Koi are raised in mud ponds in Japan, and my local importer has three mud
ponds that he rents out each summer. The koi love to root around in the mud
for bugs. Because of their love of rooting, a mud pond can look like a mud
hole. My importer does not filter his mud ponds, but does aerate
generously. I think a good waterfall for circulation and aeration would be
good, but filtration should not be an issue. The koi will spawn and could
over populate the pond in a few years, but I think that with a natural pond
like you are talking about, that predators will able to keep populations in
check.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
"Jeff" wrote in message
om...
We have a large spring fed pond on our property - 45x55, that we are
trying to make into a koi pond. It has a couple of trees around it but
mostly sunny area. We are getting conflicting advise, from the need
for filters, liners, caves, ledges, plants vs no plants, etc to being
told just circulate the water and throw in the fish. Where can we get
good advise - most of the books seem to be for much smaller ponds. We
are in Upper Makefield PA, 35 mi north of Philly Thanks
- Jeff