Why You’ll Love The Aquascape Ion-Gen System For Your Pond

A New Device That Can Help Lower The Maintenance For Your Maryland, DC, OR Northern Virginia Pond

Algae breathe at night. During the day it produces oxygen, but at night it takes in oxygen and produces carbon dioxide. Pretty cool, right?

Too bad it doesn’t look that good:

Algae can easily overtake your pond if it isn’t controlled properly, throwing off the pond’s ecosystem.

Back in the day, it took a good amount of work to maintain a pond. Now, it’s a simple installation. There’s a system that can manage your pond for you extremely well.

You can download our ultimate guide to spring pond cleaning to learn more >>

What’s this amazing device?!

Aquascape Ion-Gen System

This electronic device can reduce yearly pond maintenance costs, allowing you to spend your time relaxing next to your water feature instead of maintaining it! It effectively kills algae without using traditional liquid chemicals. How?

How Does It Work?

It uses metal ions. It’s designed with a microprocessor that sends a signal to probe that makes ions. The probe shoots copper and silver ions into the water which control algae. No, these metal ions can’t increase the value of the pond. Wish it would.

It can be set to different levels depending on the pond size or the extent of the algae problem.

The Ion-Gen’s compatible with water containing fish and plants. Aquatic plants absorb excess copper, so having a good amount of them is a solid idea. The device is also energy efficient, costing less than $1 per month in electrical costs.

The end result’s about an 80% difference in visible algae! So how does one get installed?

Typical Installation Methods

In a Skimmer –our personal preference as to the best and most effective location. It’s easy to check on and in constant contact with moving water, the perfect combination. It’s generally tied to the check valve plumbing and hung a few inches below water level.
The copper bars on the probe will have a light green crust form on it. Scrape this off to keep the Ion-Gen working properly.

In the Plumbing Line – the next best place. A threaded probe fitting is screwed into a fitting that attaches to the plumbing line. Water also flows through here, making it a good place for the probe.
The downside: The setup is difficult and makes servicing it more work. Servicing it involves shutting down the system and disconnecting the probe.
Other Locations – you can put the probe in any other place in the water with good circulation. Streams, waterfalls, and in the waterfall unit are good places. If the location you choose is visible, take a few small rocks and hide the probe.

Now you just need to know the settings.

Ion-Gen Settings

Ludicrous speed, GO! Actually, please don’t put the Ion-Gen on the highest setting at first. Average-sized ponds work well on lower settings in the 1-3 range, but bigger ponds generally need a higher setting. For smaller ponds, start out at 1 or 2. If algae continue forming, increase the number bit by bit.

The higher the setting, the faster the probe will run out. Most last about 2 seasons and it’s a good idea to fully clean your water feature before installation or replacement. You’ll get better results if the pond has no algae in it at first.

So what about winter?

Winter Settings

Shut it down. The aquatic plants go dormant and won’t extract the copper/silver from the water. If you choose to run it, set it down to 1. Having too much copper or silver in the water isn’t ideal.