Articles written by guest contributors
Today's kits like the one pictured include all the basics you need to build ponds like the one pictured.
What's keeping you out of the water feature business?
By Dave Ouwinga, President EasyPro Pond ProductsA lot of the reasons I hear contractors give for staying out of the water feature business just aren't valid anymore; some never were valid. So much has changed in recent years that water feature installation is now much, much easier for a number of reasons:
It's all in the kit
Just 15 years ago there were really no systems for putting together a water feature. Everything was kind of piecemealed together. You'd buy a pump from here, and a filter from there. It was a hassle. It's a lot different today with the kits available that have everything you need, and it's all made to fit together.You're no longer alone
There didn't used to be much in the way of training available. So contractors were left to figure everything out themselves. They made preventable mistakes, got call-backs and backed away from future pond work. Today, there's a lot of training available, seminars, webinars, online how-to videos. All these things make learning the work pretty easy.Stuck on ponds
Some contractors out there got into water features by building ponds, and they left the business saying, "Well, nobody wants a pond anymore." Well, clients may not want a pond anymore, but they still want water. There are lots of new options available that can add to your bottom line like a fire-and-water kit, a bubbling rock, a pondless waterfall, or something else.No excuse for leaks
Because you're working with water, people worry about liners leaking. They rarely leak unless you don't do it right. Skimping on the liner is the cause of most leaks. You need to have extra liner all the way around the perimeter of the pond and stream to account for settling of the ground over time. Properly installed, a 45 mil rubber liner should last 20 years or more without leaking.
Today there are lots of educational opportunities available so you don't have to make it up as you go.
Algae's not an issue
A properly designed pond that a contractor puts in will have crystal clear water. It takes 5 to 10 minutes of algae treatment maintenance a week to keep it that way. Filtration is 90% of the battle. You have to have a good pump that's turning that water over sufficiently, and you have to have an adequate filter. The problems occur when someone spends $100 on a discount store pond kit. A big-box kit is unlikely to have a filter in it. It's just a weak pump, a liner and a little fountain head. So there's no filtration and the water's green and nasty.Built for freeze/thaw
In the old days you had to have everything run up hill so that when you turned the waterfall off it would drain back out. If there was water left in the pipes, you'd be replacing them in the spring. Now you don't have to worry about that. We use all flexible PVC pipe. If you leave it full of water it will stretch/swell up when it freezes, and go back down with the spring thaw. There's no need to drain it. Contractors love it.The only winter prep you have to do is to pop out the pump by loosening up 1 fitting. It's a 5 minute job. The rest of the installation is fine outside for the winter. In the spring you will want to clean everything up.
Keeping fish
Contractors don't want to mess with fish. But fish aren't that big of a deal. You have to keep open water in the winter. Use a little aeration kit to keep open a space about the size of a dinner plate to let the gasses out. There are a few other things you need to do that we don't have space for here, but it's all very doable. We have 1,000s of customers with fish in areas where it gets bitter cold.Today's pumps
Years ago customers commonly used “sump pumps” to run their features. Problem was, these pumps are not meant to run continuously and they were not energy efficient. Today's pumps are much different.Most common are mag drive pumps which use magnets to turn the impellor. These pumps have no bearings/seals, the most common causes for failures. Plus, they are very energy efficient. Even the larger direct drive pumps available today are far superior to common sump pumps. They use high quality bearings and other parts meant to run continuously.
The pump is the “heart” of every water feature. Spending the money on a quality, energy efficient pump will actually save the customer considerably in energy savings over the life of the pump.
Today's water features are so much better and so much easier to install than those of the past. They require minimal maintenance thru the seasons. Plus, there's now ample training available. Contact your water feature supplier to get started.
Dave Ouwinga grew up working in his family's 96-pond fishery business. He spearheaded the company's expansion into manufacturing EasyPro Pond Products for the contractor. Today EasyPro has served over 41,000 customers throughout North America and internationally. Call (800) 448-3873 or visit EasyProPondProducts.com
There are many easy water feature options that fit in anyone's backyard like this fire-and-water kit.
