2020 was a tumultuous year, but the silver lining was spending more time with your family and being at home. For some contractors, homeowners and pond professionals this turned into reading more pond articles on PONDTrademag.com, where our web traffic dramatically increased in the Spring of 2020 with searches on pond construction, pond design, koi and aquatic plants. Below are the most popular feature articles by page views in 2020, enjoy!
Excerpt: “One of my favorite sounds is when two waterfalls with different tones complement each other. Just like in the world of music, you can play two completely different notes that may sound odd by themselves, but when you play them at the same time, they come together for a more sophisticated sound. Rarely is it perfect unison right off the bat, but after a bit of tweaking where the water lands, you can start to create beautiful harmonies.”
2. “Koi Colors and Patterns of Utsurimono” by Ellen Kloubec from Kloubec Koi Farm
Excerpt: “Sumi in the fins is also customary on all Utsuri. A blend of the two colors adds to the beauty of the pattern, and it can actually help to balance a lopsided one. Stripes of sumi on the pectoral fins are common instead of a concentrated spot of black at the base, which is commonly seen on Shiro Utsuri (moto-goro). Sumi stripes are usually present on the dorsal fin and caudal fin as well. Solid black fins are often common on young Utsuri.” [Another good one: Five Easy Ways to Identify Your Koi]
3. “Water Artisans of the Year Winners,” by Jordan Morris, editor at POND Trade magazine.
Excerpt: Can we get a witness? Because we’ve never seen anything quite like this enormous, disappearing waterfall that now anchors this Pennsylvania home’s backyard. When you realize that this cascading scene was previously a drab flowerbed full of weeds, this waterscape appears all the more impressive. The natural-looking, man-made arrangement of mossy boulders has truly transformed both the terrain of the property and advanced its sustainability.”
4. “Pond Construction | The Evolution of Invention, Part 1: The Koi Industry,” by Kent Wallace of Living Water Solutions.
Excerpt: “The idea of bottom drains as a product came from the method of running a pond by gravity flow, which was developed in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s in Japan. This principle had long been used in Japan, but mostly from midwater feeds, from a side feed off the bottom, and finally a from a bottom pipe covered with a metal plate.”
5. Pond Construction | Pondless Waterfall Renovation by Kent Wallace of Living Water Solutions.
Excerpt: “Don’t get me wrong — this particular company’s landscaping is some of the best I’ve ever seen — but water features should be left to the professionals. After all, as more landscaping companies add water features to their list of services, we have noticed a drastic rise in the number of calls for rebuilds and repairs.”
6. “Waterfalls Balance Rock, Water and Air” by Landon Malave at LCM Landscape & Design
Excerpt: “After the client and I are on the same page, my next step is doing the 3-D design to understand the location, elevation and the overall waterfall concept. This helps me plan out how I want to stage the project, what the access is like and where I need to start and finish the project. This design process also helps me determine all the required materials, head heights, pipe sizing, liner or underlayment type, filters and rock orientation. Once we have it all specced out and agree on a price, the fun begins!”
7. Using Concrete in Pond Construction, by Kent Wallace of Living Water Solutions
Excerpt: “The major drawback of the liner-on-dirt method is the integrity of the edge. Over time, the edge can get pushed down or moved by plants or animals, causing the edge to drop below the water line and creating a leak point. Many good contractors have developed methods to deal with this, but the softer the ground is, the more likely it is to occur.”
8. “Using Filtration to Remove Sediment From Ponds,” by Jamie Beyer, Contributing Writer.
Excerpt: “Removing sediment can be done in many ways. Always remember that it will settle to the bottom of a pond or filter every time, if it’s allowed to. Most ponds with high circulation rates will not allow much settling of the finer particles onto the bottom, causing them to wind up somewhere else — especially in filters.”
9. “Circulation Strategies for Pond Management,” by Kent Wallace of Living Water Solutions.
Excerpt: “Over the years, I have worked with industry professionals like Eric Triplett (The Ponddigger) and others on some under-gravel grid systems. Triplett has had a lot of success with this type of bottom water removal. He and other contractors have operated under-gravel systems with both mechanical pumps and airlifts, which makes me very happy. The key is doing the math with the right-sized main line, with the correct number and placement of properly sized holes in the grid lines. These systems, when coupled with under-gravel aeration and backflush capability, can produce amazing results for clients who want the rock-bottom look.”
10. “Aquatic Dream Team Builds Large-Scale Water Feature for Shaquille O’Neal,” by Jordan Morris, contributing writer at POND Trade Magazine.
Excerpt: “It may not come as a surprise that this VIP construction project was almost five years in the making. Wittstock and Ed Beaulieu, vice president of field research and contractor development at Aquascape, flew to Orlando, Florida, in 2015 for a design consultation at O’Neal’s 56,000-square-foot, lakefront home. Just before shovels hit the soil on a large pond build near the home’s living area, O’Neal announced that he was selling the house and moving to metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia.”
