It is imperative that you know the total gallonage capacity of your pond. Equipment size, stocking levels, water quality adjustments and medication dosages are all expressed in terms of total gallons. Guessing the total gallonage, particularly in the case of administering medication, could be lethal to your fish.
Rectangular pond volume can be calculated by multiplying the length (in feet) by the width (in feet) by the average depth (in feet) by 7.5; the answer being total gallons.
For circular ponds multiply ½ the diameter (in feet) by itself, by 3.142, by the average depth (in feet); the answer being total gallons.
If your pond is too irregularly shaped to use either of the above formulas to calculate total gallonage, it must be determined at the time of the initial filling. Turn on your water and fill a measured container such as a five gallon bucket, recording the amount of time taken to fill this container. Fill the entire pond, recording the time to do so, and equate the two to determine total gallonage. For example: if it took one minute to fill the five gallon container and sixty minutes to fill the pond, the total pond volume would be 300 gallons (60 X 5).
Note: For determining the proper size pump(s) and filter for a pond, the following modifications must be made to actual total gallonage:
- Average pond water depth less than 30 inches: Add 25%
- Pond located in full sunshine: Add 25%
- Climate (Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama); Add 15% Stocking level: Any variations in stocking level above the 1 inch per 10 gallons norm will require a pro-rata increase in the size of all equipment provided. Thus a 2,000 gallon pond stocked at 1½ inches of fish per 10 gallons will require an equipment package appropriate to a 3,000 gallon pond, i.e., 50% more fish requires 50% greater equipment capacity.
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