May 5, 2009

Do You Know Your Pond Volume And Pond Depth?

Pond depth is one of those factors in pond building that is much talked about and misunderstood, particularly by those people who "mix" with dedicated koi keepers. So often you must ask yourself do I want a koi pond in which I want to raise large Koi or do I want a garden fish pond containing koi?

For most garden ponds 3 feet is deep enough and even less suits many situations. Koi ponds need 5ft to 6ft depth.

In cold climates shallow ponds freeze and in hot climates they get very warm. In shallow ponds you see MUCH more of your fish and their behavior.
Most aquatic plants prefer shallow ponds but many water lilies require 3 feet of water to grow to their best showing.

If you have a pond and the depth is not constant you can make a very good estimate by taking a stick and mark it in intervals of say 3 inches with an indelible ink pen. At 10 different places in the pond insert the stick and record the depths (get 10 numbers). Add the numbers together and divide by 10.

If your pond is of equal depth and the same cross section then you can accurately measure the pond volume using your pond pump. Using the pond pump and a pipe time how long it takes to fill say a 5 gallons container to the 5 gallons mark (not much more not much less). Now pump water out of the pond for say 5 minutes
Record the depth after pumping out water.

Volume of pond = (S x V x T2) DIVIDED BY (D x T1)
  1. S = depth of pond in inches or any unit before pumping starts
  2. D = inches or any unit of water pumped out of pond i.e. difference between start depth and final depth.
  3. T1 = time to fill the container
  4. T2 = time pump was run to pump out water
  5. V = volume of container
Another Way To Measure Fish Pond Volume

Most homes in the USA have a water meter! This makes pond volume measurement simple if you start with an empty system. Just make sure that while filling the pond nobody uses then toilet, takes a shower does the washing up etc. All you have to do is then record the start and finish readings from the meter to get a very accurate indication of pond volume.


The full article can be read at http://www.garden-pond-filters.com/garden-pond-volumedepth.htm ...

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