Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Why do you gravel or rock all your ponds?
A. First, for many years the aquarium industry has capitalized on the use of rocks or gravel on the bottom of aquariums. Creation of the "natural system" using gravel provides an increased growing area in which bacteria can grow and process nutrients. As the fish release ammonia in their excrement, the bacteria in the gravel consume it and convert it to a form of nitrogen that is much less toxic to fish and is heartily consumed by the plants in the aquarium. The same theory holds true with ponds. The fish produce the ammonia, the bacteria break it down into nitrogen and the plants feed on the nitrogen. When this system is in balance, your water will be clear both in your aquarium and in your pond or water garden.
Second, the gravel, which is covered in bacteria, consumes all the fish feces, left over food, leaves, and the organic material to the point that they are mere particles. If you have nothing but a bare liner in your pond, the limited number of bacteria would not be able to consume all the waste and debris, therefore leaving a blackish brown muck or sludge at the bottom of the pond.
Last, but not least, is the protection gravel or rocks provide to the liner. The worst enemy of your liner is not the 500 pound boulder placed on it but the UV radiation that is radiating down upon it over the years. UV radiation has a tendency to slowly degrade the EPDM liner material in your pond causing it to weaken or crack. The gravel covering your liner acts as a protective layer against UV radiation.
Q. How much will my electric bill increase?
A. Electricity prices vary with pump size. However, most increase $15-$35 range.
Q. Is it necessary to drain and clean my pond regularly?
A. No. One of the wonderful benefits of your water feature is that it requires very little maintenance. All you need to do for routine maintenance is check the pond's skimmer, which collects surface debris, about once a week. The skimmer has a simple to remove cover and captures any debris in a convenient net, which you simply shake out to remove. A few minutes each week, and your pond "maintenance" is complete for the pond season. Fitz Water Design offers assistance with winter preparation and spring "reopening" of your pond.
Q. Do I need UV lights or other high-tech and expensive purifiers?
A. No. Your natural pond environment is designed to eliminate these costly and artificial purification systems. Your pond uses natural processes to keep the water clean, so you do not need to waste your money on unnecessary technology.
Q. How much time will I have to spend caring for my pond?
A. You will spend approximately 20 minutes a week on your pond. During the spring and summer months, you will need to empty your skimmer net once a week. This whole process takes about 5-7 minutes. The remaining 13 minutes is left to adding bacteria to your pond and occasionally checking the skimmer box and the water fill value. THAT'S IT! Any other time you spend by your pond or water garden will be sitting next to it and enjoying your little piece of paradise.
Q. What makes your system better than the rest of the systems out there?
A. The Aquascape Design™ Systems that we use are skimmer systems that work similar to a swimming pool system. The top 6-8 inches of water is consistently moving through the skimmer and through the BIOFALLS ™ Filtration unit. With so much water movement occurring, the mechanical and bacterial filtration units are consistently moving and cleaning the water in the pond or water garden. This type of water movement and filtration is the key to the low maintenance aspect of the pond system we install.
Q. Will my pond increase the number of mosquitoes I have in the summer?
A. Mosquitoes are attracted too stagnant areas of water where they have an opportunity to lay their eggs. With the system we install you may actually experience a reduction in the numbers of mosquitoes compared to previous years. The skimmer system we sell and install as described in question are dynamic systems where the water is constantly moving via the sucking action of the skimmer. If any mosquito larvae end up in your pond, they are eventually swept into the skimmer and drown. Any mosquito larvae squeaking past the skimmer do not stand a chance. The KOI and goldfish in your pond love mosquito larvae. They can be seen jumping above the water surface to devour the larvae. Ponds and water gardens also attract dragonflies. Dragonflies love mosquitoes and will devour thousands of them every evening. Once the dragonflies establish themselves they will breed in your pond and will return in the spring to eat the mosquitoes brought in by the tire swing or upside-down Frisbee on the block. With all this action going on you can see how mosquito populations may decrease.
Q. Do you use bottom drains?
A. No, we don't use bottom drains. We feel that with rocks and gravel on the bottom of the pond, the bottom drains are unnecessary. The bacteria in the rocks and gravel will break down any debris that get down to the bottom of the pond. Also, there is enough aeration coming from the BIOFALLS (TM) and the waterfall to aerate the entire pond.
Q. Where do I put the bacteria in the pond?
A.
Sprinkle the Bacteria in front of the skimmer. This will make sure that
the bacteria gets into the BIOFALLS (TM)
and everywhere else in the pond.
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Q. Can we still have aquatic plants in a pondless waterfall?
A. Absolutely, however water lilies are out of the question. Marginal aquatic plants do wonders at softening the edges of streams and in waterfalls. If you want to keep your maintenance to a minimum, we suggest choosing only from the wide variety of shallow rooted aquatic plants that are easy to thin and remove. 99% of the aquatic plants that are readily available can be aggressive so stick to the manageable species like, bacopa, micro-sword, golden buttons, acorus, Japanese arrowhead, sagitarias, dwarf papayrus, and other dwarf varieties. Stay away from anything labeled GIANT, like Giant Papyrus for example! It can grow up to 12 feet tall!
Q. Does my pondless waterfall need to run 24 hours a day?
A. No! One of the most compelling reasons the pondless waterfall has become so popular in today's landscape is because you can turn the waterfall off whenever you want. With an ecosystem pond it is mandatory that you run your waterfall filtration 24 hours a day in order to maintain life in your ecosystem. With the pondless style waterscapes you can shut the system off and on as you desire. Leaving town for a couple of weeks? No Problem, just turn your pondless waterscape off and when you get home turn it back on! Just another reason the pondless waterfall has reached such stature in such a short span of time.
Q. Can I put my pondless waterfall on a timer or remote?
A. Positively! Your pondless water features can be put on a timer that turns your waterscape on and off just like your pool or nightscape lighting. Many people have this landscape water feature run early morning while preparations for the day are underway depending on location of the waterfall. For example, if your pondless feature is located as a focal point to your kitchen, it is nice to be greeted by the sound and look of your waterfall when you are making coffee, reading the paper, making breakfast & lunch for the day. If you wake up at 6am and leave for work at 8am, you could have your waterfall activate just before 6am and turn off just after 8am and then turn back on just before you get home while saving electrical cost all day long.
Q. Will my pondless waterfall still attract wildlife without the pond?
A. Without a doubt these pondless waterscapes will still attract wildlife. The sound of water is very attractive to your local wildlife. Within moments of turning on a pondless waterfall for the very first time we have had dragonflies and birds show up to properties where homeowners had never experience them before! The sound of your waterfall will attract birds to your property that you would normally never see. Believe it or not, Bird Watching is a extremely popular past time! We have designed and built many a waterfall for bird watching enthusiasts with the primary goal to attract local and migratory birds to their very own backyard. In these specialty pondless waterscape designs for bird enthusiast, we take great care to create the waterscape with the birds in mind.
Q. What kind of water consumption should I expect from this waterscape?
A. The amount of water that you use due to evaporation in your pondless waterscape should be minimal. Typical sized custom pondless waterscapes usually hold less than 300 gallons of water. In the winter you will experience little to no loss of water due to evaporation and in the summer months you should expect to loose a reasonable amount of water.
Q. Will a pondless waterfall attract mosquitoes?
A.
Mosquitoes are attracted to stagnant water so the answer is NO, so you
can breathe easy. With a pondless waterscape you are dealing with a
waterfall and usually a small stream with chaotic moving water that is
less than appealing to the pesky mosquitoes. What your pondless water
feature will attract is dragonflies and birds, which both prey upon
mosquitoes. So it could be debated that a pondless waterfall my even
decrease the amount of mosquitoes on your property!
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Q. Will predators eat my fish?
A. With our design, it is very rare. Few predators enter a private yard or get close to places inhabited by humans. In addition, you well-designed Aquascape pond will provide shelter, shade and natural protection against those few predators that might get close to your pond. Fish are cautious and wily creatures, and our pond designs include sheltered areas that cannot be reached by most predators.
Q. Do I need to bring my fish inside for the winter?
A. No. Your pond is designed to allow your fish to survive throughout the winter. You will have several options to keep a small part of your pond free of ice to allow oxygen to reach your fish. Koi and other pond fish slow their metabolism in cold water, and will not need food. You only need to keep a small opening in the ice so oxygen can enter the water and undesirable gases can escape.
Q. How often should you feed the fish?
A. This is a debatable question and also depends on how many fish you have in the pond. We usually recommend not feeding fish more than once a day. The fish have plenty of things to nibble on in the pond, and the more you feed, the more waste they will produce.
Q. When should you start/stop feeding the fish?
A. Don't feed the fish when the water temperature is under 55 degrees. The fish metabolism is slowed down and won't be able to process the food.
Q. What is the recommend amount of fish to put in the pond?
A. Our rule of thumb for amount of
fish is to have 1" of fish for every 1 sq. ft. of pond surface area.
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Q. What is the recommended amount of plants to put in the pond?
A. The recommended amount of plants is to have 30-50% of the surface covered. You want to have a good mix of plants. You don't want to have all of one type of plant. Put in a mix of marginal and lilies. You'll want to have more of the marginal plants than lilies.
Q. What happens to the plants in the winter time?
A. Most hardy plants will die back
and go dormant during the winter. The tropical plants need to be brought
inside, or treated as annuals.
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