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Carolina Water Gardens
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Our Process

How we design, build, and maintain your oasis

A living system: circulation, filtration, rock, plants, and fish in balance, with the engineering hidden under stone.

How we design, build, and maintain your oasis
Our Process

How we design, build, and maintain your oasis

The pond is a living system: circulation, filtration, rock, gravel, plants, and fish in balance, so it stays clear with almost no chemicals. We place what you look at where you actually sit, and we build shelves you can plant, stand on, and maintain.

Ecosystem approach

Circulation, filtration, rocks, gravel, plants, and fish work together so the pond maintains itself. Minimal chemicals. Water you can watch koi swim through.

Viewing and placement

The BioFalls, the main waterfall, and the open water face the patio, the porch, or the window you live at, not the back fence.

Shelves and terracing

Built-in ledges for safety, easy maintenance, and aquatic plants. You can step in, work the edge, and still have a pond that looks like nature set it.

Excavated and lined pond with retaining walls
Undergravel circulation grid and filtration plumbing
Setting boulders by hand and machine
Finished living ecosystem pond
The installation

From the first mark to living water

01

Layout and shape

We outline the pond and stream with marking paint or a hose until the shape sits right in the yard.

02

Filter positioning

Skimmer and biological filter (BioFalls) go at opposite ends so water travels the full length of the feature.

03

Excavation

We dig the basin with stepped shelves and clean, straight-edge walls, the bones of the ecosystem.

04

Underlayment and liner

Protective geotextile first, then a flexible rubber liner. This is the watertight shell everything else sits on.

05

Plumbing

On most ponds the pump sits in the skimmer, with flexible PVC to the BioFalls, laid and buried so you never see a pipe. Swim ponds and rec ponds use an external pump instead.

06

Rock and gravel

Washed base rock, boulders, and river gravel along the basin and edges, set by hand over the liner.

07

Waterfall construction

Feature rocks and waterfall foam frame the main fall and tell the water exactly where to go.

08

Edge finishing

Excess liner is trimmed and folded above the water line, then backfilled with soil and decorative gravel.

09

Landscaping and startup

Marginal plants, fill, and beneficial bacteria to jump-start the ecosystem. Then it starts to live.

Under the stone

The system that keeps it clear

AquaBlox intake bay set into the pond
AquaBlox intake bay on the liner before rock

The intake bayAn AquaBlox intake bay, a high-volume, low-clog intake built into the pond and buried under stone. It pulls water evenly so the system runs quiet and clean. Most of our ponds use an internal pump in the skimmer. Swim ponds and rec ponds use an external pump. UV is an optional add-on, quoted separately. It is not in the regular price and is not always needed. You never see the machinery; you just see the result.

Constructed gravel wetland bog filter with Snorkel vault

Inside the wetland filter

A constructed gravel wetland does the heavy lifting: biological filtration that keeps the water clear the way nature does. Here’s what’s working under the plants.

  • 1Snorkel® VaultCentral access point for cleaning and maintaining the wetland filter.
  • 2Snorkel Vault LidProtects the vault from debris and stands up to foot traffic.
  • 3Centipede® ModulesDistribute water evenly through the filter bed for maximum contact with the media.
  • 4AquaBlox® Water StorageA settlement chamber. Solids drop out before the water rises through the media.
  • 5FilterBlox™ ModulesBiological filter tubes that maximize surface area and filtration capacity.
  • 6Centipede End CapA clean connection point for the incoming plumbing.
Free, No-Pressure Estimate

Ready to transform your space?

Tell us about your yard and we’ll design the water feature that fits it. We’ll follow up personally, usually within a day. No obligation.

Ecosystem Pond Waterfall / Stream Pondless Waterfall Koi Pond Fountain / Bubbling Rock Lighting Maintenance / Cleaning Essential Care Signature Care Oasis Care Repair / Renovation
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We’ve got your information and will reach out personally, usually within a day, to talk through next steps, whether that’s a new build, a repair, or ongoing care.

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