How we began...

First, let me tell you that I have always been a "water baby"! Just ask my Mom. She could always find me playing in the water somewhere, in mud puddles after a rain, from the water faucet on the house, or in Weeden Creek that ran through the woods behind our house.

Many years ago, my mother-in-law dug her little fish pond and created her own backyard paradise. I was fascinated! One of the first pictures that I have of my oldest son, Joshua, was made in "Betty's Paradise".

Years later, after building our new home, I was trying to landscape it. I had the perfect spot for a water fountain in front of the dining room window. But, I wanted fish too! I researched and learned that fish would not survive in a small concrete fountain. What was I to do? I wanted water and fish!

One day I spotted the pre-formed ponds at a local, mass market hardware store. There was my answer! I could have water and fishies too. I bought the biggest one that they had. A whopping 250 gallon thing. In my naive eyes, it was huge!

Now picture this....my dear hubby and I had just brought in tons of topsoil and raked and smoothed it in the flower bed out front. I came home with the pre-formed pond, and told him what I was gonna do. "You're gonna do what?!", he said. "You're gonna dig up all that dirt that we just put in!". Well, he wouldn't have nothing to do with that. So my then 4 year old youngest son, Logan, and I put my little puddle in. We did it all by ourselves. It was the most gorgeous thing that I had ever seen.

Off to the hardware store I go to get a pump to run my gorgeous waterfall (nobody told me that it wasn't supposed to look like a volcano sticking up outta nowhere!). I bought just what the box said that I needed. It even said that it had a filter, and a fountain head to boot! What luck.

I bought lots of fish. I couldn't resist. They were all so pretty. Dumped them all in all at once. I really don't think that I have to tell you what happened next, but I will anyway. {grin} Dying fish! Green, slimy, yucky water! What do I do?! It was terrible. Of course, I go scooting back to where I had bought the pond. They didn't have a clue! Turns out that the "filter" that the box said came with the pump was nothing more than a sponge, pre-filter to keep debris from getting into the pump.  All that it did was clog up every day. It was nowhere near what was needed to keep the baddies out of the water so that the fish could live! And the pump, oh my! It was one of those oil driven, electricity hogs that didn't even put out enough water flow.

Over the next few years, I researched. I read everything that I could find. Oh, the different opinions! My poor brain was frazzled! So, what did I do? I took a little of this information, and a little of that information, and tried it all. After lots of trial and error, lots of unnecessary expense, I found what worked for me in my neck of the woods. But, as a good friend of mine says, "There is no true one way!", so we are constantly learning new things.

Because of my struggles in learning about ponds, I realized that other people were probably trying to deal with the same problems. I wanted to share what I had learned. So, late in 1994, the idea for C&C Waterscapes was born!

C & C Waterscapes specializes in helping people design, install and maintain their fish ponds and water gardens. We carry a full line of supplies for installation, stocking, decorating,  and maintaining your pond, including plants, fish, liners, pumps, and filters. We only sell what we have tested and used. We know what products work, if they work, how they work, and we pass that knowledge along to you.

We also specialize in fish health and disease. I found my good friend, Dr. Erik Johnson, DVM,  several years ago. He and his website, http://www.koivet.com/, have been a Godsend! Doc (as we call him), is a gen-u-wine veterinarian with his own practice in Georgia. He specializes in fish health and disease. I have been studying with him since 1996. I have learned much about fish health, diseases, disease diagnosis, water quality, and much more. I continue to take his classes, and continue to learn.

To be continued........

All photos on this page and this website are the property of C&C Waterscapes and may not be reproduced without the express permission of C&C Waterscapes.

©C&C Waterscapes 1993-2008