*** ATTENTION PEOPLE ***
Scott here seems to think he has no plans for buying koi in the future. We need to help him out.
He's in a serious case of denile!


Scott Evans wrote:

- By my calculations, we're looking at somewhere in the neighborhood of
500 gallons. Does this sound accurate?

500 gallons seems a bit small to me, even if you have no plans for koi. You may not want them now,
buts let's face it, you -will- want them later. I'd say make the pond at least 1,000 gallons, if not
much more. Larger ponds are easier to maintain as well because harmful changes in water chemistry
take place much slower with more water. I'd say make your pond 5,000 - 7,000 gallons to house the
koi -you will- buy later on. )

- For what we're thinking, is some sort of filter required, or will we
do OK without one? If algae becomes a problem, a UV filter would
obviously be required, but we aren't sure about the need for normal
day-to-day mechanical filtering.

Get the filter. You cannot have too much filtration! The koi you'll get later on will appreciate it.
Do a Google search for threads on algae solving ideas.

- My thought for the pond/stream would be to sit the pump in the pond
as far away from the stream as possible, and then pump the water up to
the top and let it cascade down the stream. Should this give sufficient
flow through the pond to avoid stagnant spots (assuming that I orient
the stream output and pump on opposite ends of the long dimension of the
pond area).

My pond is set up this way. Water evaporates a lot faster with this configuration, and you may get
tired of the noise at night when trying to sleep. In the Summer heat the water will oxygenate rather
nicely as it cascades over the rocks in the waterfall.

- How does one figure out ahead of time how much pump to buy for a
stream? For pump longevity I'm not thrilled about buying a pump of
significantly higher capacity than needed and then valving it down to
the appropriate volume (too hard on the pump).

My 1,200 GPH pumps works fine for me - see below. But again, rethink your plans so they take into
consideration the koi you will end up buying later on.

- Would it be better to buy one pump to run both the stream and water
feature, or is it better to have one pump for the stream and another
for the fountain feature? Or, should I figure out the turnover rate
needed (500 gal / 2 hours) and buy a pump for that rate (taking into
account the head height of the stream), and then valve and divert that
flow as needed for the stream, fountain, and any other water uses
desired?

My current pond filter with the waterfall is powered by one 1,200 GPH pump, and it works just fine.
Actually, it needs to have a bypass line back into the pond because the pump is too powerfull. The
pump sends the water to the top of the waterfall (about 4 feet up). Then the water goes through a
box filter, and exits that and on down the waterfall it goes.

- Like many who have ponds, we're concerned about mosquitos,

Don't be. The fish will gobble them up like candy!

- Would we need to bring the goldfish in each winter, or would they
survive under the ice?

My pond is about 3 feet deep, and our Winters get into the teens for several weeks, with snow as
well. Never had any problems with the fish. The pond should be deeper, say, 4-5 feet deep.

- Would I be really wise to include a bottom drain in the plan, or for
something this small is that not really required? (FWIW, I'm planning
on using EPDM for the pond lining, without gravel or other bottom
material on top of the rubber).

For something just 500 gallons, a siphon tube ought to do the trick.

- Are there other issues beyond what I listed above that my wife and I
need to be concerned about as we plan this pond (other than the
addictive nature and potential expenses)?

You just answered your own question! "other than the addictive nature and potential expenses..." So,
knowing this ahead of time, you KNOW you'll end up buying koi at some time in the future. Denile is
not just a river in Egypt, ya know.

- David