We had talked about putting in a pond for several years and one day I came home from work to find a large hole in the backyard.  We had not joined the Club yet, so we made all the usual mistakes: too small, too shallow, not enough filtration, no skimmer, built in plant shelves etc.

Over the years we have added the stream which seems to connect to the top of the waterfall of the large pond, a skimmer, and a large waterfall biological filter. This pond contains many potted water lilies, flag iris, and other assorted plants.  We sink all the pots to the bottom for the winter. This pond only contains goldfish.

This Koi pond has uses the largest waterfall biological filter available.  The stones used are Picture Rock.  The largest stone in the waterfall is 4 tons.  We had a bog built in on one end which is about 6-8 inches deep filled with pea gravel.  The bog contains various hardy and tropical plantings including yellow flag iris, canna, hibiscus, elephant ear, taro etc.  I take in the tropicals each winter.  The water lilies are supported on supports made of bricks which also provide areas for the koi to swim through and hide.