Water Garden Basics

We at RAYMAR Landscaping South Inc. have prepared this helpful guide, based on our experience and basic knowledge of water, ponds, and water systems and hope that it will be helpful resource to Water Gardening Enthusiasts everywhere.
...Enjoy!!

Fish and Plants

Fish

Many people are concerned about adding fish to their water garden. There are concerns regarding maintenance, predators, wintertime care and feeding schedules. A pond, by its very nature, needs fish. Goldfish, Koi, and other decorative pond fish are quite hardy and really don’t need a lot of care at all, other than the odd salt treatment (Please seek professional guidance here). If the pond is appropriately stocked, the fish will be provided with plenty of food naturally.

Wintertime in cold climates brings different concerns. Avoid allowing the pond to freeze over completely. Decomposing gases from organic breakdown in the pond need to escape, or they could prove deadly to fish. By using a floating heater or keeping the waterfalls running a hole will be kept open in the ice to allow for release of gases. The waterfall also provides necessary oxygen. If the waterfall is turned off, the heater is still necessary to keep a hole in the ice, but a bubbler should be added to provide oxygen as your pump is no longer doing so.

Once the water temperature drops below 50 degrees Fahrenheit, it is recommended not to feed your fish at all. 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 this time of year can cause your fish to become sick or even die. Try to restrict fish quantities to a maximum of 1” of fish to every 1 sq. ft. of water surface. E.g. a 10’ x 10’ pond, could support about 20 five inch fish or 10 ten inch fish.

For information on predators see Common Myths about Water gardens.

 

Plants

Aquatic plants are often easier to care for and are much more adaptable to variations in temperature than their terrestrial counterparts. There are many types of aquatic plants to choose from. All water plants help filter the water and help provide a stable ecosystem in your water garden.

Hardy Lilies: Most lilies prefer sun as opposed to shade. The best thing about lilies, and all aquatic plants for that matter, is they are self-watering! Lilies are truly a beautiful, low maintenance addition to any water feature. Many colours available.

Marginal plants: Cattails, Water Iris and Arrowhead are a few of the plants that can be classified as marginal. They like to grow in the shallow areas around a pond.

Floating plants: Water Hyacinth and Water Lettuce are the two most common floating plants used in ornamental ponds. Their root structure is floating and they use up nutrients directly from the water. When we use them, we typically place some of them in the Biofalls as an added part of the filtration system.

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Water Feature Construction

 

There is a 20/20 rule when it comes to building your pond: 20 products assembled in 20 steps. The success of this approach is based in its simplicity. Every project no matter how big or small can be broken down into a series of repeatable steps. This allows us to build water features of better quality that look more natural and are assembled faster.

20 Components	20 Simple Steps
1. Skimmer	1. Mark pond area
2. Biofalls	2. Place skimmer and biofalls
3. Pump	3. Lay plumbing
4. Liner	4. Hook up biofalls
5. Underlayment	5. Excavate pond
6. PVC flex pipe	6. Install liner and underlayment
7. Underwater lights	7. Hook up skimmer
8. Bacteria	8. Rock in the pond
9. Check valve	9. Position underwater lights
10. Waterfall stone	10. Wash stones
11. Skimmer rock	11. Fill pond
12. Filtration media	12. Build waterfall (and stream)
13. Skimmer bag	13. Bring in topsoil
14. Filter support tubes	14. Build retaining wall
15. Bulk head fitting	15. Tweak waterfall
16. Patch tape	16. Trim liner
17. Expanding foam	17. Mulch berm
18. Silicone	18. Clean up
19. Flexible PVC glue and primer	19. Owners manual/ bacteria
20. Owners manual	20. ENJOY

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Water Gardening Myths

There is no limit to the number of people offering advice on the best way to install a water garden. Unfortunately, the good advice contradicts itself. Some people suggest preformed tubs are the best way to go, others swear concrete is better than liners, some suggest filters while others don’t. The list of suggestions on “the best way” of building a pond goes on and on! The biggest reason so much ambiguity exists is because the people giving the advice are basing their suggestions on their own limited experiences and what they’ve heard second hand.

Myths about water gardening have their foundations in a series of half-truths. Unfortunately, these myths scare people away from ponds and keep those who have ponds from fully enjoying them. It is our goal to eliminate these insidious half-truths.

Below, we will deal briefly with some of the myths about water gardening.

Predators

Raccoons : Preformed tubs are racoon smorgasbords! Racoons stand on the edge, reach into the shallow water and pull out peoples’ pets for a gourmet dinner. And they’ll come back looking for more. For the next ten years, the distraught pond owner will tell everyone interested in a pond to watch out for murderous racoons.

You have to build a pond correctly to keep your fish alive.

Make your pond at least two feet deep in the middle and at least eight feet wide. Few pre-formed tubs are this large, so racoons easily catch the fish. Racoons, unlike river otters, will not swim or dive below the water in search of prey. When you build a pond with this in mind, raccoons or even cats will not catch your fish.

Herons: On the other hand, herons are more complicated to defend against. They are the only predator that will eat your fish, even when you build your pond properly.

However, a flat flagstone placed in the deeper water spanning between shelves will assist by providing a hiding spot for fish that are too large to hide between the crevices of boulders.

Also set up a heron decoy to help deter these territorial birds from bothering your “occupied” yard.  Occasionally, you may even have to go the extent of suspending fishing line throughout the yard to make it difficult for the heron to fly through.

King Fisher:  The King fisher has been known to be the occasional pest at the pond also, so it is wise to remove all low hanging tree branches from over the pond, as these are a favourite perch for the King Fisher to hunt your fish from.

Fish

Most people do not realize that fish in a pond are one of the easiest pets to take care of. If you don’t want to feed them, you don’t have to. Understand that the right number of fish actually contribute to the pond’s ecosystem and reduce maintenance. Fish act as part of the food chain in a pond, eating insects and algae. Their waste fertilizes the plants and contributes to increased lily blooms. Beneficial bacteria also use fish nutrients as a food source. People worry about bringing fish inside in the winter. It is natural to leave them outside, year round of course with a properly built and functioning pond.

Rocks and Gravel

Traditional pond construction calls for leaving your pond bottom clear of obstructions. The myth that this is the best way to construct a pond is based on logic. Anyone who has ever cleaned a liner or concrete pond at the end of a season is familiar with the black smelly sludge that builds up on the bottom of the pond.

Graveling a pond significantly reduces the amount of muck and build up in the bottom of the pond. It does this because, unlike smooth liner pond bottom, gravel provides a home for bacteria to colonize and break down nutrients like fish and plant waste. The gravel turns the entire pond bottom into a filter! Stones and gravel also make a pond look much more natural. They act as a ballast against hydrostatic pressure, and protect the liner from being damaged by animals and harmful ultraviolet rays.

Filters

Some people claim all you need to properly filter a pond are plants. The argument comes from the fact that plants are an important part of a pond’s ecosystem. The argument dies quickly when you consider there isn’t a plant out there that eats wind blown surface debris. That’s what skimmer filters are for. If they are left out, then your surface debris sinks, rots, releases toxic gases and your pond will smell, look dirty and possibly lead to the death of the fish.

Further, the Biofalls, which allows for bacterial filtration within your waterfall, takes care to allow colonization of bacteria that consume microscopic nutrients that are a food source for the algae also. It is important to build the pond with enough surface area for the bacteria to colonize. Faster moving water is better oxygenated, which allows for more bacteria in the biofalls and on the gravel on the bottom of the pond.

Don’t Build Ponds Beneath Trees?

This is why skimmers were invented! Obviously, water is a magnet for wind blown debris. People also worry that tree roots will penetrate a pond liner, thus causing a leak. Yes, it is true that a tree root is powerful enough to buckle a driveway or crack a sidewalk yet they won’t pierce a rubber liner. The reason is simple. A small crack in a sidewalk lets moisture through to the ground below. A tree root was created to hone in on moisture. A pond has lots of water in it, but a tree doesn’t know that! Roots simply traverse the surrounding soil beneath a pond instead of going through a watertight barrier.

Determining Pond Depth

This is probably one of the most debated issues surrounding ponds. People, who worry about their fish and plants surviving winter’s cold and summers heat, debate this topic endlessly.

There are a lot of factors to consider when choosing a pond depth. Climate zone, fish number, size and type, sunlight conditions, winterizing options, pond size and shape etc… etc. – all these factors contribute to the decision. There are so many variables, and so many options regarding pond depth that a few industry guidelines need to be established. As a rule of thumb, a two-foot deep pond can support fish and plants year round in the extreme winter and summer temperatures of zone 5. Zone 3 will obviously have to deal with colder climate extremes while zone 7 will be significantly warmer. With proper precautions, a two-foot deep pond can be made to support aquatic life virtually anywhere. Therefore to help eliminate the ambiguity about a pond’s depth requirements, we suggest a minimum depth of two feet.

These are just a few of the many myths and some of the misinformation that is out there. If you have any questions feel free to contact us!

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Designing Water Features

Location and size are the two most important and unfortunately, misunderstood aspects of pond design. Some people think the far corner of their property is the best location. People also believe low points in their yard that gather run-off when it rains are naturally suited to building a pond. These are two of the worst locations to build a pond.

The water feature needs to be brought up close and personal to the home. Low spots should be avoided because run off water can pollute, and construction is often complicated working in wet, muddy soil. Furthermore, excessive ground water levels can shift stones and cause bubbles in liners.

Place a water feature where you can enjoy it. This is going to be near a patio or deck and definitely within view looking outside. Even outdoor loving people spend 90% of their time inside the house. You should try to face at least one of the the waterfalls towards the house. That way the waterfall is visible from your indoor living area, and the sound it creates will echo through the home. When a pond can be seen and heard from the home, its enjoyment is increased dramatically.

The size of a pond is crucial to its overall impact on the landscape and the home- owner’s pleasure. Building a pond too small is the biggest complaint we hear. Yet no one ever complains that a pond is too big. Larger ponds are easier to maintain and the cost of constructing a pond does not increase proportionally with size. It’s better to do it right the first time!!

Making a water feature overly complicated is the root of most problems. Keeping it simple applies to the design as well as to the construction. Work with nature instead of against it!!!!!!

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The Pondless Waterfall

So you’re not totally sold on the idea of a pond, but you still like the idea of a waterfall or the sound of running water. That is where the pondless waterfall comes into play. Instead of a pond, a deeper hole is dug, filled with rocks and gravel, and saturated with water, forming a reservoir. The water is then circulated from beneath the rocks and gravel by a pump that sits at the bottom inside of a snorkel which pumps the water to the Biofalls, cascading down the waterfall, and re-circulated into the reservoir. Since the water never pools up above the level of the rock and gravel fill in the reservoir, it gives the appearance of a pondless waterfall.

This system has its own advantages for certain situations. For one, it will be about half the cost of a standard pond. Another big plus is safety. If you have young children, you may worry about having a pond in your backyard. With the pondless waterfall, there is no standing water to worry about. The pondless waterfall also fits in small spaces, so you don’t have to worry about size constraints in your backyard. Maintenance is not an excuse when it comes to the pondless waterfall. There is even less maintenance than a pond – if that’s possible. You only have to refill the reservoir every few weeks to compensate for water loss due to evaporation. Plus, if you want to turn it off when you go on vacation, it is not a problem since there is no ecological need to keep it running.

The biggest bonus of this system is it allows you to get your feet wet in water gardening. If a few years down the road you decide that you want to add a pond to your waterfall, this is not a problem. The two meld together, it is as easy as seaming some liner together and building your pond.

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Winter Mainenance For Ponds

As more and more of our customers are finding enjoyment from their water gardens in the winter, we thought to advise on a few maintenance tips for maximizing water flow and taking care of your system as the temperatures drop.  Here are a few things to follow:

1. Do not leave any filter mats (or lava bags) in the skimmer or biofalls.  This allows for best water flow in the cold months.
2. It is critical that nothing obstructs the skimmer face – eg. twigs, garbage, leaves, etc.
3. Empty the skimmer net daily (if debris has collected) until the water freezes over.  This is important to assist water flow and to prevent debris from become frozen in the skimmer net.
4. Once ice has formed on the surface (even in the skimmer) keep an eye on what’s under the ice that no debris gets caught even under the ice.
5. Occasionally inspect the biofalls that no ice or snow builds up to cause water to flow out of the wrong side of the biofalls, causing your pond system to loose water.
6. If your water garden does not have an opening somewhere in the water surface on a regular basis, you may want to purchase and install a pond heater.  This will keep a small hole in the ice and allow harmful gases to escape so as not to cause harm to your fish.
7. Sometimes when a prolonged period of cold weather is experienced, and much ice forms around your stream and waterfalls, the pond will loose water due to the ice using up some of the water volume.  You may have to add water.  If this becomes regular and inconvenient and you are experiencing difficulties with your pump running and wish to have it shut off, remove it and install a bubbler into the pond to assist in creating oxygen for the fish.

If you need help or advice with anything regarding your landscaping or pond, please call our office and ask for Mark.

 

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Tips From Experience & Study

Water level must be monitored. Evaporation and water splash will reduce the water level. Add water to within ½” of overflow.

Your pond is setup to become an ecosystem. This process may take a number of months in the warmer weather. Cloudy water might be experienced especially in direct sunlight. During this time it is recommended to avoid feeding fish or at least do so minimally.

Bacteria & SAB are important to add regularly (according to directions). This helps establishing the ecosystem. Ecoblast can also be used.

Remember to check skimmer net or basket regularly for cleaning especially in the fall with leaves falling into the pond. A clogged skimmer net can starve the pump of water.

Pond plants and fish are highly important in completing the ecosystem. When adding plants, be sure to clean them thoroughly and plant them directly in the gravel / pebble stones. If your pond is completed late in the season it is recommended to wait for the spring to add these items.

Be ever so careful not to get fertilizer or fertilizer runoff in the pond from surrounding landscaping. This can drastically upset the nutrient content in the water and cause unsightly, heavy algae blooms.

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