How to Choose the Best Koi Pond Kits

Well, we all want koi ponds in our backyards, but the main question is how to build it easily and economically? Building a koi pond at your own is not an easy task, but it can be accomplished easily with the help of koi pond kits. 

Koi pond kits include everything needed to build a koi pond easily. A typical koi pond kit includes pump, pond liner, filters, skimmers, pipes, and pond lights. 

Now the question is how to choose the best koi pond kit out of so many options? It is not a difficult task if you have some knowledge about pond kits. Here are the four key tips to choose the best pond kits:   

Choose the right pond kit style

The first thing you need to consider is the style of the pond kit. Because if you choose the wrong kit, you may end up building a pond which is difficult to maintain, clean, and not ideal for koi as well. There are mainly four pond kit styles that you can choose from ecosystem pond kit, waterfall pond kit, bottom-drained pond kit, and formal pond kit. Among these four, bottom-drained pond kit is recommended for koi ponds. With a bottom-draining pond kit, all fish waste and debris end up at the bottom of the pond wherein it is filtered into the drain and removed from the pond. 

On the other hand, with the usual pond kit, you have to get out fish first. You have to net the fish and remove them from the pond and drain the water from the pond and refill it with a fresher one. This is not only a time-consuming cleaning process but wasteful as well. 

Calculate the right volume for pond filter

The second most important thing is pond filter because it is that component of the pond which has to deal with koi waste. To choose the right filter for your pond, you need to know the volume of filtration that you would need. This depends on the size and shape of your pond. If your pond is irregularly shaped, you can get the volume of filtration by finding the volume of the pond. If your koi pond kits have hard plastic pond liner, the instructions that come with it will give you the exact amount of volume that you would need. Depending on your filtration needs, choose your pond filter. 

Check Liner material 

Pond liners are manufactured using a wide array of materials. Most common materials used are PVC, LDPE (low-density polyethylene) and rubber. PVC pond liners are more stretchable than most pond liner materials in the market. It is affordable and easy to use but not tear-proof. LDPE Pond Liners are more flexible, affordable, and durable than PVC. And rubber pond liner is considered to be the best pond liner material in the market. It is highly durable, waterproof, impermeable, resistant to UV light, and lasts longer. Rubber pond liner comes in two types- butyl and EPDM. Butyl is highly durable but bit expensive while the latter has the same properties as butyl but available at a much affordable price.

Check capacity of pond pump

While choosing a pond pump, you need to consider the flow rate, water lift height, and operational cost. As koi produce a lot of waste, it is necessary that water turnover must take place every hour. Hence, the flow rate of your pond pump must have the same value as the volume of water that your koi pond can hold. Also, check the head height rating of the pond pump. The right height of pump for koi pond would depend on the type of pump you are using and the location of your filter box. You also have to make sure that the flow rate would be enough at the height you have chosen.

So these are the four key tips that you can follow to choose the best koi pond kits.