Best of Building A Koi Pond- Things To Consider

Their grace, long life expectancy and gorgeous colors make koi a popular fish for outdoor ponds. Koi fish also have a large variety of characteristics, making them an ideal fish for keeping in a pond.

 

Koi are predominantly a large fish. They can grow to their full length if the conditions are favorable. They require a pond that can hold more than five hundred gallons. The health of the koi largely depends on the amount of space they are given as well as the quality of the water they live in.

 

Koi fish survive in cold water and thrive in water temperatures between 60 and 67 degrees Fahrenheit. When winter arrives and ice forms on top of ponds, koi hibernate and slow down their digestive systems drastically, enabling them to make it through the wintertime.

 

Make your pond an attractive sight – something of a spell bounding view that fascinates anyone who looks at the heavenly created scene. You can do that by providing the Koi with shade such as lilies. These lilies, though can take up 70% percent of the total pond's space, providing a secure cover and shade for your Koi and also reducing the chance of algae that can likely grow in the water.

 

Since koi can only handle about five or six hours of direct sunlight a day, water lilies greatly help protect your Koi. Interesting enough, these lilies also serve as a survival area for insects and insect larvae. Koi, being omnivorous in nature, can also feed on these insects. An alternative to covering the pond with lilies is to create your pond under a shaded tree, thus providing it with lots of shade.

 

The disadvantage to this, however, is that the pond will get littered with deceased leaves, and twigs from the tree, potentially harming the koi and requiring more maintenance to keep the water clean and clear.

 

When digging a pond, remember to keep the depth enough for your Koi fish to enjoy adequate living space. Deeper water can provide your koi with protection from predators including raccoons, which would love to feast on your koi. Make sure that you provide them with at least four feet of water to protect them from the sun and predators, give them sufficient space to swim around.

 

Depending on where you live, birds such as the Great Blue Heron might also be a danger since they love feasting on koi. A single Blue Heron can gulp down approximately one hundred six inches tall koi! To keep these more dangerous predators away, make sure your pond is at least eight feet deep. You can also add additional protection by installing a bird net over your pond.

 

Building your own Koi pond isn't only practicable economically, but also allows you to exercise your creativity in designing it the way you like. Building to your own specifications allows it to flow beautifully in your garden and improve your landscape dramatically as well as fit as many koi in it as you would like.

 

You can even add features such as fountains and waterfalls to make it look even more gorgeous and relaxing; making it a place you can go to in order to calm your senses in a stressful time.