The Modern Design Aquascaping team is in Uganda, Africa, working on a project that will have a lasting impact on generations of kids to provide sustainable drinking water. Thirty thousand gallons of water is captured several times a year that will change the lives of a lot of kids. This project was made possible by the people willing to come and take up a shovel and the donors who funded the project to come together and make a difference. The video will show all the hard work that went into this project and see the potential of the thousands of lives we’ve changed. This experience changed our hearts and we hope it changes yours!
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​Modern Design Aquascaping is walking you through a recent project in Nashville, TN where we created an intake bay for a farm pond.  This is detailed video of how are team created and transformed this existing water feature with a behind the scenes look. 

This builds starts out with the needed excavation. clearing all the needed work area to have a flat and level area to make out where the custom intake bay will be placed. 

one of the most important things for the homeowner is that the pond is swimmable, which means our team removed the snapping turtles from the pond. that's how our team goes above and beyond for our clients. 
You're able to see the step-by-step process by which we mythological place and ensure all components are installed right. 

This video shows just how well the intake bay does it's job to collect all the debris. Stay toned for part 2 you never know what extra content your going to find. 
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If you need a intake bay or want a amazing water feature call our team today. these videos will give you a great understanding of what to expect for your project and help you to dream what's possible for your home or business. 
 

​Modern Design Aquascaping wants to warn you that the video your about to watch is scary good fun. Why stop at the traditional Halloween decorations at the front door and walkways of your home or business? We're giving one of our water features a Halloween makeover for a spooky yet awesome transformation all in the spirit of tricks and treats. 

We pulled out all the stops this Halloween to decorate one of our display water features with flowers, skeletons, pumpkins and more. This was a fun way to get our family involved in our passion for water feature by enlisting there help to carve pumpkins. 
The pumpkins have a mixture of water and lights combined for dramatic effect that adds to the overall awesome and spooky look. 

Come Check out the display at Mayo Garden Center in Knoxville, TN
 
Gather your courage and come see this creepy water creation as it displays all the spooky, wonderful, and fun elements of Halloween. Happy Halloween Everyone! 

Modern Design Aquascaping for Part 2 of the pondless waterfall. Today we’re going to walk through the construction of this waterfall. If you missed part 1 go back and watch! The video go through finishing the basin, construction of the retaining wall, placement and leveling of the stones and more. 

We begin with the retaining wall and as you can see we used large boulders to form the structure of the retaining wall. These boulders were meticulously placed to give the best astatic effect for this water feature.
 
  Now that the retaining wall is in we brought in the soil and to begin shaping so the rocks can be placed. The soil is placed in a way that creates and elevation change right in front of the retaining wall. Once the soil has been added a liner is placed. Bring on the rocks! Now that the liner is fitted the rocks can be added it’s an art form that we’re the best at! Notice the natural piece of driftwood that was added to this feature and the expert vision to place it in the feature to ensure it appears as if it grew there naturally.
 
We added a “Foam Seam” which helps the water flow over the rocks instead of behind them. Once the foam seam had been added the waterfall slipway is installed and detailing work begins. This entails finishing edges and filling all the nooks and crannies to give the feature a finished and natural look.
 
We can talk about our amazing work all day long, but don’t just take our word for it listen to the homeowner talk about the experience start to finish. Listen to the enhancement that this water feature provided to this family.
 
Call Modern Design Aquascaping today and let us create your pond or water feature for you and your family to enjoy for years to come! 

Modern Design Aquascaping is in Knoxville, TN revisiting one of our favorite Koi ponds we’ve ever built! We’re going to show you the amazing features of this pond including negative or zero edges, wetland filters, fish caves, and of course the fish.

The Negative Edge or Zero Edge:
The carnivorous plants are the beginning of the negative edge and give you the most pristine water quality in a pond because that water is falling off the surface of the pond. This means you’ll never have that collection of bubbles or anything else that gets trapped on the surface of the water. Also, the negative edge is wide horizontally and extends farther into the pond, making it difficult for fish to travel to the lower pond. The negative edge and one inch of water make it harder for fish to travel this helps detour the fish try taking this path.

Feeding Stone And Fish Caves:
The feeding stones or interactive areas are built in for you to sit and enjoy nature and your surroundings while interacting with your pond and fish. The key to the interactive stone is to place it inside the liner and deeper in the water. This interactive stone is four inches below the water, and four inches above the water this keeps the spiders and other creepy crawlies out so you can feel comfortable putting your feet in the water.
Fish caves are another feature in this pond. The purpose of a fish cave is to protect your fish during colder weather and from predators.

Waterfalls And Wetland Filter:
This feature has two waterfalls the main waterfall was built so the homeowner could see and hear the waterfall from the kitchen. The workhorse filter of the feature is with the main waterfall the water flows over the negative edge and the gravel at the bottom acts as a prefilter. This area is going to collect the solids and debris then the water will flow to the top to the wetland filter. Our go-to is the up flow wetland filter for crystal clear pond water and will be featured on all of our best projects.
 
The view:
One of the best things about this feature is the view! The pond was build to maximize viewing from the homeowners most utilized living area. The benefit of having the pond down on the lower level is the amazing view from the living area and complement of the waterfalls, and the sounds of the pond add to the overall experience of the home and the favorite feature of the landscape.
 
Go to YouTube to view the full video with many more features of the pond and to see why it’s one of our favorites! Call Modern Design Aquascaping today to get started on your water feature!
 

​Modern Design Aquascaping is walking you through one of our award-winning and most amazing builds located in Maryville, Tennessee. We’re going to show the before and after and talk you through all the amazing aspects that set this water feature apart from the rest. The build we’re featuring won us a national award  Water Artisans of the Year Awards (WAOTY) for Most Naturalistic Water Feature.
 
We’ve been building ponds and water features for more than 20 years so you can feel confident in contacting Modern Design Aquascaping for your water feature. We bring award-winning talent, creativity & Experience. Ready for the walk through? Let’s get started! 

​ Meet The Pond #1: Intake Bay – Super Sized Skimmer
The intake bay is the location of the pumps underneath the gravel. Everything that happens flow wise originates from the intake bay. The pumps pull all the water in through the stones creating that slight movement seen on the top of the water. Basically, it sweeps all the debris off the surface and enters the intake bay. This area serves as a skimmer for a pond of this size.
 
Meet The Pond #2: Interaction Stones – Get People Involved
We enjoy including areas in our water features that encourage people to interact with their pond and fish.  Anything we can do to get people to put their feet in the water and get outside and enjoy nature. The interactive stone is placed where it hangs over the edge of the pond, allowing you to sit down, put your feet in the water, and interact with the fish as well.
 
Meet The Pond #3: Japanese Koi – The Oldest One is About 25 years old
The fish in this pond are all Japanese Koi. The fish were initially 4-5 inches long when Modern Design Acquascaping first got the fish and have thrived for over a decade. The oldest fish is Chester about 25 years old.
 
Meet The Pond #4: Fish Cave – Protect Your Pets
A fish cave is a protective area where your fish can go and hide during dormant times or protection from predators. Fish Caves are a key feature of a well-constructed pond is having that area that the fish can go to get away from nature. Everything likes to eat fish. Unfortunately!
 
Meet The Pond #5: Secret Falls – Mimic Nature
One of the elements that helped us win the award is all of the tiny waterfalls. We spend the time in nature looking at natural waterfalls and recreating that in our work. There are large 10 thousand pound boulders, but you have these tiny waterfalls that travel through the natural cracks in the stone to create an unmatched authenticity in our work.
 
Meet The Pond #6: Pumps & Jets – Circulation Explained
All the water and the pumps are flowing into the intake bay and Jets that create circulation which accounts for the movement that you see on the surface of the water. We’ve created a flow of water where it pushes around the pond in a circular pattern. This circular pattern encourages debris to go around the outside and into the intake bay.   
 
Meet The Pond #7: Up-Flow Wetland Filter – Biological Filtration
Think of a fish tank with an under gravel filter; this works similar to that.  The same things that filter water in nature are happening here. The jets and high-efficiency pumps create movement and push water to give you the volume that you need to create the beautiful waterfalls.
 
Meet The Pond #8: Led Lighting Tricks – Night Time Is Magical
When you put the light down in the water in the right environment, you don’t see the light you the result of the light and the effect it creates. In this water feature, we separated the lighting so that when the landscape matures, you have lighting for the fish and waterfalls.  The benefit at night when viewing the pond from within the home you’re able to turn off the lights and create a reflective effect with the pond giving you a whole different look at night.
 
Meet The Pond #9: Artistic Tips – It’s The Little Things
You have beautiful stones integrated into the side of the pond. Since the pond liner is behind the boulders, creating these micro-environments within the edge of the pond. The artistry we bring to builds with amazing edge work is what makes the feature next level amazing.
 
 Meet The Pond #10: This Is Not A Swim Pond – Technically Speaking
The pond featured is 4-feet deep, and we have taken a swim with the fish. This is not technically a recreation pond, but if you happen to have people fall in and take 15-20 minutes getting out.. I’m not sure what you would call that!
 
Let Modern Design Aquascaping help you get outside and enjoy nature with your own award-winning pond or water feature!