Can your swimming pool be converted into a Koi pond?

Generally the answer is yes. 90% of all swimming pools can be easily converted into a Koi pond. As long as your swimming pool is big enough (Koi need at least 10 00litres) and can hold water the chances are extremely good that you can perform a successful conversion.

The primary factors to be considered are:

    1. Where to locate filtration for the Koi pond

    2. How to run piping to and from the Koi pond

    3. Ease of access to the filtration for regular weekly maintenance

    4. Ease of access to power and top up water for the Koi pond

Then you need to decide what type of filtration you would like to use. Here the choice you have is enormous. You can opt for pressurised closed loop systems, low pressure moving bed systems or whatever you like. The choice is yours.

Generally one of the constraints of swimming pools is that a gravity fed pump return filtration system design cannot be implemented owing to the fact that there are no large diameter bottom drains on the swimming pool. However pump fed gravity return systems are almost always an option for installation and can be easily installed.

Decide on the location of your filtration. Once you have this you will have an idea of where your piping is going to run. You will have pipes delivering water from the pond to your filters and pipes that deliver water from the filters back to the pond. Obviously one would like to locate these as unobtrusively as possible and as out of the way as possible.

Sinking them into the ground is an option, as is building something over them to protect them. Again your imagination is the limit here.

Bear in mind that access to your filtration is the most important factor. Space is a necessity for filtration and you should allow yourself enough space to be able to access all the components quickly and easily. From time to time some of them will need to be replaced or serviced and our advice is to make this as easy as possible for yourself since you will be the one doing it.

Note that you will need to access power for running your pumps, air pumps, UV lights and other pond filtration paraphernalia. Also you will need to top up the pond water from time to time but seeing as how your swimming pool required both power and water generally this is only a serious issue if the filters are to be located much further away from the original filtration location.