Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
1. What will grow on a BioHaven Wild Floating Island?
Answer: If the water in your pond is well aerated, almost any plant suitable for your planting zone will grow on a BioHaven. If your water is not well aerated, or if you are not sure, we recommend riparian plants that are naturally adapted to low oxygen conditions. Many nurseries have wetland plants available. A list of typical wetland plants for the mid-atlantic region is being developed and will be posted shortly.
2. How long will it take for my BioHaven to mature into a beautiful floating island?
Answer: No more than one season. In fact, many experienced gardeners report that their islands develop faster than conventional gardens. Our BioHavens also typically green up sooner in the spring and stay green longer in the fall due to the thermal effect of water.
3. Will ducks and geese or swans graze on my island’s plants? Will fish graze on plant roots that grow through the island?
Answer: A carefully designed planting strategy can either encourage or discourage grazing by waterfowl, and root grazing by certain fish species. With thoughtful plant selection BioHavens can assist you in stewardship of your waterway. You can use your island to lure waterfowl away from other sites, or to feed fish, or to provide more secure nest sites for swans, or you can select plants that are not conducive to waterfowl or fish. Check out the “more info” section of our website for details.
4. Can I purchase a developed BioHaven so I don’t have to wait for it to mature? Answer: Some nurseries will have developed BioHavens on hand and for sale. Please contact us if you would like more information on purchasing a developed island.
5. Can I move a BioHaven from one pond to another? Are there other ways to adjust BioHavens to achieve the waterscape I’m after?
Answer: Small BioHavens, up to about 25 square feet, are easily moved. Pull them onto a tarp on a fairly level shoreline, let them drain for an hour or so, and then carry them into the new location. If you are going to transport your wet island be sure to carefully cover the entire island to prevent plant desiccation. We also offer affordable joiner cables which can be used to attach an anchor to your island, or to attach additional BioHavens to each other to achieve a new waterscape effect.
6. Is it important or useful to anchor my BioHaven in one spot? If so, how are they anchored?
Answer: A disadvantage of leaving your BioHaven unanchored is that if your pond’s water level changes your island may hang up against a shoreline. We recommend positioning your island in an optimal spot by tying an anchor cord or rope to the single clip that comes with your BioHaven.
7. What do I do if a tree or some other large plant “volunteers” on my small BioHaven?
Answer: We recommend that you remove such plants from your island. Pruning them back aggressively should also work. On the other hand, a large BioHaven can support about two pounds of additional negative buoyancy per square foot. So in other words, a 250 square foot BioHaven can support up to 500 pounds of weight, which might include people, picnic tables, or some other waterscape option. We often use rocks on BioHavens as habitat features.
BioHavens can be made in any size, and can be customized to achieve higher levels of buoyancy if desired.
8. How does a BioHaven improve water quality?
Answer: Many bodies of water associated with agriculture or septic systems or storm water management or lawn and garden fertilizers carry an unnaturally high nutrient load. This can result in a wide range of serious water quality problems. BioHavens represent a holistic way to “mine” these problem causing nutrients out of your waterway and convert them into a beautiful and wildlife enhancing floating island habitat.
9. Will a BioHaven eliminate algae from my pond?
Answer: No. However, your BioHaven will help prevent algae from developing into a monoculture in your waterway by allowing plants and microbes to thrive and out compete algae for nutrients.
10. Will a BioHaven make my pond’s water clear?
Answer: BioHavens attract and bond suspended solids and colloidals into the island matrix where they will ultimately become soil and plants and beneficial microbes and gas. Some of these solids will also be sequestered into other life forms like damsel fly nymphs and fish. If you prefer to keep your BioHaven functioning optimally as a biofilter the island can be removed from your pond and the matrix rinsed off, which will keep the BioHaven’s orifices open and able to collect more of the suspended solids and other fines that reduce your water clarity. This can be done as often as once every two months.
11. Will a BioHaven ultimately grow and cover my entire pond?
Answer: Evidence from the wild, peat based floating islands we emulate indicates that while this is a possibility, it will take a long time. In some applications, like wetland restoration associated with Mississippi river delta, we hope to achieve high growth rates on very large floating islands. For most ponds however the quickest way to expand your floating island is to purchase another.
12. Must I inoculate my BioHaven with beneficial microbes for it to work at improving water quality?
Answer: No, your BioHaven will attract beneficial microbes that are most likely already present within your waterway. Your BioHaven will also provide water quality benefits as it filters suspended solids and colloidals from the water. However, your island is likely to be even more effective at competing with algae if you do dose it with beneficial microbes, for which our distributors are sources. To inoculate a BioHaven simply drop one of our water soluble half pound bags adjacent to the island’s edge, ideally on the upstream or windward side of the island, so the microbes filter into the island.
13. Are BioHavens safe?
Answer: Small BioHavens do not represent a safety issue that we know of. Larger ones could represent a boating hazard and we recommend that they be well marked so as to be visible under all conditions. Unless your BioHaven has been specially designed to support human activity, we recommend that you do not walk on them, or swim adjacent or underneath them. Roots that grow through BioHavens could represent a serious swimming or diving issue.
14. Do BioHavens attract mosquitoes?
Answer: No. However, BioHavens do attract fish and nymphs and other insects that consume mosquito larvae. Also, carnivorous plants that eat mosquitoes occur on wild floating islands and would no doubt be readily grown on BioHavens.
15. How long will a BioHaven last?
Answer: Your BioHaven is warrantied free of manufacturing defects for seven years. The oldest BioHavens have gone through many Montana winters and are doing just fine.
16. Can BioHavens be used as floating walkways to cross over my pond?
Answer: Yes, but such a BioHaven would need to be customized to support the specified loads. BioHavens can also be used as green docks or piers when built specifically for such purpose.
17. Can BioHavens help fight bank erosion? Will they prevent wave erosion?
Answer: A strategically positioned BioHaven can function as a breakwater. BioHavens will dampen wave action.
18. Will BioHavens flourish indoors?
Answer: Aquarium and rock garden scale BioHavens can survive indoors, and provide an interesting new option in such settings. Appropriate full spectrum lighting is required for optimal performance. Again, check out the “more info” setting on our website.
19. How long does it take to assemble and launch a large BioHaven….say a 250 square foot unit?
Answer: Two workers can assemble, launch and plant a 250 in less than three hours. No real assembly is required for the 25 square foot and smaller islands.
20. Can BioHavens help with removal of heavy metals or hazardous waste from a waterway?
Answer: Yes, and studies measuring their efficacy in this application are underway in Bozeman, Montana and Toronto, Canada . An additional study is being developed by a large research organization in New Zealand as well. While these studies are underway and data is not complete, we have measured significant uptake of suspended solids, which is a form heavy metals occasionally take, from waterways. We here at Floating Island International believe that BioHavens represent another water and ecosystem stewardship tool and we are truly excited about the part BioHavens can play in making our planet a better place for all forms of life!
21. Do I have to use the proprietary BioMix?
Answer: Yes, you must use BioMix for the warranty on your island to remain valid. BioMix has been specially designed to work with BioHavens. It keeps your island buoyant, while delivering appropriate moisture to the plant roots. Furthermore it will not leak out of the island matrix. Soil is not recommended as it may cause your island to sink.
22. How do I tend to the plants or weed my island?
Answer: In the event you want to weed your island – or tend your plants (for instance, to thin or prune them) – you can both wade out to the island and do it in place, or you can move the island onto shore. For the latter, it could make sense to tether the island to a point on the shore but alternatively you can use a pole (or similar) to gently pull a small island in.
23. How do I go about up-sizing my island?
Answer: You can either buy a bigger island, or join many smaller islands together with our specially designed cables and pins. BioHavens are available in sizes of up to 250 sq ft (and beyond for custom-built orders). The number of islands you can join together is limited only by the space you have available. Please contact us for more information on these options.
24. Can I fertilize my island?
Answer: Yes, but very, very carefully. In fact, it is usually best not to fertilize. After all, it is frequently nutrients, as in fertilizer, that cause water quality
problems in the first place. One of the reasons we recommend native species is because they normally do not require much pampering. If you must fertilize, use product that is designed for the wet conditions associated with our hydroponic setting, our “wet” setting. Normal fertilizer can break down too quickly and burn island plants, where a specifically designed wetland fertilizer is designed to release slowly. For perspective, wetlands are actually biofilters that incorporate large volumes of plant and microbial life, which typically compete aggressively, to sequester whatever nutrients filter through. Your BioHaven is designed to function the same way, and keeping its plant and microbial community hungry and searching for nutrients will result in a healthier waterway.
25. What comes in a BioHaven Wild Floating Island kit?
Answer: We sell 9 different models of BioHavens in kits. These include the island, an appropriate volume of our bedding mix which we call BioMix, and instructions that also will show you how BioHavens can be linked together to expand and vary waterscape options.
26. Can BioHavens be used to grow herbs or veggies or maybe fruit?
Answer: Yes. In fact, doing so can be a lot of fun. You also have the option of growing some really exotic succulents like watercress or wild ginger. Here at the Shepherd research facility we have tomato, raspberry, asparagus, watercress, wild ginger, American Speedwell, and Monkey flower growing on BioHavens of various sizes.
27. What time of year is best for launching a BioHaven?
Answer: BioHavens can be launched any time of year. In fact, placing them in position on top of an ice covered waterway is a method we have tested with success. Another effective approach is fall seeding of islands which positions them for nice green up the following spring. But as you might expect, launching an island in the spring or summer means that your island can green up and add to your waterscape quickly. BioHavens have also been launched with a sod covering, so they were immediately green, in Canada literally just a few days before ice up. All of these methods work. Incidentally, root growth on bluegrass sod covered islands, in a reasonably well aerated waterway, averaged slightly over one half inch per day during summer months. However, once roots grew through the island thickness and were accessible by fish the bluegrass sod roots were aggressively grazed. The bluegrass on the island flourished despite this grazing.