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Joe Granato, owner
Star Ridge Aquatics, LLC
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Is it time for a Refresh?
by Joe Granato
You had a watergarden, the watergarden of
your dreams, installed in your yard. You had
great expectations for what you wanted, but
it just didn’t turn out that way. Maybe your
watergarden was everything you dreamed,
but it has been 20 years, and neglect has taken
its toll. You may just want to upgrade your
watergarden’s filtration or expand the size to
accommodate your growing fish. Whatever the
reason, a watergarden refresh can solve all of
these problems.
When I started Star Ridge Aquatics over 25
years ago, the watergarden industry was much
different. Many years ago, watergardens were
built out of concrete or lined with a plastic
material. Now we build them using a 45 mil
EPDM rubber liner. This material allows for
limitless size, shape and depth. EPDM liner,
produced by Firestone, has a 20 year warranty
and is the material of choice. This material
makes a durable pond that will last for
decades. Commercially available filters were
very primitive, pond skimmers were not yet
developed and ultraviolet sterilizers were quite
costly. We had to build our own biological filters,
and pond pumps were installed inside the pond.
Now there are many filtration choices, and pond
pumps are installed inside a surface skimmer.
Upgrading the filtration system to a biological
filter will keep the water healthy for your fish. A
biological filter utilizes beneficial bacteria to
consume and break down fish waste and excess
nutrients that cause ammonia and nitrate. These
nutrients can cause health issues with your fish
and will surely cause algae that will turn your
water green. We certainly do not want green
water since it inhibits our ability to see the fish.
An ultraviolet sterilizer is a device that utilizes
a type of fluorescent light bulb that produces
ultraviolet radiation that will kill algae, fungi,
viruses and parasites. This is plumbed into the
filtration system with the intent of “sterilizing”
the water. This produces crystal clear water,
eliminates most of the disease problems that
plague fish and will keep microscopic parasites
from reproducing and attacking the fish. This
unit, in my opinion, is an absolute necessity for
any watergarden.
The last essential piece of equipment for
the watergarden is the skimmer. A skimmer is
a device that is installed on the outside edge of
the pond but attached to it. The submersible
pump is housed inside. The process of pumping
water up to the waterfall causes pond water to
be pulled into the skimmer from the surface of
the pond. As the surface water is pulled in, so
is any floating debris such as leaves, pinestraw
and mulch that has blown or fallen into the
watergarden. This debris is then collected in a
net so it can be easily removed. This skimming
serves two purposes, collecting the floating
debris before it sinks to the bottom and pumping
the oxygen–rich surface layer of water through
the biological filter. This mixes the oxygen rich
water back into the pond, helping both the fish
and the living bacteria in the biological filter.
All of these newer technology items not only
make the health of the watergarden better, but
they also make the upkeep of the watergarden
easier. Just as we remodel our kitchens and
bathrooms, a watergarden can use a refresh
too. If you have a watergarden that needs a
refresh, whether cosmetic or mechanical,
Star Ridge Aquatics can help. Star Ridge
Aquatics inventories all the materials needed
to perform these upgrades. They also offer
design and installation services for watergarden
refreshment as well as new construction.
For more info contact Joe Granato.
Star Ridge Aquatics • 910-947-5333
email: starridgeaquatics@embarqmail.com.
A custom-built
water feature of
Star Ridge
Aquatics, LLC.
Star Ridge Aquatics, LLC is a full service
aquatic garden center offering aquatic
plants, Koi, Goldfish, water garden
maintenance supplies, kits & construction
materials. Water feature installation and
maintenance services. See. ad. p. 28.
p.4 The Pinehurst Gazette, Inc. No. 129
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