pics taken this morning

[w00005414]

The pictures are not physically on the gardenpondforum web site. I took the photos using my cell phone then emailed them to myself. I then took the photos and put them on a web site I have access to and linked to them there from within the post using the full address to each image. I think that is how you get past the size limitation on this web site :icon_mrgreen:

 

[Smirf1405]

Very,very nice pond!!!
w00005414

Just a few questions about it:With what did you build the river and pond?
How did you get the stones,that's around the pond,to be just above the water like that?
What pump are you using and what is the name of the plant that's planted where the waterfall and the pond meat each other?

One of the most Beutiful ponds i have ever seen
Thanks

 

[w00005414]

I think the plant that is located in the rocks right where the water fall meets the water is called Star Sedum. A neighbor had given me just a few strings of it a few years ago and it did a great job of filling in the areas.

When I first built the water fall I did lose some water but I was able to figure out what was wrong. Here is how I did it (might not be the best way but it worked for me).

To the left and right sides of the water fall spout I dug 2 small trenches and lined them with cinder blocks along the path of the river. The cinderblocks ended up sitting about 7 inches or so above the ground and I cemented them in place.

I then put the liner in place over the cinder blocks and up against the face of the waterfall so it would be completely watertight. I had to use a strip of double sided liner tape to connect that top liner to the liner in the pond (with the liner from the waterfall overlapping the pond liner). One thing to note about that top waterfall liner. I kept it over lapping the sides by probably a foot at the top and even wider as you go down the waterfall to account for splashing.

I then put a flag stone at the very peak of the water fall to make sure the water had a level area to roll off of.

I then tested the waterfall and found the places where the water would squirt out and off the liner. What it mostly came down to was using the black waterfall expanding foam and a lot of river rocks at the top to guide the water to the flag stone. I remember having to mark areas where the water would travel to aggressively against the sides of the river area at top and I would shut down the waterfall, let the water drain out of that area, then use the black expanding foam or mortar and plop some more rocks in place to keep the water in check. I also filled in the top area with a bunch of pea gravel so you can't see the liner in the river area at the top.

I used a Atlantic FilterFalls 1500 biological/mechanical filter and connected to that I have a Laguna Max Flo 4200 inside the pond feeding the waterfall.

The MaxFlo is new, I used a Little Giant for the first 4 years I had the pond but it clogged a lot and used a lot more electricity. The Max Flo probably isn't as well built but it was less expensive, has a cage surrounding it which kind of helps from having the pump clog up, and it has a nice release button you can press to pop the pump right off the piping.

I have noticed that the MaxFlo can get pretty clogged with string algae. I never had an issue with it before because I used to keep 2/3 of the pond covered with water hyacinths but my koi are big now and just eat the water hyacinth roots and keep them from growing. I just bought some floating nets from Dr. Fosters and Smith and ordered some water hyacinths so hopefully that will keep the koi from eating them and allow the water hyacinths to replicate and cover more surface area (and keep the string algae in check).

 

[Smirf1405]

Thanks a lot.You gave me a clear view of what you did

 

[Robyn]

Ok... where does one find "black waterfall expanding foam"? Is it actually marketed as such? I would like some!

And do keep us informed as to whether the Foster&Smith plant nets work. I was thinking of getting (or making) some myself! Someone mentioned that the koi may jump into them and get stuck and hurt or die. My guys are about 18"-24" as well... so I need to figure out some was to protect the plants a bit AND shade the pond (so just putting the plants in the holding tank on top the waterfalls or such would not serve the full purpose of why i want plants!)

 

[w00005414]

Very,very nice pond!!!
w00005414

How did you get the stones,that's around the pond,to be just above the water like that?

Forgot to answer this question. When I first built the pond I did not have any rocks lining the sides, just the rocks that made up the waterfall (stacked from the bottom up), and I had the perimeter tumbled stepping stones mortared together.

I did 'not' have the edge leveled which really bothered me after the pond was established, underneath the perimeter stepping stones you could see various heights of the black liner sticking out.

To make it look more natural, I caught the fish, put them in an aquarium (they were small enough then) and I drained the pond and went to a landscaping center and purchased piles of large rocks and medium sized rocks. The large rocks averaged about 2 feet x 2 feet x 2 feet, they were just large enough to be tough to move so I would roll them to the edge of the pond and my neighbor was nice enough to help me get them into place at the bottom of the pond along the outer edge. I then worked my way up making basically an interior dry stacked rock wall using smaller rocks at the top until I reached the top perimeter stepping stones. Some of those smaller and medium sized rocks are the ones you see peaking out of the top.

It is also useful for the fish, they have a lot of small nooks and crannies in and behind the rock walls where they can hide. I remember reading that you shouldn't have a lot of sharp edges because the koi might hurt themselves but mine haven't had this issue that I have seen.

One problem with this design is it gives big scary water snakes a place to hide to come out and scare the crap out of you.

 

[w00005414]

This web site sells it, here is a link

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9232

or if you go to amazon's web site and search for "waterfall foam" you will find a bunch of different products. Just note, this stuff expands like crazy so use less than you think to begin with or you'll be fighting off the excess. :icon_smile:

 

[Robyn]

I never thought to look in the PLUMBING section of F&S! Thank you!

 

[koiguy1969]

black waterfall foam can be found at any pond supply,Lowes, Home Depot, etc...

 

[Smirf1405]

Thank you very much again.Still wanted to say,that i figured it out how you did it
Must be really scary when see the snakes face to face Had a small moll snake in my pond,when i build it.He was right in the pond,and was a struggle to get him out!

Will be posting my second pond soon,with a few ideas that i will be stealing from your pond no offence,but your pond is just so beautiful.Anyway,there will be a river flowing from my first pond,to the new one.Going to be quite a long river,will have to plan it carefully

 

[y2kdejesus]

Awesome job, I hope my pond turns out half as nice.

 

[Gardening]

All are awesome and beautiful pictures. Especially the first picture. You built this in your house and how you change the water for the pond?

 

[Airic]

Yes, very well done. I notice looking at different waterfalls it looks so much more natural when using various size stones as you have done. I hope I can get a similar type look as you have done here.