Disappearing waterwall - how big of a reservoir

[CTJudy]

Hi,
I would like to try and build a disappearing waterfall instead of a pond. (I've had a pond in the past and I can't handle a pond anymore but miss the sound of the waterfall). I'd like to give a try to a disappearing waterfall. I don't want to spend the money for a "kit" as I have most of what I need to build it already (pump most of all). Someone suggested instead of digging a hole and shoring it up with timber and rebar (A lot of work that I'm not sure how to do).....they suggested putting in a heavy duty plastic tub underground to serve as my reservoir. I really like this idea...but really am not sure how big (in gallons) should I get for the reservoir. I only intend to have the waterfall be about 3 feet tall and two feet wide. Can anyone help me out on what size tub I would need for my reservoir? Any other tips? Thanks a lot in advance for your help. If anyone has build one....I'd love to see your pictures to help me out.

Judy

 

[koiguy1969]

i might suggest making one the following way.... use pond liner for one....dig your hole, and line it. giving it a nice flat level bottom. then use upside down milk crates to create the reservoir area in side the "Pond" hole... you may have to snip some of the grating on the milk crates to run your plumbing and / or pump if your using a submersable, the crates with create a nice cavity or open area for water, the more crates you use the bigger the reservoir.fill the catch basin hole, covering the milk crates with assorted sized rock and stones and your done... you can make the catch basin to have any shape and size you like. this will allow a more natural look. and the bigger basin means less topping off the water.
heres a diagram..albeit kind of crappy. but i think it gets the point across

 

[j.w]

Hey I don't have one but found these video's on the net that show you how to build one. You could improvise all the parts that they sell by using some other kind of plastic tub w/ a lid and make your own waterfall weir too out of a rubbermaid tub or similar type. Someone here made one of these pondless waterfalls so you might do a search and see if you can find it on this forum. The last video I posted is an extremely cool looking large one but just thought you might enjoy seeing it. Good luck on your build and hope others that have actually done one will be of help to you.

 

[koiguy1969]

i dont have one either...but ...i did build one with a freind...and what i showed is how we did it... its basically the way Aquascapes does it. but free milk crates instead of expensive "aquablocks" which are not much more than large milkcrates.....

 

[j.w]

I agree koiguy free is much better and think you could make one of those pondless ones really pretty easy w/ those milk crates. I noticed tho in the video's they try to keep the basin thingy pretty water tight except for maybe some small way to let the water back into the tub thing. Does it matter if the dirt or debris that falls into the crate area gets into the filter cuz thinking it will clog the pump eventually and how would you access the pump under there to clean it out easily in the crates?

 

[koiguy1969]

my freind and his wife have had their pondlees setup for 10 -12 years ...still going. i think they did replace a dead pump once.... but we put it in a crate near the edge. so it was easy to move a few stones and get to it. the right mix of stones and gravel should catch anything large enough to clog the pump. this wouldnt even be a concern with an external pump tho!

 

[herzausstahl]

Every time I saw them done in a book it always showed it similiar to koiguy's drawing but they had just a reservoir tub with holes in it surrounded by pea gravel and then the pump sat inside this. I always thought maybe you could make this using a drainage tile tub, not sure what they are called but I always see them out in the yard at home depot by the 4" drainage tile. not sure if it would be strong enough for this or not. If it was me, I would dig the hole, build up the waterfall area and then use one liner for the whole thing. I would just put the larger stones around the edges. I have never done one, but just a thought. ok, suppose I could watch the videos to see how they compare to my idea, ok yeah, that is how i saw it in all the books, and I wouldn't see why you couldn't just find something to make that on your own, just make sure the container you pick is stable, but koiguy's idea would work also. Like koiguy said, just make sure the pump is in a place that is easy to reach. as for how big a reservoir, enough to hold all the water when it is turned off. that way you can run it just when you want. well now I have the urge to build this somewhere! lol

 

[CTJudy]

Thanks for the great ideas. Everyone has great ideas...keep them coming!!! You are giving me LOTS to think about.... thanks again. I knew you all would have the answers!!!!

Judy

 

[j.w]

Didn't think of using an external pump koiguy! That would solve that problem for sure! How does your friend keep it clean koiguy,I mean from algae and such? Cuz if you put chemicals in and birds drink I would think that would not be good. Or maybe the hydrogen peroxide would work and not hurt critters that drink out of it?

Herz, this thread makes me want to build one also. Looks pretty simple for the most part!

 

[koiguy1969]

if you dig it deeper you can also stack the crates as well
jw...no fish..means you can even use pool chems...i think he keeps a high salt level in his and occassionaly uses a an algecide...

side note... i think we made his before aquablocks were even around . atleast before we knew anything about them....we were originally just use one crate to protect the pump from the weight of the stones. then we decided to add more just to save on the cost of all the rocks, at the time we werent thinking of the benefits. like,how much more water the system could hold with all that open area in the reservoir.

 

[j.w]

Found these old threads on pondless waterfalls:

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/top..._pondless waterfall__fromsearch__1#entry66850

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/top...l/page__hl__pondless+waterfall__fromsearch__1

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/top..._pondless waterfall__fromsearch__1#entry80613

 

[herzausstahl]

Would you have to worry about algae in the reservour if its in darkness? I would think it would just be string algae in the water course and then if you did have pea gravel covering the surface of the reservoir wouldn't that catch any large debris that washed down? looking for ideas incase i build a small version one day not any time soon as I still have to convince my wife to allow a second pond in the yard, but that might be a year at least away

 

[herzausstahl]

Didn't think of using an external pump koiguy! That would solve that problem for sure! How does your friend keep it clean koiguy,I mean from algae and such? Cuz if you put chemicals in and birds drink I would think that would not be good. Or maybe the hydrogen peroxide would work and not hurt critters that drink out of it?

Herz, this thread makes me want to build one also. Looks pretty simple for the most part!

I think you are just revisting an idea you already had JW, lol, I checked out the first link you posted on the subject and your first post in that was:
"
Posted 06 May 2011 - 06:30 PM
Wow that is really cool.........I may have to think about something like that one "

good to see that you haven't changed your mind on how cool they would be in a year, but possibly bad news for your husband if you have to convince him to let you have one