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.

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 the stopper up and out of the way when the pump is functioning correctly. When the power is cut, that stopper drops back down and seals the hose off so that the water is essentially trapped inside the plumbing until the pump is turned back on. It is important that the check valve is disconnected for the winter during your water feature shut down process so that the water does not freeze in the plumbing, causing cracked pipes and pond leaks.

The reason a check valve is important is because you need to keep water in your biological filter so that the beneficial bacteria colonies can continue to grow. If you lose power and the water washes down your waterfall and plumbing, you expose the bacteria to air and the bacteria will die. Without beneficial bacteria, you throw off the balance of your ecosystem which inevitably causes the return of algae. Rebuilding your beneficial bacteria colonies does not happen over night so it is most productive to PREVENT killing your beneficial bacteria.

Another benefit to a check valve is what is prevented when the water stops circulating during a power outage. For big ponds with big, beautiful waterfalls, there is always extra water tied up in the plumbing and on the falls, at all times. If a check valve is not present, when your power is cut without a check valve, all that extra water has no where to go except out of the pond, flooding your patio and yard. You now have to add all the water back to the pond and depending upon the amount of water displaced, you may find some beached fish in the after-math.

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 | info@dreamscapeswatergardens.com

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,

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.

Trapdoor snails in Central Pennsylvania definitely have an appetite for algae, rarely eating anything else. So if you're prone to having algae in your pond, these critters will absolutely thrive off of it and be very happy in your backyard pond. A common misconception, however, is that snails will be the solution to your algae struggles. While they're definitely fun to spot wiggling around your ecosystem, realistically, you would have to have hundreds of snails in order to beat an algae issue. Thereby, snails will never be the end-all-be-all to algae growth-- thus we call them a novelty.

If you're looking for true measures for how to control your algae, you've still come to the right place! There are 5 elements of a healthy ecosystem and without one of those elements, your pond balance is thrown off wack and inevitably into an green algae phase. We recommend making sure you have all of these elements in place instead of committing to an army of snails. Sometimes, however, string algae is absolutely inevitable and unbeatable. In these cases, we recommend an Iongen System designed to control String Algae by use of copper.




For more tips of controlling algae, read some of our other blogs:
Controlling String Algae in my Backyard Fish Pond
String Algae in Lebanon Pennsylvania Ponds and Waterfalls
Keep your Koi Pond Water Clean in Lebanon County Pennsylvania

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 | info@dreamscapeswatergardens.com

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,

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 Pond?" and even pond pump and filtration spec. information!

When calculating your total volume of water, you must take into account the set-up of your pond: are there rocks and gravel in the pond and are there plant shelves? Also if you generally have a waterfall running, there is always MORE water hanging out in the plumbing, filtration system and coming down the waterfall at all times.

Take the measurements of your pond by length, width, and AVERAGE depth and plug those numbers in to the formulas below.


No Rocks and Gravel:   Length x Width x Average Depth x 7.48
YES Rocks and Gravel: Length x Width x Average Depth x 7.48 x 0.4

Below is a rough estimate for typical pond sizes:
4x6    = 300 gallons of water
6x8    = 400 gallons of water
8x11   = 500 gallons of water
11x11 = 700 gallons of water
11x16 = 1000 gallons of water
16x16 = 1500 gallons of water
16x21 = 2000 gallons of water

Now that you know how many gallons of water your pond holds, you can re-evaluate the way that you're applying water treatments, if you have too many fish and even if your pump is big enough to recirculate your water. ALL of these components drastically change the quality of your water and even the health of your fish.

Dreamscapes has a full service maintenance program that travels all over the Lebanon, Lancaster and Dauphin County areas. We also carry 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-May 27th:         Wednesday-Friday: 10am-5pm; Sat: 9am-1pm
                                                         Mon & Tues: Hours By Appointment
                     May 28th-Nov 25th:        Thursday-Friday: 10am-5pm; Sat 9am-12pm
                                                         Mon, Tues, Weds: Hours By Appointment
                     Nov 26th-April 2018:       All Hours By Appointment


Contact Us 
2155 State Route 343, Lebanon Pa | 717-272-6555 | info@dreamscapeswatergardens.com

Dreamscapes Watergardens services koi ponds and waterfalls in 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

Backyard ponds have become an exciting landscaping trend! Most homeowners want a pond to add ambiance to their yard with the benefit of the sights and sounds of tranquil moving water. Man-made ponds and disappearing pondless waterfalls create a relaxing place to retreat from the chaos and stress of life while enjoying the entertainment of pond fish and other wildlife attracted to your back yard. Yet few realize the full extent of the benefits to installing an ecosystem pond or water feature.

Maintaining a lush lawn obviously requires regular watering if there’s a dry-spell. Evaporation on a pond, however, is the same as on a swimming pool: 1” per day during the height of summer. A pond will have an auto-fill device that only adds water when it’s needed, whereas an automatic lawn-sprinkler goes off by timer whether or not the lawn actually needs the water, thereby wasting unnecessary water and money.

But there’s a LOT more that goes into maintaining a nice-looking lawn. You have to fertilize it and spend many hours a week mowing/edging the grass and moving around your non-permanent outdoor entertainment items like trampolines, baby pools, chimneas etc. to ensure grass doesn’t die underneath of them. Aside from the time involved, about 54 million Americans mow their lawns each weekend, using 800 million gallons of gas per year, AND producing tons of air pollutants, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ​Ponds, however, reduce the need for more lawn pesticides, fertilizers and gas mowers. They require about 10 minutes of maintenance per week. As an added benefit, the debris and sludge collected by your pond filter during maintenance can be used as a nutrient-rich fertilizer for your lawn, garden, and trees. The aquatic plants and water source becomes home or food to many of nature’s critters from frogs and snails to the butterflies, birds and bees that fly above.

Educational Benefit:
In today’s technologically advanced world, picture this: your kids and grandkids WANTING to spend time outside, interacting with Mother Nature and not in front more screen-time. One of our top comments from new pond-owners is that they can’t believe how popular their water features are with their kids or grandkids. From feeding fish and trying to catch frogs to learning to help take care of the ecosystem, the educational aspect of backyard fish ponds are priceless.

We often find our very own son spending some time everyday just to dip his feet in to think. His favorite place to eat meals during the summer? Outside by the pond.

Home Value Benefit:
Did you know?: A well-constructed water feature can also INCREASE your home value! That's right- a tastefully done water feature is considered a luxury item--especially a matured water feature with established plant life.

If you’re looking for a low water-use, energy-efficient, low maintenance, super enjoyable and entertaining landscape option, you might want to consider an ecosystem pond or water feature. This a water feature might be the way to go? Contact us today to find out what options exist for your backyard paradise!

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 | info@dreamscapeswatergardens.com

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