Building a Low-Maintenance Water Garden, Without the Pond- Introducing the Pond-Less Waterfall

!±8± Building a Low-Maintenance Water Garden, Without the Pond- Introducing the Pond-Less Waterfall

For those of you who want to have a professional backyard pond but don't want to have to worry about maintaining a large body of water, a pond-less waterfall is the solution for you. Without the pond, you don't have to worry about algae control, water filtration, and keeping animals and young children away from your body of water. Instead, you can create the relaxing, and soothing sound of falling water, while leaving your neighbours baffled as to how water can literally fall from nowhere.

The trick behind building a pond-less waterfall lies in the pump vault. The pump vault is a construction which houses your pump, and helps to collect the water from the waterfall. Before embarking on this project, however, you will need an adequately sized liner. The duty of EPDM liner is to keep the water contained within your "pond", in order to prevent water loss. The liner must be sufficiently large to contain the entire pump vault, and to be laid out all the way from the pump vault to the top of the waterfall. Both the pump vault and the liner is usually obtained as part of a pondless waterfall kit (which would also include the pump and biological waterfall filter), such as the one offered by Algreen Products.

After a liner is obtained, a hole for the pump vault must be dug. A 5' x 5' x 2' hole should suffice for most pump vaults. Next, the waterfall must be built up by creating a mound of dirt and rocks. The top of the mound should have space for a biological waterfall filter, which would not only filter the water, but also release the water unto the top of the waterfall from its lip. Liner can now be lain out, starting from the pump vault hole, all the way up to the top of the waterfall, where the biological waterfall resides.

The final step of the installation procedure is to insert the pump into the pump value, connect the pump to the biological waterfall filter, and to close the lid on top of the pond vault. Now you can fill the area surrounding the pump vault with pebbles. With the addition of the pebbles, it will seem like the water from the waterfall is falling directly into the ground!

Building a Low-Maintenance Water Garden, Without the Pond- Introducing the Pond-Less Waterfall

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Easy Pond and Water Garden Construction

!±8± Easy Pond and Water Garden Construction

Today's successful water garden usually is designed as an ecosystem that uses a balance between fish, plants and bacteria keeping the water clear. The type of pond I'm talking about is self-contained (not fed by a spring or stream) and between 100-900 sq ft; a backyard water garden that is easy to maintain and adds value to your lifestyle and property. 20 years ago the typical do-it-yourself water garden was a muck-filled cesspool waiting to happen, while the successful koi pond required deep water and unattractive out of the pond filtering equipment. Thanks to a better understanding of the pond ecosystem and some equipment ideas borrowed from the pool equipment industry, anyone with the ability to dig, make things level, and move rocks and dirt around can create a beautiful living water garden if they use proven equipment and methods.

Now I will admit that there are other ways that can work; But none of the other pond construction methods have the successful track record I've seen with pond installs using this system.

The basic elements for this system are underlayment, liner, rocks and gravel, skimmer, fill valve, pump, plumbing, biological filtration, plants, fish, and bacteria.

Here's a simplified explanation of how this works as an ecosystem. Fish eat insects and plants and then the fish waste spreads through the system . The skimmer draws water off the top layer of the pond helping with circulation and aeration while trapping floating debris in a net. The pump is situated under the net in the skimmer and pumps up to a bio-filter. The bio-filter is often designed to be incorporated into a waterfall. The water enters the bio filter and rises up through filter media that is colonized by bacteria. The bacteria converts the waste into forms less harmful to the fish and less conducive to excessive algae growth. The waterfall or stream add more aeration that the bacteria and fish need. The plants uptake more of the nitrogen and some oxygenate the water. The rocks and gravel provide more area for bacteria and protect the liner from UV rays.

Sheesh! Every time I set out to give a simple explanation of a pond ecosystem it still takes 10 sentences. Suffice it to say that all the parts work together to make your pondkeeping easy!

I use the word easy as a relative term. Compared to the work and rebuilding you may experience with other methods this is the easiest way I know. But there is still a a lot of work in ponds. Of course you have to dig a hole shape and move it to the ground and some heavy objects around. A well-trained crew, with everything needed locally can install a pond in a day. It may take a few weekends for a house to do their work, according to their abilities, time and conditions.

Some important points:

Dimensions: And 'best if there is at least 6 m wide. Bigger is better. 16 x 11 is a good medium size. Generally people do not regret making theLarger pond when they are finished with their first.

Location: There is a tendency to pond in a place where water collects in the yard already taken. This is not always the best idea. Groundwater running into the pond can lead to problems. If possible, bring up near the terrace, where you can fish and enjoy the water all day.

Electrical and plumbing: Overlook not need to maintain a GFI outlet near the pump and a water source to the pond edges. Most of the kitssome reason don't include a fill valve, but it really is important since on a windy day a pond can easily lose an inch of water. Left unattended this can lead to the pump running dry in the skimmer for a long period causing possible damage. The ponds level of course won't drop below the skimmer opening.

Lets go over the basic steps for installing this type of pond system.

Decide the size of the pond and order a kit with all the necessary components. Layout the shape of the pond with something like a garden hose. Leave it out there for a while, move it, think about where the falls and different plants will be. If you are building a stream do the layout for it too. Level ground isn't a problem since you will be excavating enough soil to buildup around your waterfall filter. Paint an outline with orange marking spray paint.

Make arrangements for getting the variety of rock and gravel you will be using.

Position your skimmer and BioFilter. The skimmer should be on the opposite side from the falls or stream to create circulation. Then lay the flexible PVC, or kink-free pipe between the skimmer and waterfall filter. This is so it can be covered during excavation instead of trenching it in.

Establish a firm compacted and level base for the Waterfall filter, perhaps leaning slightly forward, depending on it's design. If you have help they can be working on digging the pond while you get this right, or vice versa.

Hook up the plumbing to the filter and backfill around it. It's a good idea to have someone stand in the filter while it is being backfilled to prevent it from shifting out of position on the base.

Examine any slope of the land and establish where the water level will be; usually a couple inches below grade. Finish digging the pond relative to the water level. A rotating laser level is the ultimate tool for this, though they are expensive to rent. Patiently checking string levels in all directions can get the job done also. Include shelves for marginal plants and keep the sides and shelves level. The deep part of the pond should be around 2 ft or a little less. Any deeper and most towns swimming pool codes kick in with fence requirements. Unless you intend to keep a great number of koi this will be plenty deep for your fish. Planting pockets for water lilies can also be dug now. These pockets create a plantable depression in you liner for later. You can either plant directly in these pockets or hide your planters in them covering with gravel creating a more natural looking pond.

Excavate the position for the skimmer so it will be on a firm level base that gets it into correct position relative to the water level. Recheck everything. All the measurements and levels. Make sure the pond is free of sharp objects and unfold the underlayment into it. Start in the deep area pushing the underlayment into all the shelves and pockets. The EPDM rubber liner is then installed in the same way, making sure that it extends far past the waterline (settling will occur) and above the openings on your skimmer, filter, stream etc.

Add rock and gravel. Pre-washing the stones can help with a clean install or you can hose them down in the pond while pumping out the dirty water. Use larger stones at the base of each wall that forms a shelf, building up with smaller ones. Cover flat areas with 1"-2" gravel...absolutely no more than that. If you have extra gravel don't be tempted to just use more in the bottom of your pond. This is for biological reasons I won't go into now. The rock should have your liner pretty well pulled into position now so you can make final adjustments on your skimmer and attach the liner to it according to the manufacturers instructions.

Start filling the pond. Now the fun of building the waterfall and stream. Make sure you have plenty of slack running up to the falls opening before you attach it and make any cuts. Also take care to avoid folds in the liner as you twist downstream. Folds in the stream liner are a common source of leaks and why a very wide liner for a stream is recommended. Dry stack stones as in a wall up the front of the waterfall filter. Using black waterfall foam or some other type of expanding foam to seal the space between the rocks. This makes the water flow over the rocks instead of disappearing into the cracks between. Black waterfall foam is nice for blending in with the rocks. The basic outline of the stream should have been established with excavated soil from the pond, but some digging of different catch pools may be necessary and you may need to build up more of a berm at the waterfall. Rock in the sides of the stream and cover the bottom with gravel as in the pond. Use the waterfall foam to seal in rocks wherever a cascading effect is wanted, using flat rock to form the lip of falls and sealing under them.

Install the pump, install the overflow plumbing and fill valve in the skimmer. When water level is high enough and all the waterfall foam is dry, (you can assume your hands will be covered with the stuff, but try to avoid it because it is very difficult to clean off!) try out the pump. You will then need to refill the pond as it will take a large volume of water to fill the plumbing, falls and stream. Once you are happy everything is as it should be, cut the excess liner away. Leave several inches of liner for settling and possible adjustments.

There are plenty more nuances to building a pond but this should give you a decent feel for what a water garden project entails. The kits we sell include a decent installation manual and I'm happy to answer any questions as are many other pond enthusiasts.

Easy Pond and Water Garden Construction

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Pondless Waterfalls - Why Pondless?

!±8± Pondless Waterfalls - Why Pondless?

Who was the first built pondless waterfall? If I hazard a guess, God did. What exactly is a waterfall pondless?

Pondless Waterfall is a waterfall that disappears from the rocks, picking out of sight somewhere. In nature, perhaps the water creeps in an underground pit, or groundwater, or even a stream or an underground river.

With increasingly stringent building codes throughout the country there are more rules in relation to the depth of a pond imposedespecially in light of the increasing number of deaths by drowning. Therefore, the construction of the pond in many public roads is limited.

Another aspect to consider is vandalism: pranksters throw objects into the water as bubbles and foam is created, sometimes people just throw waste in the water. All this makes it more attractive pondless waterfalls.

A pondless waterfall is the answer to many problems in our world of diversity. No pool, no maintenance! Another positive benefitpondless waterfall is the money that is saved. If you do not need a pond, less material and labor costs in construction.

At the base of the waterfall is a melting pot. The width of the pelvis is usually slightly larger than the waterfall. The breadth and depth of the pool determines the amount of available water capacity. The higher the pondless waterfall, the greater the pool must be.

If the tank is too small when the pump starts pumping water to the topto fall before cascading down in the tub nearly empty. With a large swimming pool, the difference between the amount of water is pumped from the tank and minimizes the water again. This eliminates the possibility that the water drained into the basin before an opportunity came up at the bottom.

In preparing their pondless waterfalls, take a lot of tin coating to pump installers in the bottom of the pool, and then fill the basin through the accumulation of rocks aroundand on top of the pump. The main problem with this method is lazy, if the sump pump gets dirty with debris or simply worn out, all dirty, slimy rocks to remove the pump for service.

If you build the shell of the pondless waterfall and pool of cement, then you can drain into the basin and provide an above ground pump. This is 40% to 50% energy efficient and have a 3 year warranty, instead of just 2 ½ years ago, when most of the swampPumps.

In addition, for ease in cleaning a bar around the perimeter of the pool with galvanized mesh or plastic formed to fill the top of the pool easier. These networks are then covered with a single layer of rocks to hide them. Then, when it comes time to clean the pool, it only takes a few minutes to remove the layer of rocks and bars.

With this type of concrete construction, will keep the pool a larger amount of water because it is full ofso many rocks, not the pond liner boys. It also provides a space for the installation of the pondless waterfall pools, an electronic automatic water leveler Aquafill. This is necessary because there is no way of knowing if the tank filled (burning the pump due to lack of water).

Pondless Waterfalls - Why Pondless?

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