Koi Pond Forum

Image via WikipediaWater Feature Forums

What a hoot! I'm learning a lot and fast in regards to the nature of on-line forums.

I will only discuss about it my knowledge about forums in connection with the water garden or water fountain industry. I've decided to join a waterfall and pond related forum and start sharing my somewhat biased views and knowledge about pond liners.

Nowadays, I have discovered that sharing my bias towards pond liners having a forum packed with pond liner installers is one area like trying to pass out Bibles with a porn convention!

Some startling statistics that can explain why:

1. A lot more than 37% of all waterfalls have serious structural damage within Three years of it being built.

2. 57% of house owners say they're rather unsatisfied with all the way their waterfall came out - as soon as the project was completed.

3. Nearly One in three waterfalls and ponds are leaking water within 9 months of completion.

4. 27% of outdoor waterfalls and ponds have pumps which can be either too strong or too weak - causing unnecessary expenditures later on.

5. 63% of 'do It yourselfers' said they wish that they the proper information from the 'get go' or they wished they would have hired someone!

These statistics come from the pond liner industry itself (Bob Wilder, 48-Hour Waterfall). I will confirm and confirm these figures myself. We have built over 1,900 concrete and rebar waterfalls and ponds within the last 30 years. We've ripped out and replaced many defective liner ponds and replaced them concrete ones with lifetime warranties. Pond liner guys will not likely attach greater than a one-year warranty.

They've created no guarantee against rats, mice, ground squirrels, gophers, tree roots and sharp objects. They do know the truth, they just do not share it.

Some guy for the forum was questioning the necessity to fill up the issue basin of an pondless waterfall with loose rock and gravel, thus covering up the sump pump. I thought this was a good question, because I wondered the same thing myself.

Water from your pondless waterfall is captured in a basin at its base. With a liner pond, they teach anytime placing the pump in the bottoom, you then load it up with loose gravel. I'm believing that would create three problems:

If you have to service or clean the garbage over intake of the sump pump, you'll first need to pull out all the stinky, slimy, poopy-laden rock.

The basin wouldn't hold much water when the rock uses up most of the space. If you turn on the waterfall, the majority of the water is sucked in the catch basin ahead of the water can cascade time for the basin.

There'd be no room to setup an auto-fill system, so that you would need to fill the basin area often which has a garden hose to stop the pump from running dry.

So I decided to be a nice guy and post my article, Pondless Waterfalls: Concrete vs. Liners, on the forum. This became a really bad idea - much like trying to untangle a nest packed with rattle snakes.

Before I can post techniques to several questions which were posed by a sincerely curious forum member, I used to be locked out from the website. By guess who? The administrator with the site, who was simply also the owner of the site, the webmaster, and the very guy who made the first inquiry about pondless waterfall construction!

According to him, several forum members complained to him which i was a spammer trying to sell my waterfall system. What? I can't sell concrete and rebar. Nor should i sell high-efficiency centrifugal pumps, or Thoroseal, or galvanized grating to put over the basins, or anti-vortex drains, or rock! What exactly did he mean by saying I used to be trying to sell my system?

Well I soon figured against each other, and it turns out that they probably meant I became trying to malign their system, not sell mine. I did so a little research, and you know what? Mr. Administrator and Mr. Domain Owner has also been a pond liner installer. End of mystery!

Read my article Pondless Waterfall: Concrete vs. Liner and you will get, as Paul Harvey says, "the rest of the story."

Happy koi, peace and joy.

Koi Fish Pond Kits

Image by BitHead via Flickr
Planning to build your own Koi fish pond? Koi pond kits are actually readily available to get to serve people who find themselves new to this hobby but a majority of of all, for everyone those who wish to show their exceptional talents in design. Today, it's much easier to create Koi ponds devoid of the messy shoveling and also the expensive labor cost just to construct a pond.

Pond kits include pond liner kits which are waterproof and flexible which adjust well for a desired landscaping fashion. It also comes with a pump, a filter, and also a liner. A Koi pond can be an added attraction, that might provide a tranquil ambience and sweetness to your eyes together with your surrounding garden. Overall it creates glamour to your house.

Bear in mind, when purchasing your yard pond kit to make sure the items. It should contain all electrical components. It's understandable that your Koi fish pond should have easy access to causes of electricity but not too near. It is ideal to get a socket about six feet from the pond.

Make sure that the socket available will the current needed by the electrical portion of your pond. To make certain that you have an adequate power source, consult an electrical contractor.

Koi wetlands filled with different vividly vibrant colors of Koi assists you to unwind and relax through the day's stress. An aura of serenity pervades the encompassing of your premise wherein you get to see your Koi collection swimming with your pond.

A pond should be clean, just right to accommodate maximum growth and height and width of a Koi fish. An ideal Koi pond is all about 8 feet x 6 feet and 4 feet deep. Boost the quality of the pond by creating several degrees of depth that serves many purposes. In particular, it offers you the convenience of cleaning falling debris that will consolidate a single area.

When constructing your pond it requires to have the system for adding oxygen. To do so, you may buy pond aeration kits to be sure oxygen is so long as aids in maintaining healthy Koi fish. Moreover, the presence of filtration devices are highly needed to filter any unwanted particles with your clear water. Filters help support clean water and permit water inside pond to re-circulate to provide proper oxygen to the fish to live.

A Koi pond kit also provides the necessary tubing and water treatment chemicals which can be helpful in developing a viable koi pond ecosystem. Your fish along with the biological filter need oxygen to thrive.

Pond fountain kits they can double for added attraction inside your garden. It generates elegance and sensation on the human eye. Not just that, it also helps in maintaining a good condition on your koi fish pond. A fountain kit offers the basic elements.

You'll find pre-made designs available for instance animals and plants. Your backyard pond fountain is most likely the center of attraction or simply mainly a characteristic that will improve your incredibly beautiful landscape. Along with forget to install a pump which fits your fountain needs for best aesthetic effect of one's pond.

With these koi pond kits readily available in the market today, Most likely you will find it easy to own a koi fish pond in the home.

Above Ground Koi Pond

Cover of Keeping Koi


Building an above ground koi pond could be fairly expensive and it requires commitment and time. The initial step is to check your local zoning laws to discover if you will be permitted to build an above ground koi pond in your property. If you are starting your above ground koi pond over completely from scratch be prepared to make a considerable financial investment. However, should you already have a pond you may simply want to stock with koi.

Ideal Koi Habitat

Koi are long living fish and will grow to some great size, therefore they require adequate space in which to swim, thrive and grow. Ideally, an above ground koi pond must have a capacity of 1000 gallons, and be at least one yard deep. If the pond is a lot smaller than this, then you should consider comets or goldfish in lieu of koi. The depth of the pond is important when keeping koi if you cannot supply a pond at least three feet deep then, again, you should think about stocking it having a different type of fish.

The depth with the water is essential in both summer and winter. If you are living in an area where the pond will probably freeze in winter the depth in the water might help your koi to survive the winter freeze. Similarly, in summer the depth from the water allows the koi to find cooler water within the lower levels with the pond.

Pond Filtration

All ponds, including above ground koi ponds, require a filtration system. Filtration keeps the chemical balance of the pond on the right level to guide your fish and in addition it stops the water from stagnating which results in algal growth and mosquitoes. It is necessary that the water chemistry remains stable so the koi don't become stressed. The filtration system will run on electricity to ensure is something to be considered when you are designing your pond.

Defense against Predators

Protecting the koi from predators is essential for the survival with the fish. Even in an urban situation domestic cats will likely be attracted to the koi pond and may even attempt to scoop out fish nearby the surface of the pond. Birds of prey and raccoons may also consider your koi an attractive dinner option so a scarecrow could possibly be helpful in protecting them. The depth in the pond can be important for protecting your fish from predators. If the pond is being attacked the fish can retreat on the deepest area of the pond.

A light-weight wire mesh covering may be used on the koi pond to maintain out predators but this can hamper pond maintenance unless it may be easily removed. Adding aquatic plants towards the pond also provide protection to the fish and add beauty to the pond. Including aquatic plants and decorative elements like rocks will likely provide hiding places for baby fish whenever your koi breed.

Building an above ground koi pond can be worth on a regular basis and effort involved and definately will give you years of pleasure because you watch your koi grow to maturity and swim lazily about your pond.

Plastic Fish Ponds

Ponds need Pond Liners like a building uses a foundation. Among every one of the materials useful for Pond Liners, plastic is easily the most versatile. It is packaged in two forms- pre-formed and flexible.

Preformed or rigid plastic liners are strong and long-lasting. These are made of polythene and also other recycled plastic material. They do not develop leaks. They are more cost-effective than concrete. An average gardener can build a small pond within 1 day using this liner.

Some of these models are fitted across the ground and a few below the ground. Rocks and stones might be placed around it to give a natural look. The liners could possibly be both UV- in addition to frost-resistant. But they may be difficult to fit because of their different shapes and sizes.

Among the preformed models, the plastic liners might be cheaper than fiberglass, along with offer support for free-standing utilisation of the pond in a raised water garden. It is hard to build around a plastic pond and support it evenly. When support isn't uniform there exists a danger that the plastic liner will crack.

Flexible Pond Liners are offered also, like PVC (Poly Vinyl Chloride) and HDPE (High Density Poly Ethylene).These liners are not as flexible as rubber. Plastic liners are often used on large holding ponds when economy is really a bigger concern than flexibility.

Large ponds have to have a Pond Liner that is certainly safe for fish and aquatic plants, inexpensive, an easy task to install and sturdy. Polyethylene fits the bill. Medium-density Polyethylene contains around 5 percent carbon black, so that it is highly UV stable and suited to outdoor life. Twenty and 30 mm polyethylene might be custom-made according to your specifications.

PVC, or Polyvinyl Chloride, has excellent chemical compatibility and puncture resistance, lending itself to membrane liner applications. Some PVC liners contain UV stabilizers which protect them from wearing down when confronted with sunlight. PVC is not a crystalline membrane liner material, so that it can elongate everywhere. It is the most cost-effective buried membrane possesses the longest successful usage of liner material.

Another plastic is Polypropylene. It's got special properties, like outstanding dimension stability, low coefficient of expansion and contraction, wide temperature seaming range, good chemical resistance with no stress cracking.

Plastic have their own plusses and minuses, along with the choice depends upon the individual's requirements.

Fish Pond Liners

Image via Wikipedia


One of the best ways to construct a pond is usually to make use of among the fish pond liners which are flexible. There's a vast array of different styles of pond liners available, and this requires the supplier to offer the materials that can be used in order to place small lengths. These small lengths may then be used to be able to line a pond no matter the size or shape with the pond.

When you are looking for supplies to your fish pond it's a good idea to think about the various options that are offered. If you are thinking of getting a construction kit to construct your fish pond you will need to check which type of fish pond liner is included in the kit and it's also also important to discover the size of it. Should you be considering to build a large pond it is advisable to buy each of the pieces separately since this will enable you to successfully get the correct sizes.

Inside the United States of America there's 2 pool liners which might be more popular than others, and these include the EPDM liner and also the polyethylene liner. The EPDM liner is manufactured out of ethylene propylene polymer. There are others available along with these two main options.

The polyethylene liner is in fact made from plastic. This brand of liner is usually used to make buildings waterproof this means you will be used within ponds so as to make them watertight. It is vital to make sure that you employ a polyethylene liner that's strong enough. This liner is commonly stronger and thicker kinds of plastic. It's always best to use black liners due to the carbon that is used to produce them since these will effectively inhibit the uv rays.

One of the biggest difficulties with polyethylene fish pond liners is they can get punctured easily. It's always best to purchase the strongest and thickest material that's available. There are three various sizes of polyethylene liners that exist within the Us. The available sizes are 2 hundred micron plastic, 300 micron plastic and also four hundred micron plastic.

Normally the thinner materials can be purchased in larger sizes. Both hundred micron plastic style is likely to cover a location of forty thousand square feet. The four hundred micron plastic style tends to cover a place of twenty five thousand feet. Once you think about it this can be pretty ironic because it is better to make use of a thicker liner that may last for longer for that large ponds.

The EPDM fish pond liners have become popular in america of America. This style of liner is extremely well suited to lining ponds with an irregular shape. The material that is used to create these liners is incredibly resistant to the UV rays that come from your sun. These liners provide an expected lifetime of thirty years.

Build a Pond

Image via Wikipedia
Getting a modest pond as part of your yard offers a lot of character and interest into your landscape design. You could think: "build a pond? That's planning to take forever!" Little do you know that it's not too hard from the process. The entire thing depends on your outdoor environment. If you can find huge rocks within your soil, or there's lots of trees inside your location, compared to the task is a lot harder. If you will find none even so, then it will likely be effortless.

Before installing this water fall, you must also find very good location for it. If you have a organic spring or stream nearby, then putting it there would be an amazing idea. If you're going to make using a hose to refill your pond, you'll be able to place the pond anyplace, as long as it is not close to your home. Outline the location for your pond with spray paint or some other material, so long as it does not pose a menace to other landscaping options.

The next matter you need to do is start digging. This really is no pool so you don't need to dig very deep. To be sure the longevity from the fish, it ought to be at least three ft deep in order to avoid the birds from catching them for lunch. Once you've completed digging, you are going to place a polyethylene sheeting down the bottom with the pond. Sometimes, if the close to a stream, there'll be sufficient clay to halt water from leaking out. However, should it be not near a stream, than the plastic sheeting will likely be necessary. You then will place the sand (no less than one inch thick) together with the sheeting to prevent puncturing, along with flat rocks to stop water from washing away the sand. Finally, place some soil on the surface of the rocks and today you're ready to place water inside the pond. Fill it up with water and you're willing to design the landscape with various plantings including perennial flowers, water flowers, etc.

You'll find dozens of possibilities for your landscaping design once your pond is finished. You are able to create a good patio and walkway that could lead to the pond, or you are able to simply install outdoor lighting to make water-feature look a bit brighter.

Lerch Brothers is really a Baltimore landscaping company that may turn your outdoor place into a beautiful space. John, Tom and their staff of experienced designers and installers have many years of experience in the field. From planting shrubs and ornamental trees to laying patios, concrete and retaining walls, they're able to get any job done correctly. the first time.

How To Build Koi Pond

Image via Wikipedia


How to build  Koi pond is extremely different from creating a fish pond. There are lots of things you must look into before starting to develop your Koi pond. As an example, it should be built in a beautiful setting. Take into account the location, the dimensions of the pond, the size you would like your Koi being, and the weather you will be dealing with. Each one of these factors will give rise to the health and well-being of your fish. Koi are a large investment and your pond needs to be a healthy, well filtered, and clean spot for them to thrive.

Your Koi pond will probably be a place it is possible to go to relax and collect your thoughts. The fish use a way of hypnotizing you when you relax and tend to forget about the world around you for short a period of time. So, you will need the place you elect to build your pond to stay the most beautiful garden-like place you can find. A shady place is essential because the fish will get sun-burned, and that will 't be a good thing.

The venue, of course, will probably be exactly what you must work with. In my opinion the location I selected was perfect because my property stair-stepped down faraway from my home. This meant that I could place the pond one level and also the filtering system on another level. Again, remember you need the location of one's pond to get where you can obtain the most enjoyment from the jawhorse. You will be looking to spend considerable time by the pond soaking in all the peaceful tranquility from the Koi.

One of the leading things to give thought to the size of the pond you wish to build. How big is the pond will determine how large the fish are certain to get at maturity. Needless to say, the bigger the pond, the higher the fish. How deep you create your pond should take into consideration the year-round climate you have with your location. When the weather gets cold in the winter, you should make your pond deep enough and so the Koi can remain down deep to guard themselves through the cold. If you make your pond too shallow also it gets very warm, the Koi will get too hot and get a possible sunburn. You need to really consider what shade your pond will have during the warmer months.

Your filtering system should be built to circulate the proper amount of water correctly is bigger of your pond. I would suggest allowing your water to filter at the very least five times each day. Your system should allow the water to aerate. A waterfall will perform that very well. Last of all, I take advantage of an infrared light inside the filtering system to kill each of the algae. Which allows the water inside my Koi pond to be clean, fresh and clear.

All of this work could be fun to complete. With a little planning and several well considered ideas, you will soon be enjoying your new Koi pond. There are numerous kinds of Koi that you can choose. Some varieties are not seen and all are very beautiful. Take a look at your choices and possibilities. How to construct a Koi pond should not just be something to consider in the future. Begin to build one today and you will probably soon be relaxing from your new pond for years.

All this work could be fun to do. With a little planning and several well planned ideas, you will soon be enjoying your Koi pond. There are several kinds of Koi so that you can choose. Some varieties are hardly ever seen and many types of are very beautiful. Check out your choices and possibilities. Developing a Koi pond shouldn't just be something to consider in the future. Start building one today and you will probably soon be relaxing through your new pond for years.