Water Fountains

Water Fountains

Backyard water fountains have really changed over the years. Today they are made out of all different kinds of materials like copper, stainless steel, bronze, stone, even fiberglass. If you are thinking about purchasing a fountain, there are some things you should take into consideration.

Backyard fountains can be found all over the place in trade shows and gardening magazines. There are many different styles so you'll probably have a few choices to make.

My favorite style of fountain is made out of stone. You can go to Mexico and see large, handmade stone fountains, and these are the most beautiful. Some mass-produced fountains from China are even made of stone, but you can't really tell because they crush the rock and mix it with resin to fit in a mold.

Another option is to build your own fountain. There are many products out there to get you started.

The easiest way to build a backyard fountain is to get a small water pump and place it in a small tub or over a liner. You would then cover the liner with either a plastic of mesh grating and cover it with a layer of rock and small pebbles.

Next, you want to connect some PVC pipe to the pump so water will rise up out of the rocks. Black PVC pipe for sprinklers is the best at concealing your setup, but its also expensive so you make the choice. This way you won't have to worry about kids or pets getting in the way.

This would be a great time to build a small waterfall! Then just cover up all your electrical and tubing under large rocks.

If you bought your backyard water fountain in a store, it should tell you what size pump you need, if it doesn't come with the fountain. If your making your own, you should try to estimate so that every inch of width you add, you have about 100 gallons per hour being pumped. Remember elevation will also affect how much water you are pumping. Many newer pumps can be adjusted or turned down, but not much.

There are many different things you can do to your garden with flagstone. Visit my website to find out more about laying flagstone patios. or go to http://www.backyardspaces.com/fountains.html they have free plans to build your own fountain in weekend copy and place web address into your browser.

Cleaning Your Pond Naturally

Cleaning the pond regularly is essential for the healthy growth of the local pond ecosystem in your garden. The pond in your garden is a representative of a very complex habitat and the small and big creatures living there need a fresh and clean environment.

Koi Pond

While, you can use many artificial methods to clean the pond that includes the use of filters, there are certain natural approaches to clean the pond also. Nature offers the best solution for any kind of problem. Here are some useful tips for cleaning your pond naturally.

While nothing can replace a good http://Nishiki-colorfulkoi.blogspot.com
filtration system it is important to consider the part that nature has to play in your artificial ecosystem.

Some plants, such as water lilies play a vital role as a natural pond cleaner. Water lilies are helpful to avoid green water from your pond. Covering the half of the pond with plants, such as water lilies helps a in natural http://Nishiki-colorfulkoi.blogspot.com water purification.

Water lilies spread easily throughout the surface of your pond. Apart from helping in natural pond cleaning, water lilies also help the fishes in the pond to hide from the sun during extreme summer.

Various other water plants also play as natural pond cleaners. These water plants maintain the health of your natural pond ecosystem. They exhale a lot of oxygen into the environment and in to the water as well, helping the oxygenation of the pond water regularly.

These water plants help process and remove organic waste materials from the pond naturally. You can use both floating and submerged water plants as natural pond purifiers. While floating plants take care of cleaning the upper water surface, submerged plants purify the basement and lower part of the pond.

The roots of the floating water plants contain many beneficial microorganisms, which digest the organic wastes, thus helping in natural pond purification.

Another consideration for natural pond purification is waterfall. Waterfalls avoid the water in your pond to settle at one place, thus helping in the transport of important organic maters to various parts of the pond.

Waterfalls not only ensure beauty to your pond but also help in the process of natural pond purification by transporting out heavy organic and chemical pollutants, such as mercury, heavy metals, and nitrate; and phosphate chemicals.

Nature certainly has the best solution to help you in the process of natural pond cleaning process. Consider the above methods to get a clean and pure natural pond in your garden,

KOI Pond, KOI Water Feature, KOI Waterfall

 

Koi Pond Waterfall

 
A water feature in your garden or back yard adds beauty, value, movement - and an amazing sense of tranquility and peace! This article is intended to provide a few tips and ideas to help make the job of installation easier, save money, avoid mistakes, and help you get the most from your new addition!

First, you should decide exactly what you want. A water garden could be anything from a large tub with a few water plants to a huge pond with stream, waterfall, bridge, and extensive plantings of water lilies, bog iris and marginal plants. However, if you also want fish - especially Koi - this adds another level of planning.

With any water feature, nice clean water enhances the overall picture. With Koi, you will also need well-oxygenated water free of chemicals and toxins that could harm your fish.

This includes ammonia generated by fish wastes, and chemicals which might help clear your water and be harmless to plants, but could be toxic to your fish. This is where filtration comes in - and a good filtration system can ease the maintenance of a larger pond even if it doesn't have fish.

Once you've decided what you want, you need to decide how large you want it. And let me tell you - almost anyone who has installed a water feature or pond will tell you that one of the main things they would change would be to make their pond bigger!

Yes, it's possible to expand or add onto an existing installation, but it's almost always less expensive to make the larger installation in the first place!

While you are making plans for rocks, waterfall, plants and so forth, be sure to include a spot to sit and enjoy your pond - and fish, if you have them. Consider adding a feature such as a pergola - these provide broken shade for you and can do the same for the Koi in your pond if extended over a portion of the pond.

You can also wire these to include lighting, or an overhead fan to further add to the comfort of relaxing and enjoying the peace and tranquility of your new addition.

If you aren't sure about Koi, but do want a fairly large pond - install a bottom drain! It doesn't require immediate hookup to a pump or filter, but even without fish it can be invaluable if you need to drain the pond for cleaning, or to repair a leak.

Then, if/when you decide to add Koi at some later date, your bottom drain is already plumbed and just waiting for the addition of a mechanical filter and pump! The plumbing costs very little at this point in time, and can save a lot at a later date.

Here are just a few other things to think about as you are planning your new addition. First, all the dirt that comes out of that hole can be used to:

a) create a raised planting bed along the back;
b) raise the sides of your pond and reduce the depth you need to dig;
c) build up the area where you want a waterfall.

For oxygenation - or just to hear the sound of water - you might also add a fountain or waterfall perhaps in statue form. Plants include bog plants - these can be separated from the main pond with a narrow border that still allows water in to maintain the moisture these plants need.

A stream can add more movement with additional oxygenation and filtering, and waterfalls are great for movement, the music of water in motion, and oxygenation.

A path and bridge can add to your viewing enjoyment. And edging can be grass, slate, brick, rock, or any combination - such as slate for your sitting area, with large rock around the rest of the pond perimeter.

For additional ideas and suggestions, please visit my blog, at
http:// ilovekoi.blogspot.com
For more information click http://Nishiki-colorfulkoi.blogspot.com