I have overwintered fish before, successfully, but it needs to be done in the basement on a cement floor. Filtering is easy, the only cost is a pump. 1. You find a large heavy plastic container, a Rubbermaid storage container is perfect or a tall barrel often sold as a rain barrel. 2. Set this container onto something that raises the bottom of it as high as the side of the pool. I used cement blocks to build a stable base for mine. 3. Put a drain hole in the bottom of the side of the container so the water can drain out into the pool. I put my cement blocks and the entire thing inside the pool but you can put it beside the pool as long as the water drains out the hole in the side bottom and into the pool without leaking onto the floor. 4. Fill the container with filter media of some kind. There are a lot of things you can use for this. Plastic dish and bath scrubbies work well(ones without soap), as does clean lava rock with no additives. Anything to increase the surface area for bacteria to grow on. (Quilt batting is too dense). You want to establish a good bacteria culture in the media. It is this bacteria that removes the ammonia from the water as it flows through the filter. This really doesn't take two months. Two weeks is more like it, especially if you seed it with bacteria from another fish filter, either pond or aquarium. 5. Run the pump inside the pool sitting on a brick, with an output hose that runs the water into the top of the plastic filter container. If you are indoors and there's not a lot of splashing, you won't need a lid on it. The outflow hole in the bottom side of the filter container needs to be four times the size of the inflow hose. If it is not that large, the filter will slow the water down enough to cause it to overflow. Filtering a pond is really very simple. You don't need anything more complicated than the pump. Get a pump that moves the gallons through the filter about four times a day. That will be your biggest or only expense. I use this type of filter for my outdoor pond too. An out-of-pond filter like this one works much better than an underwater pump filter. It doesn't have to be ugly plastic. I had one that was in a huge terra cotta pot and I put a few impatiens in the top. (yes, ordinary garden impatiens love growing bare root in water). It is called a "trickle tower" filter. Google it and you will get a lot of information. Rule of thumb for fish is this: one gallon of water for every inch of fish, including tail. If you have a super filtration system, you can get away with more. They will grow through the winter if your water is warm enough. I would also add a lot of plants to the water to help keep it healthy. One that I like a lot for aquariums, doesn't need much light and the fish don't eat it: Creeping Jenny! (Yes, the same ground cover with yellow flowers in the garden). I grow it in my pond too, in the pots to hide the rims. Just root pieces in a glass and stick in water bare root with a little rock to hold them in place. One word of caution: Putting koi in a 2' new home will usually cause them to jump out. If they have been sitting out on the floor, even overnight, just put them back in, even if they look dead. They will probably recover (here speaks the voice of experience).

The only thing I would want to add is that for ME, growing dpiphytically is WAY too high maintenance. I've tried it and I always lose them because: 1) If I grow them in the GH, the heat in summer dries them to a crisp (and mine doesn't get much more than morning sun...) 2) If I grow them in the house, I have to take them down every day or so and water them, let them drain off, then put them back. It would be a full-time job. 3) Misting where they sit doesn't really work because I have beautiful old woodwork and antiques I don't want to ruin with constant moisture. I think if you have the time, space and humidity, it would be wonderful to grow them this way. But I grow Hoyas and succulents because they're low maintenance plants and turning them into high maintenance plants would just suck all the fun out of it for me. But I have great admiration for people who DO take the time, so congrats on your great success Bihai! They're absolutely stunning grown this way! Denise in Omaha

you are looking at about 3000 gallons, plenty of room for koi, and a good depth too. a few pointers. 1) don't build the raised sideds out of wood. the pressure from the water over time will bow the wood and you will need to run a stringer across the top to hold the frame together. I would used cement blocks....much stronger and you can put slate, tile or stucco to hide the blocks. 2) I second the comment about a gravity fed bottom drain into a SC. Take it a step further and make it an aerated bottom drain. Best thing you can do for your pond IMO. 3) bowl the bottom of your pond so the deepest point is at the bottom drain. 4) for a GREAT DIY mechanical filter try a DIY Microscreen. its self cleaning and GREATLY improves them effectivness of your bio filter because it's not getting clogged with muck. 5) so much more, too much to typw out here....read read read. visit koi phen . com (remove spaces, this sight is blocked, not sure why, its one of the best koi sites on the net!) they have TONS of info on pond building and a lot of the big dogs in the industry (koi judges, pond contractors, breeders, etc) hang out there.

Thanks! I made this tree using pruned branches off my friend's tree. I wired two branches together in a three places along the trunk area to give me an all-around fullness, trimming here and there to get the best shape. I then set it in a container of Plaster of Paris until hard. The branches will absorb A LOT of paint, so it's best to first spray the entire tree with a white (or clear) primer coat. After that, I just used a non-matt white spray paint. The really important thing to keep in mind, for those of you who haven't made one before, is to choose a container (to set it in with the P of P) that's deep and wide enough to hold it upright and steady afterwards when it's decorated, but small enough to be able to fit inside a variety of different baskets or decorative containers. I used a big (2 lb?) margerine tub container for this one. I've been kicking around the idea of making another one, painted black, to use for Halloween next. When not in use, I cover mine (undecorated) with a plastic trash bag tied tightly around the stem/trunk to keep dust and critters out. I store it out in our garage on top of our fridge there. From experience (this is my 3rd tree), just make sure it's narrow enough to fit through your doors, before painting it ;^P Lynn