Building a backyard waterfall and pond is certainly a task. You have a lot of digging to do, a lot of installation, and you might even have to contact a few professionals, such as an electrician and the local utility company. However, after you complete the project then it all goes down stream from there. Maintaining a waterfall and pond takes some attention, but it’s easy to do and not very complicated work. The end result is a clean and healthy pond and waterfall that will delight your neighborhood.

Maintaining The Pond And Waterfall
First of all, you will have to maintain the cleanliness of a pond by removing dead or dying leaves from the aquatic plants. You may choose to insert fertilizer tablets also to ensure plant productivity. Any foreign material from above or even beneath should be removed. Organic material and dead leaves often gather towards the bottom of the pond and would need to be physically removed. The filter will have to be replaced according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

There may be times when you will have to add fresh water to the pond to maintain the proper water level. Finally, you may have to dispense with aphids, which are soft bodied insects that develop on plant leaves. No need to spray any contaminants, just spray the bugs with a hose and let them fall into the water. The fish will eat the bugs and so as Mufasa would say, the circle of life continues.

Algae Solutions
One other concern in keeping up backyard waterfall and pond is the appearance of algae. In the spring time, or just after fresh water is added to the pond, you could experience an algae bloom. What should you do? As long as you have a lot of oxygenating plants and and floating plants to absorb the extra developing nutrients, then the inside of the pool is taken care of. From there, algae will be consumed by fish or even scavengers.

Building a backyard waterfall and pond is the hard part. Maintaining your paradise is a breeze.

Use only commercially available disinfectants suitable for private swimming pools. Chlorine is the most common. Other methods include ozonation, UV irradiation and ionising systems.

Note: Ozone, UV and ionising systems require the addition of a small amount of oxidising agent such as chlorine or hydrogen peroxide to maintain a residual disinfection activity in the water.

The ideal disinfection system is one that uses automatic dosing and filtration. However, manual dosing is commonly used in private swimming pools. When using manual dosing, it is important to check the pump and filter system daily to ensure they are clean and working correctly.

A method such as a floating immersion dispenser should be used to disinfect the swimming pool water at all times when the pool is not in use. Consult with the swimming pool supplier for manual operation requirements.

When the swimming pool becomes heavily contaminated or is poorly maintained it may need to be “shock dosed” to bring it back to the correct operating conditions

Almost all pools use a combination of filtration and chemical treatment systems to continually clean the water.

Chemical treatment systems for swimming pools usually include a variety of different sanitizers and disinfectants that attack algae and bacteria.

Algae is a microscopic, plant-like organism, which is nourished by carbon dioxide, and though algae doesn’t spread disease, it does contain bacteria and it can make the surfaces that it covers extremely slippery. Read more…

A skimmer is a type of drain that is installed on the wall of a pool or spa and is connected to the suction line of the motorized pump. At the bottom of most pools, there is a main drain. This drain will be slightly lower than the rest of the pool so that everything slides towards it. It draws water and floating debris, such as hair, suntan oil, bugs and leaves, off the surface of the water. Skimmers usually have a weir, which is a small floating door on the side of the skimmer that faces the water. The skimmer weir lets small amounts of water into the skimmer to be filtered and prevents debris from floating back into the pool once the pump has been shut off.

Building an inground swimming pool is the culmination of 10 different phases of swimming pool construction. This article will give you a brief understanding of the construction cycle. And it all begins with, the desire to have a pool in your own backyard.

Proper disinfection and filtration of the swimming pool water kills harmful micro-organisms, removes body fats and oils, and ensures the water is clean, safe and sparkling.

Swimming pool water should be tested prior to use and at least three times per week using a reliable pool water test kit, as advised by your pool supplier. When testing the following parameters should be measured; disinfection levels, pH and total alkalinity.

It is very important that the pump lint-pot and filter are cleaned regularly to ensure they do not become a source of contamination for the swimming pool water.

If a sand or diatomaceous earth filter is used, the water used to backwash (rinse) the filter must be disposed of into the sewer or into separate underground soakage if located in an unsewered area.

The Play Pool:Play pools are an option for people who wish to cool off and relax in, can also be built for water sports and for laps. It is generally a good option for families with children. A play pool is quite shallow (Typically no deeper than five feet). Play pools can have a fun design, and are often created in different shapes. Common shapes are kidney-shaped pools, however the shape can be anything the pool owner desires.