Nov 4th 2026
What do Japanese koi, honey bees, and a backyard swimming pond have in common? At this New Jersey farm, they all share the same incredible ecosystem.
A backyard pond can be beautiful. It can provide a home for koi. It can become a natural habitat for plants and wildlife. And, with the right design, it can even become a place to swim.
This unique natural swim pond in New Jersey brings all of those elements together.
Built by Fitz’s Fish Ponds, this custom water feature was designed as a hybrid between a recreational swimming pond and a koi pond. Massive natural boulders surround the water, colorful koi swim below the surface, protected water lilies soften the landscape, and honey bees from the surrounding farm regularly visit the pond for water.
The result is more than a backyard water feature.
It's a living ecosystem designed for people, fish, plants, and pollinators to enjoy together.
Want to see the scale of the boulders, stone dock, koi, and honey bees for yourself?
Take the complete tour with Brian Fitzsimmons of Fitz’s Fish Ponds and see how this unique recreational pond was designed and constructed.
When planning this project, the homeowner didn't want a traditional formal koi pond.
The vision was something considerably more natural.
The customer wanted the ability to keep koi while maintaining the appearance of a natural body of water—and he wanted to be able to swim in the pond, too.
That combination presented an interesting design challenge.
Koi ponds are typically designed around the needs of the fish, with filtration, circulation, and water quality playing major roles in the construction. Recreational ponds need to account for how people will enter, exit, and interact with the water. Naturalistic ponds, meanwhile, depend heavily on rock placement, grading, and landscaping to create the illusion that the water has always been part of the property.
This project needed to accomplish all three.
The Fitz’s Fish Ponds construction team developed a hybrid design that combined the engineering of a functional koi pond with the immersive experience of a natural swimming pond.
One of the first things you notice about this pond is its scale.
Creating that scale required some serious stone.
Approximately 150 to 180 tons of rock were incorporated into the project, including roughly six truckloads of massive boulders.
This project wasn't for small equipment.
A Fitz’s Fish Ponds construction crew specializing in large machinery and oversized boulder placement handled the installation. Each major stone was carefully positioned to create the desired elevations, transitions, and natural appearance around the pond.
The crew used lasers during installation to position the rockwork precisely.
The finished result demonstrates one of the most important principles of natural pond construction: the best rockwork shouldn't look like it was simply placed around a pond.
It should look like the pond was discovered among the rocks.
Instead of a traditional swimming pool surrounded by concrete or pavers, this pond provides a completely different way to experience the backyard.
Large boulders extend right to the water's edge, while a substantial flat stone projects over the pond to create what Brian describes as a floating stone dock.
It creates a natural place to sit beside the water, watch the koi, or swim in the pond.
The entire design intentionally blurs the line between swimming pool, koi pond, and natural water feature.
No bright pool liner dominates the view. No traditional pool deck separates visitors from the landscape.
Instead, stone, water, fish, and plants form one cohesive environment.
Of course, this isn't only a swimming pond.
It's also home to koi.
The homeowner wanted the beauty and personality that koi bring to a backyard water feature without sacrificing the pond's natural appearance.
That meant the filtration system had to support the fish while still fitting the homeowner's goals for the pond.
The bottom of the pond was carefully graded toward two bottom drains, helping move debris and water toward the filtration system.
A skimmer positioned at the opposite end of the pond helps improve circulation and collect floating debris.
What is particularly interesting about this system is its simplicity.
The entire pond operates using one 2-horsepower pump connected to a large FlowCell aquaculture filter.
Could a pond of this size incorporate additional filtration and more bottom drains? Absolutely.
But successful custom pond design isn't necessarily about installing as much equipment as possible.
It's about designing the right system for how the homeowner actually intends to use the pond.
In this case, the goal was straightforward: create a beautiful natural pond where the family could swim, enjoy koi, and experience the water as part of the surrounding landscape.
The system was designed accordingly.
Aquatic plants are an important part of the natural aesthetic—but anyone who keeps koi knows there can be a problem.
Koi and water lilies don't always make the best roommates.
Koi are curious, active fish and can quickly disturb planted areas, uproot vegetation, or damage lilies.
Rather than eliminating aquatic plants from the design, the team created a dedicated protected lily area within the pond.
This allows water lilies to become part of the overall ecosystem while separating them from the koi.
As those lilies continue to mature, their pads and flowers will add additional texture and color to the water's surface.
Tropical water lilies could make the area even more dramatic, producing larger flowers that rise above the water—and potentially providing another attraction for some of the pond's smallest visitors.
One of the most fascinating parts of this pond wasn't necessarily something that had to be designed.
The honey bees found it themselves.
Because this property is part of a working New Jersey farm, honey bees are already an important part of the surrounding environment.
Now they have another resource.
Throughout the day, bees can be seen gathering around the pond's edges and using it as a reliable water source.
Honey bees require water for several important functions within a colony, including helping regulate conditions inside the hive. Providing access to water can therefore become another valuable component of a pollinator-friendly landscape.
In this case, a water feature built primarily for people and koi has naturally become part of the larger farm ecosystem.
The homeowners swim in it.
The koi live in it.
The water lilies grow in it.
And the bees drink from it.
That interaction is what makes this particular project so special.
Great pond design isn't always about controlling every aspect of nature.
Sometimes it's about creating the right conditions and allowing nature to participate.
As this pond continues to mature, its character will keep changing.
Water lilies will fill in.
The rockwork will weather and become increasingly integrated into the landscape.
The koi will grow.
Pollinators and other wildlife will continue discovering the water.
And the homeowners will continue enjoying something a traditional swimming pool simply can't replicate.
That's the beauty of a well-designed recreational pond or natural swimming pond.
You're not simply creating somewhere to swim.
You're creating an environment.
For homeowners researching backyard swimming ideas, a recreational pond offers a very different experience from a conventional swimming pool.
Traditional pools are typically designed to separate the swimming environment from nature. Natural swim ponds and recreational ponds take almost the opposite approach.
Stone, aquatic plants, moving water, and surrounding landscaping can make the swimming area feel like part of the property itself.
And for homeowners who already love koi ponds and water gardens, a hybrid design can open even more possibilities.
This New Jersey project demonstrates that a pond doesn't necessarily have to serve a single purpose.
With thoughtful design and professional pond construction, the same body of water can become a backyard retreat, koi habitat, swimming area, landscape centerpiece, and part of a larger ecosystem.
If you're dreaming about swimming somewhere that feels more like a private natural retreat than a traditional backyard pool, a custom recreational pond or swim pond may be worth exploring.
At Fitz’s Fish Ponds, we design and build custom water features around each homeowner's property, lifestyle, and goals.
That can mean a dedicated Japanese koi pond.
It can mean a natural ecosystem pond surrounded by boulders and waterfalls.
It can mean a recreational pond designed for swimming.
Or, as this New Jersey project demonstrates, it can be a little bit of everything.
Our team brings together creative pond design, large-scale excavation and construction, natural stonework, professional filtration, and decades of koi experience to create water features that look incredible and perform for years.
Ready to create your own backyard ecosystem? Contact Fitz’s Fish Ponds at (908) 420-9908 to start planning a custom koi pond, natural swimming pond, or water feature for your property.
| Hours | |
|---|---|
| sunday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM |
| monday | Closed |
| tuesday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| wednesday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| thursday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| friday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| saturday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Hours | |
|---|---|
| sunday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| monday | Closed |
| tuesday | 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM |
| wednesday | 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM |
| thursday | 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM |
| friday | 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM |
| saturday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Hours | |
|---|---|
| sunday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM |
| monday | Closed |
| tuesday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| wednesday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| thursday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| friday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| saturday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Hours | |
|---|---|
| sunday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| monday | Closed |
| tuesday | 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM |
| wednesday | 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM |
| thursday | 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM |
| friday | 11:00 AM - 6:00 PM |
| saturday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Hours | |
|---|---|
| sunday | Closed |
| monday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM |
| tuesday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM |
| wednesday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM |
| thursday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM |
| friday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM |
| saturday | Closed |
| Hours | |
|---|---|
| sunday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM |
| monday | Closed |
| tuesday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| wednesday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| thursday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| friday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| saturday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Hours | |
|---|---|
| sunday | Closed |
| monday | Closed |
| tuesday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| wednesday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| thursday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| friday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| saturday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Hours | |
|---|---|
| Sunday | Closed |
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Wednesday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Thursday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Friday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Saturday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Hours | |
|---|---|
| Sunday | 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM |
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Wednesday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Thursday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Friday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
| Saturday | 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM |
