Koi pond/fountain size?

My dad would like to build a koi pond with a fountain in the center. He has a very large space to put it in and it is shaded by several trees. He lives in the zone 5 area. I know a little bit about koi but not a lot. He was told by a pond store that he would need a minimum of 5000 gallons for a pond for koi. This seems way out of proportion to me considering I know of several ponds with koi that are not that large. One I visit about every week and my DH and I feed them. The company that owns the pond sells the baby koi if they get to a few inches big. But I also know restaurants with 10 fancy goldfish the size of golfballs in 30 gallon tanks....sooo maybe my experiences are off.

What size would be reasonable for him to dig to have just a few Koi?

 

A minimum of 1000 gallons to start with, and about 300 gallons per fish (so a 1000 gallon pond can hold 3 fish) is a good starting point.

Remember, the larger and less stocked it is, the less you have to to it. A pond measuring 10x6x3 is about 1000 gallons, if I remember correctly. That's really not a very big pond, if you think about it.

 

Okay so my original estimation should be more than enough for him. I suggested a size that would be around 2500 gallons. He isn't looking to have a ton of fish. Just a few. I suggested a pond heater for the winter for him.

 

So long as the pond has about 2 feet beyond the freezing depth, you don't really need a heater. Sure it helps, so it's really up to you.

If he doesn't want to do much, I'd either have him stock about 3-4 koi, or 5-7 goldfish, and get a nice sized filter, and lots of plants. Then it would basically be top offs when it's not wet season. Maybe a small water change every couple months.

 

Ah I see. I thought it would need to be deeper. Another misinformation I think I picked up somewhere. That will make him happy to hear. Three to four koi is probably plenty. Some frogs may end up in there but not on purpose lol. I had told him getting three would probably be enough to enjoy. I think he wants the bigger fish. Plants are a definite addition as we both love plants and he said he really wants lilies. He has some in his runoff pond that are gorgeous. I'll show him how to monitor the water if it's necessary. I'm not sure whether he will go bigger or not. Sometimes he says he wants to do something and I show up the next weekend and it's 5x larger than he originally had me design lol.

 

It's typically reccomended to make the pond about 3ft deep. Depending on how deep water usually freezes where you, you may want to consider deeper. The fish need about 2 ft of water to move around under the ice. Good circulation, and heating if you want it (you may need it) will keep the freezing at bay.

 

My recommended depth here is 2' 10 " so says the great Google. Pond site says 3'. I told my dad to do about 4 and he wants to do 5 and do a round fountain with 1 foot raised above ground (I think my uncle is loaning the mini-back hoe). For his front yard decorative fountain he usually needs a heater to keep it from freezing (though it did last year and it looked really freakin cool lol). Since he wants to do a fountain in back I was thinking a heater would be good there to at least protect the plumbing etc.

 

Don't forget that depth doesn't add swimming space. Just because making that deep adds the volume needed to keep maintenece low, you will still need the vertical swimming space for the fish to be able to move around.

 

Yeah I wasn't suggesting a well lol. He wants a round pool but the depth is to help keep the temperature cooler in summer and warmer in winter. Also help protect them a bit from local wildlife.

 

Deep is perfectly fine, just reminding you that the width still needs to be there. I've seen koi in excess of 3 ft long and 8 inches wide.