My husband and I live in Lyons and are going to be putting in a new pond this year. We've had a pre-formed pond from Sam's Club, that worked nicely for the past 5 years, but we are now ready to move up in size, since we want a couple more Koi and the one's we have are bigger now.

We're going back and forth with each other over whether or not we should have a raised pond or not. I don't care too much for a raised pond since I would like something more natural looking. I know that to winter your fish outside the depth needs to be below the frost level (18" sound right?). Now, if it's a raised pond my thought is that it would still need to be 18" below ground level. Or does it just 18" deep, like my husband thinks?

Also, what kind of luck do people with ponds in our area have with bog filtration? We brought in our hyacinth and water lettuce for the winter, also, and I wonder if that's a good choice in addition to a regular filter and skimmer set up.

Final question; if we winter our fish outside, heater or no heater? I understand no heater, don't feed, don't break the ice if any forms, shut off the waterfall etc. - is this accurate info? I can't believe how much conflicting information is out there. It gets confusing.

Any help we can get would be appreciated!

My first suggestion is that you join MPKS and attend a few meetings and talk to a bunch of our members. You may still be as confused at the finish, but you will have had a lot of fun and met some really neat people. The next thing you need to do is do the pond tour and get an idea of the multiple solutions to the Midwest Pond Problem. If you want to get a jump on the construction season, feel free to visit our pond in River Forest. Even in winter, it is instructive. We are home most weekends and are always happy to show off. Now you need to read all of Mike White's articles on the website and go through the FAQs. The answers to questions you have not yet asked are there.

Okay, on to your questions:

1) Raised or not? - You have to understand, I'm very biased on this subject. Our pond is raised 18 inches above grade, and we love it. The surround is weathered Creta Stone lined with rammed backfill. At the point nearest our patio, the earth packing is about 12 inches thick. Elsewhere it is as much as 4 to 5 feet wide, allowing for decorative and marginal plantings. The raised masonry allows us to sit comfortably at the pond's edge and have our fish within easy reach for hand feeding. We do not have to worry about runoff from our lawn or our neighbor's property, The water level above ground automatically assures prime on our pumps. Anybody falling into our pond really has to work at it and can't claim that they did not see it. It also bought us an additional 1000 gallons that we did not have to dig for!

2) Frost Line - Weather aside, you need at least 4 feet of depth for happy and nicely-shaped koi. Five feet is better, and any ponder you ask will tell you that he wished he'd gone "just one foot further down" when rebuilding his new pond. Deeper is better from a water quality and fish health standpoint. Deep ponds have smaller fluctuations of temperature on hot days and are much more resistant to pH swings. Any pond deeper than 18-24 inches needs to be served with a skimmer *and* a bottom drain, and you need to talk to some knowlegable people without construction-type axes to grind before you dig. For freeze-safety in this climate, a minimum depth from the water surface of 36 inches is advisable. Also a good idea is a preplanned and designed-in method of covering the pond with leaf netting in the fall and plastic in the winter. The netting reduces the amount of plant grundge you have to pull off the bottom during fall cleanout, and the plastic provides greenhouse effect to keep your pond protected from the wind chill and maintain it largely ice-free. It also gives your plantings a nice jump on the spring.

3) Bogs? - Pretty, and of some help with filtration, but you need huge volumes of water to get away with it. The only attractive bog-filtered pond I know of is Bill Stepan's pond in Yorkville. It contains 30,000 gallons, and about 1/3 of it is in his bog filter at any one time. Kevin Novack is also a proponent of bog filtration, but his filter ponds are kinda ugly. If you want koi in any number or size, you will have to employ bioconverters, mechanical filters and probably other adjuncts. Come look at my stuff. I don't have one of everything,(that would be Bry Bateman) but I'm close to it!

4) Outside? All winter? - Sure, and you don't need an expensive pond heater either. If you cover the pond, all you need is a small oil-filled electric radiator under the cover. As long as your water temp stays around 36-38 degrees, your fish will manage the winter season just fine. You need to maintain an area of the surface ice-free to allow gas exchange, and the cover and a high-capacity air pump/airstone arrangement with the stone set 1 foot under the surface will work just fine. Your pumps should be off, to allow the warmer water to stratify on the bottom. Your fish will congregate there. If you do freeze over, the ice must be *melted* through. Striking the ice to break it will damage the fish's balance systems. Kinda like a concussion to us.

Hope this helps. Come visit. Ask questions!

Bob Passovoy
President
MPKS