This is probably the most frequently asked question. It requires a basic understanding of why we have algae to begin with. The algae spores are everywhere and if you have water, warmth, and nutrients, you will start growing algae. The trick is to starve out the algae. The basic formula to accomplish this is simple (starve it for light and nutrients) but there are numerous factors that inhibit your success. There are several products to help you and we go into more detail on our "Algae and How to Deal With It" page.

Ultraviolet light from a UV sterilizer can kill any bacteria flowing through it. However, the nitrifying bacteria that is generally referred to as beneficial bacteria, is primarily established in colonies on surfaces in the water. A few may be killed by the UV, but the overall colonies will be unharmed. When you add packaged bacteria to the pond it is a good idea to turn the UV off for about 24 hours while until the bacteria colonizes on a surface. Once there, the UV sterilizer will be harmless to the bacteria.

Freshwater aquatic snails will eat some algae and sludge. They can be beneficial, but will not solve an algae problem on their own. Snails also eat plants, some snail species are worse about this that others. Snails can also multiply very rapidly. The common Pond Snail is one of the worst on both counts. Snails are also notorious for clogging pump intakes and plumbing lines.

We sure do. We hope that anyone who lives in, or is passing through, East Tennessee will visit our shop. It is located in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Have a look at this map to see exactly where we are located.

To help with the environment by cutting down on waste, we no longer print catalogs. We suggest that you use our online catalog when possible. If you need some of the catalog information in hard copy form, you could print just the pages that you need directly from your browser.

Yes, orders can be placed online, by phone (1-866-948-1479), fax, or mail. If mailing or faxing your order, it is generally best to call first to make sure shipping and all charges are calculated before sending payment.

The Water Garden's presence on the World Wide Web is extensive. We have information on three servers at three Web addresses; WaterGarden.com, WaterGarden.org, & WaterGardenWeb.com. Our online catalog and shopping cart are on a sub-domain of one of the servers (WaterGarden.org). The connectivity of the World Wide Web makes it easy to tie all these servers together allowing you to access our pages no matter which server you are on.

Information about products ... sales@WaterGarden.com
Questions about water gardens, koi, and/or goldfish ponds ... consult@WaterGarden.com
Tip of the Week ... tip@WaterGarden.com
A problem with or question about our Website ... webmaster@WaterGarden.com
Randall Tate, Chief Manager ... randall@WaterGarden.com


USPS mailing address:

The Water Garden, LLC
5212 Austin Road
Chattanooga TN 37343
Telephone: 423-870-2838
Fax: 423-870-3382

To have an image of your pond added to our gallery, attach an image of your pond to an e-mail message which includes your name and where you live (the name of the city or town will be specific enough). Send photos to: photos@watergarden.com.

If you have provided your email address when the order was placed, you will automatically be emailed your tracking number for most shipments. Some orders that are drop-shipped or sent by common carrier may not have the tracking number available. If for some reason you did not get your tracking number you can call us or if you are registered with our website, you can log in to your account and see the order status and tracking number.

Package tracking: Log in to check the status of your current orders and view tracking numbers.

View order history: By logging in you can see your previous purchases (after 1/1/06 only). This can be helpful to remind you what items you have should you need replacement parts or to know what treatments worked well for your pond.

Pond Points: Registered customers are also eligible to receive discounts as part of our Pond Points program (you must be registered to the program itself as well).

Our hours differ depending on the season of the year. Our Current store hours can always be found at the top of this page.

PondGard 45 mil rubber liners are resistant to damage from ultraviolet light and temperature extremes. Compare PondGard's projected 70 to 100 year life to an average life of 7 to 12 years for most pre-formed tubs and PVC liners. Pre-formed tubs limit your pond shape options and are more difficult to install, whereas PondGard™ liners are easy to install and allow you the flexibility to build your pond in any shape and depth you desire. You shape the liner to the pond, not the pond to the liner. You'll find them listed under Pond Liner in our online catalog.

Use this online Pond Liner Size Calculator to determine the size liner that you will need.

I also know several people who have used roofing rubber to construct their ponds. For most it was a very expensive mistake. They lost expensive fish, had to buy another liner, tear up their pond and completely rebuild it to save about $45. Some people have had success with roofing rubber, but for every one of those there are more who have problems. There are differences both in the composition and in the curing process. One time you may get fish safe material and the next get something that will kill all of your fish. Why take the chance for such a small difference in price. You'll find them listed under Ponds in our online catalog.

Use this online Pond Liner Size Calculator to determine the size liner that you will need.

A container pond can be built out of just about anything that holds water, but the following page will discuss tub gardens in more detail: http://watergarden.com/tub/index.html.

It is your pond and you can do what you like with it, but you are visiting our site because you are looking for information on how to build a pond that will be the most attractive as well as easiest to maintain. Stone covering the bottom present many potential problems, discussed at the following page: http://watergarden.com/pages/gravel-rock.html.

Unless you are keeping very few fish in a very large pond, you are going to need some type of filter. If your primary interest is a water feature with no fish or plants you may be able to achieve good water quality without a filter. However, if you are keeping many fish, you will need to have some type of biological filter. The size filter you need will be determined by the size of your pond, the type and amount of fish you are keeping, and other various factors. We have information tables that can help you determine the best filtration system for your pond.

Ultraviolet light from a UV sterilizer can kill any bacteria flowing through it. However, the nitrifying bacteria that is generally referred to as beneficial bacteria, is primarily established in colonies on surfaces in the water. A few may be killed by the UV, but the overall colonies will be unharmed. When you add packaged bacteria to the pond it is a good idea to turn the UV off for about 24 hours while until the bacteria colonizes on a surface. Once there, the UV sterilizer will be harmless to the bacteria.

Do not worry about the tiny red worms that may appear in your pond filter. These harmless creatures are Blood Worms and they can be beneficial to the pond. These blood worms feed by consuming sludge in the pond. Blood Worms are the larvae stage of chironomid midges - a very small fly that resembles a mosquito but does not bite.

Unfortunately, this is not something we can answer. Every filter system is different and every pond is different. The most important aspect of filter cleaning is to not overclean the biological filter. Only clean the filter if the flow is being reduced because of physical blockage in the filter. When cleaning chlorinated water should be avoided to protect the beneficial bacteria. Filter media can be cleaned by sloshing in a tub of rain water or pond water. You aren’t trying to get the filter media looking new again.

With good filtration, a good formula to us is: one goldfish for every 10 to 20 gallons or one koi for every 100 to 200 gallons. This allows the fish to reach mature size.

Koi do not limit their growth to the size of the pond in the manner that goldfish will; they can reach 18" - 24" within five years. We recommend that koi ponds have at least 1,000 gallons of water with an area being at least 2 ½ to 3 feet deep (zone 7 - deeper in colder climates). An external filter is essential when keeping koi. We have information tables that can help you determine the best filtration system for your pond.

Although some koi-keepers experience problems with their koi eating or uprooting their plants, the majority of our koi keeping customers also have plants in their ponds. Use large cobbles on top of your pots (surrounding growth point) to keep koi from rooting. Plant protectors are also available to protect the roots of floating plants or to keep fish away from submerged plants and pots. Koi may find some types of plants too appealing to ignore. However, with plant protectors to keep the fish from rooting them up, you should be able to keep any plant that you wish to grow. You'll find Plant protectors for floating and potted plants in our online catalog. Many people will also create a 2-tiered pond. Keep the koi in the lower pool and then the upper pool can be used for plants with no limitations or risk to the plants.

This potential problem can be solved and is discussed on our Pond Predators page.

Goldfish and koi are the two most frequently kept pond fish and they are able to tolerate temperatures in the low 30's. Their metabolism slows down in the winter and they should not be fed. They mainly hang around at the bottom of the pond where the water temperature is around 39 degrees even when the surface is frozen, this is because water is its densest at 39 degrees. Because of this we do not want to mix this bottom layer of water with the surface water in the winter.

Both goldfish and koi lay eggs to reproduce. Spawning typically takes place in spring when hundreds of eggs are laid. Many of the eggs are never fertilized, then many more are eaten by the adult fish. Those that hatch are still at risk for several weeks of being eaten by the adults. Still, many can survive in the pond to adulthood. Fish spawns are one way it is very easy to end up with an overpopulated pond.

If you keep fish in your pond, your fish will eat mosquitoes and their larvae. If you do not keep fish then you can use natural bacterial mosquito control products.

We have an online calculator that will allow you to compute the volume of various shaped ponds. The resulting answer will be in US gallons. Or use these formulas to calculate the gallons of water in your pond:

Round Pond:
radius2 x pi (3.14) x Average Depth x 7.5 = Pond Gallons

Square or Rectangle Pond:
Length x Width x Average Depth x 7.5 = Pond Gallons.

Many times, water loss is not a leak at all and only evaporation, but if there is a true leak the info on our How to find a leak page can help you track it down.

Do not worry about the tiny red worms that may appear in your pond filter. These harmless creatures are Blood Worms and they can be beneficial to the pond. These blood worms feed by consuming sludge in the pond. Blood Worms are the larvae stage of chironomid midges - a very small fly that resembles a mosquito but does not bite.

There is no need to worry. A lot of the tadpoles will never make it. If the tadpoles are toads then they will leave and take up residence elsewhere helping to rid the area of unwanted mosquitoes and other insects. If the tadpoles are frogs they may not be a type of frog that lives in the water. As soon as they mature off they go looking for a home. Some of the frogs that live in water will choose your pond for home and a lot of them will look for new ponds to inhabit.

A lot of this depends on the particular pond. Basic pond maintenance information can be found on our Seasonal Pond Care page.

Foam may appear on the pond surface particularly beneath the waterfall or fountain. This is caused by excess protein in the water. That can often be from spawning fish or other sources. It is generally temporary and harmless. It can be eliminated with a de-foaming product.

First off, you need to know what the pH is reflected as a number from the pH scale. Different tests read differently. Saying that it is “really yellow” or as “blue as it goes” doesn’t mean much. Once we know what the actually pH is, then you want to look at pH stability. It is much more important that the pH remain as stable as possible rather than trying to adjust the pH to the “perfect” level. If the pH is very high (above 8.4) or very low (below 6.6), you may want to consider making the adjustments to get it closer to the ideal range (7.0-7.8). If the level is reading very high or very low you want to start looking at possible causes, rain run-off, limestone in pond, etc.

Although some koi-keepers experience problems with their koi eating or uprooting their plants, the majority of our koi keeping customers also have plants in their ponds. Use large cobbles on top of your pots (surrounding growth point) to keep koi from rooting. Plant protectors are also available to protect the roots of floating plants or to keep fish away from submerged plants and pots. Koi may find some types of plants too appealing to ignore. However, with plant protectors to keep the fish from rooting them up, you should be able to keep any plant that you wish to grow. You'll find Plant protectors for floating and potted plants listed under Plant & Accessories in our online catalog. Click the Plants & Accessories link in the index on the left of the page and then scroll down to the bottom of the plant listings index where you will find a link to Plant Protectors. Many people will also create a 2-tiered pond. Keep the koi in the lower pool and then the upper pool can be used for plants with no limitations or risk to the plants.

There are several possible reasons that your water lilies are not blooming. Are your lilies getting enough sun? Most water lily varieties require at least 5 - 6 hours of direct sun to bloom (however there are some varieties that will flourish in 3- 4 hours of direct sun ). Water lilies should be fertilized regularly during the growing season; we recommend fertilizing every three weeks with one aquatic plant tab per gallon of soil. Water lilies will bloom infrequently if pot bound. It is best to pot your lilies in a 5 gallon or larger container so that you will not have to divide every year. Most lilies can grow for 2 - 3 years in a 5 gallon container before needing to be repotted. You'll find fertilize and plant containers listed under Plant & Accessories in our online catalog. Click the Plants & Accessories link in the index on the left of the page and then scroll down to the bottom of the plant listings index where you will find a links to fertilize and plant containers.

Within the contiguous U.S., there are very few limitations on which plants will perform well in certain areas. The differences come only with winter hardiness. Some plants will survive winters in some areas but not in others. This is where looking at the USDA hardiness zone is relevant. Just because a plant won't survie your winter does not mean it cannot be kept through the warm season.

We have a calculator to help with that. This link will launch the calculator.

The right size pump can make or break a pond. It is important to get the right pump for your specific installation. There are many factors to take into consideration. Our How to Select a Pond Pump page should help.

You can put the pump on a timer. However, it is best for the pump to operate continuously. If the pump is operating a biological filter, it needs to run 24/7 to be effective.