There's a lot of information out there on the internet but you've ended up here. That's great! Unless you're from a different zone than we are here in Pennsylvania. The pond industry is all weather dependent so I'd like to start by reminding you that you should always get your pond information from local contractors, as they experience the same weather conditions (and planting parameters) as you do. Make sure you know what geological area your source is writing for! In other words, Florida doesn't get snow the way that Pennsylvania do, right?

The chances are pretty high that you are installing a backyard pond so that you can house a lot of really awesome koi or goldfish as pets and you obviously don't want to have to replace them year after year. While some people choose to bring their fish inside for the winter, the bigger they get and the more they multiply the harder it is to do something of that nature successfully.

One of the most important reasons that people talk about the DEPTH of a pond is because of safely overwintering the fish and because of water clarity issues if you make the pond too deep. The freeze zone is 18" and as you can imagine, we do get enough snow and freezing temperatures in Pennsylvania that ponds here do tend to freeze. For this reason, we always recommend to dig your pond at least two feet (2' or 24") deep so that the fish can live safely underneath that freezing area, keeping in mind there are still "life support" items needed to sustain fish life under ice.

Another reason depth is talked about is when it comes to proper filtration of the pond. When using an Aquascape Pond Skimmer, it will successfully skim the top layer of the pond but anything deeper than 2.5-3 feet will need to be stirred up in order to be able to pull that water into the skimmer box for filtration. Without stirring up that deep area, water quality issues are inevitable.

While talking about how deep you'll need to dig a pond in Pennsylvania, you need to consider the need for aquatic plants---because it absolutely is a need. There are many benefits from having aquatic plants in your backyard pond in Central Pennsylvania. From providing shade to naturally filtering the water, aquatic plants all have a very specific depth that they like to be planted in in order to survive. For this reason, while we recommend digging the pond to 2 feet deep for overwintering the fish, we also always recommend digging plant SHELVES around the outside of the pond so as to not drown the plants.

Your "marginal shelf" should be dug between 0"-8" deep and your "mid-zone lilies shelf" should be dug at 12"16" before your pond drops to the 24" depth for overwintering purposes.

Click here for more Aquatic Plant Care and Benefits.

Located in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Dreamscapes Watergardens installs koi fish ponds and pondless waterfalls (disappearing waterfalls) all over the Central Pennsylvania area. For more information on koi ponds and waterfeature installations, please contact us directly!

Dreamscapes also carries a full line of pond supplies from water treatments and fish medications to pond pumps, heaters, fountains, plants and fish! Tadpoles and snails are also available at our Aquatic Retail Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania seasonally while supplies last from May-August.  If you think you need it, we have it!

Retail Hours:  April 5th-October 27th 2018:
                           Monday-Wednesday: By Appt
                           Thursday-Friday: 10am-5pm
                           Saturday: 9am-12pm
                     October 28th-April 2019: HOURS BY APPT


Contact Us
2155 State Route 343, Lebanon Pa | 717-272-6555 | [email protected]

Dreamscapes Watergardens services the city of Lebanon, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Cleona, Cornwall, Fredericksburg, Indiantown Gap, Jonestown, Kleinfeltersville, Mount Gretna, Myerstown, Newmanstown Palmyra, Quentin, Reistville, Richland, Schaefferstown of Pennsylvania, PA

There are unlimited ways to utilize a pond renovation.  Be sure to consider naturalization and creativity when planning your pond restoration and it will add beauty and tranquility to your outdoor living space for years to come.  Lastly, if you are planning a pond renovation, see if you are able to visit properties with ponds by the contractor you’re interested in. Seeing what other pond owners have done to enhance the pond lifestyle can be one of the best ways to obtain knowledge and true inspiration!

Located in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Dreamscapes Watergardens installs koi fish ponds and pondless waterfalls (disappearing waterfalls) all over the Central Pennsylvania area. For more information on koi ponds and waterfeature installations, please contact us directly! Dreamscapes also carries a full line of pond supplies from water treatments and fish medications to pond pumps, heaters, fountains, plants and fish! Tadpoles and snails are also available at our Aquatic Retail Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania seasonally while supplies last from May-August.  If you think you need it, we have it!

Retail Hours:  April 5th-October 27th 2018:
                           Monday-Wednesday: By Appt
                           Thursday-Friday: 10am-5pm
                           Saturday: 9am-12pm
                     October 28th-April 2019: HOURS BY APPT


Contact Us
2155 State Route 343, Lebanon Pa | 717-272-6555 | [email protected]

Dreamscapes Watergardens services the city of Lebanon, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Cleona, Cornwall, Fredericksburg, Indiantown Gap, Jonestown, Kleinfeltersville, Mount Gretna, Myerstown, Newmanstown Palmyra, Quentin, Reistville, Richland, Schaefferstown of Pennsylvania,

If you’re looking for a skilled contractor to create or remodel your pond, do yourself a favor and find a Certified Aquascape Contractor. These professionals are the leaders in the water feature installation, renovation and maintenance world.

In 2001, the “CAC” program was created by Aquascape, North America’s leading manufacturer of equipment for ponds, waterfalls, and fountains. The company motto is “Your Paradise, Our Passion”, the CAC motto is,"Pond's Done Right. Customer's Served Right." and Aquascape wants to make sure that all customers who use their products get to experience a "hassle-free" backyard paradise with top level service. They pre-qualify their contractors and ensure every contractor stays up-to-date with newest technology and styles. A CAC business is experienced and expertly trained by Aquascape Inc, in designing and building beautiful ponds, waterfalls, and fountains. The "CAC" designation signifies a professional who has undergone training and is dedicated to ongoing education. It’s the longest-running certification program in the industry.

Certified Aquascape Contractors receive a variety of training. They have to attend and participate in many hands-on networking and leadership events multiple times a year, such as Pondemonium, and have reached a particular threshold of skill-level through exams in their training course in order to obtain that certification.  Before becoming official, a Certified Aquascape Contractor is tested and approved to properly install and maintain many different water features.

By following a successful repetitive process, a contractor can eliminate a lot of the guess work from a build. This helps them install a beautiful, low-maintenance water feature that is sure to last. Since Aquascape trains and supports its contractors, quality workmanship and accountability are built into every project.

Located in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, Dreamscapes Watergardens installs koi fish ponds and pondless waterfalls (disappearing waterfalls) all over the Central Pennsylvania area. For more information on koi ponds and waterfeature installations, please contact us directly!

Dreamscapes also carries a full line of pond supplies from water treatments and fish medications to pond pumps, heaters, fountains, plants and fish! Tadpoles and snails are also available at our Aquatic Retail Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania seasonally while supplies last from May-August.  If you think you need it, we have it!

Retail Hours:  April 5th-October 27th 2018:
                           Monday-Wednesday: By Appt
                           Thursday-Friday: 10am-5pm
                           Saturday: 9am-12pm
                     October 28th-April 2019: HOURS BY APPT


Contact Us
2155 State Route 343, Lebanon Pa | 717-272-6555 | [email protected]

Dreamscapes Watergardens services the city of Lebanon, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Cleona, Cornwall, Fredericksburg, Indiantown Gap, Jonestown, Kleinfeltersville, Mount Gretna, Myerstown, Newmanstown Palmyra, Quentin, Reistville, Richland, Schaefferstown of Pennsylvania, PA

A pondless waterfall is a great way to bring the sights and sounds of running water to your yard because you get the benefits and natural beauty of an ecosystem pond without the maintenance of fish and extra filtration components. These amazing “pondless water fall” water features can be adapted for almost any space whether you’re desiring something big or small, gentle or dramatic, you can create a pondless waterfall that’s perfect for you and your yard.

At Dreamscapes Watergardens, we design and install pondless waterfalls (also known as disappearing waterfalls) for families all over the Central Pennsylvania area. But in this blog, we’re going to tackle the DIY question and answer of "How do you Build a Backyard waterfall?" Building your own pondless waterfall is absolutely possible if you have the right tools, determination and passion.

A pondless waterfall is a recirculating waterfall without a pond at the bottom. A waterfall works by pumping water from a large, hidden in-ground reservoir up and through what is called the  “waterfall spillway”. This allows the water to flow back down into the basin. These recirculating systems are easy to install and require very little maintenance. They are perfect for folks who aren’t home as often to care for fish or water balance. If you travel often or work a lot, a pondless waterfall can be unplugged at any point for a week or so at time without compromising the ecosystem.

For beginners, we definitely recommend the Aquascape Pondless Waterfall Kits, as these kits come in different sizes and include all of the components you need (except for the rock/gravel) for a beautiful pondless waterfall. From the liner, all the way to the plumbing and pump and instructions, Aquascape kits are the best bang for your buck. But before you select a kit, make sure to get yourself acquainted with the mechanics of a pondless waterfall, the space you have to work with and real desires you have for the “end product”.

Once you know EXACTLY what you want, we recommend beginning your digging and excavating process so that you can measure your area for liner purposes correctly. We often find people coming back for bigger pieces of liner and upgrade components because what they THOUGHT they wanted and what they ended up doing changed during the first step of the installation process.

Check out the video below for a very specific step-by-step set of instructions on building a waterfall.

Pondless waterfalls can roam expansively across your yard. Or, they can tuck in right by your front entrance and greet visitors. From 4’ to 40’, the sky is the limit when it comes to design elements of a pondless waterfall—they fit everywhere! They’re adaptable, too – you can always add a pond later. If you have questions, we’re here to help. If you read this blog and decided you’re interested in a pondless waterfall but don’t want to do the work yourself anymore, we can help you out there, too. Call Dreamscapes Watergardens, Inc. at 717-272-6555 or connect online. We’ll help make your dreams of a pondless waterfall a reality.

Dreamscapes also carries a full line of pond supplies from water treatments and fish medications to pond pumps, heaters, fountains, plants and fish! Tadpoles and snails are also available at our Aquatic Retail Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania seasonally while supplies last from May-August.  If you think you need it, we have it!

Retail Hours:  April 5th-October 27th 2018:
                           Monday-Wednesday: By Appt
                           Thursday-Friday: 10am-5pm
                           Saturday: 9am-12pm
                     October 28th-April 2019: HOURS BY APPT


Contact Us
2155 State Route 343, Lebanon Pa | 717-272-6555 | [email protected]

Dreamscapes Watergardens services the city of Lebanon, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Cleona, Cornwall, Fredericksburg, Indiantown Gap, Jonestown, Kleinfeltersville, Mount Gretna, Myerstown, Newmanstown Palmyra, Quentin, Reistville, Richland, Schaefferstown of Pennsylvania, PA

Pond liner is one of the most important pieces of your backyard pond because it prevents the water from being absorbed by the Earth. You also don't want to have to replace a pond liner entirely because that involves the removal of every single stone in order to take out the liner underneath to replace it.

At Dreamscapes Watergardens, Inc. we've been renovating and fixing ponds and waterfalls for almost 20 years and have seen everything used for pond liners (even repurposed roofing liner, which is not designed to be submerged and has toxic chemicals on it). After everything we've seen, we always choose to use 45 mil EDPM pond liner made by Aquascape, Inc for every job we install by Dreamscapes Watergardens, Inc.

Now that you know WHAT kind of pond liner we recommend and why, you'll also want to know how much pond liner and underlayment to use for your size water feature. It's important to note, we use the same liner for ponds that we do for waterfalls and fountain projects, too!

As a amateur pond installer, we recommend you begin your process ALWAYS by excavating your water feature first before you purchase your pond liner so that you don't come up short. Often we find people at our retail store buying extra liner because they dug deeper than they planned and only realized it once they tried to install the pond liner. At this point, trying to seam together multiple pieces of liner can be hard for a new-comer, as any small discrepancy will cause a HUGE problem. We also always recommend to measure TWICE and cutting once.

We sell our liner in specific WIDTHS, as they come in 5', 10', 15', 20' and 25' widths. So if your measurement came to 18'x28' like on the picture to the left, we would recommend a 20' wide liner, cut 29' long for 6" of overlap on each side.  You may want to consider overlap,  because your rocks will settle a little bit the first year which tugs the liner down.

Below are the most common DIY pond sizes with their respective liner sizes.
8'x11' pond= 12'x15'
11'x16' pond= 15'x20'
21'26' pond= 25'x30'

Once you know what size pond liner you need, buy it and the same size underlayment. To install it, start with the underlayment, ensuring that you have complete coverage for all exposed areas. Secondly, stretch the liner according to length and width of pond and lay in the pond hole, making sure to smooth out as many wrinkles as possible and to minimize folds and creases. Double check that you have appropriate overlap around the perimeter of the pond so that as you lay your rock, the liner doesn't sink.

Length + Depth + Depth              Width + Depth + Depth

Dreamscapes also carries a full line of pond supplies from water treatments and fish medications to pond pumps, heaters, fountains, plants and fish! Tadpoles and snails are also available at our Aquatic Retail Center in Lebanon, Pennsylvania seasonally while supplies last from May-August.  If you think you need it, we have it!

Retail Hours:  April 5th-October 27th 2018:
                           Monday-Wednesday: By Appt
                           Thursday-Friday: 10am-5pm
                           Saturday: 9am-12pm
                     October 28th-April 2019: HOURS BY APPT


Contact Us
2155 State Route 343, Lebanon Pa | 717-272-6555 | [email protected]

Dreamscapes Watergardens services the city of Lebanon, Lancaster, Harrisburg, Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill, Cleona, Cornwall, Fredericksburg, Indiantown Gap, Jonestown, Kleinfeltersville, Mount Gretna, Myerstown, Newmanstown Palmyra, Quentin, Reistville, Richland, Schaefferstown of Pennsylvania, PA