Just returned from the largest get together of pond professionals in the world. This year was especially exciting , because, along with other things , The new TV show Pond Stars, was announced to air on National Geographic Wild . September 9. This show will show the public what we have known for years.A naturally beautiful water feature is not only dream-able, but is have-able , by almost anyone

 

The show will feature our buddies Greg Wittstock. Ed Beaulieu, and Brian Helfrich, along with some of the best pond builders in the business, namely  Certified Aquascape Contractors.  Building ponds and waterfalls in peoples back yards .This show is destined to be a Big hit.

Here is the cool thing.Some really big opportunities come with having friends : in the business” and not just for us here at Pondman. You the public have a chance at getting your pond, or pondless waterfall built , by The Pondstars, Your water fall could be on an episode of the show.All you need to do is contact us here at Pondman .

We cant wait to here from you.

Every once in a while we are asked to put a water fall where we normally wouldn’t. This was the case at Harry’s house. The slope just out his back door was extremely steep, and the cement patio pressed rite next to it.This would generally present a problem . We were able to complete this project by building a disappearing pondless waterfall.When running, the basin would hold about 6 inches of water, but when turned off either with the timer,or his hand held remote control,the basin would drain .  Harry still has some landscape work to do , but it turned out pretty good.

We sometimes get requests that are out of the ordinary. While servicing a pond , we received an emergency phone call from the home owner.They had left earlier that morning , before we arrived. After a little excited explanation , we opened the door to the house , to find smoke. we couldn’t see more than 15 feet in. we immediately

started opening windows and doors, to air out the place..While this was being done I went to the kitchen and unplugged the toaster oven.They had forgotten the hot pockets cooking and left. Pondman and the crew to the rescue.And the pond looks great!

Sometime we get requests , that at first glance, cant be one. That was our knee jerk reaction , when we got this one In Carlsbad. The customer wanted a double tiered waterfall, a bridge, stream and a pond. The problem , was that the yard was extremely  small. After a little thought, about a weeks worth or work.

What the home owner had ,was just that. The stream has only 12 to 14 inches of width, but is pushing 3000 gallons of water an hour.The waterfall is about 3 feet high , with several drops.In addition, another small falls,splashes directly into the pond.The pond itself is around 6 feet across ,with 2 feet cantilevered under the deck.A total of 9 LED lights , some in the pond and some in the water coarse make a special glow.Because of the small size , the waterfall incorporates a couple of large boulders that allowing seating.This project turned out to be one of our favorite this year.

Every year around this time, we start getting calls from pond owners. They all want to know what to do about the mess in the pond. Now is the beginning of pond season. That means now is the time to start the regular spring maintenance, Maintenance now will insure that you have a beautiful pond, the rest of the year.

Pond owners seem to have a lot in common.For one thing , they all want the pond or waterfalls to be as clean and clear as possible Beautiful  ponds rarely happen  by accident. One of the things required is maintenance. All ponds need the occasional hands on cleaning session.

Every spring The Pondman , schedules these services or pond cleanouts, sometimes months in advance.Clean outs entail removing the fish along with most of the other ingredients of the pond and thourely cleaning the area. Sometimes a high pressure washer is used , and sometimes its just plain elbow grease. Now is the time to schedule your pond clean out!

Call to lock your place on the calender. (858) 449-9135

 

A Nice enough pond. Well this is what they asked the builder to do for them.What the home owner found out after the contractor left was.

Even if it was what they asked for, its not what they wanted!  Huh,,, If a professional pond builder that specializes in ponds, would have discussed , what the expectations were on this pond.

For instance, Do you want to spend time on the pond, or are you going to have someone do maintenance?, Do you want to have large koi that you can sit and watch ?,Do you want a natural or modern style pond, Do you know what a eco-system pond is?.  etc…

A Certified Aquascape Contractor wouldn’t have started the project , without having these thoughts along with a lot more , already considered.

As it turned out what was wanted was a pond that was big enough for the large koi. Also the homeowner planned on sitting on the patio to watch and enjoy both the waterfall and fish. With out completely undoing what they had Pondman , was able to enlarge the pond. Allowing enough room for the fish. Also a Waterfall was installed in the spot that the contractor told them (couldn’t be done).  

We are pretty lucky to live in this area.We are koi and pond people.

What this means is, we are always looking for that pond over the next fence, or just around that corner.It might be at Swamis in Encinitas , or The many ponds at Balboa park. Or in someones front yard.

 

We discover another pond or waterfall almost in every neighborhood. I cant even count or find all the ponds at restaurants in this city.Almost everyone has a favorite , and the chances are pretty good that its one that’s new to our radar.  We will continue to explore our surroundings, and find more favorite ponds and waterfalls. This is what we do.

Whenever I go out on a new pond consultation, I need to evaluate if what the customer asks for, will actually work, were they want it.Sometimes when they say that a pond would be great, what they mean is, Water would be great.Sometimes a pond wouldn’t be great in this circumstance.

Sometimes a pondless waterfall would be better.Sometimes a pondless waterfall will work better than a pond. When children or heavy foot traffic is expected in a location, a pond might be a liability concern,This is one circumstance where a pondless waterfall might be preferred.A pondless waterfall has all the beauty of the pond however it has a few other positive aspects , that a pond doesn’t. A pondless waterfall holds the majority of its water under ground. This cuts down on evaporation,and allows for the possibility of being shut down , when ever the customer wants. ( A pond needs to run continuously).A pondless waterfall can be walked , crawled, of climbed on with a feeling of safety, not always present in a pond.

These are some of the things I need to think of every time someone tells me. I want a pond.