Fountains & Waterfalls

Water Features Add More than Just Points of Interest.
Flowing water enhances your pond's appeal with pleasing sounds and fluid motion. Moreover, fountains and waterfalls add oxygen to the water, which is important to the health of your fish and to the proper functioning of the biological filter in your pond. But whether you choose to run a fountain, or simply to circulate water through your filter, selecting the correct water pump is crucial for successful pondkeeping.
The size of the water pump you select will depend on what you wish to accomplish. The water pump should be at least large enough to circulate the entire pond volume at least once every two hours. For example, a 700-gallon pond will need a 350-gallon-per-hour pump. Consideration must also be given to the difference in height between the pond's water level and the highest point to which the water must travel. If you wish to run a stream or waterfall, you will likely need to use a more powerful water pump.
The pre-filter is an all-important component of the water pump. It protects your pump from leaves and other debris that can damage its internal parts. It is best to position your pump in the pond so that it is slightly elevated from the bottom; this helps prevent clogging. Also, place your pump as far as possible from your waterfall or filter to help ensure that the entire pond is re-circulated through the filter.

There are a number of ways to make waterfalls. Here are our suggestions.

Stage 1 - Placement of pump
Secure flexible tubing to the outlet of pump using a stainless steel hose clamp. Submerse at the furthest point from the waterfall. Route the tubing over side of pond (can be hidden under perimeter stones). Make sure the stone does not pinch the tubing, and avoid sharp bends in the tubing so it does not kink and reduce flow.

Stage 2 - Tubing
Route the tubing to the waterfall. Bury under soil.

Stage 3 - Building waterfall pond
Use displaced soil from pond to build an elevated area for waterfall. Consider making a small auxiliary pond in this mound. Position the spillway to flow into main pond. Build the small pond using the same techniques and liner as the main pond.

Two layers of liner are recommended for this pond. The first one contains the water. The second liner channels the water towards the fall. Important! Be sure the liner drapes underneath the waterfall spillway stones - otherwise you will experience water loss when the waterfall is in operation.

You may need to use liner seam tape in this stage.

Stage 4 - Building spillway
Once the spillway liner is in place - you will want to pump water up to the auxiliary pond and watch it flow down the liner spillway. (at this stage - your pond should be full of water).

Carefully select stones and position them - while the water is flowing over them. With the water flowing over the rock, you may replace, shift and add stones so you achieve the desired water spills you desire.

Place plant moss and small plants between the stones around the waterfall to achieve a natural look.

Note: The discharge from the filters can be routed to the waterfall pond or into the water stream. Because the water flows by gravity out the bottom of most of the filters, it must be positioned higher than the waterfall. If this is difficult to achieve, consider a "Y" or "T" connector in your tubing or use a pump diverter, with some water being diverted to the filter and some to the waterfall. You may also want to use two separate pumps, one for the waterfall and one for the filter. Other filters such as pressurized filters can be placed anywhere and allow water to be pushed through them up to the falls.

Other Samples