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| FAQ’s |
Q. What is the cost of a pond?
A. An installed water feature is priced similar to a hot tub. A well designed water feature includes the following items: mechanical and biological filtration.pump, plumbing, liner, underlayment, rock work, lighting, fish and plants, a berm and waterfalls.
Q. What size is the best?
A. A 180 square foot or 11’ by 16’ pond is a good size to balance getting your feet wet and future hobbyist needs. Too many times people start with a small pond and end up taking it out and installing a larger one. Remember, there are so many varieties of fish & aquatic plants you can never make it too big!
Q. Where is the best location for a pond?
A. Make sure to situate your pond in a highly visible spot next to your house or seating area. Putting a pond where you can see it and hear it from inside of the house really expands your enjoyment.
Q. I have a low spot in my yard that always remains wet. Is this a good spot for a pond?
A. No, putting an ornamental pond in a low spot will make it difficult to maintain a healthy pond ecosystem. Run-off from roofs and lawn areas often contain chemicals and nutrients that will cause green water and an unhealthy environment for your fish.
Q. Can I shut my pond off when I am not home?
A. It is not recommended because if you shut down your pond you will eliminate circulation, filtration, and healthy bacteria growth that keep your water crystal clear.
Q. Can I use a sump pump for my water falls and streams?
A. Yes, but it is not suggested. Your cost savings for the pump up front might seem worth while but the electricity costs to run those pumps will make the electricity company happy! Make sure to check the efficiency rating of every pump before purchasing. The cost savings for an energy efficient pump will benefit you in the long run.
Q. Are ponds a lot of work to maintain?
A. A properly designed and built pond is nearly self-maintaining. Ponds can be built in sun or shade, large or small. With the right skimmer filtration, most pond debris is automatically bagged and ready for easy removal. A biological filter with supplemental bacteria additions will clean the pond, letting nature establish an ecosystem that recycles fish waste and eliminate green water.
Q. Do ponds breed mosquitoes?
A. Mosquitoes breed only in stagnant water. Installing a skimmer and BioFalls¿ eliminates stagnant water. The skimmer draws in the mosquito larvae from the surface of the water, drowning them.
Q. How small can you go?
A. Unless we are constructing a pond in a confined space, our crew will typically not build a pond smaller than 8ft. x 8ft. The reason is that it’s difficult to reach a depth of 24 inches, have separate shelves for your marginal plants & lilies, provide space for fish and “rock-in” the pond, all in under 8ft. of width. The end result is a pit of rocks rather than a natural looking pond.
Q. How high should the waterfalls be?
A. Waterfall height will be determined by the elevation of the property on which the pond is installed. The waterfall should look as natural as possible. You do not want to create an 8ft. long waterfall on a flat piece of property. Such an out-of-scale waterfall will end up looking more like a volcano than a waterfall. The majority of the waterfalls we install are only 1 1/2 ft. - 2 ft. high. Higher waterfalls can be built on existing slopes, but make sure the pump can handle the extra height.
Q. How many gallons per hour of water flow do most waterfalls require?
A. Everyone has different opinions regarding how much water looks and sounds pleasing cascading over a waterfall. In most residential water features, we try to achieve approximately 1000-1500 gallons per hour per foot of spillway. For example, a 2 ft. wide waterfall would require approximately 2000 gph - 3000 gph.
Q. How often should the pond's water be turned over?
A. A general rule of thumb when using the Aquascape Pro-Pond ecosystem is a turnover rate of at least once every two hours.
Q. How deep does the pond have to be?
A. Hardy fish, such as Koi, will survive through winter in Minnesota, in as little as 36 inches of water. The majority of the ponds we build in Minnesota are 24 inches deep. All of our pond kits are designed to be built at depths of at least 24 inches. You can go deeper if you want, but keep in mind a few key factors in the design. A deeper pond will require more digging, rock, and a bigger liner. Bigger BioFalls, skimmers, and pumps may also be required depending on how deep you go and how much water is held in the pond.
Q. Should rocks and gravel be set throughout the pond?
A. There are several reasons we always “rock-in” ponds. Stones and gravel decrease maintenance, extend life of the liner, stabilize the ponds walls, provide ballast against hydrostatic pressure, and look more natural than a naked liner. Fish waste, dead plant material and wind-blown debris combine and decompose to form a smelly sludge that builds up to a few inches over the course of a year. In a naked liner or concrete pond, these materials rot and cause gases that are harmful to the ecology. A pond with a gravel base will have substantially less sludge at the end of the season compared to a bare liner base. Adding gravel over the entire pond bottom allows sludge and waste eating bacteria to colonize and break down these excess nutrients (just like a fish tank). Completely “rocking-in” the pond floor extends the life of the pond by protecting the liner from harmful UV light (sunlight), which will degrade the liner over time. A liner that is covered with stone and gravel is not exposed to UV light, greatly increasing the life span of the liner. A “rocked-in” pond will anchor the liner in place and create structurally sound walls. Think of it as a boulder retaining wall inside the pond. The weight of the stone will also provide a considerable amount of ballast against hydrostatic pressure. Hydrostatic pressure is the pressure created beneath the pond’s liner from water build-up. Hydrostatic pressure can be so strong that it will create unsightly bubbles in the liner.
Q. Why should shelves be designed in the pond?
A. We always incorporate shelves into the design of the pond. Shelves allow us to avoid a “bowl of rocks” appearance, such as ponds with sloped walls. Shelving also eliminates tall, unstable walls. We stack our boulders along the short 8 to 12 inches vertical walls and spread the gravel along the flat portions. This allows us to drop down to our final depth in small increments.
Q. What is a “Fish-Safe” liner?
A. There are many types of liners on the market that could be used to build a pond, but few of them are stamped “Fish-Safe”. A “Fish-Safe” liner, unlike all other liners, is tested and guaranteed free of all properties that could kill aquatic life. It is easy to determine whether a liner is “Fish-Safe”. Look for the stamped imprint on the liner.
Q. Why should I use underlayment instead of other materials?
A. Underlayment is easy to apply and contours to all shapes, both horizontal and vertical. It “breathes” so gases can escape and provides excellent protective padding for the liner. Newspapers are labor intensive to apply. They are inexpensive, and need to be at a 1/2 inch thickness. Old carpet is inexpensive but does not contour well to curves of the pond. Sand will not stay on the sides of shelves. It is sometimes used below underlayment in rocky terrain. In these cases, use the finest (non-coarse) sand.
Q. Why should I use a skimmer?
A-Removes and collects leaves from the top of the pond
-Continuously removes floating debris
-Will not drain ponds dry
-Simplifies choosing a pond site, building near trees is no longer a problem
-Hides the filter system outside of the pond and easily disguises the plumbing
-The skimmer filters the pump and prevents the pump from getting clogged.
-The skimmer vault is a perfect spot to hide the water fill valve.
-The skimmer opening is only a few inches below the pond’s surface, so the pump can never pump your pond dry even if there is a leak in your plumbing, stream or waterfall
-The skimmer uses the highest oxygen surface pond water which is essential for maximum productivity of your biofilters
-In cold climates, the skimmer only recirculates the top water, if you feed the skimmer water back into the pond, by passing the waterfalls. This reduces heat loss and keeps you pond operating longer.
Q. How long should I run my pump?
A. Pumps should be run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to keep the ecosystem functioning properly.
Q. How many fish can I put in my pond?
. Try to restrict fish quantities to a maximum of one 5 inch fish for every 5 square feet of surface area. A 10 ft. x 10 ft. pond, for example, could support about 20 five-inch fish or 10 ten-inch fish.
Q. How soon can I add fish to my pond?
A. Operating the filter system for at least three days, up to a week, will allow the chlorine to dissipate through the waterfalls. If you are anxious and want to add fish sooner, use dechlorinator to remove the chlorine from the water.
Q. At what temperature should I stop feeding my fish?
A. Once the temperature drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, stop feeding your fish. During this time of year your fish will become dormant. Their respiration, metabolism, and overall activity slows down as they prepare for their winter hibernation. Feeding your fish at this time of year can cause your fish to become sick or even die.
Q. Will raccoons eat my fish?
A. As long as your pond is at least two feet deep and eight feet wide with hiding places for the fish, they should be safe from raccoons
Q. Why should I put plants in my pond?
A. They take up nutrients in water that would otherwise be taken up as algae
Q. What happens to my water plants in the wintertime?
A. Hardy water lilies deeper than 12 inches will survive the winter. Cut the dead lily leaves and stalks, leaving approximately 2 to 3 inches of tuber at the base of the plant. Hardy bog plants and marginal plants will need all of the dead leaves trimmed down just above the water level. Tropical lilies and floating plants can be brought inside for the winter or treated as an annual and replaced each season. Remove the tropical water lilies after the first frost. Cut the lily leaves and keep only the tubers. Store the tubers in a greenhouse or basement.
Q. How can I control algae in my pond?
A. Plants:
Plants are probably the most important addition to your pond, since they directly compete with algae for nutrients and light. Add a wide variety of plants to your pond. This not only creates a natural look, but also will help reduce the algae in different areas of your pond. Place water hyacinth and water lettuce in your AquaFalls¿. These floating plants reproduce rapidly, using enormous amounts of nutrients. Remove the older floaters when they start to over-run your AquaFalls¿. The discarded floaters make great nutrient rich compost for you garden. Plenty of bog and marginal plants should be added to the pond. Plants such as cattails and iris use large quantities of nutrients. They are hardy and will be back each spring to help you balance your pond. Cover the surface of the pond by planting lilies. Lily pads float on the top of the pond soaking up the warm sunlight. The lily pads will reduce algae by preventing sunlight from reaching the deeper portions of the pond. Don’t overlook oxygenators! They soak up nutrients and sunlight directly through their leaves. Think of them as nutrient sponges.
Physical Removal:
Physically remove clumps of string algae if it begins to over take the pond. Cut away the algae where it is attached. Think of it as “weeding the pond.”
Don’t Overfeed Fish:
Fish food that is not eaten by fish will decompose in the pond and increase nutrient levels. Only feed fish amounts that they consume within a few minutes.
Fix leaks:
Tap water can have an abundant amount of nutrients in it. Continually adding large quantities of tap water to compensate for a leak can promote algae growth. Fix water leaks when they are discovered.
Control Run-Off:
Never use lawn fertilizer or insecticides on trees around your pond or on areas of your property that will drain towards your pond. Lawn fertilizer and insecticides will cause large nutrient blooms and will severely threaten the aquatic life inside your pond.
Remove Debris:
Keep your pond free of debris. Don’t let the skimmer debris net over-fill with leaves. Decaying leaves and seeds in the skimmer and pond will contribute to unwanted nutrients.
Bacteria and Other Chemicals
The bacteria should be added according to the recommended dosages. Dry bacteria should be added at a rate of one teaspoon for every 1,000 gallons. The liquid bacteria should be added at a rate of one ounce for every 1,000 gallons. The bacteria should be applied daily for the first two weeks when establishing your pond. Reapply the same dose once every 10-14 days after the bacteria is established. On average, your pond needs more bacteria spiking when the water is cold and less when it’s warm.
Have any other chemicals been added? pH buffers, other types of bacteria, sludge remover, algaecide or other? Adding any chemicals (besides Aquaclearer) to the pond could seriously affect water quality. Algaecides, pH buffers, fertilizers and other types of pond chemicals may kill-off any bacteria in the pond and promote conditions for algae growth.
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