You have some stunning ponds and Koi. Love the stonework. I am going to google the air-lifts that you mention regarding your filtration. Any references that we can look up regarding that? Sounds very interesting.

Lisa

Thanks! Attached is a link to a thread at Koi-bito about air lifts. Air lifts have been used in aquaculture for many years because it is the cheapest way to move large volumes of water. You can move thousands of gallons per hours using only a large air pump. Air pumps are cheaper to buy, quieter to run and use very little current so they are easy to keep running on a generator in the event of a power failure. The one thing they are not good at doing is moving water from the ponds to a height of more than a couple inches. In my systems, that's not a problem. I can return the water to the pond at water level so I can get maximum flow that way. The way they work is really cool. Air is introduced into your return pipe deep down. In my round tank, the air is introduced into a 3" pipe by way of an air stone dropped down the pipe. The air stone is about 4' down. This is not ideal, but I was working with plumbing that was already in place. It does work though! The new pond will be much better. The air will be injected into the return pipes about 5' down and I'll use smaller diameter pipes. I should be able to get around 4000 to 5000 gph pretty easily using four 2" return pipes.

Google "air lifts aquaculture" and you will find tons of links to technical documents. There has not been much use or documentation related to use in koi ponds, but it's all applicable anyway.

Here is a link that might be useful: Air lift thread

Very nice! Looks like the little one is enjoying the water.

How do you like your shade sails?

Thanks Nancym. I love the shade sails. They provide some wonderful deep shade over the pond and are very durable. I put these up in 2005 and they show no signs of fading or fabric degradation. I accidentally left them up this winter and had 10" of snow piled up on top and it didn't hurt them a bit! The only thing I don't like about the ones over this big pond is they don't pull as tight as I would like. I bought them as one large square and had them cut to make two triangles. The factory edges are curved so you can pull them tight, but the new sewn edge is straight. So I cant get them drum tight, which is how they look best. But they still look pretty darn good and serve the purpose. They are Coolaroo brand.

My grandson is 2 1/2 and just loves to pet the fish. They like him better than anyone else for some reason. He has pet fish that don't let me pet them and I buy their food! lol!

Beautiful ponds and set-up. I can see you get lots of enjoyment from your backyard habitat.

Thanks Cliff and Joann. We do indeed enjoy our back yard habitat. We sit on the deck in the dark late in the evenings listening to the frogs and whip-poor-wills and all the creatures that live in the woods. There is no place I'd rather be.

WOW!

Your ponds, gardens, and Koi are absolutely gorgeous. And that grandson looks pretty special too :)

You have a wonderful sanctuary. I've always enjoyed your posts here on Gardenweb and the info on the air lift is very interesting. So nice to have finally got to see your wonderful water gardens.

Can you tell me approx. width and length of your 9000 gal? It looks so similar in shape to my new pond.

Thanks Mamabirrd. My grandson is VERY special. My son lives right next door so he brings the little guy nearly every day. He loves the ponds and loves feeding fish and he always wants to take home a flower from my garden for his mommy. It's been so long ago since I built that big pond that I am not 100% of the dimensions. I am pretty sure it is 13' wide and 25' or 27' long. And it's 4' deep. The waterfall pool at the top where my largest male koi live is about 800 gallons, the filters hold around another 200 gallons, so the main pond alone holds around 8000 gallons.

The only thing missing is a house for your little Dees! : )
Nice to see the whole yard , it's beautiful!

Lisa

I especially love the carnivorous plant bog

Nice. Looks Adventurous... the picture with the child. I like the setup very much.

OMG! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful! Can I come live with you? lol Just look at those huge fish. I love the look of wonder on you grandson's face. Be sure to keep posting pics as the season goes on. I never get tired of looking at pond pics. I always pull them up during the winter to brighten up my gloomy days.

Thanks for sharing!

Jenny

Aw, thanks so much! We just got that porch done in the last couple of weeks and my DD says we have turned into porch dwellers. We are out there all the time! My grandson loves exploring the yard and feeding the fish. There are two very small koi that escaped from the pond and are living in a pool in the creek. My GS loves to search for them every time he comes over. Here's a cute shot of him looking for the fishies.

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That's beautiful, thanks for sharing. Very relaxing yard.

I would never leave home... It's awesome! Thanks for sharing: )

I would live on that porch too!!! AWESOME!!!

Just wow...and that porch is calling my name.