Heh, yea I know better than to put koi in this pond. Besides I've got enough fish as is right now (just verified that the two fry that managed to get into the lotus bog are still alive - one that is over an inch long and turning white, and the other is about 3/4" long - so that puts the known count at 53). Course, in the "can't leave anything alone" frame of mind, I had stopped by a local store that was advertising pond equipment on sale. Well, found out they had a nice selection of plants on closeout (Calla lilies, Cannas, and rushes mainly. Most growing extremely well, but some partially or fully dead), so picked up an actively growing Taro and more water celery. So now I've modified the left side of the stream and put the plants there since it's the most shaded area. Also found a slight leak in the process so took care of that while I was at it. I would love to get the grasses away from the skimmer box, but that'll have to wait until next spring - the tall one with the white-ish bands is Miscanthus Strictus aka Porcupine Grass and it is extremely sharp. Let's just say that knife-like grasses next to something that needs to be checked often is not a good idea (planning on planting it along the back for some natural predator defense). I also noticed that my stream is full of these little black worms, which look awfully similar to black fly larvae pics I've found online, so oughta find a way to keep them in check (I've been knocking them off the rocks to fall into the pond as a natural fish treat). Yea the house is coming along. Fortunately it's in extremely good condition and not a lot of repairs need to be done, just upkeep and smallish stuff. I have started some demo work in the kitchen so that I can replace the mid-sized fridge with a full-sized one, but that's the biggest upgrade/fix (aside from a new shed), and I was planning on doing this when I bought it.

Congratulations on taking the next step! OK....where do I start. First, consider going bigger. A LOT bigger. Koi get very large, over 30" in length and need space. Koi should have between 300 and 500 gallons each, so at your planned 1600 gallons you could realistically expect to keep no more than 5 koi. If you can double that to 3000 gallons you would be much better off. Depth needs to be a minimum of 36", although 48" is much better. 36" isn't very deep for a 32" long fish. Bottom drains are a MUST. Koi are very messy animals and produce a lot of waste. Most of that waste will sink right to the bottom and sit there until you remove it by vacumming, or the bottom drain carries it to the filter. You can buy bottom drains, commercially made. All you do is set the base in a bed of concrete in the bottom of the pond and attach the pipe that will be burried under the pond and come up at the side of the pond where it ties into the filter. Lay the liner in and get it secured. Then cut a hole in the liner in the center of the drain. Use sealant to prevent leakes and attach the plastic ring that comes with it with the stainless screws they provide you with. I have installed 5 drains in my own ponds and never had a leak. Get a 4" drain...anything smaller just won't move enough water. small koi will coexist peacefully with plants.....but the bigger the koi get, the more they will damage the plants. Koi love to dig in the pots and shread leaves. That is just their nature. You can have plants that stick up out of the water (iris, cattails, etc), just use a heave pot and use heavy round river rocks all on top of the soil to keep the koi out. And you many find that as your koi mature, even the rocks won't keep them out. Rocks on the bottom are a HUGE mistake. They trap debris that should not be left in the pond to decay. they provide a safe harbor for bacteria and parasites to breed, and koi can become injured on them. Seriously....leave them out. They do not look natural to me at all. In nature, you do see creeks with rocky bottoms, but I have never seen a lake or pond with a rock bottom. I love the look of a black liner bottom. When you have a beautiful collection of colorful koi swimming against that black bottom, you see the true beauty of the fish without the distraction of the rocks. Besides....the rocks will get covered in algae and won't look as nice as you think. I prefer to see koi when I gaze into a pond and not green rocks. A good supplier of equipment is AZ ponds. You can find them on the web. They are a little short on customer service, but their prices are unbeatable. Oh yeah....you need a skimmer too. You may want to check out a website called koishack. There are many wonderful threads over there in the construction forum with loads and loads of pictures. I just completed a new filter for one of my ponds that works every bit as well as a $1500 nexus filtes and it cost me around $150 to make it. Instructions for that are over there also.

Marcia The worst problem with the cane toads is the breeding. They have spawned so heavily in the smaller pools to cause the whole system to turn into a smelly cesspool. They produce more tadpoles then have room to swim. I have netted as many as 3 gallons at a time . To my knowledge there is nothing that will eat them including snakes . Not sure if the toxins they produce are present in tadpole form but have noted that grackles will catch them but won't eat . I thought above ground pool would slow them down as they are so clumsy but they manage to get in anyway. They have been around s. florida for a long time but in the last 2/3 years have really become a problem. I'm guessing because of the drought.?? Anyway so far in april have netted 75 adults enough tadpoles to fill a 5 gallon bucket,removed enough egg masses to fill a gallon jar . Still have so many tadpoles the fish can't swim lol. Was reading an article about them in Austalia where the problem is 100 times worse than the US. In the research the ONLY thing they have found that will eat them is King Cobras. They prove fatal to native snakes as well as other native toads frogs. I have been putting the captured adults in a garbage can, tadpoles and eggs spread out on sand . haven't found a humane way to kill such large numbers . No I'm not going to put 75 toads in the freezer lol. Any other suggestions??? gary

Mike, I did again the same as above minus the mortor on the rocks, didnt have time, bought some guiding lanterns today and a granite bench to make the pond area look more asian. Where again are you getting this three dollar salt.. I only added maybe a total of 15 pds. Also having a problem clearing the water.. its not a pea green its just murky, any products or ideas on how to clear the pond up, the fish seem fine and happy but would like to clear up the water.. Will check it again tomorrow after all the stuff I added today but I expect about the same tomorrow... I can barely see the bottom drain and its 37 inches down