Ponds and Water Gardens – Sizes to fit your space
Fish add color and personality to your pond. They clamor for attention, especially at feeding time. We carry the products that give your garden fish the quality care and environment that leads to long life spans. Your family will adore these delightful pets for years to come.
Is a Water Garden Right for Your Space?
Space
The average water garden is about 11 feet wide x 16 feet long or about 2000 gallons but they can be as small as 6 feet x 8 feet or about 550 gallons. Keep in mind that you will want 2 to 3 feet of landscape bed area around the pond for plants and flowers.
Tip: grab your garden hose and use it to layout the size and shape you’d like your pond to be. Also try viewing the size from indoors and out to obtain a true viewing perspective.
Cost
In most cases, a water garden will be the most costly water feature option. On average, a professionally installed water garden will range from $2,500 to $7,500+ depending on size and type of rockwork involved. When you factor in the additional benefits and enjoyment of fish and aquatic plants a water garden is well worth the investment!
Aquatic Plants
One of the best things about a water garden is the variety of aquatic plants you can grow. Water Lilies are the most sought after aquatic plant. Their ability to spread across the ponds surface and flower throughout the season make them a wonderful choice. Lily pads shade the pond water from the heat of the summer sun, allowing fish to retreat underneath the shelter of their leaves.
Safety
We recommend that most water gardens be a minimum of 24” deep but a depth of 30” is even better since it will provide more area for the fish to winterize in the pond and provide a deeper area for the fish to retreat to in the event a predatory bird comes to your pond. The first ledge of the pond, however, is typically only 8 to 12” in depth therefore providing a shallow area around the ponds perimeter as shown in the water garden cross section on the following page.
Maintenance
Maintaining a water garden is simple and will take only 15 minutes a week. The net & mat located inside the skimmer will need to be cleaned about once every 10 to 14 days. This should only take 5 minutes to complete. Besides regular skimmer maintenance, beneficial bacteria will be added to the pond weekly.
Fish
Adding Koi & Goldfish create color and interest to the water garden. Koi & Goldfish are interactive and friendly, especially at feeding time. Fish are also attractive, interesting, and even personable. Their color will enhance the visual impact of your pond.
Complete Water Garden Kits
Complete pond kits will help you easily install a beautiful water garden! Water garden kits are available in a variety of sizes and specifications and come with everything you need “Ready to Order”. Water garden kits include filters, pumps, plumbing, 4-color step-by-step instructions, DiY resource information and may also include water treatments needed to maintain your water garden pond.
Blue Thumb Complete Pond Eco-System
A – Biological Waterfall Boxes
Filters harmful waste and toxins from water, keeping your pond clean and clear. Provides excellent surface area for beneficial bacteria growth while making a simple and artistic way of creating a waterfall. Easy to camouflage-especially when using the Landscape Lid.
B – Black PVC Flex Hose
Carries water from skimmer box up to the biological waterfall box. Much easier to install than rigid PVC.
C – Aquatic Plants
Add beauty to any pond! Plants can be placed throughout the pond or along the pond’s edge. There are many varieties: floating, marginal, sinking, oxygenators and lilies. Watergarden kits are great when your desire is to keep many colorful and beautiful aquatic plants.
D – Rocks & Gravel
Provides additional surface area for beneficial bacteria to colonize. Protects liner from harmful UV rays and damage from animals. Creates a very natural look.
E – Fish
Adding colorful Koi and Goldfish creates an even more dramatic display. Watergardens are great for Goldfish
and Koi.
F – Protective Underliner
A non-woven, protective underliner fabric forms a soft padding for the liner. Installs much quicker than newspaper and covers the vertical walls unlike sand. Unlike carpeting, it allows gases to escape out the sides from the earth’s soil.
G – Fish-Friendly Rubber Liner
Super-strong 45-mil EPDM liner is the best choice when building a pond. Very flexible – conforms to pond’s curves and slopes.
H – High-Efficiency Pump
Pump sits in back pump chamber protected from clogging by nets and filter mats. Blue Thumb pumps are recommended as they will use far less electricity and are meant to operate continuously.
I – Mechanical Skimmer Box
Simplifies routine maintenance by removing floating debris before it sinks to the bottom of the pond. Protects the pump and hides unsightly plumbing.
Our company has worked with Blue thumb for close to 20 years. We have found the owners and staff to be our best choice for top quality products and superior knowledge of industry trends and the like. We are most recently proud to know that they are making many of there products in the USA! They are our company’s only source for water elements!
Outstanding product! The installation was really as easy as described and the fountain looks great. This may be one of the easiest outdoor projects I’ve completed in many years.
I’m not easily impressed by the business practices of most companies, but the folks at BlueThumb surprised the heck out of me this summer with their willingness to help with my problematic landscaping project. Thanks to Kip Northrop and his staff, I have a new water feature in my garden that works beautifully and delights my senses. Blue Thumb has earned its high level of customer satisfaction, not only because of its quality products but also because it is a company with heart and integrity.
I had a pond installed this past summer and the Blue Thumb staff was very knowledgeable in assisting me with the project from beginning to end. I was very impressed and am loving my new pond!
Not only does Blue Thumb offer the most beautiful quality products for your pond and fountain needs, their customer service is impeccable. Kip and his team really care about helping you and meeting/exceeding your expectations!
Fast shipping, intelligent service providers, beautiful products. This company carries classy water features. Ask for a catalog(absolutely gorgeous catalog) to see the finest selection of fountains and urns the industry has to offer.
They have everything one would need to build, maintain, and enjoy a pond.
Their service is great and prices are reasonable. we have been dealing with them for our Koi pond products & equipment and our large 3/4 acre stocked pond for many years.
The owners, Kip, Nicole and their staff will help you get a lot of enjoyment from your water feature.
Kip and his staff went all out to make sure I was happy with my new fountain; their support went far beyond typical business practices in today’s world. Blue Thumb not only has quality products, it has high standards and integrity. You can’t get any better than that.
