Koi & Goldfish Ponds

Koi or goldfish? Your choice determines the kind of pond we design for you. We’ve built ponds for koi where these large and friendly family pets provide hours of enjoyment for their owners. We’ve also done spectacular water garden ponds in which hardy goldfish such as comets, commons, and shubunkins flash gold, red and orange as they dart underneath the lily pads. A goldfish grows to seven or eight inches in a healthy pond. Put a koi in the pond designed for it to thrive and your pet can easily reach two feet in length.

Although both koi and goldfish need feeding and close attention to water filtration, when we’re talking koi, we’re talking bigger. Much bigger. To support a healthy environment for koi, the pond is typically larger and deeper. And it needs a more robust water filtration system. Because koi eat more—and they do like to eat—the mechanical filtration has to handle a heavier load as it collects pond debris. Additionally, a koi pond requires a biological filter that uses beneficial bacteria to remove excess nutrients from the water, an important process in maintaining water quality. Ideally a koi pond also has an adequately sized natural wetland or water garden filter system that makes use of nature’s best filters: aquatic plants that remove the excess nutrients from pond water and make it healthier for fish.

Not surprisingly, when the pond gets bigger for koi so does the cost and complexity of installation and ongoing maintenance. At Tranquil Escapes, we’ve helped many clients build the perfect ponds for their koi and their goldfish. Whichever pond you’re thinking about, we can help you get your feet wet.