Koi Pond Materials and Equipment

Pond Liner

Your pond liner is the foundation of your entire water garden. It makes little sense to use an off-brand liner to save a few dollars. I recommend using a name brand 45 mil EPDM liner specially formulated for water gardens. Some places sell roofing EPDM that can contain algaecides & fire retardants. This would not be a healthy start to the koi pond. To calculate the size of liner needed simply measure the surfaces for the length of the pond as shown below and add 2 feet to the total to overlap the edges. 1.5 + 4 + 6 + 4 + 2.5 = 18 + 2 = 20 ft.

Make the same measurements for the side at the deepest and widest end of the pond.
2.5 + 8 + 2.5 = 13 + 2 = 15

This would make the liner 15X20 ft. I would recommend digging the pond before purchasing the liner to keep from digging the pond bigger than the liner.

Pond Skimmer Filter

The second most important item would be the skimmer. Water is a magnet for windblown debris and leaves. The skimmer will sweep the debris off the surface of the pond into an easy to empty leaf basket, preventing the debris from dropping to the bottom of the pond where it can decompose causing water quality and maintenance issues.The two that I have used is the Aquascape and Savio pond skimmers. Both use a skimmer basket and course filter material. The Aquascape Signature Series Skimmer has an inlet door that can be adjusted to the water level. Aquascape Designs offers a 6 inch and 8 inch models with flow rate of up to 4000 and 10,000 GPH. The Savio has options to add UV sterilizer bulbs. It also has a larger pump area and accepts 6, 8.5 and 16 inch weirs. It can handle water capacity up to 8500 GPH.

Pond Pumps

The pump is the heart beat of the koi pond. With today's energy costs it pays to spend the extra money to buy a high efficiency pump with a high water flow. The two best pumps to meet this criteria are the Aquascape 3000 Pump and the Tsurumi 50PU2 pump. Both are rated at about 3,000 GPH and are reliable continuous run high efficiency pumps. The Tsurumi 50PUF2 pump has an automatic shut-off to protect the pump if the water level becomes to low. The Aquascape pumps are horizontal pumps which takes up less room in the skimmer. The most efficient pump for large pond applications is the Pondmaster Hy-Drive 4800 which has an amazing low wattage of 225.

Filters

Many manufactures offer different solutions for biological filter solutions for the koi pond. The most common is incorporating bio-media in a waterfall. Savio has the LivingPond Waterfall Filter and Aquascape has a Aquascape BIOFALLS® Filter. If you plan to keep a high volume of fish these filters add to the biological filtration of the pond and are designed to be incorporated in the waterfall. They can be easily hidden by stacking rocks around them and floating water hyacinths on the top.

UV Sterilizer

UV Sterilizers will kill free floating algae and parasites. They are often called clarifiers because the will eliminate the green pea soup look of the water rendering it crystal clear. The Savio Skimmerfilter has built in UV ports to house optional UV clarifiers. Some pressure filters also incorporate UV clarifiers and there are external units as well. Keep in mind that they will not prevent hair algae. For more infromation on koi pond equipment Click Here!
               External UV Clarifier