How to build a koi water garden pond.

I decided to build this Koi pond after visiting Japan a number of times and admired their water gardens ponds and Koi. Our design has three ponds, the top pond has water hyacinths in it and is the filter for the pond, the water is crystal clear. The middle pond has a waterfall from the top pond where the water gets aerated. The bottom pond holds about a 2000 gallons of water and the koi.

We sit beside our water garden pond listening to soothing and relaxing water rushing down a small water fall. The dragon flies are fluttering in and around shrubs and plants, crickets are tweeting, bees are whizzing and humming birds are dancing around while the Koi swim lackadaisically around in the water garden pond.

We have about 6 water lilies plants that cover almost all the pond. They grow pink and red blossoms in the crystal clear water in the summer time. They re-grow in the spring as the days get longer and warmer after they die off in the fall back to their roots.

We have about 40 Koi in the pond, it is hard to get an correct number as they never stop moving. I buy small Koi that are 2 to 3 inches long. They grow to over 10 inches.

Egrets are the most frequent visitors to our pond. They will fly onto our roof or the neighbors roof then drop down onto our patio and wade into our pond. If we see the egret, we will let our dog chase them off. He hasn't jumped into the pond since he was a pup.

We have had raccoons play in the pond and sit on the water lily containers. I watched a mother and 3 baby racoons play and try to catch the Koi.

I designed our do it yourself Koi water garden pond, with stakes and string. I installed a 3" PVC pipe from the lower pond to the top pond to pump water. I painted the block wall with an asphalt paste behind the pond to piled dirt on this wall. I constructed 4 railroad ties in an L shape, two layers high to make the front edge of the upper pond and the waterfall into the middle pond.

I constructed a 1/4 circle ridge from the ends of the ties to make the front edge of the middle pond where water would tumble over the edge into the bottom pond. I removed about 18" of dirt for the lower pond, putting the dirt into the walls of the upper ponds. I put a PVC liner that we cut and glued to fit over the ponds.

I started with a 1/5 horse power above ground pump with a 2" inlet and outlet. This provided a good flow of water over the waterfall. Sometimes it would lose its suction and I would have to re-priming the pump.

I found a 1/3 horse power submersible pump that could be used in a fish pond. Some pumps cannot be used in a fish pond, check the fine print. I found this out the hard way when I tried to get a replacement pump.

I have rebuilt our pond about 3 times but we have had good luck with this design and the raccoons and egrets like it too. We've had this pond design for over 15 years.