About the service
I design and build backyard koi ponds with rock waterfalls that stay clear, hold fish safely through seasons, and read as a finished piece of landscape rather than a hole with water in it. Work starts with a site walk: soil type, existing drainage, sun exposure for algae control, and where the waterfall head needs to sit for the sound and flow rate the owner actually wants. I excavate with proper shelving for marginal plants and a deeper overwintering zone so fish have somewhere to sit below the frost line, then set an underlayment and a 45-mil EPDM liner sized with a margin for slope and folds — undersized liners are the single most common failure I get called to fix on other people's ponds.
Filtration is biological first: a properly sized bead or moving-bed biofilter paired with UV clarification keeps water clear without chemical dosing, and I size the pump and plumbing to the pond's actual volume rather than a rule of thumb, with bottom drains plumbed where the budget allows so sludge doesn't build up around the fish. The waterfall itself is dry-stacked and mortared stone over a formed weir so the flow sheets evenly instead of splitting around gaps, and I build the stream bed with underlayment and boulders set into the liner edge so there's no exposed black plastic to catch a hoof, paw, or bare foot. Edge work uses smooth flat stone with no sharp lips so koi can't injure themselves against the rim, and skimmer placement is set for the prevailing wind so leaves actually reach it instead of sinking.
I carry photos of a dozen completed ponds ranging from small container-style water gardens to 3,000-gallon koi ponds with double waterfalls, and I can walk a prospective client through pump sizing, liner warranty terms, and a winterization plan before any digging starts. Typical turnaround on a mid-size pond is one to two weeks depending on stone delivery and weather. I quote flat project pricing after the site visit, not hourly, so there are no surprises on the invoice.
Filtration is biological first: a properly sized bead or moving-bed biofilter paired with UV clarification keeps water clear without chemical dosing, and I size the pump and plumbing to the pond's actual volume rather than a rule of thumb, with bottom drains plumbed where the budget allows so sludge doesn't build up around the fish. The waterfall itself is dry-stacked and mortared stone over a formed weir so the flow sheets evenly instead of splitting around gaps, and I build the stream bed with underlayment and boulders set into the liner edge so there's no exposed black plastic to catch a hoof, paw, or bare foot. Edge work uses smooth flat stone with no sharp lips so koi can't injure themselves against the rim, and skimmer placement is set for the prevailing wind so leaves actually reach it instead of sinking.
I carry photos of a dozen completed ponds ranging from small container-style water gardens to 3,000-gallon koi ponds with double waterfalls, and I can walk a prospective client through pump sizing, liner warranty terms, and a winterization plan before any digging starts. Typical turnaround on a mid-size pond is one to two weeks depending on stone delivery and weather. I quote flat project pricing after the site visit, not hourly, so there are no surprises on the invoice.
