Koi House Construction Photos are available on my DIY CD.

Iowa winters are long and cold. I live in zone 4b. The water temperatures drop below 50F around mid October. The koi quit eating food, and don't start again until early April. Spending half the year cold and starving is not the healthiest way to raise koi. My koi have outgrown the size of my indoor ponds. My visit to Japan in October 2004 inspired me to build a koi house. I broke ground on September 3rd, 2005 and the koi were moved in by November 25th, 2005. The koi house is 20x22. The south roof and walls are covered with 8mm twin wall polycarbonate panels. The house is heated via a 45,000btu natural gas furnace.

The Layout

The Large pond Including filters, it is 11x19x5' deep and holds 8,000 gallons. There are four 4" DIY bottom drains, and two settling chambers, and 2 DIY overflow-type skimmers. The water is circulated through the filter system via a 17,000gph propeller pump (aka "The Luke Pump") which only uses 200 watts of electricity. Air is supplied to the pond via two 9" diffuser disks (attached to the bottom drains). Airflow is 120lpm using an Airtech air pump. There are about 30 koi in the 18-26" size in this pond (my breeding stock).

The Medium pond(s) Each of these ponds are 7x9x4' deep and holds 2,000 gallons. Each pond has a single 4" DIY Air Dome bottom drains. The bottom drains are connected to the main settling chamber. Above each pond is a 250 gallon tank full of broiling bio-media. I circulate 2,000gph through each pond. There are around 250 koi in the 9-16" size in this pond that I offer for-sale.

The Small pond(s) Each of these ponds are 4x5x4' deep and holds 600 gallons. Each pond has a single 4" DIY Air Dome bottom drains. The bottom drains are connected to the main settling chamber. Above each pond is a 55 gallon barrel full of broiling bio-media. I circulate 1,000gph through each pond. There are around 500 koi in the 3-8" size in this pond that I offer for-sale.

Xtra Small Pond The tank is 2x5x3' deep and holds 200 gallons. It has a single 2" AIR Dome bottom drain I circulate 500gph through this pond. Air is supplied to the pond via an aquarium bubbler. There are 350 koi in the 1-2" size in this pond that I offer for-sale.