Several years ago we decided to add a water feature to our yard. We started with one fifty gallon, and one, one hundred gallon, preformed pond units. We were told in the beginning that every ponder regrets not making their water feature larger. We found that statement to be true for us, too. The following year we added an additional three hundred gallon pond to our yard.
After three years our Koi were growing quite large -- too large to bring indoors for the winter. We decided to replace our earlier ponds with one large one, deep enough for the fish to winter over outside. By building our pond and filtration system ourselves, we learned a lot about construction, water quality, aquatic plants and animals, and how to maintain and encourage a healthy eccosystem. As we started to dig, the diameter of the pond area kept increasing until it reached almost 20'X25' and three feet deep near the waterfall! Forty cubic yards of dirt were used to level the pond area, a four and a half foot retaining wall was constructed, and twenty-four thousand pounds of rocks line the pond bottom and sides. A bridge and patio were added, and our outdoor porch was screened. Like any garden project our pond is, and will continue to be a work in progress.
