pondless waterfalls

[SC guy]

Anyone have experience with this topic

[San Diego Joe]

"SC guy" wrote:

> Anyone have experience with this topic
>
>

I saw one at a local pond store a while back. It was actually pretty neat
looking. The water just disappeared into gravel. I assume that under the
gravel will be a tub and pump.


San Diego Joe
4,000 - 5,000 Gallons.
Goldfish, a RES named Colombo and an Oscar.

"We need to make a sacrifice to the pond gods, find me a young virgin... oh,
and bring something to kill"

[Snooze]

"SC guy" > wrote in message
. ..
> Anyone have experience with this topic

They made one a while ago on one of those home restoration in under a week
type of shows. They put a small preformed pond in the ground, filled it with
gravel and ran the water fall into that with the pump buried in the gravel
somewhere.

My only concern is depending on hw it's designed, it might only work well
when new, in a few months or years it might be unfunctional.

Some things to consider.
1: algae and moss. Unless chlorine tablets are regularly used the water
feature would quickly turn into a green algae pit.
2: how do you clean it? moss/algae and dirt and leaves that build up in the
gravel over time.
3: routine maintenance? Clearing the pump intake? Replacing the pump?

-S

[San Diego Joe]

"Snooze" wrote:

> "SC guy" > wrote in message
> . ..
>> Anyone have experience with this topic
>
> They made one a while ago on one of those home restoration in under a week
> type of shows. They put a small preformed pond in the ground, filled it with
> gravel and ran the water fall into that with the pump buried in the gravel
> somewhere.
>
> My only concern is depending on hw it's designed, it might only work well
> when new, in a few months or years it might be unfunctional.
>
> Some things to consider.
> 1: algae and moss. Unless chlorine tablets are regularly used the water
> feature would quickly turn into a green algae pit.
Yes, that would be a must

> 2: how do you clean it? moss/algae and dirt and leaves that build up in the
> gravel over time.
> 3: routine maintenance? Clearing the pump intake? Replacing the pump?
The way I've seen them done is with some stones over heavy duty screening
placed over some concrete reinforcing. The layer of stones is only deep
enough to make it look real.


San Diego Joe
4,000 - 5,000 Gallons.
Goldfish, a RES named Colombo and an Oscar.

"We need to make a sacrifice to the pond gods, find me a young virgin... oh,
and bring something to kill"

[Mulligan]

"San Diego Joe" > wrote in message
...
> "Snooze" wrote:
>
> > "SC guy" > wrote in message
> > . ..
> >> Anyone have experience with this topic
> >
> > They made one a while ago on one of those home restoration in under a
week
> > type of shows. They put a small preformed pond in the ground, filled it
with
> > gravel and ran the water fall into that with the pump buried in the
gravel
> > somewhere.
> >
> > My only concern is depending on hw it's designed, it might only work
well
> > when new, in a few months or years it might be unfunctional.
> >
> > Some things to consider.
> > 1: algae and moss. Unless chlorine tablets are regularly used the water
> > feature would quickly turn into a green algae pit.
> Yes, that would be a must
>
> > 2: how do you clean it? moss/algae and dirt and leaves that build up in
the
> > gravel over time.
> > 3: routine maintenance? Clearing the pump intake? Replacing the pump?
> The way I've seen them done is with some stones over heavy duty screening
> placed over some concrete reinforcing. The layer of stones is only deep
> enough to make it look real.


I did one a few years ago and it worked great until this year I dismantled
it for a real pond.....I sunk a 20 preform and lined the outside with rocks
then placed a bbq grate over the top and covered with polished stone to hide
completely. I then added or reduced the water inside to adjust the noise
level. Works great!

Dave

[Gill Passman]

"SC guy" > wrote in message
. ..
> Anyone have experience with this topic
>
>
Yep...got one in the garden at the moment. Had mixed success with it as it
has some sort of leak.

Basically we have a reservoir at the bottom that contains the pump which
feeds up to the top. The reservoir is covered with a grid and then pebbles
on top of that. We went for a preformed waterfall and "naturalised" it with
rocks and pebbles. As we have a flat garden we had to construct a raised
area for it to sit on. Problem is I don't think we compacted the soil
enough - hence the leak once it all settled. I've tried remedial work but it
has only been partially successful. So the first lesson I learnt is make
sure that the soil is settled and also lining underneath and at the sides
would have been a good idea - this was my remedial work. The second lesson
is to check for leaks before doing the rest of the landscaping around it -
there are some very heavy bolders that I can't move...hence my attempts at
lining it post installation were only partially sucessful/

Generally the water can get a little stagnant as we don't have the pump on
all the time. However, this improves after about 30 mins of running it and
topping it up with tap water, which because of the leak we need to do a bit
more frequently than we would like when running it for any length of time -
somehow having a hosepipe straggling across the garden detracts from the
overall effect - lol

In theory it is a nice idea, and ours does look great when we have it
running but it will be coming out as this is where the planned pond will be.
Although it would be far better if the waterfall was at a higher level than
it currently is. Might try another one on the opposite side of the garden
were we do have an established raised area.

Where are you planning on siting the waterfall? Is it on an established
raised area? If not, make sure that you check for leaks and line it well!!!
JME

Gill