I think in Malaysia the year round temperature doesn't vary much giving the pond stability. In northern climates I think we go for 6 feet deep to prevent pond temperatures swinging too quickly.
Large water volumes per fish help our Koi to grow large I think rather than depth but most of us overstock anyway...
I think that from the koi keepers point of view the perfect depth is as far as you can go whilst retaining clear water. Personally, I think that "deeper is better" with our climate, but if you have a six foot deep pond but can't see the bottom then it's too deep for your set-up, and it's not much fun having a pond full of nice koi if you can't see them, is it?
It's taken me two and a half years to reach the point where I can see the bottom of my 7 foot pond perfectly and I'm now glad that I have got that depth. But there were plenty of times when I wished I had made it shallower simply because it's so difficult to maintain clear water continuously.
I'd say always aim for six feet, but be prepared to wait a long time to achieve the perfect balance between fish volumes, feeding volumes and filtration success! And be prepared to change your set-up continuously to get it right!!
Louie
One thing I was thinking about is in the UK to grow koi you need to heat your pond 12 months a year so it would be cheaper to heat a 4ft deep pond than a 7ft deep one.
Also the sun would heat a shallow pond better in a british summer than a deeper one.
I have kept koi in the british climate for over 8 years and without heating even the hottest summer never got the water over 18 degrees, and as I found out you need heat in a koi pond if you want them to grow.
Would it not be cheaper to heat a shallow pond in winter as well as summer in this kind of climate?
Also for the same gallonage the surface area could be huge giving loads of swimming space or the turnover of the filters could also be better if maintaining the same surface area as a deep pond improving the environment no end!!!
Rich6100 wrote:
Would it not be cheaper to heat a shallow pond in winter as well as summer in this kind of climate?
Also for the same gallonage the surface area could be huge giving loads of swimming space or the turnover of the filters could also be better if maintaining the same surface area as a deep pond improving the environment no end!!!
The problem with shallow and same gallonage is the surface area is larger so the heat comes out of the pond much quicker (even warms quicker to) so heating in winter will cost you more.....
I will be going for a depth of 3.00meters
on my next pond part in the grond part out
In Malaysia it's only about 60 degress in the winter
and there all dressed up like there in the Artic
