Ok, here is a view of the other end of my little pond (from the east...our main seating area of our deck is to the west, and our bow window view is from the south...looking north towards the lake). When I took these photos, I was standing just outside my walk-out basement door. The retaining wall you see (partially dismantled in this view), is behind and below the spot where my new waterfall will be, supporting the soil bank under the deck in back of our home. While trying to design the shape and size of my planned cascading waterfall, I got worrying about that retaining wall. It's been rock-solid there about 20 years or so. But now the pond is bigger, and the edge comes closer than it did before. And, when I took out a couple of blocks to remove an old abandoned electric cable that ran through the wall, I found most of the cavities between the concrete blocks completely packed with hard clay, plus a few cavities which were obviously old rodent nests (most likely mice and/or chipmunks...maybe the same culprits who chewed through my previous pond liner!) I concluded that water in the soil would need to be able to weep out through those retaining-wall blocks, and packed mud wasn't going to let it flow well enough. So, as if I didn't have enough to do already with this project, I dismantled the entire wall behind the waterfall, lifting out every block, and digging away the packed-in clay and anything that looked like a nest. Man, those blocks are HEAVY!
About to attempt to rebuild our deck pond myself, with helpers. Intimidated!
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Next morning I arranged to have two tons of very-small pea gravel delivered to the patio in front of my house, right next to the "jelly bean gravel" already piled there. Next I began the laborious task of loading that gravel into my grandpa's ancient wheel barrow, and wheeling it around the house. Now my back hurts!
I worked on this for several hours, until I was exhausted, and soaked in sweat. Fortunately my grandkids came over that evening, and I asked if they wanted to help. They agreed! When I told them that my grandfather had wheeled me around in that same barrow when I was their age, they hopped right in, and said let's go. I realized after a minute that this old wheelbarrow had belonged to their great-great grandfather. Wow. Anyway, they helped shovel in a few loads of gravel, and I let them ride each way as I pushed it (one at a time!). Then they helped me to put the gravel into the cavities of the bricks, and in the narrow trench I had dug behind all those concrete blocks. It was a long slow process, and I think I hauled about 20 wheel barrow loads before this old body wouldn't do it any more. Mercifully, it got dark about then.
I had decided to put my new canister filter/ultraviolet light unit inside of a plastic trash can, so it would be easy to lift out when freezing weather gets here in about early December. I started out with this big ugly blue can, since it was the smallest can that was tall enough for the entire filter assy to fit under the lid. But the more I looked at it, the less I liked that blue color.
After a while I went back to the shorter black plastic trash can which had been my first choice, (but which had proven to be too short). After thinking about it a bit, I realized that water would inevitably get inside it, and would need a way to escape anyway. So I simply cut a circle to the correct size, and allowed the filter canister to slide right down beyond the bottom of the trash can, and into the gravel below.
With the new 12-inch hole, the filter slid through beautifully. But then I realized that the gravel would naturally slide down into the hole, when I remove the filter for the winter, and then I would again not be able to put the filter back into the trash can deeply enough to install the lid. So then I got some bricks, and put them in a double-stacked circle in the bottom of my dirt hole, on a shallow bed of gravel. I got some of that construction adhesive made for exterior use and concrete, and glued the two rows of bricks together. Then I used heavy clay to "chink" the holes between the bricks, so the gravel couldn't fall down into the hole below.
j.w
I Love my Goldies
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You know one thing always leads to another, and another and another and then you get it just perfect till you decide on something else and around we go again,lol! No seriously tho you are doing a great job on a very big project!
I love your creative thought process - it's how I work through things, too. And you have two very nice looking helpers there!
Then I refitted the filter housing back down through the black plastic trash can with the 12" diameter hole in the bottom. To my surprise, I had cut that hole TOO well. The filter fit in the new hole so well, I was afraid it would be almost water tight, which was contrary to my purpose. So then I decided to drill a bunch of weep holes in the bottom of that trash can, around the edge of the perimeter. That way it could still drain, even if the filter fit the big hole very closely.
Then I grew concerned that the plastic trash might "float up" out of the hole a bit, and allow gravel and/or dirt to flow in and fill the hole again. So, after thinking it over a bit, I used a bunch of that exterior construction adhesive, and glued the plastic trash can to the bricks. I had carefully blasted the bricks in advance with compressed air, to remove any dust, and I roughed up the plastic surface of the can where it would rest on the bricks. Then I added the adhesive, being careful to keep it out of the weep holes I had just drilled. I had already chamfered those weep holes inside and out, to remove any burred edges or plastic scraps, which might tend to clog the holes, so I SURE didn't want to fill the same holes with glue! By the way, I don't know if that construction adhesive will hold up in this application or not. But it's Loctite brand, and top-of-the-line stuff. The tube said it was intended for exterior and interior use, and would adhere to wet surfaces or dry. It also said it was designed for most materials; specifically naming concrete and plastic, among others. So, we shall see....
This next photo shows the filter assembly test-fitted in place. Note how it settled down through the 12" hole in the bottom of the trash can, resting on the level bed of gravel beneath. This photo also shows the "chinked" gaps in the bricks...filled with heavy clay from the surrounding soil.
Next it was time to cut the holes in the sides of the trash can for the supply hose, the discharge hose, the drain hose for use during filter cleaning, and the small hole for the electric power wire for the UV light. I marked all with a yellow industrial crayon, such as mechanics use for marking on used tires, etc. It worked well, and the holes fit correctly.
Then it was time to start backfilling around the trash can. Not only would this secure the can and fill the hole around it; but then I would finally be able to put more pea gravel in the trench directly behind the retaining wall, without worries that it would fill in around the trash can and possibly dislodge it before the construction adhesive might dry. First I put a layer of clay soil directly on the tops of the bricks, all the way around the can, to act as a barrier so the gravel would not flow down there. Once I was confident that I had enough soil in place, I then filled in the area to behind the retaining wall blocks, and in front of the trash can with several loads of pea gravel.
As you might have guessed, by then I had done nearly all I could for that day. This old body just wasn't going to do much more. About then, to my utter delight, my oldest son and his awesome wife came over to see if they could give me a hand for a while. My son went and hauled a couple more loads of gravel around the house, and my daughter in law started back-filling the gravel in the cavities of the blocks, and the trench behind them. She actually preferred to use a small bucket for the job, instead of the shovel I typically use. But HEY....if she is willing to do it, I am really glad to let her do it her way. Right? 
That tall white pipe at right in the last photo is an extension that we put on the clean-out of the sewer line coming out of our house. Once the dirt mound which will support the cascading waterfall is established, I will cut down this pipe so that it is barely visible above the soil. Then I'll plant a hosta or something similar over top of it, so it doesn't ruin the view. The flex hose going from the filter assembly to the top of the waterfall will rest in that trench which runs closest to the white pipe. After I have everything in place, I'll make sure that all soil is kept off of the decorative exterior brick of our house; touching the wall only against cinder blocks of the foundation. I'm told that this is important for preventing termites.
