waterfall ideas

[micaaronfl76]

hello all,

i have an aquascape system and the waterfall came with a little tray to put pond plants in. well this year i put in forget me nots and they grew soo much that when i was on vac the roots started overflowing, luckily i came home just in time so the pump didnt go dry.

Anyway looking to do something different next spring so i don't have to worry about that happening again.

can u guys post pics of what you have done to the waterfall?

 

[DrCase]

Can you show us a pic of your set up

 

[Waterbug]

I don't know of any Aquascape waterfall made for plants. Do you have a model number?

In general I don't think there's really any way around plants in waterfalls or streams being a risk for overflow leaks when roots grow in water and/or the plants can move and bunch up. I create pockets in mortared rocks along the edges to grow plants in soil that appear to be in the waterfall or stream.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

I built my waterfall in the corner of two walls I did not want to risk getting any moisture on.
Here's how I did mine.
First I made sure I had enough primary pond liner to pull up the corner between the waterfall structure and the wall.
You can see the excess liner in this photo slumping down in the corner.

In this next picture you can see the the blocks in place for the waterfall structure, and some of the liner pulled up between the blocks and the wall.
The liner is not directly against the wall, I have styrofoam with grooves cut out one side placed between the liner and the wall. The grooves act as air breather spaces against the wall to allow any trapped moisture to escape. (Moisture from rain, not the waterfall.)

This next photo shows the secondary waterfall liner in place. I then folded or cut back the secondary liner to create a gap between that liner and the primary liner (mainly on the left side), then mortared rocks in place along the stepped area and created a flow channel for the waterfall.
I also used scrap pieces of liner under the blocks to protect the primary liner from the rough edges of the blocks, that's why you see so many layers of liner in the pictures.

After the mortar set I ran the water and tested and re-tested the flow of the water by creating dams and diversions with rocks, with some difficulty it was possible to get the water to seep over the edge of the secondary waterfall liner, but in ever case it trickled back inside the main liner and into the main pond water. After I was sure this double liner system worked I continued placing the surrounding rocks to hide all the blocks, liner and gaps.

With this double protection system I don't have to worry much about the plants blocking the water flow, I'm pretty confident that even if the plants do cause the water to divert over the waterfall a bit, it will flow back inside the primary pond liner.

 

[JohnHuff]

 

[Mucky_Waters]

Is that a flow through design?

 

[sissy]

Must be some huge pump also .Mucky I never saw concrete blocks made like yours is that normal for your area .Square on 3 corners and rounded on one .We just get the 1 or 2 chamber ones here
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[JohnHuff]

Is that a flow through design?

Why, yes it is. It flows though my neighbor's back yard, who incidentally are nice people and all that but they speak with a thick accent and are forever boasting of their medical insurance coverage. Do you know them?

 

[Mucky_Waters]

Must be some huge pump also .Mucky I never saw concrete blocks made like yours is that normal for your area .Square on 3 corners and rounded on one .We just get the 1 or 2 chamber ones here

Sissy, not all those block had one rounded corner, some had the usual 4 square corners and some had two rounded corners. They were all rejects though, the local block making place sometimes sells imperfect blocks at a substantial discount, so i'll buy them up for project like this around home that don't need to be perfect.

Why, yes it is. It flows though my neighbor's back yard, who incidentally are nice people and all that but they speak with a thick accent and are forever boasting of their medical insurance coverage. Do you know them?

Ya, I've met some of them, but I can't say I've ever detected this "thick accent" you mention, eh!
Anyway, see that you use all that water wisely, I would be a shame to see it all go to waste.

 

[sissy]

Yeh when I lived in Edison NJ we had a cement block making place right on Route 1 and the rejects were dirt cheap .Great way to save and wish there was a place here .

 

[dieselplower]

I have a container that I use as a bog type of upflow filter that waterfalls back into the pond. recently is has started overflowing as well. the roots of the plants just get too big. nature of the busines......I am wondering if I can tip the container forward a bit and keep plants on the back half, if that will help.

 

[sissy]

I trim the roots on all my plants and they are planted in kitty litter and that helps buffer the water .

 

[HARO]

Why, yes it is. It flows though my neighbor's back yard, who incidentally are nice people and all that but they speak with a thick accent and are forever boasting of their medical insurance coverage. Do you know them?

Careful there, John, or I might just pull the plug on that pump! :biggrin:
John, too

 

[JohnHuff]

I can't hear you through that thick accent!

Careful there, John, or I might just pull the plug on that pump! :biggrin:
John, too

 

[shakaho]

Mucky, that is just gorgeous.