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Old 07-01-2016, 06:25 PM   #1
spidy
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Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 23
Default 1st attempt to design my koi pond

After 2 not so satisfying experience with 2 landscaping companies that claim to be "expert" in koi pond design and build, I am thinking of taking things into my own hand on the design of my 3rd pond.

I keep 9 koi average 50cm and a couple of gold fishes since my kids wanted variety.

Due to space constraint, the dimension of the pond I plan to build will be 2.14m (length) x 1.74m (width) x 1.5m (deep). This works out to be around 5.5 ton or 1500 gallon. The pond will be in the ground (vs my current pond which is above ground)

Decision 1 : Material of pond.
I have decided to use FGT instead of cement and epoxy. Have read in few forums if cement w epoxy is not properly build after sometime it will "peel" and give problem. Since the builder I am engaging this time round is Not any koi pond "expert" I decided to play safe.

Qn : Are there any unfavorable effect using FGT vs cement (epoxy) like health, growth or color of koi being affected etc ? From maintenance point of views, any challenges down the road and also the "longevity" of the pond ?

Decision 2 : Filtration
Due to the longish dimension (rectangular) and also considering more "swimming space" for the growing koi, I am thinking of dropping the 4 chamber biological filtration design and go for external compact pressurise pump (aka Laguna Pressure Flo type). Current pond I have to sacrifice around 1/3 of the pond for the filter chambers and I found maintenance very "siong" (hard labour). Also now that the new pond is in the ground that mean I have to flush the chamber dry before I can climb inside to wash. So an above the pond filtration solution is more ideal.

Qn : Am looking at various brands of Pressurise filter (mechanical + biological + UV). This is new territory for me as my last 2 ponds are all 4 chamber biological filtration system. Anyone been using Pressurise filter please share the pros and cons. Koi tend to poo a lot more and my concern is can a pressurise filter with it compact size and filtering material cope with it ? Also do suggest other filtration solutions if you have tried and tested them, however space is a premium here so anything that takes up too much space (compare to pressure filter drum size) is also out of the question.

I am working on the design diagram like inlet and outlet, surface skimmer etc. Will share my journey as I make progress.

Hope to have liked minded hobbyist input and advice along the way.

Cheers
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