Project 1

This water feature was first completed in 1989 and had all the problems associated with water features being built at that time. The water was almost constantly green; the berm which had been created for the waterfall settled and shifted causing leaks; debris and fish clogged the pump, which was located in the bottom of the pond; plumbing was hard to hide; sides tended to move inward under the pressure of the doping stone; and the exposed liner would float as water got underneath it. In all, the feature proved to be more maintenance than fun. We decided that at this time it would be the last water feature we would build.

In the fall of 1996 we came across an ad for the Aquascape System. After some research and investigation, we discovered that their system was able to solve many of the above problems. So, wanting to see if this system worked as well as advertised, we entered into an agreement with the customer where she would cover material costs and we would supply free labor to completely rebuild the water feature. We removed all old materials and installed 45 mil EPDM liner and underlayment, a falls box (which eliminates the problems caused by the settling of the earth berm), a skinner box, a high efficiency pump and flexible 2" PVC pipe. Both the skimmer and falls box allow for mechanical and biological filtration. The skimmer box is where the pump is located, away from the fish and out of sight. The skimmer box also allows floating debris to be pulled off the surface of the pond. The flexible 2" PVC pipe is sized to the pump giving us a good volume of water creating a wonderful waterfall. One year later this system was functioning even better than expected. Not only was the customer very pleased with the outcome, but because of the success we decided that water features would be the future of our company.

The old liner (rigid and easily cracked after only seven years), equipment and stone have been removed. The pond has been reshaped and the holes for the falls box (top center) and the skimmer box (bottom center) have been dug.

45 mil EPDM Fish Safe liner (with a 20 year manufacturer's warranty to not break down even if in full sun) and underlayment are being put in place. The falls box is in place and the falls have been built. We used rounded boulders to cover the liner and act as a retaining wall to keep the edges from collapsing inward. We have since changed to field stone, a flat rock that allows more stable stacking and appears more natural for Missouri waterways.

This is in the late spring of 1997, and water hyacinths have almost covered the pond. We now limit floating plants to the falls box or floating containers in the pond and use other hardy and tropical plants in the pond and stream areas. Other aquatic plants were present, just not visible. The water has excellent quality and clarity.