To make a long story short, i got some "free" koi from a pond
that the owner was closing down. At that time, i only had Shady Pond, and
with the additional koi there were way too many fish for the size - about
1,000 gallons. Well, the "free" koi needed more water volume and
more room, so after wintering them over i got to work (again) and built Lotus
Pond = about 1,500 more gallons. Several benefits from adding the second pond,
namely:
"Free" koi now have enough room;
"Free" koi now have enough water volume for good health;
Added big veggie filter so water quality is better;
Lotus Pond gets direct sunlight, so now we can enjoy blooming lotus,
water lilies, hyacinths, and miscellaneous other sun-loving plants;
Ponders that have been around a while on the newsgroup rec.ponds
say "you will want to add another pond as soon as you get done
with your first one" - and they are right;
i learned that "free" koi never are, but i ain't complaining.
Water Flow
Let's pretend you are a drop of water and follow along:
In Shady Pond, you enter either a bottom drain or a skimmer and travel
through double-barreled underground 4" PVC to the Settling Basin
(gravity feed). There you are pre-filtered and all the crud you have
been carrying around settles out.
From the Settling Basin you travel through double-barreled underground
4" PVC to the Pump Basin (gravity feed).
Once in the Pump Basin, you get filtered and enter Pump 1 (Nursery
Pro Ultra 1000) through 1.5" underground PVC to the Shady Pond
spillway.
Once in the Shady Pond spillway, you tumble down a cascade and into
the first Veggie Filter with Yellow Flag Iris, then to the second
Veggie Filter with Parrot's Feather and Water Celery, then to the
third Veggie Filter with assorted "Garden Variety" Mints
to give you a refreshing minty-clean sparkle.
Now you spill back into Shady Pond. You may notice that you are
pretty close to another pump. If you want to visit Lotus Pond, you
enter Pump 2 (Nursery Pro Ultra 1000) and are pushed through underground
1.5" PVC to the Lotus Pond Veggie Filter.
Once in the Lotus Pond Veggie Filter, you pass through the roots
of Yellow Flag Iris, Water Celery, Watercress, and of course more
Mint for that zesty zing!
Now you spill over into Lotus Pond. The only way out is to go through
underground 4" PVC which carries you back to Shady Pond (gravity
feed).
Now you are back where you started. Thanks for taking the tour!
