Public Opinion And How To Interpret It

Aquascape ponds are the most numerous and the most popular "standardized" or branded installations in North America. This is because the system is simple enough for the home owner to complete. It requires less maintenence than other systems and it's durable to many climates.

Over the years, so many ponds have been installed the Aquascape way, that there is a high number of satisfied customers. By the same token, there is also a higher number of people who are eventually unhappy with their ponds for various reasons.

One of the most common reasons is that many installers are not certified by Aquascape. This means that they are "unknowns" to the Aquascape team and are not reachable with new, corrected, and better information. These mavericks are on their own and they can "make it up as they go along" resulting in inconsistent pond success. The owner of the pond always pays the final price.

For example; if the owner is not educated to clean the pond on a periodic basis, or the installer does not schedule it, there can be problems. These problems vary in severity in direct proportion to the loading capacity of the pond. If the pond is heavily loaded and heavily fed, problems will be more serious and appear much earlier. This would be true especially of a person using the typical, unmodified Aquascape installation for a major, adult Koi collection [These fish reach 30 inches each!] It's not that it can't be done, but it would be more difficult and would require more effort and attention.

It goes beyond education, for example, if the installer doesn't install the pond correctly in the first place, the owner will not be happy with the pond. Again, this is the installers fault, and not necessarily a fault with the system.

Aquascape attempts to exert as much control over the installations as they can, reasonably. But not everyone who installs ponds for people is knowledgeable, or accountable. Some of them are superb landscapers who can make plants grow and design great yards. Ponding is new to some, and without education, these landcapers-cum-pond installers are a real "black eye" for any technology.

So, over the years, among a few [if not the majority] of the more advanced "Koi" hobbyists, the Aquascape installation has become synonymous with inadequate shallow ponds, fetid with old water, noxious gases, and mulm caked gravel bottoms.

Getting away from that too-common form of pond neglect is the intent of this web site. In this site I will attempt to outline methods using the Aquascape system for better success with Koi and Goldfish, which may not apply to the person who only relies on the Aquascape System for a watergarden and a very light burden of fish.

Again, why does this matter to Dr. Johnson? Because I have an Aquascape pond, and it's great. But, it's not great if it's not taken care of or if it's improperly outfitted. Fortunately, there's almost never a problem with this pond design that cannot be repaired or replaced.

The keys to success with the Aquascape system and Koi are:

• Water changes
• Pond cleaning as needed
• Water testing if you're unsure of the quality
• Conservative feeding rates
• Proper Stocking Densities

We have articles in this web site on all these issues, representing the opinion and experience of Dr. Erik Johnson only, please refer to the legalese on the page bottoms throughout this site.

So, I think anyone in consideration of any pond should consider that there is an Aquascape solution for most pond needs, but you have to know what to ask for. This is the purpose of this web site.