How do I pull of this waterfall?

[fisharefishy99]

So my pond isn't quite getting the filtration it needs and my water is pea soup green. I actually hate my current filtration setup so I am going to get rid of my 55 gallon barrel filter and pressurized filter in exchange for a 250 gallon pond that will act as my 2,000 gallon ponds filter. The problem is I am having trouble designing a non-ugly setup.

Here is a video of my current pond and where I want to put the pond/filter.

I didn't do a very good job on explaining in the video so I will try now. On the second "tier" I will put in a pond that is 6 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 2 feet deep. Water will overflow from the pond down to the first tier into a river which will then overflow into the main pond. My problem is I can't have water splashing onto the wood retaining walls or onto the dirt. I am having trouble designing something that does that without looking ugly. My first idea was to make two slides out of slate that would be put in at a 45 degree angle for the water to slide down. That way it won't have as much momentum and splash as much. Although I would have to make sides for the slate so that water didn't just rush off the sides. Anyways, does anyone have any ideas on how to do it?

 

[sissy]

seems like you have it just lay the liner over the wood and get some large flat rocks to lay against the liner at the back .Take your rocks out by your pond and lay the liner over the other liner and seal them together with the pl roofing goop addy uses and lay your rock back down and to build up the sides put a concrete block under the liner on the sides and lay some flat rocks on the top of it to hide the liner .All you have to think is how steps are built but put sides on it to hold the water in .

 

[Waterbug]

Yes, liner. Dig down a bit, lay the liner and then you can do anything you want. Trick is to make the liner wider than you think to contain splashing. Then you can put plants in the liner so you can't really tell there's a man made deal. Also consider having stream run along one tier for a ways rather than just the standard straight waterfalls.

 

[fisharefishy99]

seems like you have it just lay the liner over the wood and get some large flat rocks to lay against the liner at the back .Take your rocks out by your pond and lay the liner over the other liner and seal them together with the pl roofing goop addy uses and lay your rock back down and to build up the sides put a concrete block under the liner on the sides and lay some flat rocks on the top of it to hide the liner .All you have to think is how steps are built but put sides on it to hold the water in .

That makes sense, I think I have some left over slate I can add to help cover the liner. A literal staircase might also help to lessen the flow and splashing too

Yes, liner. Dig down a bit, lay the liner and then you can do anything you want. Trick is to make the liner wider than you think to contain splashing. Then you can put plants in the liner so you can't really tell there's a man made deal. Also consider having stream run along one tier for a ways rather than just the standard straight waterfalls.

Good point! I have a ton of liner to make it wider. The only issue is the max depth of the river is only going to be about 6 inches because I can't dig into the trees roots (If I kill it I will be killed type of thing haha). So hopefully that will be deep enough to prevent excess splashing with 2,000 gph rushing onto it. Not having the river straight is a brilliant idea though! I can hide any flaws in the first "waterfall" easier if I had it tucked in a corner and then the river came over to the spot I originally planned. Plus it would look cool B)

 

[sissy]

If you pile rocks up where the water comes out it will look like a natural spring fed pond .The water from a spring comes out of or between rocks in most cases .Plus the rocks would slow the water down and remember the farther your hose goes the less gph you will have coming out and if it is to much you could put a ball valve on and send more water back to the pond then to the waterfall .

 

[fisharefishy99]

If you pile rocks up where the water comes out it will look like a natural spring fed pond .The water from a spring comes out of or between rocks in most cases .Plus the rocks would slow the water down and remember the farther your hose goes the less gph you will have coming out and if it is to much you could put a ball valve on and send more water back to the pond then to the waterfall .

That's a good idea! Is there any particularly cheap stone I can use to stack up? My budget is only around $200 and the liner only is going to be about $100 sadly.

 

[sissy]

You can check out all your local sources and get prices to compare .Check out craigslist for your area also .People are always getting rid of stuff ask around ,friends are a good source of where to buy cheap .I know here I can get some stone for 129 dollars for a crate