Westoughton Koi Pond Build

This project was completed for a customer who was new to Koi keeping. The customer had kept a marine aquarium for several years and relished the idea of having a modern Koi Pond in his garden.

The pond was due to be positioned in the corner of the customer’s garden. It was therefore decided that the pond should be triangular in shape, so that the front of the pond could be viewed from all positions of the garden. A hole was dug measuring just over 1 meter in depth, where we cemented an 4” aerated spin drifter bottom drain in position, along with the associated 4” and 1” pipe work. This provides the fish with much needed oxygen while taking the waste to the filtration. The pond walls were then constructed using breeze blocks (laid flat), extending over a meter above ground level. This provides the pond with a total depth of over 2 meters.

A void was left in the front wall of the pond for a window to be positioned at a later date, while the rear wall was extended upwards to house an illuminated Oase water blade. The raw breeze block was rendered with a cement mix to give the surface a smooth finish prior to fibre glassing. Once the fibre glassing was completed the window was installed and made watertight using Huttons Gold Label Pond Silicon.

Finishing touches were applied to the pond which included, external/internal pond lighting, K-rend on the exterior walls, coping tiles on the tops of the walls, and split face tiles surround the water blade. The finish is absolutely fantastic, and really gives the pond ‘wow’ factor.

When it came to selecting filtration, the brief was simple – ease of use, fantastic water quality and excellent water clarity. This is what most Koi keepers strive for. The challenge we had, related to the position of the pond. With it being positioned in the corner of the garden there was space limitations. The customer ideally wanted the filtration to fit within a raised flower bed to the right of the pond.

Initially we looked at a Nexus 220 however it was simply too large for the space. Instead, we opted to use an Eazypod Air, which works much in the same way, but has a much smaller footprint than a Nexus. We used this as a pre-filter, removing any large waste particles before passing the water through a 20” bead filter which is designed to polish the water, making it gin-clear.

We used an Evolution Aqua, Varimpump 10,000 to move water through the system. This is a variable flow pump which allows the customer to dictate the speed at which the water moves through the filtration and water blade, the system more efficient. We used a Charles Austen ET-60 air pump to aerate the pond. We have tested these fantastic air pumps rigorously and have found them to be extremely tough, powerful, and quiet – ideal for Koi ponds.

Finally, we passed the now-clean pond water through a EVO 55W UV clarifier prior to it returning to the pond. The job of the UV is simple, to destroy free floating algae cells. This in effect stops the pond turning pea green, so we can enjoy our pond fully during the warmed/sunnier summer months. We always recommend customers use the largest UV they can fit or afford.

We used the existing raised flower bed to house the waste pipes removing soiled water from the filtration during cleaning. This runs below the surface of the soil adjacent to the fence and links up to a drain at the opposite end of the garden.

This 9,000L contemporary Koi pond is extremely neat with an outstanding finish. The customer is extremely pleased with the end result and finds the system easy to clean and take care of. We have been undertaking water tests and fish health checks to ensure everything is moving in the right direction. The customer is very much looking forward to enjoying this phenomenal creation during the warmer summer months.