2. Myth: You should never have algae in your pond.
FACT: Green algae, in proper proportion, is beneficial to plant life. Fish eat it and its part of the ecology of any living, healthy pond. Too much algae has two simple causes: too much accessible nutrition and too much sunlight. That’s why a well-designed pond includes plenty of aquatic plants to compete for the available nutrition and shade from trees and aquatic plants. 

3. Myth: Maintaining a water garden is a constant headache.
FACT: Ecologically balanced water gardens let mother nature do the heavy lifting.
Make sure the water garden you install works with mother nature, not against her. Including mechanical and biological filtration, lots of aquatic plants, fish, active bacteria, and plenty of rocks turn a  high maintenance headache into an enjoyable water garden experience.

4. Myth: Ponds need daily water testing and corrective treatment.
FACT: If the pond is not chemically dependent, theres nothing to test for. Mother nature never tests her water, and she doesn’t use any store bought chemicals or pharmaceuticals. Neither should you.

5. Myth: To keep fish, water gardens need to be deep.
FACT: Two feet deep is as good as a mile. Fish, including koi, hibernate in ponds just two-feet deep through winter as cold as Minnesota’s zone 4 bone chillers.
A small, circulating pump and pond heater are all you need to keep a ‘breathing hole’ in the ice and oxy-generate the water for your fish.

6. Myth: Water features are breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
FACT: Mosquitoes breed in still, standing water. A well-designed backyard garden has moving water, in which mosquitoes don’t like to breed. If you still think mosquitoes will be a problem in your pond you can always try Nurserys Pro’s Pre-Strike, which is a natural bacteria designed to help minimize mosquito larvae.

7. Myth: Water gardening involves a lot of. hard work.
FACT: Not necessarily. A well- designed, ecologically-balanced pond is about as much work as maintaining an established perennial border, minus the weeding and watering. Aquatic plants water themselves. A five-minute, weekly cleaning of the filter and an occasional addition of AquaClearerTM, Clear Away, or EcoSystemsTM Barley Pellets, along with an annual spring clean-out are all that you'll need to worry about.  

8. Myth: A water garden costs a Fortune.
FACT: A water garden is certainly an investment, but it no longer has to be a bottomless money pit. At the most affordable end of the spectrum, Do-lt- Yourself kits with everything you need retail for under $1000, plus another $600 for what doesn't come in the pond kit (rocks, pebbles, fish, and plants). Inexpensive fish and plants are easily found. Running a high efficiency pump 24 /7 , 365 days a year, will tack about $25 to $40 onto your monthly electric bill.

9. Myth: Predators will eat all your fish.
FACT: Predators are out there, but there are things you can do to protect your fish. An inexpensive, motion-activated water spraying system like a Scarecrow, will deter heron with a timely jet of water. You can also use a Heron or Alligator Decoy and, if all else fails, you can spread a protective, Pond Netting over the water, which will eliminate Mr. Heron from your pond completely. Muskrats prefer to hunt in large bodies of water, and raccoons don’t care to swim for supper. A pond that’s at least eight feet wide will deprive these varmints of dry access to the deepest part of the water garden.

10. Myth: any contractor or landscaper can build a water garden.
FACT: Building a pond and building it right are two different things. Building ponds is a relatively new specialty. A good landscaper isn't necessarily knowledgeable in the concept, design, or construction that makes an organic water  garden system work. Also, much of the literature and information still in circulation is outdated and doesn't include information on ecosystem water gardening. Make sure that you hire a trained and experienced water garden installer.

Pond Myth Information provided by Aquascape Designs, The Pond Bible