Aquascape AquaBlox Large Pallet Review: Contractor Quantity

Fifty two water matrix blocks, which is far more than one backyard waterfall needs.

The verdict: Buy it if you are building several pondless waterfalls or one large commercial feature and want the per-unit price a pallet gives. Skip it if you are building one backyard waterfall, because a typical residential reservoir needs a handful of blocks rather than 52 and you will be storing the rest for years.

Specifications

Specifications above come from Aquascape's published product specifications. Treat pricing as approximate, since Amazon pricing moves.

What it does well

• Water matrix blocks store far more water per cubic foot of excavation than gravel does, which is the whole reason they exist.
• They are load bearing, so boulders and stone can sit on top of the reservoir rather than beside it.
• A block reservoir is far easier to service than a gravel-filled basin, because the pump vault sits in open water rather than buried in stone.
• Buying by the pallet is the cheapest way to get them per unit.
• Aquascape's water feature components are the most widely stocked in the trade, so replacements and matching parts are easy to find.

Where it falls short

• Fifty two units is a contractor quantity. A typical backyard pondless waterfall reservoir uses a small fraction of that, so most homeowners are buying a pallet to use a tenth of it.
• It is a pallet. Freight delivery, a place to unload it and somewhere dry to keep the remainder are all real logistics rather than details.
• Blocks alone do not build a feature. You still need liner, underlayment, a pump, a spillway, tubing and stone, and those add up to more than the blocks.
• A pondless reservoir holds no fish. If you want koi, this is not the product you are shopping for.
• Reservoir volume is the thing that decides how often you top up in summer, and getting that number wrong is the most common pondless design mistake.

What owners report

Contractors consistently report that block reservoirs cut excavation time and stone cost enough to justify themselves, and that the design mistake they see most often is a reservoir sized by eye rather than by calculation. Homeowners who bought bulk report the blocks themselves are exactly as described and that storing the surplus was the unexpected part. Nobody reports failures under load, which is the specification that matters.

Before you buy anything for a pondless build, size the reservoir with the pondless waterfall calculator, because the number of blocks follows from the volume rather than the other way round. If you are still deciding what kind of feature to build, koi pond vs water garden is the right first read, and waterfall spillway vs fountain covers the feature style.

Who it suits

• Landscape contractors building multiple water features a season.
• Large pondless or wetland filtration projects.
• Anyone who has already sized a reservoir and knows they need blocks in quantity.
• Builders who want a serviceable pump vault rather than a gravel-buried pump.

Who should skip it

• Single backyard waterfalls, which need a handful of blocks and not a pallet.
• Anyone who wants fish, since a pondless reservoir holds none.
• Buyers without freight access or dry storage for the surplus.

Alternatives worth considering

Keep reading

• Koi pond vs water garden
• Waterfall spillway vs fountain
• Pondless waterfall calculator
• Best pondless waterfall kits
• Savio Pond Free 6100 review
• Atlantic SP3800 FastFall review

This review draws on published specifications, manufacturer figures and the consensus of verified owner reviews. We have not tested this product ourselves, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.