# DIY Pond



## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

I just bought a house and am planning on adding a couple more bedrooms and then i was wanting to build a back patio with a big pond in the middle of it. I was thinking about digging a 2 feet deep hole - 10 feet long-by 3 feet wide - and then board a frame for the pond that I will fill with concrete- the final dimentions would be 3 feet deep-10 feet long-3 feet wide. Any suggestions on concrete thickness,how to seal the concrete? Would it be possible to build in a submerged light? Would there be anyway to heat this pond to stay at least 70-75 degrees durring the winter? I live in illinois. I want to keep a couple pacus and maybee a few koi. Any other info would be great.


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## P-22 (Oct 5, 2005)

I have a backyard pond with koi, the minimum recommended depth for full growth of the koi (3 feet) is 4 feet deep though ive seen plenty of back yard ponds that are shallower and overstocked. As for winter (im in CT) all koi 6" and over can survive the freeze over provided two things, one there are not a ton of leaves in the pond (releases some type of gas and pollutes the water under the ice) and 2 you maintain an open circle in the ice, for this circle "pond de-icers" are commonly sold, i believe 1 is recommended per 1000 gallons of water, my pond is roughly 3200 gallons, i run two though i have netting over the pond to catch leaves and keep swooping birds/predators out. as for the concrete, most people go with a "pond liner" which is a very thick vinyl material. concrete can be done, easier if sloped i believe and poured over a pebble layer/reinforced (the concrete with rei (SP?) bar) but like i said i know very little of going about it with concrete. It is possible to heat the entire pond to 78 degrees year round however id imagine this would be a huge bill to pay through the winter especially considering how often you'd be out there in the snow to view the fish and the pain of having to feed the koi 2-3 times a day when the water is at that temp. Also more then likely you couldnt house P's in the pond with koi unless you immediattely bought very large koi say 16-20" which would run you probably 800$+ per fish. koi are great and can quickly be taught to eat from your hand, amazing variety and nuances. you can learn much more then i could ever say at this forum- http://www.koi.com.my/cgi-bin/koiforum/gforum.cgi scroll down a bit, the forum is there and active.

wanted to add that you will want to make that pond wider/bigger, trust me (having re-dug mine larger and replaced the liner $$$). once you have some koi and watch their incredibe growth(6"or more in one summer), actvity and friendlyness you'll be hooked. think of it like tank size


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## dipset.taliban (Sep 8, 2005)

ey sh*t i had a pond with 2 koi in it and they froze like a popsicle in the winter but come spring they were still alive

if u wanted to go cheap get a vinyl tarp and attatch it to the concrete....


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

awesome- I might forget the concrete pond in patio idea- it would cost way too much- Ill prolly just dig a big one in the backyard. How the hell can koi survive after being frozen??? Do you have to feed them in the winter or do they hibernate or something?


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## dipset.taliban (Sep 8, 2005)

i guess they hibernated cuz they were bassically like a fish popsicle in there. I had 2 koi and 2 comets, all about 12" long and all froze in winter when it was about -20 out. Acctually we got busy and forgot about the pond for a few years, weant down there one day, sure enough they were alive, kinda dirty water though


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## P-22 (Oct 5, 2005)

deezdrama said:


> awesome- I might forget the concrete pond in patio idea- it would cost way too much- Ill prolly just dig a big one in the backyard. How the hell can koi survive after being frozen??? Do you have to feed them in the winter or do they hibernate or something?


like any fish that has to deal with a winter, their metabolism slows down an amazing amount and you dont need to feed them. once the water temp hits 45 degrees you actually stop feeding them. almost like a hibernating bear. the fish themselves of course do not freeze, this is another reason why a depth of 4ft is recommended and of course the hole through the ice by way of the pond de-icer to allow gases to escape. I'm in southern CT and here the ice will not get any thicker 6-8" and that's a fairly cold winter. Im sure by way of that other forum i linked you could find anohter person in your area to give you advice on how to prepare for wintering a pond. though id assume this would probably be a project for next spring? be a lot of stress on new fish to take on a winter real quick though i guess that would depend on the size of the fish and where they were coming from. to continue my little ramble you could also winter small koi (under 6") in a fish tank during the winter, be warned though these guys chow down at water temps of 78 degrees and make a lot of mess (im wintering 6, 5" japanese koi in 65 gallon tank with an AC500 and a Xp3). Ive had them in the tank for about 2 weeks and id swear theyve put on at least 1/2" each.


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## deezdrama (Jul 9, 2005)

thanks for the info! ill wait till spring for this project and research it some more


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