Emerick Peace called us in June 2022 to compare rotary drum filters. Derek on our team has helped him with several filtration upgrades since then, and in September 2025 Emerick walked us through the whole story by phone.
From garden pond to koi pond
Koi weren't part of Emerick's first plan. He wanted a peaceful garden pond that would turn his backyard into a place of calm.
"I've always liked aquariums, so I just thought a pond would be really peaceful."
The more he read, the more he wanted koi, and the pond he had built didn't suit them. Four tons of pebbles that had seemed like a good idea turned into a costly mistake, because they trapped waste and put the fish at risk.
"I had to take the rocks out of my pond. All of them. And all those rocks I paid for, thousands of dollars, I ended up stomping them into the woods."
Rebuilding the filtration
The pond is a 20-foot circle holding about 7,000 gallons. He started with skimmers, submersible pumps and small pressure filters, then rebuilt the system one step at a time as he learned more about koi ponds: he retrofitted bottom drains, swapped filters and moved up to bigger equipment. Derek talked him through drum filter options in 2022 and helped him choose his bead and polishing filters in 2024.
"I started out with a pressure filter, then a bead filter, then an Evolution Aqua filter. Eventually, I ended up with a rotary drum filter, a bakki shower, and most recently a GCTek AlphaNANO filter and a PoliGlassBead XStream polishing filter. Now I'm turning my pond over almost three times an hour."
It wasn't cheap. He estimates he has spent more than $10,000 on filtration alone, and the upgrades transformed his water quality and the health of his fish.
Why he keeps only females
Emerick keeps nothing but koi, and only females. When we spoke in September 2025 he had 17.
"When I first started, I thought I was buying all females. But after spawning season, I realized out of 23 koi, seven were males. That was another lesson. Now I only keep females. They're less stressful on the pond, and I didn't realize until recently that champion koi are always female because of their body shape and color."
His biggest koi are over 32 inches, and the rest run from 27 to 31 inches. He isn't chasing show titles, but quality matters to him: "I'm buying really nice fish, just not show fish. Fish I love."
Saturday mornings
Every Saturday morning is cleaning day:
- Run the blowers.
- Backwash the bead filters.
- Inspect the drum filter.
- Vacuum debris if needed.
"It's not hard," he says. "Just consistent."
Beyond the chores, the pond has become a daily ritual.
"I go to the pond every day and every night. Sometimes I sit there for hours and have to make myself leave. It's the littlest slice of heaven on earth."
Feeding
Koi keeping cost more than he expected, and food was one of the surprises. He started on premium Hikari food at about $500 for a 40-pound bag.
"I realized I'll never win the All Japan Show, so I don't need to feed the most expensive food. Now I've settled on Nijikawa. It's high-quality, smells fresh, and the fish look great. That's what matters to me."
His koi eat eight times a day: six feedings from an automatic feeder, plus one early in the morning and another late at night. "If you're feeding that often, food costs really add up," he says.
His advice for new pond keepers
Decide early whether you want a garden pond or a koi pond.
"If you're going to appreciate koi as living jewels, don't build a garden pond. You'll regret it later."
If you inherit a pond or are just starting out, he suggests learning the system first and then deciding whether koi are the goal. "Keeping fish and keeping koi are two different things. If it's koi, your filtration system has to match."
On food he keeps it practical: "Find a quality brand within your budget and stick to it. You don't need to overspend to enjoy beautiful, healthy koi."
What the pond means to him
When we spoke in September 2025, Emerick had been at it for four years. He belongs to ZNA's Potomac chapter, and we met him in person at a koi show that same month.
"It just brings me so much peace. The vibration of koi keeping, the creativity of it, it's unlike anything else. My pond is my slice of heaven."
Emerick's pond at a glance
- Location: Upper Marlboro, Maryland
- Size: a 20-foot circle, about 7,000 gallons
- Liner: EPDM
- Fish: 17 koi, all female (September 2025)
- Turnover: almost three times an hour
- Filtration: rotary drum filter and bakki shower, plus a bead filter and a polishing filter fed by a midwater intake
Emerick's equipment
He bought these from us:
- GCTek AlphaNANO 4.25 bead filter, rated for 10,000 gallons
- PoliGlassBead XStream polishing filter, 10,000-gallon model
- Evolution Aqua K+ 9600 pressure filter, the "Evolution Aqua filter" in his story
- EasyPro centrifugal pump intake filter
- Matala heavy-duty air manifold
Also part of his setup:
- FREE Drum rotary drum filter
- Hakko air pump
- A bakki shower
- Nijikawa koi food
Plan a pond like Emerick's
We rebuilt Emerick's pond in our Pond Planner at its real size, a 20-foot circle holding about 7,000 gallons, with his stream, flagstone patio and fire pit. Here it is from above and up close.
You can build a pond like this yourself. Open Emerick's plan to walk around it in 3D and step through the equipment it calls for, including a FREE Drum filter and an AlphaNANO bead filter like his. Then press Start my own pond and draw yours at the size and shape your yard allows. The planner sizes the liner and picks the pumps and filters to match.
When you're ready to build, call or text us at (206) 350-7580. We'll go over your plan with you, the way Derek has helped Emerick with his filtration upgrades.