dream

You’ve got to give it to them, the companies presently running these wonderful marketing campaigns. They hold seminars that lure in the landscaper and other entry-level pond builders and convince these innocent people how simple their product is to install and "teach" them what an effective job their product does. Their product is the handy-dandy all-in-one filter / skimmer / pump combination. Just dig the hole and line ‘er up with the pond and your job is halfway done — And it’s affordable!

That spot in the yard where a waterfall and pond would look the most natural is most often the worse location for the pond. It’s often a hill that spills down to an area around the deck. Perhaps it’s hard to grow grass on the hill and the hill is eroding. Instead of planting low-growing junipers like everyone else in the neighborhood is doing, you may want something more dramatic like a lively waterfall that splashes into a nice, big koi pond. After all, it would look natural spilling out from the line of trees on top of the hill.

Traditionally during pond season one must spend an hour or so every weekend maintaining the pond otherwise the pump gets clogged and the waterfall stops running. Anyone who “never has to clean his pond” is probably the proud owner of a swamp. Submersible pumps are often set in heavy containers filled with rocks or other filter media making it difficult to pull up out of the water. Gravity-fed biofilters, even the expensive ones, require routine cleaning regimens. If they are not cleaned regularly the pads tend to clog as well.