Koi pond equipment

The right koi pond equipment makes all the difference between happy, healthy koi and crystal-clear water, and very ill koi and murky green water.

There are various bits of equipment you'll need to include in your koi pond construction.

• The most important piece of equipment is a really good filtration system, as koi are very sensitive to water quality. Details about koi pond filters and filtration
• You'll need a good pump to circulate the water in your koi pond – the water's healthiest if there's some movement, and it gives your koi exercise. You may also be using the pump to pass water to your filtration system. You can get submersible pumps and surface pumps – the former are easier to install, but the latter use less energy. As with most koi pond equipment, err on the side of caution by getting something bigger than you need – pumps are expensive to replace if you later find you need a bigger one.
• You'll need some way of aerating the pond. A waterfall is one way to do this, and has the added benefit of creating movement in the water. Alternatively, you can get an aerator pump.
• Another useful piece of equipment is an ultraviolet lamp. This prevents algae building up. You'll need to replace the bulb regularly, perhaps once a year, as the lamps become less effective with use.
• Place a thermometer somewhere in your koi pond. Koi's metabolism varies according to the temperature, so it's important to know the water temperature of your pond to make sure that you don't overfeed them. (More on koi pond temperature.)
• You'll need some way of cleaning the bottom of the koi pond, where debris builds up. A bottom drain is the easiest way to do this – this is literally a drain (or drains) at the bottom of the pond, and it can feed directly into your filter system. If you don't want to go to the expensive of installing a bottom drain, you'll need some kind of vacuum pump to clean the bottom of your pond.