Liner Will Stay in Place

Installing gravel over a pond liner will help keep the liner in place. This is just like how you can use a rock to keep a napkin from blowing away in the wind at a picnic. If you don’t use rock and gravel and the liner moves, air bubbles can form underneath. This bubbling can lead to your pond liner rising up over the surface of your pond overtime. This is creating an unappealing formation in the middle of your beautiful water feature.

Slip Prevention

Many pond owners like to wade into their pond to trim aquatic plants or interact with their fish. If you are that pond owner, then you are certainly familiar with how slippery a pond liner is below the surface. It is much safer to enter your pond when there is a layer of gravel to step on.

Pond Gravel Protects Liner from Sun

Just like how the color of your furniture may begin to fade when placed in front of a window for too long, your pond liner can too be damaged by the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Utilizing a layer of gravel will help to increase your liner’s longevity by protecting it from the sun and its harmful rays.

Gravel Enhances the Ecosystem

Gravel provides a habitat for beneficial microorganisms which in turn can attract healthy bacteria to your pond. These minute organisms become food for fish, crustaceans, and aquatic insects. It is also food for bacteria and algae that live on the rocky shore. These bacteria break down decaying plant matter and fish waste, turning it into usable plant nutrition.

Without gravel, this decaying plant matter and fish waste will simply pile up on the bottom of your pond. This will be creating an icky, slippery layer of muck. Reduce the amount of muck in your pond by installing rock and gravel. You’ll find this practice will reduce required maintenance overall as well!

Gravel Naturalizes the Pond

In addition to being an essential ingredient to the overall ecosystem of your pond, rocks and gravel help to create a natural feel for your entire water garden! They can be used to naturalize a water feature, create waterfalls, and increase the biological activity in and around the entire pond. Use gravel to blend your water feature into the natural landscape in your yard.

In Conclusion

Gravel not only helps to support the ecosystem of your pond but it also protects your liner. This makes your pond safer to walk in and enhances the natural feel of your entire water garden. Next time you are asked about gravel and its importance, use these five reasons to support why you are pro-gravel too!  Contact us to see how we can build a pond for you!

The post 5 Reasons to Choose Pond Gravel appeared first on FNC PONDS.

What Type of Koi do you want?

There tends to be two types of Koi owners – those who love to keep them as pets in their pond, and those looking for a prized collection.

For inexperienced Koi seekers in the process of finding that perfect pond addition, the question may loom, pet or show quality? You may find yourself wondering, “how should I know?” or “why does it matter?”.

Just like in dogs or horses, the price associated with your Koi can be determined by bloodlines, markings, and size. By understanding the differences between show and pet quality Koi, new owners can feel more confident during the selection process.

Let’s take a look at the various groups of Koi to help better understand what is important to you and what you’re paying for when selecting Koi for your water garden. Some owners collect show Koi like a prized car that is only driven on Sundays. When you stop and think about it, there are quite a few analogies that can be made between Koi and cars.

The Economy Car:

There are three options for Koi breeders to choose from when deciding what to do with the poorest of their culled baby Koi. First, they can sell the fish into the bait market or as a feeder fish for consumption by larger fish in pet shops. Second, they can bury the fish. Last but not least, they can sell them as pond grade Koi.

To a beginner Koi collector, a simple all-orange fish can be considered good enough to be a decent Koi. The all-yellow Koi, known as the lemon ogon, is wildly popular and very easy to produce. Like the finest of the economy cars, the lemon ogon is abundant and not unpleasant to own.

Just like how there is nothing wrong with owning an economy car, there is nothing wrong with owning an economy Koi. They will certainly be pleasant to own, but exceptional colors or patterns don’t generally occur in this group.

The Minivan:

Like a reliable family minivan, domestic Koi are attractive and of good quality. It is a healthy fish that has been bred on the grounds we currently stand on. The bloodlines of most domestic fish are short, and the classic ancestral stock is not long ago. The fish are tough, but with a lack of refinement comes a less refined look. Domestic, durable Koi of average to good quality make wonderful, sturdy pets and are an enjoyable addition for your pond.

The Handmade American Stock Car:

Lovingly handcrafted in America, these performance vehicles are fast and beautiful. The Koi tends to be a hand-selected small import or domestic fish that goes on to take a trophy in a local showcase.

In this instance, the owner of the fish likely chose it based on its assessed future quality. They then raised it on their own to sub-adult or adult status before putting it in a Koi show. Victory in a Koi show with a fish you chose and raised by hand is a testament to your ability to judge fish, identify quality, and provide the kind of husbandry needed to produce a champion from a small fish you hoped was a diamond.

The Sports Car:

For those with a fancier taste, consider a Koi imported from Asia. These Koi are more expensive than their domestic counterparts, but in general, much prettier. Their good looks plus the cost of shipping is why they’re more expensive. You get what you pay for!

The Handmade Italian Sports Car:

There is a breed of Koi owner who doesn’t care about price. They simply need to have the best.

What’s interesting is that when the driver of a handmade Italian sports car drives down the road, people only marvel at the value of the car – not necessarily the skills of the driver.

There are handcrafted fish available in Japan that are finer than any other Koi you can buy on any market in the world. These magnificent fish are usually large in size and typically have a Japanese Koi show win already under their belt.

A Koi from this group is going to be a profoundly expensive fish that is bred, raised, and shown by a Japanese craftsman, then sold to a trophy hunter in America. No skills are called upon to buy a fish that already comes with a trophy. Only a fat wallet.

So, what does it all mean? Just like how there are many different types of Koi, there are also many different types of Koi owners. You have to choose a Koi that is the right fit for your ownership style, and your budget. Extreme Koi enthusiasts may be meticulous and specific in the care and keeping of their Koi, but it is not always necessary. It is okay to only care for your Koi in ways it needs to be kept.

The post Show Koi vs. Pet Koi: What to Look For appeared first on FNC PONDS.