I live in Maryland near Washington, D.C.. Let's say I wanted to build
a pond outside for koi and water plants. I'd be willing to do all of
the work myself, soo ... how much would it cost? I know this depends
on how big it's going to be, so let's say big enough so that it doesn't
freeze over the winter (to keep the fish alive). If that's even
possible, anyway. Presumably I'd need some sort of lining material, the
fish, the plants, and a pump. How much would I expect to pay? And
there's probably other stuff I haven't thought of, seeing as how I
haven't done this before.

"Cyde Weys" wrote in message
oups.com...
I live in Maryland near Washington, D.C.. Let's say I wanted to build
a pond outside for koi and water plants. I'd be willing to do all of
the work myself, soo ... how much would it cost? I know this depends
on how big it's going to be, so let's say big enough so that it doesn't
freeze over the winter (to keep the fish alive). If that's even
possible, anyway. Presumably I'd need some sort of lining material, the
fish, the plants, and a pump. How much would I expect to pay? And
there's probably other stuff I haven't thought of, seeing as how I
haven't done this before.
==============================
A simple hole in the ground with a liner, a pump and filter to start you
off - around $1,000.00 to $1,200.00. Plants can be bought on sale late in
the season. Join your local pond club and you'll probably get more for free
than you want. Or they can run you another $100.00 for a few starter
plants.
--
Reel McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995...
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

I made my pond for under $200.00.

pond kit from Home Depot. Rocks from a garden centre and plants from a
nursery. Fish from local pet store.

Ok the pond is only 8 X 4 X 2.
No filter but a pump for a waterfall.
Fish are feeder goldfish.

The whole point here is don't be afraid to start small and build your
way up as you learn.



Cyde Weys wrote:
I live in Maryland near Washington, D.C.. Let's say I wanted to build
a pond outside for koi and water plants. I'd be willing to do all of
the work myself, soo ... how much would it cost? I know this depends
on how big it's going to be, so let's say big enough so that it doesn't
freeze over the winter (to keep the fish alive). If that's even
possible, anyway. Presumably I'd need some sort of lining material, the
fish, the plants, and a pump. How much would I expect to pay? And
there's probably other stuff I haven't thought of, seeing as how I
haven't done this before.

"Cyde Weys" wrote in message
oups.com...
I live in Maryland near Washington, D.C.. Let's say I wanted to build
a pond outside for koi and water plants. I'd be willing to do all of
the work myself, soo ... how much would it cost? I know this depends
on how big it's going to be, so let's say big enough so that it doesn't
freeze over the winter (to keep the fish alive). If that's even
possible, anyway. Presumably I'd need some sort of lining material, the
fish, the plants, and a pump. How much would I expect to pay? And
there's probably other stuff I haven't thought of, seeing as how I
haven't done this before.

There are so many variables, not to mention your
own interests and preferences, it's impossible to
guess a price before you've made some decisions.

It's a good idea to buy one of those inexpensive
Ortho books on how to build a garden pond. That
will tell you what kinds of materials you can choose
from, taking into account your local weather
conditions. They also have information on fish.
Once you make your decisions, then you can check
on local (or online) prices for materials.

The Ortho and similar books can be found in
any large bookstore and home project stores
like Home Depot and Lowes. They cost
around $15, and are well worth the price.

Gail

How much would I expect to pay? And
there's probably other stuff I haven't thought of, seeing as how I
haven't done this before.[/color]

Yup, find out what you are getting yourself into, before you go into detail about cost.

Questions like, what are koi, what do they eat, what are their growth rates.

How do they cope best, between the extremities of winter and Summer...

What sort of problems can be expected keeping koi, for example coping with disease, disaster, breeding...

Consider the low density route (low cost, few fish, big pond) and the high density route (very expensive, machine intensive)

How much work is involved...

A few other subjects you may want to consider... water gardening can be a very useful stepping stone before making a big leap into keeping the most demanding of big pond fish.

An armful of books on water gardening, pond keeping, fishkeeping, koi keeping may save you a lot of grief which is usually associated with leaping into buying koi, before finding out what to expect

A shovel might be a useful next step, to start pecking away at digging through the Winter months

If you have the space and the inclination, a pond for koi can be as simple as buying a rather largish pond liner (100'x40'), and digging a couple of cubic yards a day, for a couple of months



Regards, andy
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html

"adavisus" wrote in message
...

How much would I expect to pay? And
there's probably other stuff I haven't thought of, seeing as how I
haven't done this before.

Yup, find out what you are getting yourself into, before you go into
detail about cost.

Questions like, what are koi, what do they eat, what are their growth
rates.

How do they cope best, between the extremities of winter and Summer...

What sort of problems can be expected keeping koi, for example coping
with disease, disaster, breeding...

Consider the low density route (low cost, few fish, big pond) and the
high density route (very expensive, machine intensive)

How much work is involved...

A few other subjects you may want to consider... water gardening can
be a very useful stepping stone before making a big leap into keeping
the most demanding of big pond fish.

An armful of books on water gardening, pond keeping, fishkeeping, koi
keeping may save you a lot of grief which is usually associated with
leaping into buying koi, before finding out what to expect

A shovel might be a useful next step, to start pecking away at digging
through the Winter months

If you have the space and the inclination, a pond for koi can be as
simple as buying a rather largish pond liner (100'x40'), and digging a
couple of cubic yards a day, for a couple of months[/color]
==============================
All of this information can be found online, including right here. No need
to buy books if one is on a tight budget. ;-)
--
Reel McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995...
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

On Tue, 8 Nov 2005 08:15:53 -0600, "Carol-Ann" wrote:


"adavisus" wrote in message
...

How much would I expect to pay? And
there's probably other stuff I haven't thought of, seeing as how I
haven't done this before.

Yup, find out what you are getting yourself into, before you go into
detail about cost.

Questions like, what are koi, what do they eat, what are their growth
rates.

How do they cope best, between the extremities of winter and Summer...

What sort of problems can be expected keeping koi, for example coping
with disease, disaster, breeding...

Consider the low density route (low cost, few fish, big pond) and the
high density route (very expensive, machine intensive)

How much work is involved...

A few other subjects you may want to consider... water gardening can
be a very useful stepping stone before making a big leap into keeping
the most demanding of big pond fish.

An armful of books on water gardening, pond keeping, fishkeeping, koi
keeping may save you a lot of grief which is usually associated with
leaping into buying koi, before finding out what to expect

A shovel might be a useful next step, to start pecking away at digging
through the Winter months

If you have the space and the inclination, a pond for koi can be as
simple as buying a rather largish pond liner (100'x40'), and digging a
couple of cubic yards a day, for a couple of months
==============================
All of this information can be found online, including right here. No need
to buy books if one is on a tight budget. ;-)[/color]

I'd say do the initial research online for convenience and a variety
of viewpoints. Ponding doesn't have to be expensive, but if $15 is
going to strain the budget, I'd suggest some other project. The pond
'world' doesn't need another poorly designed, poorly constructed pond.

PlainBill

"PlainBill" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 8 Nov 2005 08:15:53 -0600, "Carol-Ann" wrote:


"adavisus" wrote in message
...

How much would I expect to pay? And
there's probably other stuff I haven't thought of, seeing as how I
haven't done this before.

Yup, find out what you are getting yourself into, before you go into
detail about cost.

Questions like, what are koi, what do they eat, what are their growth
rates.

How do they cope best, between the extremities of winter and Summer...

What sort of problems can be expected keeping koi, for example coping
with disease, disaster, breeding...

Consider the low density route (low cost, few fish, big pond) and the
high density route (very expensive, machine intensive)

How much work is involved...

A few other subjects you may want to consider... water gardening can
be a very useful stepping stone before making a big leap into keeping
the most demanding of big pond fish.

An armful of books on water gardening, pond keeping, fishkeeping, koi
keeping may save you a lot of grief which is usually associated with
leaping into buying koi, before finding out what to expect

A shovel might be a useful next step, to start pecking away at digging
through the Winter months

If you have the space and the inclination, a pond for koi can be as
simple as buying a rather largish pond liner (100'x40'), and digging a
couple of cubic yards a day, for a couple of months
==============================
All of this information can be found online, including right here. No
need
to buy books if one is on a tight budget. ;-)[/color]
===============================================
I'd say do the initial research online for convenience and a variety
of viewpoints. Ponding doesn't have to be expensive, but if $15 is
going to strain the budget, I'd suggest some other project.

## I have several pond books and can say I learned MORE online than from the
books. Our first pond was put in according to a Tetra Pond Book (a year
before we got online) and the information was awful. We have to redo the
berm on this first pond as we did the larger one this past summer. There
was little mention of soil types and how to stabilize the berm - and almost
nothing about predators.

The pond
'world' doesn't need another poorly designed, poorly constructed pond.

## Which you can make quite easily following the advice in some of the books
out there. The pond world doesn't *need* any artificial ponds at all for
that matter! LOL!!! :-) Ponds are fun, a hobby and certainly not
necessary for the world to go on.

Some people are on tight budgets and that should be considered - not
everyone has a 6 figure income.
--
Reel McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995...
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

On Tue, 8 Nov 2005 08:15:53 -0600, "Carol-Ann" wrote:

snip

Or you could do as Carol Gulley / Reel McKoi does and just slitther
around behind the local quickie marts and strip malls and rip off
their shipping containers to use for small ponds.........


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!
"The original frugal ponder"
~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o

More pictures for ideas:

See my ponds thru the seasons and/or my filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Defrosted~
Tri-Cities, WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

~Roy wrote:
On Tue, 8 Nov 2005 08:15:53 -0600, "Carol-Ann" wrote:

snip

Or you could do as Carol Gulley / Reel McKoi does and just slitther
around behind the local quickie marts and strip malls and rip off
their shipping containers to use for small ponds.........


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!
"The original frugal ponder"
~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o

LOL

You said the magic or dreaded word "Koi". Research Koi ponds as they are typically deeper, include bottom drains, settling chambers, Skimmer, UV and filters that may include anything from vortex systems, bead filters, trickle towers, or combos of these items. I built my 16x14x4 with BD, setting pond, bead filter, Skimmer with UV and 45 EPDM liner for $4000. This includes $1000 for coping rocks, plus landscaping, also the cost of concrete block, cement, rebar, plumbing, plants, pump, ect.

In 6 years my Koi have grown to be between 6-8 lbs. They are huge poop makers, so plan accordingly to save headaches down the road.

Happy ponding.

Koitoy wrote:
You said the magic or dreaded word "Koi". Research Koi ponds as they
are typically deeper,
.... true
include bottom drains, settling chambers, Skimmer, filters that may include anything from vortex systems,
bead filters, trickle towers, or combos of these items.
..... nope, dont have to

http://weloveteaching.com/mypond/mypond.htm
........... my pond is made of 2x4 greenwood sides with greenwood plywood, carpet
padding, permalon liner, the filter is 2x8 pine with 2x5 cedar front on the filter
and around the front. I DO have a big ass air blower @ $400 but it isnt totally
necessary. I have a pump for the water fall. Once a year I pull out the plants (to
take em inside for winter) and suction out the crud in the filter with a wet vac. I
do use a UV light but the filter really sucks the rest out. The pond has been up
since 2000 and I can still see the stones knocked out of my lily pot and a couple
wrinkles in the liner on the bottom and have never cleaned the bottom at all.
All summer I walk out, sit down, feed the fish. once a week or when I remember I
squish the snails attached to the little wimp pump that feeds the UV. A couple times
in the summer if I think the water is slowing I pull up the pump to clean off the
grate that keeps junk outta the pump. A couple times a year I run 500 gallons or so
out and replace. Other than that ...... I just enjoy it immensely. absolutely cheap
and simplicity itself to take care of. Ingrid


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://list.lovemyoldhome.com/web/wa.cgi?REPORT&z=3
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no money, gifts, discounts or other
compensation for all the damn work I do, nor for
any of the recommendations I make.
AND I DID NOT AUTHORIZE ADS AT THE OLD PUREGOLD SITE

]Koitoy wrote:
You said the magic or dreaded word "Koi". Research Koi ponds as they
are typically deeper,
.... true
include bottom drains, settling chambers, Skimmer, filters that may include anything from vortex systems,
bead filters, trickle towers, or combos of these items.
..... nope, dont have to

http://weloveteaching.com/mypond/mypond.htm
........... my pond is made of 2x4 greenwood sides with greenwood plywood, carpet
padding, permalon liner, the filter is 2x8 pine with 2x5 cedar front on the filter
and around the front. I DO have a big ass air blower @ $400 but it isnt totally
necessary. I have a pump for the water fall. Once a year I pull out the plants (to
take em inside for winter) and suction out the crud in the filter with a wet vac. I
do use a UV light but the filter really sucks the rest out. The pond has been up
since 2000 and I can still see the stones knocked out of my lily pot and a couple
wrinkles in the liner on the bottom and have never cleaned the bottom at all.
All summer I walk out, sit down, feed the fish. once a week or when I remember I
squish the snails attached to the little wimp pump that feeds the UV. A couple times
in the summer if I think the water is slowing I pull up the pump to clean off the
grate that keeps junk outta the pump. A couple times a year I run 500 gallons or so
out and replace. Other than that ...... I just enjoy it immensely. absolutely cheap
and simplicity itself to take care of. Ingrid


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ingrid- Rock on! If your pond works for you- then great. My pond needed a redo when the Koi grew to 6-8 lbs each. My simple system did not work anymore. The new system provides crystal clear water, and the water quality tests excellent, even though I feed the fish a lot. There is more then one way to have a pond, and I am glad that you enjoy your pond. But with 6 years experience with Koi- I stand by my recommendation to do a lot of research, and plan to include adaquate filtration. Happy ponding.

[quote=Koitoy] Just to counter balance the 'how not to do it' and the 'how to burn money faster' approaches....

Here's the 'how to do it extremely cost effectively and end up with very happy koi' approach

1) Dig hole in diggable ground, at a steady pace, couple of cubic yards at a time, over winter when it is convenient to wear thick clothes and heavy boots.... Dig down 1.5' over most of the area, ramp sides up by one foot (big tip, dig half the depth, use dug stuff to raise sides aka dig half a pond to make full depth)

2) 40' x 20' was the target. To cost effectively use 25' wide roll stuff.

3) 45° Angled sides go to a 30" deep area (deep enough for a bucket, with water lilies to have 18" water over them) Angled sides discourage herons, they don't like steep pond sides

4) Kidney narrow mid section has a five foot pit, where sediments drift and gather in, the rest of the 30" deep area gently shelves toward the 5' deep 'pit'

5) Pond size, depth and volume is calculated to accommodate five breeding size koi...

stats: 13,000 gallons, in effect 2,500 gallons per fish. With 60% of the pond area heavily planted with classy waterlilies, the water quality of that volume of water being filtered by aquatics easily coped with five fish. The fish had tons of tasty tid bits to spare and females spawned three times a year, with a little perk of meaty tidbits

No pumps, filters or water squelching devices. Yes, there was a pleasant paddle to rake out sediments drifting into the five foot deep pit on a day warm for paddling, a couple of dozen buckets to tip out in the bog bed made for gunnera, nest to the koi pond.

Because of the low density fish levels and very big margin of safety on water quality, nothing other than topping up required with a hose pipe. Maybe sprinkle the pond on a hot day to oxygenate it toward dawn, using existing timer switch

Fish never ill over ten year period... Modest Copper sulphate doses in Autumn and Spring, to suppress fungus

Cost? Maybe $40 for the liner (traded for with classy aquatic plants) aka zilch...

Shovel? barely used, already in shed

Stone bridge across part of the pond? that is another story...

Regards, andy
http://www.members.aol.com/abdavisnc/swglist.html