From bare groundto first koi.
Most ponds are built by landscapers who treat them like water features — then handed to a koi keeper who spends years fighting the design. We build the other way around: koi first.
A pond built by koi people runs differently.
We've spent twenty years importing, keeping, judging, and selling premium nishikigoi — and just as long fixing the ponds other people built wrong. A COTSKoi build starts from everything we wish every pond we've ever serviced had been given from day one. The difference shows up the day your koi go in — and every day after.
Koi-first design
Volume, depth, and flow planned around the fish you want to keep — not around what looks good in a landscape rendering.
Built to last decades
Proper bottom drains, correctly sized plumbing, and a real filtration system mean a pond that performs for twenty years, not two seasons.
One team, one accountability
Design, excavation, plumbing, equipment, and commissioning under one roof. No finger-pointing between a landscaper and an equipment guy.
Equipment at the right price
We source the gear through our own channels — no markup, no over-spec, no incentive to sell you a bigger pump than your pond needs.
The bones of a pond that actually works.
These are the systems that separate a koi pond from a backyard puddle. Each one gets sized to your specific pond and your specific bioload — never guessed at, never copied from the last job.
What a bad build costs.
We don't say this to scare anyone. We say it because we're called in to fix every one of these on someone else's young pond — at a cost that would have built it right the first time.
Five phases. One koi expert owning the whole build.
You're never coordinating between trades or translating koi needs to a contractor who doesn't speak the language. We own it end to end.
Design & Site
On-site assessment of your property, your vision, and your water. We lock in placement, volume, depth, and every equipment spec before a shovel moves.
Excavation & Shell
We dig, form, and build the structure — sized and shaped for the hydraulics and the koi, not just the look.
Plumbing & Equipment
Bottom drains, returns, filtration, pumps, UV, and skimmers installed and integrated correctly the first time.
Commissioning
First-fill, equipment start-up, and water-chemistry establishment. We bring the system to life and prove it out before any fish go near it.
Handoff & First Koi
We walk you through your new system, set you up for easy maintenance, and — when the water's ready — help you choose the koi it was built for.
Flat project quote. Locked before we break ground.
Bigger ponds need more design hours, more excavation, and more equipment. We price the whole project up front — no hourly billing surprises, no padded change orders.
You get the build quote in writing before any work begins, and it doesn't change unless you change the scope.
Our promise. The quote is locked before we break ground. If you change the scope mid-build, we'll talk it through and re-quote together — never bill you for surprises.
Source the gear through us, and it's never marked up.
Every piece of equipment in your build — pumps, filters, UV, drains, skimmers — comes through our direct-sourcing channels at fair prices. We have no incentive to over-spec, because we're not making a margin on the gear. It's not a discount trick. It's how we structure the relationship: honest design, equipment at fair prices, one team accountable for the whole pond.
- Direct sourcing through our equipment channels
- No upcharge for "build-grade" products
- Single point of contact for the entire project
- Built-in expertise on what actually fits your pond
Let's design the pond your koi deserve.
Tell us about your project — what you're picturing, what you're working with, what you want to keep. A quick phone call to see if we're the right fit is always free.