In This Chapter
- Measuring your koi space
- Calculating your time commitment
- Figuring the costs
- Pricing out pond construction
- Weathering the elements
For most people (probably you,
too), the idea of koi-keeping is one that evolves from a couple of inexpensive
goldfish in a small backyard pond with a filtering system and a bunch of
plastic cattails. At some point, as you sit on a lawn chair at the edge of the pond,
watching your goldfish, you may wonder, “Could there be more to pond keeping
than this?” And the quest begins: You surf the Web under koi, borrow koi
books from the public library, and check with a local pet store to find a local
goldfish and koi club. You go to a meeting, go on a pond tour, and go to a koi
show, where members talk about ponds of 6,000 gallons and filtering systems
that seem large enough to clean up Lake Erie.
Suddenly your goldfish just don’t
have what it takes. You want serious fish, fish that swim into your palm to
eat, gorgeous fish that are bigger and bolder. . . .
What you want are koi.
But are koi for you? That’s the
question. And the answer is in this chapter, which tells you how much you have
to commit (space-, time-, and money-wise) if you want a koi pond. This chapter
isn’t designed to discourage but to enable you to plan more effectively and
sensibly if you choose to purchase koi.
Do You Have the Space It Takes?
You have two basic considerations
to bear in mind when deciding how much space you’ll allot to your koi. The
first and most obvious point is the actual size of the fish and the swimming
room that they need. The second point is less apparent but just as important. Koi
have hearty appetites and produce huge amounts of nitrogenous wastes. An
appropriately large volume of water dilutes ammonia and other toxic substances
so they’re less harmful to the fish and less burdensome on your filtration
system.
Calculating a koi’s fin-flippin’ space
Several long-tested formulas can
help you figure out how many koi fit in your pond or aquarium, and they all
work off the simple concept that bigger fish need more space than smaller fish.
The formulas give different answers, so for the sake of not driving you crazy, take
the middle road. As if you haven’t noticed, koi-keeping isn’t an exact science;
it’s science mixed with art.
Remember
Crowded koi have less margin of safety than uncrowded koi. Figure 1 1⁄2 inches of fish per square foot of surface area. To avoid crowding your fish and allow for growth, stock your pond well below the upper limits of the formula. For example, in a 6-x-9-foot pond, the formula allows 81 inches of koi or ten 8-inch koi. See Table 3-1 for calculations of koi that fit in the most common pond sizes.
Table 3-1
|
Number of Koi for Common Pond Sizes
|
|||
Size of Pond
|
Inches of Koi (at 1.5” per sq. ft. of pond surface
area)
|
8-Inch Koi
|
10-Inch Koi
|
12-Inch Koi
|
6 x 9 feet
|
81
|
10
|
8
|
7
|
8 x 12 feet
|
144
|
18
|
14
|
12
|
10 x 14 feet
|
210
|
27
|
21
|
17
|
Remember
Plan ahead for the possibility that your fish will outgrow their accommodations. In some cases, a stronger filter may increase your pond’s capacity a bit, but eventually you may need to install a larger pond or find a new home for some of your fish. Although parting with a favorite pet may be difficult, remember that overcrowding (either by size or number of fish) sooner or later causes the death of all of them.
Estimating the space your koi’s habitat requires
Keeping koi can take up your
entire yard, part of your yard, or just a corner of your living room —
depending on your time, interest, and finances. Keeping only a few small fish
that you’ll give away as they outgrow their accommodations is obviously a
different prospect than maintaining a dozen adult koi in a large garden pond.
The space for your koi pond is
more than just the hole that contains the water. In this section, you discover
some less obvious factors to consider. But deciding on the pond’s size is
perhaps the most important decision that faces the new koi owner, so please think
carefully about your choice.
How much outdoor space do you need for a pond?
When figuring the space that your
pond and surrounding areas will need, consider two components:
- Size of the pond
- Access area to the pond, including space for the filter
Remember
The smallest pond you can build for koi is 6 x 9 feet across and 4 feet deep, or just over 1,500 gallons. This is way big enough to afford swimming space (and years of growing space) for ten 8-inch koi or six to seven 12-inch koi, or roughly 81 inches of koi (if physicists can have light-years, we can have koi-inches, right?). A pond must be deep enough and large enough to allow the fish to move vertically and horizontally without feeling cramped. The depth of a pond (4 to 8 feet) also gives the koi a chance to swim down and out of a predator’s reach (such as herons and raccoons and, in one case, the family cocker spaniel, who nabbed his fish directly from poolside).
Here are the other size
considerations you need to keep in mind:
- A pond of any size needs an access area of at least 5 feet along one long side and space for your filter along a short side. The access area allows you to feed and closely observe your fish and is the main place from which you manage routine chores, such as removing leaves and netting sick fish.
- You need a clear area of 2 to 3 feet around the filter. This space allows you to perform such tasks as backwashing, winterizing, and replacing the hose. You may as well provide this space along the entire side that your filter’s on so you can get to it easily.
- You need some access around the rest of your pond. Pond leaks, for example, can crop up anywhere, and you’ve got to get near the leak in order to fix it.
Adding in the access strip and
the filter strip along two sides of a 6-x-9-foot pond gives you a pond footprint
of 9 x 14 feet. Use a garden hose to loop out a rectangle of that size in your
yard. So you don’t have to measure each area, place a strip of masking tape on
the hose at 46 feet — 9 + 9 + 14 + 14 — from the end.
Warning!
Of course, you can go larger if you have the space, but the absolute maximum you want for a koi pond is 9 x 14 x 4 feet deep. The reasons for this limitation are pretty simple:
- When you need to medicate the entire pond (as you occasionally must), the bigger the pond, the higher your med costs.
- If you need to catch a particular fish, the bigger your pond, the harder it is to net the fish (and the more stressed your fish can get from being chased).
Can they stay inside? Indoor space requirements
You can keep koi inside your home
in a large aquarium; you just can’t keep them very long. Well-fed koi grow
quickly, and they’ll soon be too big for all but the very largest aquariums.
Aquarium housing for koi only
works if the koi are 6 inches max. When fish are longer than that, they’re too
big for an aquarium indoors and need a larger pond to flip around in, which
typically fit only outside (unless you have an enormous house, that is). Newly hatched
koi generally reach a length of 6 inches by age 2, so even if you start with
small fish, you need to have an outside pond or a foster home rather quickly.
Is Time on Your Side?
Keeping koi should be a
thoroughly enjoyable prospect. However, along with the pleasure comes the
responsibility of providing your new pets with proper care. By having some idea
of the time you’ll need to invest, you can more easily understand how koi
ownership will affect the rest of your schedule.
Keeping up a koi pond
- Summer: During the summer, you need an hour each week to clean the filter, do a partial water change, and check water quality. Your koi need feeding once or twice a day (maybe 5 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening — long enough to sit and enjoy your fish). Total time each week: about 2 3⁄4 hours.
- Winter: Wintertime routines for ponds in northern climes are much more relaxed. You need to cover your pond to keep the water temperatures at least 52 degrees F, and you may need to heat your pond as well. A variety of commercial pool covers (see Chapter Maintaining Your Pond) and submersible heaters are commercially available. Check the water temperature daily and the water chemistry every two weeks. Time needed? Less than half an hour a week.
For ponds in the southern Sunbelt, where nighttime air temperatures rarely dip below 60 degrees, continue feeding your fish daily, checking your water chemistry weekly, and cleaning your filter every other week. The time to complete this work alternates between 45 minutes one week and 90 minutes the next week.
- Spring: When spring approaches, you have some basic pond-housekeeping chores. Begin with vacuuming out any sludge and making a partial water change; then clean and restart the filter. These steps take about 90 minutes, counting the water change time. In a few days, the beneficial bacteria become reestablished in the filter.
Being prepared for a lifelong commitment
Koi are hardy little suckers.
With good care and attention to the water quality, your koi may outlive you! In
Japan, a koi of 100 years isn’t unusual.
Although some pond keepers trade
up or trade down (depending on the size of their koi, the size of their pond,
and their own desire for change), other fin-fans prefer to keep their koi,
watching them mature and enjoying them as family pets. For the pond keeper with
bad luck or sloppy pond-keeping skills, the average life span of a koi is less
than a month.
With luck, you figure out the
problem (maybe early enough to save the koi) so you can take steps to change
course for this or future attempts. But, if you have bad luck in the beginning,
do a reality check before you invest any more time, money, and effort. Ask
yourself, “What should I do differently next time?” Of course, when dealing with
live animals, you must face the prospect of loss and accept that forces beyond
your control may intervene. But a koi owner can take comfort in the fact that
the basics are straight forward.
Tip
Following a loss, the best course of action is to research the problem thoroughly by reading about koi in general and your own situation in particular. Reread this book, paying particular attention to those areas you may have skimmed over in your excitement to begin. Speak with other hobbyists, koi suppliers, and, if possible, professionals at your local public aquarium (many such institutions have staff or volunteers who are happy to address questions from serious hobbyists). Armed with your new knowledge and resources, start over slowly and carefully. As you gain experience and wisdom, your successes will increase.
Do You Have the Bread to Buy, House, and Care for Koi?
In the excitement of starting a
new hobby, it’s very easy to underestimate the expenses involved. Some, such as
the price of the fish, may be obvious, but less evident costs abound as well.
This section alerts you to all the monetary considerations in the keeping of
koi. After reading it, you’ll be able to make an informed decision as to how
much your interests will cost to pursue. By starting on a scale that’s appropriate
for your budget, you avoid future disappointments.
The cost of the fish alone
The cost of koi has a vast range:
They start at about $10 for koi 3 1⁄2 to 4 inches long and go to $20,000 or
higher for just one adult! The younger koi usually sell in groups of six or
more. However, in larger cities with many retail outlets, you can purchase
young koi individually.
The smallest and least expensive
koi are sold in bulk from breeders at the end of a summer, when the fish that
hatched that spring are about 4 inches long. Usually these koi go to other
breeders or to wholesalers. These people may resell the 4-inchers directly, or they
may size up the fish over the winter.
The equipment that gives your koi a home
To take care of koi, you need
certain basic equipment. Table 3-2 contains the most essential items.
Table 3-2
|
Equipment Costs for Keeping Koi
Outside
|
|
Item
|
Range
|
Median
|
Filter system
|
$500–$1,200
|
$650
|
Fish net
|
$45–$75
|
$60
|
Heater
|
$500–$1,200
|
$900
|
Medication basics
|
$50–$350
|
$200
|
Protein skimmer
|
$50–$150
|
$100
|
Pumps (you need two)
|
$380–$450 ea.
|
$400 ea.
|
UV sterilizer
|
$225–$400
|
$325
|
If you plan on keeping koi
indoors, your expenses will be considerably less, as you won’t need a heater or
UV sterilizer. The least expensive option is a traditional aquarium of 55 to
100 gallons (of course, in this case, you’re limited to keeping koi of
approximately 6 inches or less in size). Indoor pools and quarantine tubs vary enormously
in cost because of the wide variety of sizes and materials. In general, the
prices for the enclosures and the life support equipment are a good deal higher
than for traditional aquariums but less than for outdoor ponds.
See Table 3-3 for a general rundown of the equipment expenses for keeping koi inside in an aquarium.
by R.D.Bartlett and Patricia Bartlett
Table 3-3
|
Equipment Costs for Keeping Koi in an Aquarium
|
||
Item
|
Range
|
Median
|
Other Info
|
Aquarium (standard shape)
|
$50–$500
|
$350
|
Designer tanks are significantly more costly.
|
Air pump
|
$25–$50
|
$35
|
Buy a battery-operated air pump for power
outages; cost is about the same.
|
Filter and motor (as one unit)
|
$75–$250 $175
|
Large, heavily stocked tanks require stronger,
more expensive models.
|
|
Protein skimmer
|
$50–$100
|
$70
|
|
The necessary funds for koi maintenance
Although your main cash outlay will be in the startup phase
of your hobby, be aware that koi cost money to maintain. Certain expenses, like
food, arise on a regular and redictable basis. Others, like medications, are
less easy to foresee. Your most common ongoing expenses are shown in Table 3-4.
Table 3-4
|
Common Ongoing Expenses for Keeping Koi
|
Item
|
Cost
|
Food
|
Less than $5/month
|
Electricity
|
Easily $200/month for the water pump, aerator, and UV sterilizer; much
more if you heat your pond with electricity.*
|
Filtration medium
|
$20/month
|
Water-testing kits
|
New kits every four months at about $50, or $12/month
|
*Note: Natural gas heating may be less expensive, but even
it isn’t cheap.
Life-support system parts need
replacement eventually, as pumps burn out, hoses leak, and filter parts break
down. Stock all the basic medications when you first purchase your fish, but be
aware that you may need to purchase additional drugs as unforeseen medical
problems arise.
Other unpredictable expenses
include emergency situations — a power outage or disease outbreak that causes
the loss of many fish, for example. Or, perhaps a predator such as a raccoon
takes up residence nearby and you need to hire a trapper to remove the animal.
Situations like these are impossible to predict, but you need to budget for
general emergencies when figuring out your future expenses.
Building a Pond? Construction Costs to Consider
Ponds are holes in your garden
that you line with one of the following items:
- A rigid, preformed plastic shape
- A pond liner (a thick but pliable plastic sheet)
- Cement (in effect, a swimming pool for fish)
Each type of pond construction
has its advantages and constraints, but two elements are consistent regardless
of the construction type: permits and the inevitable hole in the ground. In
this section we cover those factors first and then go into each type of
construction and its estimated costs.
Securing the necessary permits
Pond construction also has permit
issues, so don’t be surprised if you need one permit to dig a pond and more
permits for the plumbing and electrical work. Keep in mind that many
municipalities require ponds to be fenced to ensure the safety of other people;
the construction of this fence is subject to strict guidelines and may require
a permit as well.
It’s impossible to estimate
permit costs because they vary greatly and are often tied to the size of a
project and to local property values. Consider this matter carefully, however,
because the cost of permits and legal advice, if necessary, can be quite high. Property
owners who fail to proceed legally can be subjected to heavy fines and
significant construction delays. Of course, the tragedy that can result from an
improperly fenced pool in an area with small children speaks for itself.
Digging the hole
The first part of actual pond
construction is digging the hole. You can
- Hire this labor out to an operator who has a backhoe. In our area, it’s $80 per hour. (If you get it this cheap, add a tip, okay?)
- Rent a backhoe and perform the labor yourself if you’re experienced or you think it sounds like fun. Renting a backhoe is by the day or half-day, at $150 per half-day or $275 per day.
- Hire laborers to dig the hole. Laborers and cement finishers are $15 per hour in our area.
- Dig it yourself with the help of some willing friends (and a whole lot of refreshment incentives).
Obviously, backhoe rental,
cement, and labor expenses vary by location and the size of the job. Backhoes
with operators rent by the half-day, and, because the rental fee includes
travel time, plan to budget at least a half-day.
Remember
You may think scooping out a hole in the ground is a fairly simple operation. Two words of advice: Never assume! And never underestimate the number of shovels of dirt a 9-x-6-x-4 hole can hold. (Okay, that was more than two words.)
Buying a preformed pond
The average preformed plastic
pond is too shallow and too small to house koi. However, outlets dealing
specifically in outdoor ponds and fish are well worth searching for. They stock
a variety of preformed ponds in many sizes, some of which are quite large and have
shelved areas along the edges, where you can place aquatic plants. You can buy
a preformed fiberglass swimming pool that a truck delivers to your site and
lowers by crane, but these pools often have a pale turquoise color, not the
dark coloring that a koi pond needs to be. (See Chapter Planning
Your Koi Pond for more of these
pond specifications and explanations.)
Installing a pond liner
Pond liners are simple to use and
not expensive. They’re not a forever-type pond (like cement), but their
do-it-yourself qualities and low replacement cost make these the pond of choice
for most hobbyists. Plan to install plumbing for the filter and pond skimmer before
you place the liner. Then, after you’ve laid down the liner, you can cut
through it to fit the filter and skimmer bulkheads (the fittings around
pipes that penetrate the liner and make the opening watertight). The 45-mil.
(thousandths-of-an-inch) liner comes by the square foot, which makes it
easy for you to determine basic costs. To determine the size of liner, use the
following formulas:
Length: Length + 4 feet + (2 x depth)
Width: Width + 4 feet + (2 x depth)
For a 6-x-9-x-4-foot pond, you
calculate as follows:
Length: 9 + 4 + (2×4) = 21 feet
Width: 6 + 4 + (2×4) = 18 feet
So, you need a liner that is 21
feet x 18 feet. For pricing purposes, that’s 378 square feet.
Tip
Buy a patch kit that’s marketed for the liner size that you’ve chosen because sooner or later all pool liners leak. (Check out Chapter Maintaining Your Pond for more about upkeep.)
Pouring a cement pond
Cement ponds are every koi
owner’s dream. They’re permanent, leak-proof, essentially maintenance-free, and
elegant. But they’re also expensive — and, again, size and shape do matter. The
cost from start to finish for a basic 9-x-6-x-4-foot pond with all the
essential elements (permits, filter, drains, lights, and so on) in Florida is approximately
$5,500.
Warning!
Don’t attempt to construct your own cement pond unless it’s your profession. (Note: Being handy doesn’t in any way qualify you to install a cement pond!) A very specific set of skills, along with experience, is necessary if the pool is to look good and function properly. Contrary to popular opinion, cement work like pond construction requires far more than a strong back. And working with a professional in planning your pond is a very rewarding experience.
Cement ponds have one very
appealing feature: After you agree on a design with a pond construction
company, your work is done (except for handing over the payment, of course).
However, working with a construction company has a few caveats. Make certain your
contract spells out details like
- The slope of the bottom of the pond (it should center around the bottom drains).
- The number of underwater lights, their size, and placement.
- The number and placement of drains and outlets for filters and pond skimmers (see Chapter Making It Pretty: Landscaping the Pond for more information on building a pond).
Accounting for Your Climate
Geographical locations — and
their climatic pluses and minuses — greatly affect the pond and koi in your
yard.
- In the South: Koi-keepers in the South probably never need to heat their koi ponds; ponds stay warm enough in colder weather with a simple cover. However, during the summer, these same koi-keepers may need to add a waterfall or fountain feature to cool the pond water.
- In the desert: Koi-keepers in arid areas like southern Arizona need to top off their ponds with fresh water to replace water lost through evaporation. They also need a protein skimmer to filter off that scummy layer of pollen that settles after the summer monsoons.
- In the North: Koi-keepers in the North bear the brunt of expenses (like heating costs during the winter). Most koi-keepers elect to cover their pond when water temperatures dip below 52 degrees F, the point at which koi become relatively inactive (see Chapter Maintaining Your Pond for the specifics on these covers). The cover can be Pliofilm stapled to a 2-x-4-foot frame just a few feet above the water. Note: When covering places and plants to avoid frost damage, the covering must be in contact with the earth or the pond’s cement apron all the way around the pond in order to hold in the latent warmth of the earth.
For northern Koi-keepers, the big
difference in cost is electricity and natural gas costs during the winter. One
koi-keeper we know spent $600 a month to warm his pond, but he had a big pond,
not the modest postage-stamp-sized pond we propose here.
by R.D.Bartlett and Patricia Bartlett
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