I'm going to be building a outdoor pond this summer and I would really like to see some of your waterfall and fountain ideas, before I do mine. Also some pro's and con's about how to, and how not to set up a waterfall would be nice.
WATER FALL'S AND FOUNTAINS, ALL PICS
- Thread starter doubledragon
- Start date
Hers my falls/bio-filter. Work awesome, looks awesome, makes plenty of noise to be heard in my house about 25-30 feet away.
Pros: Looks natural, filters out particulates and extra nutrients.
Can be hiden w/landscaping around it.
Can use a high flow pump (up to 10,00 gph)
Easy construction and plumbing
Cons: None yet after three years. I have used this system in the past.
A pond I built 10 years ago, has never leaked or any problems from
the filter.
Pros: Looks natural, filters out particulates and extra nutrients.
Can be hiden w/landscaping around it.
Can use a high flow pump (up to 10,00 gph)
Easy construction and plumbing
Cons: None yet after three years. I have used this system in the past.
A pond I built 10 years ago, has never leaked or any problems from
the filter.
The only thing I would change (after looking at my pics.) is I would have used larger boulders on eitherside of the falls to create a "horsetail" type of narrow falls. Don't be affraid of big boulders. Think 1-3-1. For every 1 ton of small (6-12") you need 3 tons of gravel/ex-small boulders, w/ 1 ton of 12-18"+ boulders. This is a good balance that helps make it look more natural. This does however limit you to this type of pond, making an aboveground wooden a different ballgame. Another pro of my pond is the high-effecient/high flow pump, allows me to run it year round (w/ a little tweaking) to keep a hole in the ice for gas exchange.
Muske;1548701; said:
Great lookin waterfall. What kind of tweaking do you do to keep a hole in the ice?
keepinfish;1548734; said:
That looks great. You have a lot of really nice flat rock's. I'd love to come across some of those.
There is a piece of flagstone I use in the summer to create the falls. It is removable. Look at the spring/summer pics. and you can see it. It the winter I remove so the water doesn't splash as much. The falls then become more of a sheet of water coming over the lip.
Muske;1549824; said:
Thank's for the tip. Do you still have to break away at the ice through out the winter, or does it pretty much stay thawed out were the waterfall goes in the pond???
Last year we had a cld spell of negative temps. at night for about a week. I didn't need to thaw any ice, I just did it so I could actually see the water moving. I boiled two big pots of water and just poured it near the top of the ice dam. It melted down a couple of inches and thats all that was done. I would think w/a extended cold spell (7-10) days, I would def. pay really close attention to it. The last thing you want it the winter is ice to collect and divert water out of the pond frying up the pump. I have never lost a fish since I employed the continous year round running. Some people fell running the pump makes the water even colder, I disagree.