Thank You, Jason L. – A Journey from Curiosity to Koi Mastery
Jason, your story is a perfect reflection of how koi keeping grows from a simple idea into a lifelong passion. From a spontaneous flyer to a thriving 4,500-gallon oasis, you’ve embraced every challenge and turned it into opportunity. Your dedication to learning, adapting, and caring for your koi—especially “Pumpkin”—is inspiring.
We’re honored that Kodama Koi became part of your journey, from your first tategoi to appreciating the true artistry of Nishikigoi.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us as we proudly celebrate 25 years of Kodama Koi Farm.
Customer Story By: Jason L
“We are relatively new pond owners – we decided to build a pond 6 years ago on a whim when a local bond builder left a flyer on our door. As a kid, I used to love sitting by my aunt’s pond. I was always in awe of her beautiful koi. We also love landscaping. So we decided to replace our inground trampoline with a koi pond with the hopes of building a beautiful backyard oasis.
We didn’t know much about ponds, so we relied on our pond builder, who built us a beautiful 4,500-gallon ecosystem pond with a skimmer that feeds a 10 ft long stream. While we love the natural look and feel of an ecosystem pond, we spent the first two years struggling with string algae and maintenance (we had to vacuum our pond ever few weeks to maintain the water quality given our fish load). While we didn’t mind, we knew we had to make some modifications (both for our benefit and the health of our fish).
After extensive research, we knew that if we wanted to keep our ecosystem pond healthy, we needed more water movement, a way to pull waste off the bottom, and overall better filtration (both mechanical and biological). We ended up adding a second filter that significantly exceeds the capacity of our pond and fish load and can honestly say that we’ve reached a sweet spot with low maintenance and balanced ecosystem for our fish.
Over the past six years, we’ve also grown a lot as koi keepers and learned to appreciate the beauty, variety, and differing quality in koi. We went from buying koi at our local garden nursery, to purchasing koi through Kodama’s tategoi program, to buying koi specifically for their quality. We especially love our giant five-year old hi utsuri, which my 11-year-old son has officially named “Pumpkin.”
While our pond journey wasn’t always smooth, ponding and koi keeping has been a great and rewarding experience. We love spending our weekend mornings and most evenings by the pond in our very own garden oasis. Thanks for reading our story.
CUSTOMER’S GALLERY : JASON L.
Celebrating 25 Years of Kodama Koi Farm: A Legacy of Passion, Tradition, and Excellence
As we celebrate 25 years of Kodama Koi Farm, we extend our deepest gratitude to our loyal customers, partners, and dedicated team.
Your trust and support have been the foundation of our success, and we are honored to have you as part of the Kodama family. Every koi we deliver carries our passion and commitment, but it is your dedication to this beautiful art that keeps the koi community thriving. Learn more.
