By Diego Abeloos

Photo courtesy of Ron Legnon Ron Legnon owner of Able Pool and Pond has seen a trend toward home ponds and away from swimming pools in recent years.

Backyard swimming pools have been popular for decades, but a newer trend in water enhancements is slowly beginning to take shape. According to Ron Legnon, owner of Able Pool and Pond, artificial ponds are becoming an increasingly popular landscape feature in gardens around the Bay Area.

“The pond industry is just starting to flourish and become more organized,” Legnon said. “It’s becoming more mainstream.”

Legnon, who specializes in designing new ponds as well as retrofitting and refurbishing existing ponds around the Bay Area, said there are several options for homeowners who always wanted a pond of their own.

One of the first things to consider is whether to do it yourself, which has its limitations, or hire a professional.

“If you’re going to do a project yourself, at least get a consultant like myself,” Legnon advised. “You need to know what’s available. That’s the best way to go about (it).”

For those willing to tackle the task of making a pond themselves, there are pond kits available, from $1,500 to $2,000. The kits are marketed to landscape companies and contractors, but Legnon said homeowners can get their hands on them as well. He cautioned that kits come with certain limitations and hassles, such as having to add enzymes and bacteria to the pond in order to maintain water clarity and health.

“If all you’re trying to do is a water garden and maybe a few goldfish, (pond kits) are fine,” Legnon said. “If you don’t mind some algae, if you don’t mind having to add chemicals to the water to try and keep the clarity proper, that may be ideal for do-it-yourselfers.”

Another option is to have a professional design a pond that can maintain itself through a natural biological filter. Legnon explained that biological filters balance ponds using aerobic bacteria, which promote a biological environment rich in oxygen with good water clarity.

“Biological filters, as far as a pond is concerned, are the only option,” Legnon said.

He added that if the water has a foul odor, that indicates it contains anaerobic bacteria and lacks enough oxygen to support fish; a healthy pond, on the other hand, catches fish waste and other organic matter in the biological filter, which produces an odor of soil.

“My goal is to utilize virtually no chemicals whatsoever,” Legnon said of maintaining natural ponds. “Just biological filtration, aeration and proper design so that it’s healthy for Koi. … The pinnacle of ponds (is) to be able to maintain Koi in a healthy state.”

Legnon said fish are a part of achieving a natural balance in the maintenance of a pond.

“Fish are a part of the equation,” he said. “When you have plants and fish, you’re producing bacteria that the biological filter (uses). … You try to achieve a balance like you see in nature.”

For those who want to make their own ponds, creating the right biological balance is often the hardest part. Legnon cautions do-it-yourselfers not to get discouraged by early difficulties, adding that the first few months to a year are often the most troublesome in achieving the right balance.

“The longer a pond is running consistently, every year … it becomes more stable,” he said.

Overall, there are two basic types of ponds - formal ponds, usually rectangular in shape and typically used in English garden settings; and ponds that appear natural. These ponds come in several varieties with features, such as rocks, plants and fish. Legnon added that Japanese-style ponds are a common sight in back yards these days.

More and more people are converting unused swimming pools to ponds because pools tend to be more expensive to maintain than ponds.

“It becomes just an expense,” Legnon said of unused pools. “The majority of the reasons why pools go in are for kids. But then the kids are grown and gone, and the pool’s just sitting there. It becomes a liability.”

Koi, plants and rock features add to the aesthetic value of the pond. Features such as waterfalls produce relaxing sounds and provide other perks as well.

“The sound is almost 50 percent of it,” Legnon said. “The sounds (of) a waterfall … help mask highway sounds and road sounds, especially if you’re near a street.”

Ponds present an artistic challenge - from adding plants and Koi or goldfish, to designing a waterfall feature within the pond and making it fit with the surrounding landscape.

“It’s art, but there’s also the engineering (aspect) to it,” Legnon said.

Koi are in increasing demand for ponds. “Koi are so popular because the colors are incredible,” Legnon said. “They’ve been called living jewels because they’re like a painting in a pond.”

Legnon added that Koi are more than just pond ornamentations. They become pets because they can be trained for hand feeding and can live 60 to 100 years. Although Koi can be pricey, the fish are worth it if the right biological state is achieved in a pond, Legnon said.

Furthermore, ponds can be an important feature of a home’s landscaping. “People are drawn to water,” Legnon said. “They’re rejuvenated by water.”

For more information, call Ron Legnon at 964-1998.