Russell Water gardens - thoughts on their Pondless kits?

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Hello all!
First time poster & newbie to pond stuff - please be gentle! haha
I'm looking to make a pondless waterfall & stream through my flower garden. I've been looking at the Aquascape kits, however I found the Russell Water Gardens site and they have a different type of system - which to me (don't forget: a newbie!) seems like it might be... better? Does anyone have experience with these "Ultimate" kits? https://russellwatergardens.com/pages/dolphin-series-ultimate-large-pondless-waterfall-kits
I was surprised when I couldn't find any mention about it in this forum. Although maybe I'm not looking hard enough.
Basically it eliminates the need for the Aquablocks & liner surrounding it (other than liner in the stream itself) and also has an easily accessible pre-filter.
The water runs down the stream, directly into the pre-filter tank, which is a mesh bucket you just lift out to empty. The filtered water then travels to the larger storage tank, where it's pumped back to the top of the stream. Both filter tank and storage tank can be buried as-is; you don't need a liner surrounding them since they are sealed containers, connected by pipe. You just leave the tops above ground for accessibility.
Another thing I liked was the fact that these don't have to be buried directly at the end of your stream - since everything is plumbed with underground pipe, you can bury them further away (say, closer to a power source!) although the chances of it getting clogged before the pre-filter will be higher, the further away it is.
I believe they also have a backwash system for cleaning, too.
Sorry the ramble lol This system just seems to make more sense to me.... am I crazy? Do you guys see any drawbacks to this system, or reason why Aquascape kits are better?
 
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This is the setup - the stream flows directly into filter house (Hydro Sieve), then into storage tank (Hydro chamber) where the pump is located. The storage tank is 37" x 26" diameter and holds 75 gallons. The filter housing is 19¾” x 16½”. Digging these two holes sounds a whole lot easier than digging a large 5ftx4ftx3ft hole, and then having to line it all....
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j.w

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@Uglyduckling
I've never had experience w/the pondless water systems, sorry. Hope others will chime in and help you w/this project.
 
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I think the Russel system is a good one if you meet two criteria:

1. You have a tight space.

Moving the containment area + pump somewhere else is a benefit (you could still do this with aquascape, but would be more work)

2. Your stream is small. I don't know how big the Russel containment unit is, but whatever it is, that's what you get. Can't have any more water in motion than what you get out of that unless you want to start daisy chaining them or something.

Aquablox + liner is infinitely scaleable. You can make a tiny falls in your backyard or a giant fountain in front of a skyscraper.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a kit. I'd design what I want and then buy the equipment separately. But I understand the desire to have everything come in one package perhaps the limitations on design can be a blessing instead of a curse.
 
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The storage tank is 37" x 26" diameter and holds 75 gallons. The filter housing is 19¾” x 16½”. Digging these two holes sounds a whole lot easier than digging a large 5ftx4ftx3ft hole, and then having to line it all....

OK - but you have to compare apples to apples. You don't have to dig a hole that large to store the same amount of water when using Aquablox. Two of the large Aquablox will hold about 64 gallons of water and require basically the same sized hole.

The other advantage to Aquablox is they are extremely strong - they'll hold several tons of rock on top of each block. Even a few loads of gravel can get heavy. In the set up from Russell, I'm not sure how you would incorporate any rock or if you'd want to but it's something to consider. And as @combatwombat they are infinitely expandable.

I'm not sure why you'd need a pre-filter in a pondless waterfall. Why not just have a grid or something external (where the water flows to the chamber) to catch leaves and debris? Just a thought - much easier to clean than pulling a filter out of a hole in the ground. We have a pondless waterfall and it collects basically no debris at all - a few leaves now and then, but nothing that would require a filter.

Just some things to think about!
 
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I think the Russel system is a good one if you meet two criteria:

1. You have a tight space.

Moving the containment area + pump somewhere else is a benefit (you could still do this with aquascape, but would be more work)

2. Your stream is small. I don't know how big the Russel containment unit is, but whatever it is, that's what you get. Can't have any more water in motion than what you get out of that unless you want to start daisy chaining them or something.

Aquablox + liner is infinitely scaleable. You can make a tiny falls in your backyard or a giant fountain in front of a skyscraper.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a kit. I'd design what I want and then buy the equipment separately. But I understand the desire to have everything come in one package perhaps the limitations on design can be a blessing instead of a curse.
Thank you for the reply CombatWombat!
I believe the storage tank is 75 gallons, which to me sounds a bit small for the size they advertise the stream. They say the bigger kit is " 25″ wide waterfalls cascading approximately 26″ down into 20' long x 25″ wide stream". I guess the stream must only be an inch or less deep... more of a trickle than a stream, by the sounds of things.
Yes designing yourself might actually be a better option in the long run... fully customizable (y) A bit overwhelming, lol, but do-able!
I guess it's off to the drawing board. This forum sure is a wealth of information, it's great :)

 
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OK - but you have to compare apples to apples. You don't have to dig a hole that large to store the same amount of water when using Aquablox. Two of the large Aquablox will hold about 64 gallons of water and require basically the same sized hole.

The other advantage to Aquablox is they are extremely strong - they'll hold several tons of rock on top of each block. Even a few loads of gravel can get heavy. In the set up from Russell, I'm not sure how you would incorporate any rock or if you'd want to but it's something to consider. And as @combatwombat they are infinitely expandable.

I'm not sure why you'd need a pre-filter in a pondless waterfall. Why not just have a grid or something external (where the water flows to the chamber) to catch leaves and debris? Just a thought - much easier to clean than pulling a filter out of a hole in the ground. We have a pondless waterfall and it collects basically no debris at all - a few leaves now and then, but nothing that would require a filter.

Just some things to think about!
Thanks Lisak1!
Every time I've seen the Aquablox being used (Youtube/online), the hole they dig is huge - like 4 feet deep by at least 5 feet long/wide. We live on basically a huge a limestone boulder, so once we dig to a certain depth, we have to start breaking up rock. Which is one reason why this system appealed to me; less rock to have to break. But if the hole doesn't need to be that big, it may not be bad.
We have a huge chestnut tree close by, and in the fall it loses a ton of leaves. Having them caught in the mesh bucket filter would be easier cleanup than picking them all out individually. But yes a grid or something similar would work too. That's really the only reason I'd want a filter. I've read that the Aquablox can get clogged up over time with silt and muck, making you have to unbury it all and take apart to clean. Doesn't sound like fun, but perhaps this doesn't happen often.
I do like CombatWombat's idea of buying the equipment separately and designing it myself. How hard can it be?! *nervous laughter*
 
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I do like CombatWombat's idea of buying the equipment separately and designing it myself. How hard can it be?! *nervous laughter*

There are really only a few calculations you'll need to do design it yourself rather than use a kit, and then the install will be exactly the same. Everyone here will be happy to help make sure you get it right, too.

Why don't you post a pic of your site and what you are thinking, and we'll help you get the design nailed down.
 

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OK - but you have to compare apples to apples. You don't have to dig a hole that large to store the same amount of water when using Aquablox. Two of the large Aquablox will hold about 64 gallons of water and require basically the same sized hole.

The other advantage to Aquablox is they are extremely strong - they'll hold several tons of rock on top of each block. Even a few loads of gravel can get heavy. In the set up from Russell, I'm not sure how you would incorporate any rock or if you'd want to but it's something to consider. And as @combatwombat they are infinitely expandable.

I'm not sure why you'd need a pre-filter in a pondless waterfall. Why not just have a grid or something external (where the water flows to the chamber) to catch leaves and debris? Just a thought - much easier to clean than pulling a filter out of a hole in the ground. We have a pondless waterfall and it collects basically no debris at all - a few leaves now and then, but nothing that would require a filter.

Just some things to think about!
my neighbor would tell you different after 8 years aqua blocks got brittle and cracked . The warranty was just that a piece of paper Their comment was blocks need uv protection, her comment was rocks were ontop of them and put in by pond contractor . Her son fell in and scrapped up his leg on them .Believe me she was not happy with the pond store in NC that put the system in . Not sure what is happening so far
 

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Imma put my vote in for real people.... the messages seem to relevant and well put together for bots. Its possible it is someone trying to promote this product though.
 

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