Day, Night Koi Pond Pleasure
Kevin and Toni Talentino of Woodstock, Ga., hired Artistic Landscapes in Atlanta to install a koi pond in their yard. The water feature transformed the dirt and weeds into an attractive outdoor space, said Mark Keightley, owner of Artistic Landscapes. The project featured two “floating” boulders in the center and one on the right.
The landscaping surrounding the project created a natural environment. The designer incorporated Japanese maple, deodar cedar and crape myrtle into the landscape. The Carolina sapphire Arizona cypress in the background contrasts the ‘Red Dragon’ Japanese maple beside the pond.
The landscape won the Metro Atlanta Landscape and Turf Association award of distinction in 2008. The yard backs up to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers protected forest and Lake Allatoona, which adds to the natural appeal. Despite hawks flying overhead, the pond’s steep walls keep the Talentinos’ koi protected. Keightley said the couple lost no koi since the build because predators have nowhere to go.
It took Artistic Landscapes’ four-person crew about one month to complete the Talentino project. Because of the sloping location, the crew built retaining walls on the pond’s left side and behind the upper waterfall.
The crew used the dirt from the excavation to backfill the walls and yield the 3-foot-deep pond. The floating boulders weighed 1,000 pounds each. They were mounted on cinder blocks which were set on double layer liner and underlayment on top of the concrete foundation. In addition to the sloping foundation, the crew had to navigate around the yard’s septic fields by ensuring that the pond did not go too deep into the ground.
The upper pond serves as a bog filter to soak up nitrates, oxygenate the water and give bacteria a place to colonize. Bottom drains attach to a centrifugal pump and feed the Aquascape Grande Biofalls filter, creating the upper waterfall. The bog filter water feeds the four waterfalls and into the koi pond. Plant shelves made of rocks include openings to let water in but protect the roots from about 30 koi.
*Photos courtesy of Artistic Landscapes
|
Specifications
Designer: Mark Keightley
Installer: Artistic Landscapes
Contact information: 3102 Royal Troon, Woodstock, GA 30189; 770-355-1052; www.artisticlandscapes.com
Project location: Woodstock, Ga.
Size: The ponds measure 26 feet by 25 feet. The lower pond is 3 feet deep and the upper is 2 feet deep.
Components: Savio skimmers, an Aquascape Grande Biofalls filter, two Emperor Smart UV 65-watt lights, a bottom drain and three pumps — two centrifugal dual-speed pumps and an Aquascape submersible 4,500 gph pump.
Time to complete: about 1 month
Total retail: $35,000 |
 Give us your opinion on
Day, Night Koi Pond Pleasure
Industry Professional Site: Comments from non-industry professionals will be removed.
|