My Backyard Pond Reborn This Season

[Redfokker]

My 4000 Gallon, 20x8x4(deep) Koi pond got a major reworking this year. I was having a major leaking problem with the waterfall that I just could not solve. I finally bit the bullet and had a professional pond contractor come and redo the waterfall. Could not be more pleased. Not only could they man-handle giant stones into the design they totally redesigned the waterfall. I'm running a Savio bio falls and a smaller Savio skimmer on the other end of the pond. I learned a lot about what not to do when building a pond, but now I'm good to go. They stripped all of the invasive pond plants out of the bogs (Lizard Tail is evil) and now I have a clean slate. The pond houses 8 koi (mutts), 4 of them are about 16"-20". I'll post some pics of them when the pea green soup clears up when my 36 Watt UV does the job.

 

[FreshyFresh]

Man.. That is beautiful Mike.

 

[ROYWS3]

yeah, very nice!!

BTW, my brother in law is a Beaver

 

[Duckie]

I like the redone waterfall. Waiting for pics once it is clear.

What do you do with the fish in the winter? You got heaters in the water?

 

[Redfokker]

They winter over in the pond. I've had a total freeze over during some winters, but only for a week or so. The climate here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon is fairly mild. More rain than anything else...

 

[Duckie]

They winter over in the pond. I've had a total freeze over during some winters, but only for a week or so. The climate here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon is fairly mild. More rain than anything else...

Ah good. I remember when I was in Oregon for a year the winter was cold. But that was in Silverton - think that is Marion county? Not as cold as we get here in Ohio. Freeze over would probably be fine as long as it doesn't freeze solid.

 

[Redfokker]

I kept the filtration system running all winter, kept the pipes from freezing and water movement kept a oxygen hole in the ice. It also created a wonderful ice sculpture a couple of years ago. With the new waterfall design, I'll have to rethink this practice.

 

[Duckie]

Few ideas:

- an inline heater that is to heat the water to about 40 degrees before water goes through waterfall (if you can get to the filter plumbing)

- powerhead/wavemaker for surface agitation to prevent buildup of ice on top

- temporary roof in winter, similar to how a car pot prevents excessive heat loss at night by reflecting back radiated heat

- rehome fish to indoor tank (well, not really an option for your koi)

Good luck.

 

[Nicole Martin]

Really great pond rework done, I really appreciate it and also i have to share a good product review about pond leakage problem and my experience with pond leakage solution is Pond Pro 2000 coating. Thanks for sharing

 

[Sploke]

Any updated pics?