The most expensive part of reading Koiphen in recent years is learning about the things I did wrong when I built my first pond...the one that sits right in front of my kitchen window. I have improved the filtration on it, and I could just leave it alone, but I think enlarging it and changing it will make it far better for the years ahead. So...
Problems to correct:
1. Increase gallons. It currently has about 4000 gallons at best. Would like to triple that to more safely keep the number of Koi I would like to view in this prime location.
A. Increase depth. Currently 3.5’ at deepest point, with some large shallow plant shelves I don’t use now. Aiming at 5’ and no plant shelves.
B. Increase surface area to make this bottom basin the largest in the pond system. This pond is the third in a string of three that overflow from the top one down. That means all evaporation or leakage from all of the three show up in decreased water levels in this pond...which affects the RDF performance. Increasing the surface area will look nicer for big koi, but will also slow the changes in the water level.
2. The “middle pond” was meant to be a rocky stream between the goldfish/water lily top pond, and the koi pond at the bottom of the chain. It has turned out to be a great place to grow hair algae...shallow (only 6” deep in places), and with no BD or filtration...it is a great Settlement chamber built right into the pond system...except no good way to flush out all the muck it captures!
3. I built it with a rubber liner, BUT I did not build a concrete ring or wall under the rocks—with the exception of one area where I used blocks as a retaining wall, I simply dug the rest of the hole and lined it! THEN my wife trimmed the liner CLOSE to the rocks before adding plants around the edges. So add together soft wet ground and stepping on rocks now and then, and it equals a constant struggle to find the latest spot where water is leaking through a fold under a rock.
4. I used only one BD (and it is not aerated) and one skimmer, but it is starting to crack down the back side as the ground is shifting around it. So the clock is ticking on the need to replace the skimmer, too.
5. The Water returns are mostly at the surface instead of deep, and they do not set up a good current pattern, resulting in leaves and other debris gathering in some places on the bottom.
It is a beautiful, seasoned pond and in some ways I hate to tear into it, but I think correcting these issues now will result in a better pond going forward.
I will add posts soon to talk about plans, and would be glad to hear thoughts to help make the rebuild a great long-term solution.