Adding to Pond

I am going to add onto my pond--just started digging this weekend and trying to figure out the best way to break threw the one pond into the new one. Will add some pictures for discussion, not going to be a easy job since my plan calls for the break to become a two tiered waterfall, at least thats my hope. anyway stay tuned

Summers Here 2007

Been too long since I posted last, the pond is looking great. i actually added a little bridge that crosses the stream, my kids love it. Now the Frogs and Turtles are always real close. And the kids love dropping the food down the stream and watching the fish come up to get it! Plants are doing well, had a issue with the waaerfall and had to redo the whole thing this spring, the roots from some plants shot right up the backsideof the liner and ate right throught the sealant that held the liner to the falls! So basically %95 of the water was going over the falls but %5 was going under! Looked for leaks everywhere before ripping waterfall apart to find the problem. New falls are working nicely Ill add pictures of that as well! so alot of work but whats new in the life of a ponder! Ill post a few shots in a day or so.

Big Fish, Small Ponds

cool article----on Pond Guy

Big Fish, Small Ponds

Monday, January 22, 2007
From Inc.com

Aquascape Founder and CEO, Greg Wittstock

www.aquascapeinc.com

emails@aquascapeinc.com

Business Type:Construction

2005 Revenue:$60 million

No. of Employees:175


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Greg Wittstock, who likes to be called the Pond Guy, built his first pond at the age of 12. Today, more than 20 years later, Wittstock runs a thriving empire that not only builds backyard ponds, but supplies and teaches thousands of contractors every year on the latest and greatest Aquascape techniques.

"I moved from my lakefront home in New Jersey to Illinois when I was 12. My parents promised me that I could bring 11 of my pet turtles with me. On the second day after the move, I started digging my own backyard pond. I had checked out every book I could find from the library on backyard water gardening. Most of the books came from England and most of their techniques didn't work here in the United States.

"I built the first pond out of concrete and it cracked during its first winter. The filter systems clogged and turned fish to sushi, the pond turned green, and my turtles started escaping. That was the beginning of my odyssey. I MacGyvered up my own classroom to experiment with new techniques until I got them right.

"After I got things working, people got interested. In 1991, after my sophomore year at Ohio State University, I launched Aquascape Designs to build ponds for customers. I printed up some business cards and took out a few classified ads. I sold five jobs that summer and got $21,000 for three months of work. My gross profit was $11,000, which was a heck of a lot more than I made as a lifeguard the summer before. It was a fun way to make money.

"In the summer of 1992, the Chicago Tribune ran a feature story about me. I learned the power of public relations. My phone started ringing off the hook. In just four weeks, I sold 81 jobs. All of a sudden, my fun side-business became a career. I hired my dad, who was an engineer, a secretary, and a full-time foreman to help run the work crews with me. Aquascape became a year-round business in April 1993 -- and has been ever since.

"That's also when I realized that I could only make so much money with my two hands. With the help of a friend, I patented my filtration system and decided to start selling franchises. That was a huge mistake. I didn't sell a single one because my customers were landscape contractors and they didn't want to be tied down to a single kind of work. It was a low point of my life. I thought I wasted six months trying to do this. That's when I decided that instead of keeping my secrets to myself, I would give them away through a mail-order catalog.

"I mailed out our first catalog in 1995. I grew that to the point where we were mailing 3 million catalogs a year to sell my filtration systems and all the other items related to building ponds, like pumps and plumbing. As I started reaching new people, my business exploded.

"Today, my business model has completely changed. We've scrapped the mail order and now sell only through our 300 distributors. We decided to pick a horse, since our mail-order business was in competition with our distributors. We also train more than 5,000 contractors a year through our monthly training sessions, where we teach them to build both ponds and their businesses. We work with them to teach budgeting, sales, and construction techniques. That's part of why we dropped the 'Designs' from our name. In the end, the biggest value we can sell is our ability to help our customers grow their businesses.

Hot and Early Days of Summer

Well So Cal in June means one thing-HOT! So everything is in full bloom, and thriving. All my water lettuce from last year died, I bought a few more and they have already mulitplied 100 Times over! Anyone wanting some free Water lettuce just let me know. Other then that been a great year for my water lillies, I cant count the flowers this year! :-) Want to add a Lotus to the garden afet reading an interesting article in LA Times Home Section.

http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/home/la-hm-lotus29jun29,1,528097.story?coll=la-home-printedition

Other then that my pond looks great I think my fish Turtles and Frogs seem Happy! The hot days gets the minnows spawning but not many of the baby makes it....Not sure what gets them-the Turtles, koi, or Frogs. Anyway Jappy BBQ to you, kick back with a nice cold one and the sound of water splashing away! Here are some of the most recent photos, going to get some video up here real soon

Summer Bloom

Well summer is here and the pond is really in full bloom. Everything has really taken off, I cant believe it has only been ust over a year since I built the pond. The edging has all grown in even nicer then I imagined. My water lilies have been flowering more then last year, a few of the other plants like the Cypress have just gone berserk. Ive had to repot a few more then once in just over a year. Turtles are still happy, The Bull Frogs are absoultely huge now, I only see them at sunset and at night but It adds a little something when you never know what you will see and when! My minnows have started to spawn again, I have seen a dozen or so babies in the last few days, lets see how many last, not sure if the Koi eat them as well, but man have my Koi gotten huge as well. they look like mini submarines speeding up to the surface come feeding time! lol Other then that all my water lettuce from last year Died away, got a few more this year and already its starting to overtake the pond. I think I need to find another floater that doesnt grow as fast, or at least find some people who can come and take some water lettuce once it goes into its berserk growth phase in a few weeks! Ill add some more pictures in the next few days, been trying to figure out how to add video, so stay tuned for that. Happy Ponding!

Spring is in the Air

Birds and singing, flowers starting to bloom, and for the one year anniversary of the pond I have to say the landscaping has grown in beautifully, better then even I Expected! take a look, the edging is starting to look great, I still have some spots I need to tweak, but overall I think it is looking awesome, and Im glad I can share with you all! Let me know what you think. Lilly pads are starting to sprout up overnight, and my only downside to it all is it seems I am going to have another fight with the string algae till the plants take off, or maybe I need to go and buy some new floaters! till next time, thinking of adding a bridge over the stream, not a functionally one but a decorative one

A Cold and Balmy So California Pond

here are some shots from the cold and balmy So California winters. lol a lot has did back but at the same time all the edging has really grown in nicely I must say. Its starting to look more and more natural, which is great. Only problem now is muck from all the leaves from the fall? any suggestions?