ARTICLES Archives - Page 135 of 315

Working the Nitrogen Cycle

If you’re responsible for keeping up a watergarden, you probably know how important including a good balance of aquatic plants and fish is to sustaining a healthy ecosystem. You also likely know that some basic maintenance is important, too – including chores such as

#6: ‘Hidden’ Skimmer

This was a fun project in lots of ways – not the least of which involved figuring out how to fit a skimmer into the system without completely disrupting the clean look of the coping-only treatment of the pool’s perimeter. Usually, of course, pools at grade level are

Keeping Control

‘As watershape designs have become more creative, more competitive and ultimately more valuable to our clients than we once were, it’s natural that we have started paying more attention to protecting our output.’ That’s how Brian Van Bower began in his July 2008 Aqua Culture column. He continued: ‘This is indeed a large and important issue for many people in our business, virtually to the point where watershapers are now facing the same sorts of concerns that have preoccupied architects and landscape architects for decades. And we’ve caught up with our colleagues at

Conflicted Interests

The other day, a friend sent me a link to an Australian web site promoting a town council’s campaign to get homeowners to convert their swimming pools into ponds. I know of several watershapers who get involved in these sorts of projects stateside; in fact, WaterShapes EXTRA once featured a pool-to-pond transformation in which an old, unused pool became a great display pond for a garden center (linked below). The point that grabbed my attention

Test Your Knowledge #60

The Rolling Stones’ Brian Jones: Accidental Drowning or Murder?

The Illuminating Past

‘What’s the use of knowing about history?’ That’s the question Mark Holden asked to start his Currents column in the July 2008 issue. ‘For many of us, the answer to that question seems so obvious that it comes as a shock to find out just how many people in the watershaping and landscape fields don’t grasp the all-encompassing significance of our collective past – but it shouldn’t. ‘Using my own career as an example, . . . I confess that I waltzed through more than a few early years as an aspiring landscape architect and watershaper in blissful ignorance of the history of

Nature Enhanced

Of all the innovations related to pond technology, design and installation I’ve encountered in recent years, the most curious one to me has always been the “pondless waterfall.” In an industry where the highest aspiration is always toward achieving truly naturalistic results, having the water reach the bottom and percolate into a bed of stones rather than into a large, attractive pool of water leaves the designer or installer with the challenge of making the project work visually (and emotionally) in what can clearly be perceived as an artificial context. To overcome these perceptions,

Ripples #71

Compiled and written by Lenny Giteck Female Iranian’s Record Swim Goes Unrecognized

The Weirdest Idea Ever?

I was a bit startled to read that the University of Alabama intends to put a waterfall feature in its football team’s locker room. I’m as quick to advise anyone who will listen of the wisdom of being around moving water. It conditions the air, settles the nerves, eases the spirit, masks the world’s noises and offers at least a dozen additional benefits, so there’s a slippery logic to placing what’s being described as a small cascade in the space. But I have to wonder if

Avoiding Common Design Mistakes

Through all the years I’ve spent communicating with other pool designers and builders and in working directly for or consulting with clients, I’ve come across all sorts of design processes and decisions I’d classify as questionable (at best) or just plain wrong, foolish or even actionable (at worst). I’d originally listed them as ten common mistakes pool designers make (and should try to avoid), but a recent incident forced me to expand the list to cover