Ecosystem Pond - Gympie, QLD Australia
The Ecosystem Pond in Gympie, QLD Australia 6 months after installation was completed.
“Amazing service from the team. Quote done to budget with well recommended options and upgrades. The job was booked in and completed quickly, even with the challenging weather during the build. We really appreciated that they were so accommodating working in with our agendas. Perfect job, more than what we’d hoped for. The work was done efficiently and professionally and the site was cleaned up really well afterwards. Simply talking to the team about waterscapes will show how much drive, passion and knowledge they put in to their profession. Highly recommended!”
Background
United Waterscapes was contacted by the client for a Design & Consultation to supply a Project Estimate and Design for a residential water feature. The client had purchased a new property with overgrown garden areas which required much needed maintenance. One of these areas was a large circular driveway with a densely overgrown palm garden in the centre. The client had the vision to transform this space by removing the existing garden and installing a beautiful water feature surrounded a rock garden with large weathered boulders and rockery plants. 2 proposals were given, one for a large modern water feature with urns and large boulders, and a second for an ecosystem fish pond with waterfalls and landscaped boulder areas. With careful consideration the client chose the pond as they were excited by the prospect of fish keeping and so the ecosystem pond was chosen.
The proposal included scope for a 6m (L) x 4m (W) x 1m (D) ecosystem pond. The pond would be filtered by an Aquascape BioFalls 6000 upflow biological filter, a small skimmer intake bay, 3 x surface circulation jets, 1 x deep circulation jet, air pump with air stone and 3m waterfall/stream with an underwater and landscape lighting package.
The project was estimated to take 5 days to complete.
The Project
The project was completed with the United Waterscapes team and an 8 ton excavator. The client also supplied a small farm loader and 3 ton excavator and in a rare case, assisted us as a member of the team with the build. Excavation was relatively easy and we were able to position the excavator in the middle of the driveway with minimal impact to the surrounding concrete driveway, feeding the large boulders and pebble to the larger machine with the smaller machines.
As construction took place in the middle of the wet season we were inundated with intermittent and heavy rains on a daily basis making early construction difficult. One of the issues we identified early was the flow of ground water from the surrounding area into our excavation thanks to the heavy rains and a shale seam running about 600mm below ground level through our excavation. Water immediately poured into the excavation and had to be pumped out continuously to install a hydrostatic sub-drain and the pond water proof liner. Once the liner was installed, the first ring of boulders had to be installed quickly to keep the liner in place. The pond was also half filled with water at the end of each day of the build to keep enough weight on the pond liner to stop it pillowing up from the bottom over night.
The United Waterscapes team included 2 x fish caves in the pond to provide shelter from predatory animals like the Kookaburra. Aquatic plants were also selected to provide long term habitat for fish breeding.
With the pond installed, our focus turned to the cascading waterfall. Great care was taken to choose boulders that were weathered with natural-looking, eroded surfaces for the water to pass over as it returned to the pond. The pond was also complimented by underwater lighting, circulation jets and an air stone.
The project was completed on time and on budget.
The Result
The project went really well and in this case it was a pleasure to have the client assist us with the work. We faced some serious inclement weather and it would have been tough to complete the project within the estimated time frame without that extra set of experienced hands. Thanks Shane! Although this project is on the smaller side compared to the large recreation ponds that we install, small water features are often some of the most enjoyable to complete as we can pack so many features into a small space!
The waterfalls turned out stunning and the Aquascape BioFalls 6000 is filtering the pond perfectly as is to be expected. The fish are loving their new home and the water lilies just look stunning when the flowers are in bloom. Best of all, the water is crystal clear and sparkling. The lighting package includes 3-watt lights in the pond and hat-top lights in the pond surrounds, with a few 1-watt lights installed around the pond to highlight key elements like boulders and a few waterfall cascades.
As the property is located on the main road, the client and family are always hanging out the front in the driveway. Friends are always asking them, "Why are you always out there? What have you done?". We know. They have entered the blissful world of the "Pond People" and we are pretty sure there will be no turning back!
