For those new to the wonderful world of water gardening there are some words and phrases around that can be confusing at first. Hopefully we can help you understand at least some of them in this article:
Oxygenator – Used to describe a plant that lives just on or under the water surface and provides constant Oxygen to the water supply. Examples of this type of plant are :
* Arachanis
* Parrot’s Feather
* Hornwart
* Duckweed
# Marginal Plants – These are the plants which live at the pond’s edge, and, though they don’t like to be totally submerged, do enjoy keeping their feet wet. Typical Marginal plant’s are: Flag Iris
# Common Cattail
# Water Callalily
# Cardinal Flower
# Floaters – Pretty descriptive name, these plants float on the water surface while their roots extend down into the depths. A couple of examples of these are: Water Lettuce
# Water Hyacinth
# Duckweed
Bio(logical) Filter – This is a filter system which has small ribbed balls or mottled blocks within it’s chambers which are capable of filtering out silt and sand, and also hold onto beneficial bacteria which pass through the chamber from the pond. Once there is a sufficient build up of these beneficial bacteria the filter helps keep a healthy pond balance. Bio filters should not be cleaned.
Mechanical Filter – A mechanical filter is used to remove solids from the pond by use of foam media. Unlike Bio Filters, mechanical filters should be cleaned often to keep them performing at their best without becoming clogged.
GPH – Gallons Per Hour. The rate at which your pump can recirculate the water in your pond. The pump should be capable of pumping the water in your pond at least once every two hours, once an hour if you intend to keep fish.
Head Height – The maximum height at which a waterfall or fountain head is going to sit. This measurement should be taken into consideration when purchasing a pump, as head height will afect maximum GPH.