I'm new to this forum, and am looking for some advice for equipment needed for starting a small koi pond.
The pond will be approx 3000l-400l and be around 1.5m x 1.5m x 1m(depth).

I seemed to have settled on:
1) 2000l external pump with 1.8m Head height
2) 15W UV light
3) 15l Biofilter
I believe that UltraZap also have all in one filter combo's combining the biofilter and UV in one.

I'm not sure if this is all for a small and wether a bottom drain is needed, but any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks,
Nigel.

Hi Nigel.
I think it will be too small-unless you plan to keep only 2 koi. The running costs on a 10kl will be the same as the very small one. Personally I think you should rethink,but you only can decide according to the available space for the pond,and your budget. And keep in mind-most of the time 'for starters' is 'for ever'.(speaking of experience-my 12,5kl could have been 20kl by just adding 1m at each side!) Good luck.
Philip

Welcome to the forum Nigel.

I agree with Phillip. 3000 - 4000 liters is very small for koi, but if your budget and space don't allow larger, it is a start. I can guarantee you, you will soon go larger.

In my personal experience, if you do not have a bottom drain with some kind of settlement chamber, cleaning will be a nightmare. Your 2000 liter pump is going to clog all the time, and you will have to vacuum regularly, as the sludge will build up on the bottom. If the specs of the pump is 2000 liters, you will find that within a few days of not cleaning, it will deliver only 1000 liters or less an hour, which will be insufficient for the volume of the pond. The smaller the pond, the more turnover required. With a 3000 liter pond, you need at least a 3000 liter/hour pump, but I will instal a 5000 l/h pump or 2 x 2500 l/h.

To incorporate a bottom drain with settlement chamber is not going to cost much, and it will make your life much easier. You will be able to flush the settlement chamber purely by opening a valve from time to time or clean that chamber with suction(if below ground level), and lesson the strain on your pump and filters dramatically, leaving a much clearer pond.

To increase oxygen, I would recommend that you incorporate a small waterfall or bakki shower. It will increase your bio filtration dramatically and it will degas your Nitrates.

Thanks for the advise, thusfar.
I just have a question on the bottom drain.
If I install one, where would the settlement chamber be in the chain after the bottom drain. Would it be immediately after the drain, and before the filter ?

Thanks again.

Something like this. The first chamber is the settlement chamber. With a small system, you can do away with chamber 2 & 3 but then you at least have to have an extra biofilter.

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For the small size of this pond, would you recommend a 50mm or 100mm pipe from the bottom drain ?

50mm should be fine for 3000 to 4000 liters.
But considering the small difference in price I would go for the bigger one.
The bigger is always the better.

Thanks Paul.
If I only have one chamber, can it be sufficient to have the bottom drain empty out there, and place the submersible in the same chamber ? If I can, would I need to raise the pump slightly so that it doesn't sit at the bottom of that chamber where all the sediment from the pond collects ?

Much Appreciated.

Yes you should lift the pump as high as possible, and try to put some kind of separation between the inlet pipe and pump. Brushes, Japanese matting or even shadecloth on a frame.

For this small pond, I've also decided not to build a concrete settlement chamber, but try to use a large plastic box (properly set in place) as the input from the bottom drain and housing the submersible pump. Has anyone tried this before, and suggest any advantages and pitfalls of trying this.

Thanks again.

No problem with that idea. A tank connector through a plastic container works quite well, or even a swimming pool aim flow.

Njeffthas, how are you doing with the pond?

It's doing very well ( I know this by the growth rate of the fish and plants), and learnt some valuable lessons I can put in practise if I ever build a larger pond. The design is very similar to the picture posted by Paul above. Thanks again Paul for all your advise.

Well show us a picture my good man