Create a living ecosystem in your Dayton, Ohio backyard—ecosystem ponds that balance nature, beauty, and low-maintenance design.
Unlike traditional ornamental ponds that require constant maintenance and harsh chemicals, an ecosystem pond works with nature to stay clean and balanced. It’s a complete, self-sustaining aquatic environment.
0:00 I want to show you this water feature that we just got done building.
0:03 And thousands of tiny tadpoles.
0:06 Filling up.
0:07 There were a few spots where it was leaking.
0:10 I try my best when I install it, but sometimes things happen.
0:15 [Music]
0:17 Okay, guys. Here's another one I'm excited to show you about. The falls got rebuilt, and the customer doesn't like those. They're just kind of slapped together, and the rocks are just tumbling down into the water feature. There's rubber showing all around the edges. So we're going to come in here and rip all this out. We're going to try to save all the fish and stuff, wildlife in the pond, rip all this out and put in new. So it's going to be fun.
0:45 So when we first got the call for this project, the customer had an old pond here with a stream that was failing. It was falling apart, leaking, rubber showing, and the waterfalls—they didn't like the waterfalls. So they were interested in maybe rebuilding it and making a new home for their fish and tadpoles and frogs. So that's where it initially started.
1:06 Okay, guys, we're cleaning out this pond here, seeing how many tadpoles we can catch here.
1:16 [Unclear] Oh, we got one here.
1:20 [Unclear] like a pregnant one, even though it's not. [Laughter]
1:24 Looks like me after I eat.
1:27 We didn't really have a vision specifically of what we wanted. We wanted to make it a little bit more cohesive with something that you would find naturally in Ohio. And so we decided to go with limestone.
1:43 And Jeremy showed us some pictures from a coffee table book of some folks that they work with in Pennsylvania. And I liked the artistic vision that they had for our property. So, yeah, we kind of let them go with their artistic vision.
2:01 I just wanted to show you guys what's going on here. We have our two levels for our boulders for our pond. We would call this a shelf right here.
2:10 So we'll come in here. We have our underlayment underneath this rubber. I don't know if you can see it. If we pull some of this rubber back right there, it helps keep any rocks from puncturing the bottom side of the rubber, which we try to keep any sharp rocks possible out from underneath there.
2:31 And then we excavate our shelves however deep we're going to put our pond. And then we'll start putting boulders around the edge down here and leave this open. This will have river rock in the bottom.
2:42 We're about ready to foam up our first falls here. I'm super pumped on this one. We're going to have a lot of action going on. Water's going to come flying over here, going to crash into this rock, then bounce off here, get some action hitting this, bouncing off of that, shooting over here. A lot of cool action.
2:58 Just like Malachi when he's working. Stop eating. What are we going to do?
3:03 I'm excited. We're going to get some foaming done. We're going to get the stream in today and hopefully get this pond filled up with water today.
3:10 You ready to get it done?
3:12 I am. Let's go.
3:13 Let's do it.
3:28 I'm ready. Can I hit the button?
3:30 You can hit the button.
3:33 Okay. Go up to five at least.
3:36 There we are at five. Let's see what damage it does.
3:41 Filling up.
3:43 [Music]
3:49 What's up, guys? I want to show you this water feature that we just got done building. It's a 10-by-5-foot pond with a 6-to-8-foot stream.
4:02 So we put a floating rock in here. We have our underwater lighting in. There's a light there. There's a light over there, right back here. You just can't see it very well due to the water still being cloudy from installation. And here's our skimmer box.
4:19 We have three heights of falls. This one, we're really happy with how it turned out.
4:29 After the guys installed the pond, we had not noticed a glitch, in that there were a few spots where it was leaking at the waterfall.
4:41 The previous waterfall was a little bit more shallow, and this one has added to the vertical a little bit. So there's a little bit more of a vertical drop of the water, and that created a little bit of difficulty with some leakage along the side.
4:56 We had leaking up here where this is all dirt underneath here, and it had settled down with some rain. So then the rubber kind of folded over.
5:05 So the main thing that fixed all those issues was pulling this rubber up, packing dirt underneath this rubber here that you see here, packing dirt underneath there, and then just covering this rubber back up so you can't see it.
5:19 I try my best when I install it, but sometimes things happen.
5:24 And to not compromise in craftsmanship is one of our goals as a company. So if we have an issue at a job, something we did, we want to be able to go back and repair that and fix that.
5:36 They've worked with us great, and I don't have enough good things to say about them.
5:41 So probably what I like the best about this job would be the floating rock, and then just some of the things we're able to do at the falls.
5:49 But probably the floating rock is one of the things I'm new to doing, rocks that are out surrounded by water. So that's probably one of the things I'm really tickled with how it turned out.
5:57 The water feature has changed how we use the backyard in terms of how often we come out. Now I want to come out and sit on the back porch and hang out in the morning while I'm having breakfast. And, yeah, I just love having it.
6:15 What I hope [name unclear] can enjoy on this water feature is just being able to come out and see fish and frogs and just spend time on the back patio listening to waterfalls.
6:27 [Music]
0:17 We tore everything out. Everything's new. We're actually cutting in ledges and putting boulders in on ledges. We'll put river rock in the bottom.
0:30 And what that does is it keeps the river rock from just migrating down to the bottom. You end up with all your rock at the bottom of the pond and nothing on the sides covering the liner.
0:43 I want to point out a couple of the things that, to me, tip the scales towards just a completely new feature. One of those is the amount of rubber that's exposed all through this feature. It's got a lot of rubber, more than I realized the first time I looked at it.
0:57 Up top, there's a lot of exposed rubber through here, and who knows how much exposed rubber through both areas of the pools.
1:05 That poses a couple problems. One is UV light breaks that black rubber down and starts to make it brittle, starts to crack and develop leaks.
1:13 Two, it's a weak point where branches that drop from the trees in there can poke right through that rubber and create a leak.
1:26 Sharp rocks, like this section right here that’s crumbling, falling in—those rocks are very sharp. Another thing is the amount of maintenance cost that could go into just cleaning this up and then hopefully keeping it clean is pretty significant for not getting a new feature out of it.
1:57 It was just a sloped shelf going down to the bottom, and the river rock was just kind of lining everything. We cut shelves in here, two shelves, and we set boulders in all the way around.
2:06 We have to finish up our second row of boulders across the top there. And those boulders, the second row of boulders, will also be part of our first falls that come down into the pond area.
2:22 A lot of times when we set big boulders in on top of the liner, we'll also put a piece of fabric on top of the liner, just in case there are any sharp pieces from that boulder that could puncture through the liner.
2:29 What we want to avoid is a rock below the liner and then a boulder sitting directly on top of the liner, because any movement will just pinch a hole real fast in that. So we try to avoid that.
2:46 So we'll start with strapping the boulder, and then we'll get it set in there. A lot of times, most of the time, we use an excavator.
2:52 In this case, we're going to use this guy. Kind of do like a little cradle. You try to snag at least two to four corners of the boulder.
3:02 And then when you pull it through, it'll cinch down on it. And ideally, you want it to be centered when the strap comes through.
3:15 That way, when the machine pulls it up, it'll kind of cinch it down on the boulder.
3:20 Just like that. Sometimes you have to readjust it, but you also want to be careful not to get the strap too far under the boulder, because if you do and you get it set in there, it's hard to get the strap back out. So we like to get it just on the edges, but make sure it's not going to slip out.
3:43 Just like that.
3:51 A lot of times we want to make sure we don't have any sharp rocks on the liner before you set the boulder down.
4:00 So we'll just spin it whatever direction we think will look best.
4:25 Then your straps, if you do it right, the straps should come out pretty easily.
4:32 Just like that. There you have it.
4:58 Setting around our BioFalls.
5:07 [Unclear] So, got our BioFalls set here. Two of them.
5:15 One coming from the big pond, one coming from our skimmer box.
5:23 So today, we got those liners sealed up against those, and then we're just going to set up our spill rocks here.
5:31 You can get some pretty cool action. Think about setting something back here that will drop down to a lower level and then rip around.
5:39 And then, yeah, I don't know, probably maybe do a couple falls out of that. But yeah, got our lights in here.
5:46 There's some Sterling guys down here.
5:50 Got a couple of them. Then the rest of them are Kichler underwater lights, a little bit smaller. I'll have lights in all these tall falls.
5:58 We got some pretty good drops on these. I think we're pushing 30 inches of drop.
6:07 And then these falls up there. So yesterday, James got some of this creek work done.
6:12 [Unclear] set a boulder in here. It's looking good. Come back out to the big pond.
6:36 Everybody in this community that has seen the finished product has been excited about it.
6:51 Cable Brothers have done their homework.
6:55 They've studied, and they learn how to put a project together, do it the right way.
7:09 You don't have to look over their shoulder. They're going to get the project done. They're going to do it right.
The sound of water and sight of fish creates instant calm and tranquility.
A well-designed pond significantly increases curb appeal and home value.
Attract birds, butterflies, frogs, and beneficial insects to your yard.
Your pond becomes the heart of outdoor family time and entertaining.
Ecosystem design means minimal upkeep once the balance is established.
Enjoy changing seasons reflected in your living water garden.
We'll design your ecosystem pond to align with how you want to enjoy your outdoor space. Large or small, by the patio or further away, fish or no fish — we listen to your vision first, then put together what is possible.
Professional excavation and installation of protective underlayment.
Skimmer, BioFalls, pump or pumps, water clarity controls, and the key components that help keep your pond moving and healthy.
Natural stone placement, aquatic plants, and landscape finish.
Not much when built right. A properly designed ecosystem pond is largely self-sustaining. Typical upkeep includes emptying the skimmer basket weekly, adding beneficial bacteria treatments periodically, and scheduling one annual spring cleanout , and possibly a fall shut-down and netting. The goal is to spend time enjoying their pond, not maintaining it.
Absolutely! Koi and goldfish are integral to a healthy ecosystem pond. They control algae, eat mosquito larvae, add movement and color, and complete the natural balance. Once your pond is established, fish are incredibly low-maintenance.
You can keep it running or shut it down—both work. If running, you’ll enjoy stunning ice formations. If shut down, we’ll winterize it properly. Your fish will be fine either way—they go dormant in cold water and survive under the ice as long as the pond is at least 2 feet deep, and a hole is maintained in the ice for oxygen (typically done with a heater for pond ice).
Most residential ecosystem ponds take 3-7 days to install, depending on size and complexity. Larger estate ponds with extensive streams and waterfalls can take 2-3 weeks. We’ll provide a detailed timeline during your consultation.
With thoughtful design, water features can be enjoyed by families with children and pets. We can incorporate shallow beach edges, rock shelves for easy exit, and natural plant barriers that add a layer of protection without compromising aesthetics. We’re happy to design with your specific needs in mind, though as with any water environment, supervision and safety remain the responsibility of the adults present.
