Your backyard pond is a beautiful recreation of Mother Nature and should bring you hours and hours of enjoyment. It's not secret that backyard ponds are more enjoyable when you're not constantly handling a maintenance nightmare. Understanding the balance of your ecosystem is key and some pretty simple tips and tricks can eliminate all the lingering frustration. How to Clear up Cloudy Pond Water:  Rapid Clear is a great way to increase the efficiency of existing mechanical filtration, also known as the skimmer box. Aquascape's Rapid Clear Flocculant is scientifically blended to quickly clear ..read more

Activated Carbon--- what is it and why would you ever considering using it for your backyard pond? There are so many different types of water treatments on the market from varying companies and all for different things. It's easy to get confused trying to understand all the backyard pond water treatments available. Hopefully this blog here helps bring some understanding to whether or not you should consider Activated Carbon as a solution to what's going on in your water feature.  What is Activated Carbon? What does Activated Carbon Do? Simply put: Activated Pond Carbon is made with ba ..read more

Say goodbye to string algae with the Aquascape IonGen™ System G2!  Ideal for use in Ponds, Pondless® Waterfalls, and other decorative water features, the IonGen effectively kills algae without the use of traditional liquid chemicals. The system helps to control algae growth throughout the entire system (up to 25,000 gallons) by using a microprocessor that sends a signal to its ionproducing probe.  The Aquascape IonGen System G2 is compatible with water containing fish and plants and typically costs less than $1 per month in electric costs. It’s simple to install, energy efficient design make ..read more

This is a question we get a lot with new pond owners who are just getting their feet wet. What pond fish cohabit well and what pond fish species should we not put together? Pond Fish for Sale in Lebanon Pa At our Aquatic Retail Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Dreamscapes sells ONLY pond fish that will over-winter well and will successfully cohabit together. We do this to reduce confusion or any misunderstanding. Our most popular fish, the koi fish, we sell from 3"-12" in size from late April-September. We also sell 3"-4" comet goldfish, 3"-4" shubunkin goldfish, 5" golden orfe fish, and 5 ..read more

Did you Know??? Natural landscapes have a healing effect on the human body and can lower your heart rate and blood pressure, according tot he Sustainable Sites Initiative, Standards and Guidelines Preliminary Report of 2007. Pondless waterfalls are the easiest to maintain with little to no maintenance required, allowing you more time to relax and enjoy your beautiful water feature with friends and family. Water features attract birds and butterflies, and come in a variety of types and styles, perfect for any budget or landscape. ​Imagine stepping outside your home into your very own b ..read more

There are many benefits of water features that far outweigh the beautiful aesthetic approach. From increased family time, to health and wellness and environmental conservation, it is pretty safe to say that water features are for EVERY body..even if you just don't know it yet.  Did you know? ....that water features have been proven to provide soothing sights and sounds that help you relax and de-stress in today's busy world? It's true! In the Standards and Guidelines Preliminary Report of 2007, the Sustainability Sites Initiative reports that water features lower your blood pressure and imp ..read more

Ponds leak for all sorts of varying reasons: low liner, liner tears/chew holes, plumbing breakage or even a dammed up waterfall from plant over-growth. For the average DIY pond owner, the above issues are pretty easy to detect and to fix. Having checked for liner and waterfall issues, DIY pond owner's regularly call about their mystery leak.So what about when you've tried everything that's been the problem before and you can't figure out what's happening this time? Screws and Gromets What are screws and gromets in a pond? Screws and gromets are the hardware pieces that hold the face plate ..read more

Something you’ll definitely want to invest in when it comes to keeping your pond functioning correctly is the check valve. The check valve helps prevent water from draining back into the pond when the power to your pump is cut. This is beneficial for more than one reason but first let's discuss what it looks like and where it goes. Check Valve Assembly This is what a check valve looks like and it attaches directly to the pump inside the skimmer box. Inside this check valve is a rubber stopper that regulates the flow of the water through the plumbing, in that the force of the water pushes th ..read more

Snails...a novelty of the pond world. They're slimy, slow and have an appetite to eat algae. At Dreamscapes Watergardens, we sell Trapdoor Snails for backyard ponds near Lebanon, Mechanicsburg, Harrisburg, Hershey, and Camp Hill areas of Pennsylvania seasonally from April-August in our Aquatic Retail Center. They're pretty cheap (and pretty fascinating) critters to add to your pond, though, you can't be too sure that you'll see them very often due to their size. We always find that kids LOVE to spend time trying to find the snails in the pond--the ultimate "Where's Waldo" game. Snail Appe ..read more

Trying to figure out the best maintenance practices for your water feature is IMPOSSIBLE if you don't know the total gallons of water you're operating. Thus, how to calculate the gallons of your pond is a frequent question we get asked at our Aquatic Retail Store at Dreamscapes Watergardens. If you're reading this and wondering, "Why do I need to know how many gallons of water my pond holds?"...you have some work to do and some blogs to read. Not only is pond volume important to know for water treatment applications, but it's also necessary when considering "How Many Fish Can I Have in My Pon ..read more