General water gardening questions

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If you require legal advice / opinion then I am sorry but we are unable to help. Anything written here is only to be used as a guideline and is not to be taken as word of the law.

These questions and answers are in no particular order

A word of Caution

If you are going to get someone in to build a pond or water feature for you then before you hand over any money, ask for references, or at least pictures and the phone number of who had it installed or if you can, ask to go and see it. After all you wouldn't buy new furniture with out seeing it would you?

Also get a plan of works drawn up and that way you both know how things should go. Also do not forget a bit of kindness goes along way (cups of tea)

Blue Water

We have been asked when visiting a "garden / fish show" some of the displays made have blue water, how do they do that.

The answer is quite simple, they put food colouring into the water, the darker the shade of blue you want the more colouring you add. But before you rush out and try it there are some things you should be aware of.

Green water

Unlike blue water green water is what you get when your pond is not in balance. Algae starts to grow on the excess nutrients in the water / sunlight and they multiply until your pond turns green, to remedy this you should have a biological filter and a u.v clarifier click here for further information

What is fibre glassing a pond?

Why do some people have their pond fibre glassed. If you are building a big pond then you may want to opt for having it fibre glassed. This has the advantage that when done properly it will never leak or crack, you do not get lines or folds you would if using a liner.

The basic explanation is that the pond walls are rendered with cement, then fibreglass matting and resin is applied piece by piece layer by layer until the desired thickness is achieved then a finishing gel coat is added. 

It is simple to do but for a pond we recommend you let a professional do it.

It is not cheap, we suggest you have several quotes before deciding which to have.

Buying from Abroad

We had an enquiry about buying a well known brand of pump from an auction site in America (for use over here) The reason was it was about the 10th of the price of over here.

There are several problems with this.

If you buy something from abroad, you are in fact importing it and become liable to pay import duty and V.A.T  So what was cheap now isn't. and also America's electricity supply is 120v ac 60 hz and the U.K. it is 230v ac 50 hz as you can see the two are very different. Basically it means that it will literally burn up (or catch fire) as our voltage is too much. not to mention the warranty (if any) will be void.

If you want quality you are going to have to pay for it

Pool shape

We were asked why are most fountains round and most ponds not. The reason is quite simple in a round pool you will have a fountain in the middle since anywhere else it will look odd, being as it is in the middle which ever direction the water falls it will end up in the pool, but with a domestic pond / water feature  there is usually not enough space for a big round pool and to be different people have pond with corners to make them blend in more with their surroundings.

If you are designing a pond make sure it has no tight corners as in these corners water can become "dead" and stagnate.

Tank

If you are offered a "water tank" for a pond do not take it as if it is made of steel it will rust, if it is galvanised steel it will kill any wildlife or fish that you have in it, (you could always paint it with a water proof sealant) it will however be ok to use it for a water feature

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