Virginia Water Gardens

A water garden or backyard pond offers so much more than a traditional garden. The pond creates its own "living and breathing" ecosystem.
Aquascape Designs Inc. believes in using Mother Nature in a balanced ecosystem to keep your pond clean and running smoothly. With the proper pumps, filters, fish, rock, water plants, and good bacteria, you can keep your pond as clean and clear as the streams in the mountains, in as little as five minutes a week. Imagine, no more noisy lawn mowers, grass clippings to recycle, chemicals to fertilize, and almost daily watering in the summer. Just the soothing, peaceful, relaxing sounds of water and nature.

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POND SYSTEM COMPONENETS

SKIMMER

The Cleansweep skimmer filter is the most user-friendly design on the market today. This molded polyethylene vault is buried alongside the pond edge. A re-circulating pump is housed inside and pulls water and surface debris into an easily removed catch bag. Maintenance is a breeze with only a periodic weekly or even monthly emptying of the bag depending on debris loads. A horizontal filter pad traps smaller debris without preventing water from reaching the pump like imitation vertical pads do. An automatic fill valve can be added to keep water level at a constant level so you never have to worry about filling your pond again. An overflow out the back even removes excess water during heavy rains.

PLANT POCKETS

Design plant pockets into the base of your pond and you will eliminate unsightly plant containers. Plant pockets, around 6 inches deep and filled with soil, promote health in plant development by allowing the roots to spread through surrounding gravel, unlike containerized plants, which can quickly become root-bound.

GARDEN POND PLANTS

	Floating Plants: These are divided into two basic types: those with their roots in the soil and their leaves floating on the surface; and those whose roots simply dangle in the water, such as water hyacinth or water lettuce. Water hyacinth is considered an excellent purifier, soaking up ammonia and other potential toxins.
	Oxygenating Plants: These hard workers grow submerged beneath the pond's surface. Blooming as small flowers above the water, they are indispensable to a balanced garden, taking in carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen necessary for the survival of other plants and fish.
	Marginal/Bog Plants: Some plants do best around the pond's margins, with their "feet" in shallow water and their "heads" waving in the breeze. Marginal plants can be planted directly in the gravel. Their roots will spread throughout the gravel, cleaning the pond by using nutrients and growing vigorously. Bog Plants are marginals which prefer to grow in wet ground rather than in standing water. Marginal/Bog plants help provide a smooth transition from the pond to its borders and serve to link the pond with the surrounding landscape.
	Water Liles: Stunningly beautiful, dependable, and easy to plant, these semifloaters are the showpieces in any pond. Lilies come in hardy and tropical varieties. Hardy varieties bloom during daylight, opening at about 10 a.m. and closing after sunset. Tropicals include both day and night bloomers.

LINER

A strong 45-mil EPDM liner is the best choice for most pond installations. Unlike concrete, it is easy and inexpensive to install and won't crack. When covered with stone, it has a 40-year life expectancy. If a leak ever were to occur, a simple inner-tube patch kit can make it as good as new.

UNDERLAYMENT

A woven needle punched underlayment forms a soft padding for the liner. Unlike newspapers, it's a quick install. Unlike sand, it completely covers the vertical areas of the pond shelves. And unlike carpet padding, it allows gases to escape out the sides while looking more professional.

ROCKS & GRAVEL

Adding rocks and gravel to a pond solves many traditional pond problems. Contrary to popular opinion, adding rocks and gravel reduces pond maintenance. Gravel, unlike a smooth pond liner, provides surface area for bacteria to colonize. Fish waste and other organic matter that settles to the pond bottom gets broken down by the bacteria living there. Anaerobic sludge is therefore decreased naturally the way nature intended it to be. Additionally, covering the pond liner with gravel protects the liner from harmful UV rays and damage from animals and other sharp objects. The rocks and gravel also help hold down the liner during high ground water conditions and create areas for fish to hide when predators come around. Finally a stone bottom looks more natural and is safer to walk on than an exposed slippery rubber liner.

BIOFALLS®

The BIOFALLS® revolutionized pond filtration by becoming the first biological filter that, when installed, becomes a waterfall. Its design includes a molded shelf allowing for easy stone placement, which completely camouflages the unit. A multimedia filtration area consisting of three filter pads, bags for lava rocks and finally, an area for floating or marginal plants, is extremely effective at filtering the water. A new improved molded stone with a ribbed surface twists the water naturally as it flows back towards the pond. There is no need for messy liner tape; the locking snout on the BIOFALLS® provides a leak-proof method of attaching the liner to the BIOFALLS® . Its high-density polyethylene construction is firm, but flexes during freeze-thaw cycles or shifting earth. It will never crack, unlike rigid fiberglass designs, which easily can crack over time. The single greatest benefit of the BIOFALLS® is how much easier and faster it allows you to create beautiful water falls!

	BACTERIA Aquaclearer bacteria naturally balances the pond and String Algae Buster breaks down long string algae growing in the pond.
	PLANTS Marginal plants can be planted directly in the gravel. Their roots will spread throughout the gravel, cleaning the pond by using nutrients and growing vigorously. See: GARDEN POND PLANTS
	FISH Fish, like Koi and goldfish, can be successfully kept, and even bred, in water that is only two feet deep. Fish are the visual showstoppers of most garden ponds. But they also serve a more practical purpose by helping to create a proper ecological balance in their watery environment. Garden ponds are often plagued by excessive algae growth, which makes the water look green. Fish help with the algae problem because they feed on it. As an added bonus they also devour insect larvae, helping to minimize the mosquito problem around your pond.
	The Aquascape Ecosystem is manufactured by Aquascape Designs Inc. St. Charles, Illinois in the United States.