How big should my koi pond be?

 This can vary greatly depending on several factors.  Budget, space available, the number of koi you want, how big you want you koi to get and of course local building codes.  Before we get into specifics, lets first define the difference between a koi pond and a water garden.  A water garden is usually very shallow, has many plants and minimal filtration.  Water gardens are usually a better home for goldfish then koi.  A koi pond will be deeper, usually few or no plants and a more advanced filtration system.  Generally a minimum of 3 ft is best for koi and deeper is better, many will go 5, 6 or even 8 feet deep with their ponds. 


A minimum of 1000 gallons is generally best.  Some have built smaller ponds around 500 gallons and they have established a balanced system over time, but this is much harder to maintain.  Others have built much larger ponds, well over 5000 gallons and even 10,000 gallons or more.  This will usually create an ideal environment for koi, but may be out of reach for many hobbyists. 

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