keep your pond out of the midday sun, you will stop the water from becoming too hot (warm water holds less oxygen). This will greatly cut down on the amount of algae that will grow. Algae is the number one enemy, so it is worth reducing its chances of taking over before you start.
Now that you have chosen your site, you can start looking for suitable koi pond kits. Otherwise, you could just depend on the knowledge in the free manual I am offering you. They are usually called koi pond kits. However, in reality they are just as good for any type of cold water fish from a temperate climate.
Koi Pond Kits
There are often three sizes of koi pond kits, unsurprisingly called: small, medium and large. The small and medium koi pond kits usually contain a rigid pond liner. The large size is a flexible butyl liner. So, if you are going for one of the two smaller kits, you will have to choose the shape of the pond you want. The choice is usually: round, square or kidney shaped. The large size allows you to free-form your pond’s shape as it is just a large square of plastic (butyl).
Once you have dug your hole, you insert the pond liner. Then, fix stones, bricks or slabs around the edge to finish off the look. Koi pond kits vary, so the next step can vary too. If your kit contains solar-powered equipment than you will not need to run electricity to the pond otherwise you will. Most koi pond kits will include a strong submersible pump to run the filtration unit, and a fountain. Or maybe the fountain will have its own pump.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for the koi pond kit you bought. Then fill your pond with water and turn the equipment on. It is better to leave your koi pond to mature for a week. Once the water has lost its chlorine and the koi pond kit’s equipment its newness, you can start adding plants and fish.
Therefore, as you can see, it is worth looking at lots of koi pond kits before you buy as not all koi pond kits are all the same.
Read about my own koi carp pond, and pick up an audiobook copy of my manual on our sister site here: