How to Decide on Pond Depth and How to Determine Average Depth
in an Existing Pond
Ask a pond keeper how deep a fish pond should be and you'll get a variety of different
answers. Ask a Koi keeper the same question and they'll say at least 6 feet. Few
will qualify their answer and so confusion reigns and the wrong type of ponds
inevitably get dug that in the end do not suit the person who wanted the pond in
the first place.
Let's try to demystify the question of pond depth and then go from this concept
to calculating pond volume in a general sense.
As you read below bear in mind some people talk feet and others metres so here
are the basic conversion factors: 1 foot = 30.5 cm, and 1 metre = 39.3 cm.
How Deep Should A Garden Fish Pond Really Be? ... Well It Depends
Sure if you want to win first prize for the largest grown Koi at the local
annual Koi completion then immediately I will agree 6 feet is a good depth for your
pond .... for the reason that high quality, fast growing, well fed Koi need space
to exercise and in which they can develop correct body shape. Koi also prefer
more stable pond conditions. In deeper ponds temperature swings are far less
between day and night and by virtue of the large volume, pollutants if they exist
are in low concentration unless a really bad filter problem happens to occur.
But is this what you meant when you said you wanted a koi pond? Probably not ...
you were probably referring to having a pond with a variety of those living
jewels in it just to enjoy for their colour and pet-like behaviour.
In this case a pond of about 3 or 4 feet depth would certainly be OK ... in fact
less would also work. Of course you could expect fairly large swings in
temperature but koi in general will tolerate these changes.
Most aquatic plants prefer shallow ponds so if you want a simple water garden
with a few fish then ...
A pond between 2 feet and 3 feet is fine. Bear in mind that deep ponds cost much more than shallow ponds.
In the final choice personal preference, space and budget will be decided along with
common sense.
The basic principle behind pond volume calculation is getting the average depth
right.
At some stage or another (pond treatments, medical dosages etc) you'll need to calculate the pond's volume.
The fundamental formula is simple .... the volume of any pond is the
surface area multiplied by its average depth. However getting both these numbers
correct can be a major challenge for most of us. It's also true that total
precision is not really necessary yet the more accurately you know both
average depth and surface area the more accurate your calculation of pond volume will be.
If you have a pond and the depth is not constant you can make a very good
estimate by taking a stick.
-
Mark the stick or pole at 1 inch (2.5 cm)
intervals using an
indelible ink pen.
-
Insert the stick at 10 different places in the pond
covering the general contours of the pond bottom and record each depth, by
the time you've finished you'll have 10 numbers.
-
Add the numbers together and divide by 10.
-
Use this answer as the average depth
of the pond.
Click here for discussion on pond volume
calculation
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