Building koi pond

[nye]

Hi i'm new on the forum,great site by the way ,i'm looking at building a new pond for my father this summer,its going to be 12ft in lenth,5ft in width and 5ft in depth,3ft of the pond will be below ground level leaving the remainder 2ft above ground,the remaining 2ft above ground will be dressed in brick,the inner walls will be constructed using concrete blocks,the concrete base will be 6" in depth or will i get away with 4" .I'm looking at putting in a bottom drain the pipe work being 4" in diameter will that be ok ,however i have never constructed a pond of this scale before,i need as much info as possible regarding everthing that goes with building one,i'm not very clued up with how the bottom drain should lie,does it need to be bang on level or does it require a slight run ,also being as this is going to be a gravity fed system,exactly how far above the pond does the filter need to be in order for it work,also were abouts does the pump sit in order to pump the water back in on the return ,sorry for rabbiting on but i really have not got a clue when it comes to doing the plumbing side of it,i'm happy enough with constructing the actual pond just not sure were things need to be regarding pipework and filters and pumps,your help with this matter will be very much appreciated,
many thanks nye

[easylife]

Hi Nye,
welcome to the forum
The thickness of the base depends on your soil type but i would go with 9" this gives plenty of coverage around the 4" pipe from the bottom drain(B/D)
i would lay the B/D level as gravity will pull water to the filter and use swept bends where poss
the water level in the filter needs to be level with that in the pool the pump will go on the out let from the filter
Will u be having a skimmer?
this is only my opinion and im sure the more experienced will help hope this helps
All the best Alan

[Russ Little Pond]

Give this link a look see - [url=http://www.koicymru.co.uk/construct.htm]A Guide to Modern Koi Pond Construction[/url]

[nye]

well thanks for all the great feed back guys(not)

[Russ Little Pond]

Hello nye,

We dont all sit here waiting for members to post question or want advice asap, we reply in our own time after work or after rebuilding our homes and cleaning the pond, for now give Google a good search

[icav]

Nye , im currently researching how to build a "real " koi pond . Do what im doing and look through all the members pond builds , not only are they the best part of the forum imo , but you learn so much .
Ive been trawling through them for around a month now , im not looking to rush in as from what others have said get as much info before digging away .
I look for people who have built a similar size pond to the one im looking to do and study the pics /or send them a pm . Its far more interesting than someone just telling you how to do it Also once you begin to understand it more you can add your own ideas to youre build
cheers Ian (ive joined other forums aswell ,just to get to see more pod builds )

[nye]

Thankyou for your reply's,the only thing i'm not happy with is how all the pipework fits together,how much depth of concrete should i go for 6" or 9",bearing in mind the bottom drain pipe will be 4"in diameter.Also what would you recomend for covering the walls fibre glass or the stuff you paint or roll on .I've looked at different ponds on here and they all look fantastic ,but i just can't find no pic's showing step by step instrutions on how to fit a bottom drain in,and instrutions installing the filter and pump together,i have had a look but can't find any pictures showing what it should look like from start to finish.

[Russ Little Pond]

Use solvent weld pressure pipe (grey) from bottom drain, dry test all pipe, fittings and mark with pencil before you glue in place.
Concrete thickness depends on soil type, brown wet clay, hard grey clay, sandy soil. Also give this [url=http://www.koicymru.co.uk/const2aa.htm0]Method 3 paragraph 3[/url] a read about bottom drain 4" pipe run.
If you can afford fibreglass use it.
Have a read through the link above I posted.
Also keep asking questions and spend time reading through this part of the forum [url=http://www.koiquest.co.uk/forum/viewforum.php?f=3]Pond Construction and Pond Gizmo's[/url].

[fishboyfishy]

I built my pond last year taking various advice from different people. BAD MOVE, as most was crap!!!

This time I'm doing it the right way!.............The way I want too!!

That is the best advice I can give, because at the end of the day if you are not happy with it then its in your garden!

There are some very knowledgeable people on here who are a great help But everyone has an opinion, and what they think is good may not be right for you. So look around take ideas from all over, and do what you think may be right, if its not then better luck next time!

Remember some people have a budget to spend on their pond that others wouldn't be able to spend on a car! comprimises have to be made.
But the following must be followed for a succsessful pond;

Bottom Drain, Gravity Fed filter.

Thats about it!

As said I am a total novice, but planning is the best way to go.

[herbie]

Nye

Everyone will give a different lists of what a koi pond needs
if you look on these websites you will see what some other people
have done (people generally go with a 9inch slab for the base with
one or two layers of mesh)
http://www.koivista.com/index.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.koipix.com/gallery/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Best of luck

[nye]

Thankyou very much guys ,i will take my time on the planning,and make sure i get it right first time,again thankyou guys

[longboardpete]

Don't know how good this is but might be a bit of help?

On Ebay: koi pond project dvd all you need. Item number: 200307927060

[daz2007]

have a look at mine its 12 by 6 by 5 foot deep i put a 8" base in with reinforcing fibres and mesh.
http://www.koivista.com/display_series.php? ... eries=1382" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
there is also a really good set of pics going through the entire build of judy's pond here http://www.koivista.com/display_series.php? ... series=906" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;