Pond Fanciers More And More People Are Building Ponds In Their Back Yards And Adding Koi Fish

Sue and Bill Miller got lots of blank looks a few years ago when they tried to track down some koi for a pond that they planned to build in their back yard in the Chicago suburb of Berwyn, Ill.

“People thought we were crazy,” recalled Sue Miller, a school bus driver who eventually rounded up 30 of the brightly colored Japanese fish for her 23-by-14-foot pond.

“Nobody knew what we were talking about. But then we found a few more people in the area who had koi ponds or wanted one.”

Buoyed by their discovery, the Millers joined with several new-found pond-fanciers to launch the West Suburban Pond Club in 1991. And when membership spread to include hundreds of pond lovers throughout the Chicago area and nearby states, the club changed its name to the Midwest Pond & Koi Society.

Now the 500-member group finds itself swimming with a tide.

“Back-yard fish ponds, especially koi ponds, are hot properties now,” said society President Gregg Gall, a Brookfield florist with three elaborate back-yard ponds.

For years, ponds, especially those stocked with fish, have been popular in warm-weather locales. But now, because of developments in pool technology that include de-icers and warming tents, the hankering for serene ponds and the accompanying desire for imported koi have moved into the upper Midwest.

Do-it-yourselfers and home-improvement stores have gotten into the act with everything from shallow lily ponds to deeper, fish-friendly pools. Putting in a back-yard pool can cost anywhere from $100 to $1,500 if you put it in yourself.

Custom pond jobs carry far higher price tags. Crestwood, Ill.-based pond designer Greg Jones, whose Waterfall Landscapes will install two dozen ponds this year at Chicago area homes and condominium developments, puts the cost of a typical pool - with small waterfall, landscaping and perhaps a wooden bridge - at $3,000 to $10,000.

Fish are extra. And while some pond owners stick with modestly priced goldfish, many now opt for trendy imported koi. Each of these long-lived members of the carp family can go for anywhere from $25 to $500 and up, depending upon breed and size.

“Pond prices might suggest we are dealing with the ‘upper crust,”’ Jones said, but “a lot of these pools are going into working-class neighborhoods.”

Wayne Reid of the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove, Ill., had his serpentine, 35-foot long koi pond installed two years ago for the serenity factor.

“Being able to step out your back door into (a natural) environment is so relaxing,” said Reid, a piano teacher. “There’s something about koi that gets a hold of you. They’re very gentle fish.”

But ponds can be habit forming.

“It’s like a disease,” Reid said. “Pond owners are always asking each other, ‘Did you enlarge your pond yet?’ And the answer is always, ‘I’m thinking about it.’ It’s a hobby that has no end.”