Rocks & Gravel Improve Backyard Water Gardens: It’s True

Los Angeles, CA, September 06, 2007 --(PR.com)-- With the traditional pond filter systems of yesteryear, pond owners usually considered that rocks and gravel should never be put into the bottom of the koi pond. The fear was that the muck from the plants and fish would get mixed up in the rock and gravel and be difficult to remove and could not be vacuumed out periodically.

With the new biological filter system being used in garden ponds today, experiments have been made where rock and gravel have been added to the pond and stream bottom, which makes them look more natural. Rather than the muck from the plants and fish getting mixed up in the rock and gravel and complicating the vacuuming process, the rock and gravel becomes another area for beneficial bacteria to colonize which consume the debris before it gets a chance to turn to muck.

Terry Morrill, CEO of California Waterscapes (http://www.californiawaterscapes.com), a leading installer of garden ponds using this new system in Southern California, stated “Adding rocks and gravel to a garden pond is one of the ways the technology has changed. Another is the addition of a pond skimmer, which is similar to a pool skimmer except that it is about 10 times the size. A submersible pump is placed in the back of the skimmer that pulls the top layer of water with all the debris that may be floating on it into a net and filter pad in the skimmer. The net can be easily emptied on a routine basis. Since the pump is housed behind these filters it is protected from any large pieces of debris. A koi pond that has a skimmer and one that does not can be immediately detected. One not skimmed has a layer of film on the top that detracts from the clarity of the pond.”

California Waterscapes uses pond equipment developed by Aquascape Designs, in Chicago. Utilizing a biological filter, a pond skimmer for removing large debris, rocks and gravel in the bottom of the pond which give the beneficial bacteria and enzymes another place to colonize, these new garden pond systems create natural, beautiful, ecologically balanced water gardens that require little maintenance. California Waterscapes (now a division of Pacific Outdoor Living) has been installing beautiful and biologically balanced ponds, streams and waterfalls in Southern California since 2001.

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