Koi pond vs Garden pond - What's the difference?

With spring quickly approaching it is time to start thinking about projects for your landscape. Maybe you have been thinking about building a pond for your backyard, but don’t know where to start? Have no fear Pondworks is here to help! In this post we wanted to discuss the differences between garden ponds and koi ponds. While these water features might look similar, there are quite a few differences that distinguish these ponds from one another. This discussion could help you get closer to creating that pond of your dreams or renovating an existing pond…

PondTrade Magazine - Water Artisans of the Year!

We are honored to announce that PondTrade Magazine awarded us as the winner of the Most Naturalistic category for their Water Artisans of the Year competition. PondWorks was also awarded Runner Up in the Best Overall category. Look for our spread in the March / April edition or see the following links on the PondTrade website:

Koi Pond Progress - Final Rocking

The pond is starting to take shape and look more like a pond. We are adding the finishing touches to the boulders and have added the layers of filtration stones to the bogs. The bogs will help with the natural filtration of the pond. We use layers of three different types of stones to help with the filter the bog. Eventually we will plant aquatic plantings in the filtration medium, which will also help with the filtration process. Just a few more days of final touches and the construction of the waterfall and then we will add the water! Stay tuned...

Koi Pond Progress - Bridge Construction

The koi pond construction continues to run smoothly and we are continuing the boulder placement process. We recently added the bridge to the pond, which was constructed out of of old granite slabs. Concrete pillars were formed to anchor the slabs and give the bridge support. The granite slabs will be added to the landscape so that the theme of the linear pieces will be found throughout the garden. Lots more to look forward to, stay tuned!

Koi Pond Progress - Liner & Rocking

We have made a ton of progress at our new koi pond construction job. By a ton, we mean a whole lot of boulders for this pond! The filtration and the liner have been laid out and now we are onto the boulder placement. The boulders not only help secure the liner down, but they also help make the pond look naturalistic and as if it were formed naturally. The boulders are native to Pennsylvania and come from a quarry that we like to keep secret. Our owner Brian Buchholtz takes a lot of pride in his boulders and is exceptionally great at boulder placement. He takes every boulder into consideration and even takes the time to hand select most boulders at the quarry for every project he does. We feel that this attention detail, that most would overlook, helps set us a part as pond builders. The boulder placement takes time and we have learned a lot from many mistakes and successes. We feel very lucky to have the resources and people that we have, on our team. This project is well under way and we look forward to more progress and updates...stay tuned for more!

Koi Pond Progress - Site Layout

In December, we wrote about and exciting design project for a new koi pond. After a lot of planning and coordination with all project parties and township permitting we are finally breaking ground in Bucks County, Pa! This week we visited the site and measured out the pond. Thanks to our drone we were able to check our measurements and the layout of the pond was right on point. You can see in the image below that we super imposed our site plan on-top of a photo of the site from our drone and everything is lining up. The first step to this construction process is the construction of a retaining wall due to a slight grade in the backyard and we need to a level site to construct this pond. Once the grade is level and the wall is constructed we will start digging the pond. Stay tuned for more project updates!

Koi Pond Design-Build Project

This winter we have been busy designing a new koi pond for a client in Bucks County, PA. Not only are we designing the pond in-house, but we are also teaming up with our landscape division, Stillwater Landscape Associates. With the help of Stillwater we have been able incorporate planting schemes in and around the pond. We are excited for Spring to come and start building another new pond for our clients and their fish!

Oh what a beautiful pond

On June 16 customers from all over the county arrived at Pennview Christian academy for a day of building and information. PondWorks again teamed up with Fins Feather Paws & Claws who organized this pond day. The pond construction began at 9:00 and 8 hours later was completed.
Brian and his staff from Pond Works guided all the attendees through every step of pond construction from digging the hole to installing the proper equipment. Build A Pond participants said the hands on experience helped to build confidence to go home and build a pond of their own.
Stephen Schrag Director of Advancement was overwhelmed by this extraordinary gift that was given to the elementary school and can’t wait for the beginning of the school season to have some outside environmental classes with the students!

Indian Valley YMCA

PondWorks teamed up with Fins, Feathers, Paws & Claws in Harleysville Pennsylvania to demonstrate the pond construction process. Over 30 pond enthusiasts and landscapers signed up and participated in the event that took place at the Harleysville YMCA. Participants were given the opportunity to ask questions and to assist in the many different stages of the pond construction. The pond construction began with the excavation of the site and progressed through the liner and filtration installations and ended with the planting of aquatic plants and landscaping around the outside of the pond. Children from the YMCA put the final touch on the pond by adding fish. It was a fun and exciting day for everyone!

Certified Professional Pond Contractor

Brian Buchholtz of PondWorks is recognized as a Certified Professional Pond Contractor by the International Professional Pond Contractors Association. The IPPCA is the Not-for-profit Pond and Waterscape Industry's Official Trade Association who’s goal is to ensure that a high level of quality standards are met within the Pond and Waterscape industry. All of the contractors listed on this site have either met or exceeded these standards.

Learn more at www.ippca.com