With the new merger between Atlantic and OASE one concern always comes up, “will my OASE pump survive in the bottom of a pond?”
I completely understand the concern about a pump in the bottom of the pond because traditionally in the US it has only spelled disaster. On the other hand, in Europe they’ve been building ponds for many years this way. They find it weird that the US uses large skimmers and FilterFalls to build our water features. One of the big advantages our company and OASE saw when discussing the merger was the opportunity to change how ponds would be constructed around the world.
The American way of building ponds is what we’ve typically seen from Atlantic and other companies in the US. We utilize a skimmer to protect our pumps and to pull and trap the debris that floats on the top of the water. From there, the pump pushes water up to a FilterFalls where beneficial bacteria treats the water, removing toxins. But this still leaves one area untreated: we don’t ever touch anything on the bottom of the pond. The black muck that develops on the bottom of the pond has to be removed, typically via draining and mucking out the bottom by hand. Some contractors install bottom drains to easily flush everything out, but whether they pump it out or drain it down, basically they have to do a full restart of the pond year after year.
The European way has been quite the opposite. They have designed and engineered their pumps to sit at the very bottom of the pond and have them pick up and push fish waste back to a UV/Filtration system that polishes the water. With the fish waste and debris going through the pump up to their filter systems that are cleaning the water, they do not see the need for a FilterFalls. The downside to this is they must use pond nets to clean the debris off the top of the water and are restricted in the types of water falls they can build because their pumps aren’t designed to do high flow at high head heights.
The A-O merger presents an opportunity to bring both our practices together by incorporating the best aspects of each design. We now are building ponds with a skimmer to pull debris off the top of the water while also allowing us to build great falls using our FastFalls. Then, we are utilizing the OASE “Clear Water Guarantee” system by incorporating their pumps in the bottom of the pond feeding their filters that clean and polish your water. The result is a pond that can be customized to the highest level, cleaning and polishing the water without the need to ever fully drain your pond again. With the OASE PondoVac, we can go in and suck out leaves and debris that settles at the bottom that can’t pass through the pump to get to the filter. As for cleaning the filter, it’s as easy as turning a knob and flushing out the system twice a year, so easy you can do it in a suit and tie.
And as for concerns about the pump at the bottom of the pond. These pumps are specifically designed to handle everything that a pond throws at it and they’ve been doing it for many years!
This YouTube video made by a homeowner, who installed a brand new OASE system, shows all the mud and debris that was being put into the filter and how well the system works on day 1!
That is exactly what we want to see happening. It means we are cleaning the pond from top to bottom, unlike in the past when we, here in the States, would only clean from the top. OASE pumps are designed to deliver the debris from the pump to the filter system by utilizing a large intake pre-filter and Environmental Function Control (EFC), which will shut off the pump if it’s running dry or freezes or clogs (which takes a lot), to prevent pump damage. The large surface area of the wrap-around pre-filter allows small particles to pass through. It’s designed for water flow all around the pump, giving it multiple surface areas for the pump to pull water from. The pump also features a coated magnetic rotor for adverse water conditions and a proprietary grounding plate for unparalleled safety. These things make the pump very resilient from ever burning itself out or breaking.
As Atlantic-OASE continues to grow we want to continue to push the envelope on how our industry creates incredible water features. Our company feels that we have an opportunity to define what a top of the line Koi pond should be built like and give our customers the best possible design available in the industry. We hope you will join us in creating state of the art water features that will be hassle free and allow anyone to enjoy a beautiful pond in their backyard!
About the Author:
Kyle Weemhoff
Kyle is Atlantic-OASE Southwest Regional Manager and has been in the role for the past 3+ years. He started off working in the manufacturing facilities and shipping department. Kyle is a Koi dad and loves sitting out by his water feature with a cold beer.