Waterfall rocking sadness

[Usman]

@herzausstahl I think it's not steep enough for that... Here are some more close up shots. I think we just have to use smaller, flat river rocks and gravel and waterfall foam...

i love the way its coming, great progress looking nice natural , some creative minds working togeather there

 

[CreatureBlackLagoon]

This is from my pond from almost 6 yrs ago, but the concept can be used in yours. I actually was trying to copy the look of a natural rocked stream around here (don't have a pic at the moment). Just layer them going up & use waterfall foam underneath to get the water to flow over. WEAR GLOVES when using waterfall foam. Takes forever to get off if you touch, I learned the hard way. And ask all the questions you want, for a lot of us it's as fun to help others with their ponds as building our own. For your stream, try a few different combos & run a hose over it to get a visual of what the water will do. Waterfall foam will just enhance the amount that flows over the rocks & not under. Just remember it's like "Great Stuff" in that it will expand.
View attachment 100547[/QUOT

How much trouble did you go to level those fieldstones? It's proving pretty hard!

 

[CreatureBlackLagoon]

Progress! (we think)

Taking a few days off really helped.

 

[Usman]

Progress! (we think)

Taking a few days off really helped.

have u done foaming yet? do check water flow with ur default pump , with this cascade design u will need goodjob of sealing gaps and stone placement .good volume of water to maintain visible water flow over the rocks most of it will tend to run around or under it , lets see how it goes in next step . i vote for the picture before it

 

[Ruben Miranda]

Hello
I would think it.would be better to stick the hose down in the waterfall and let it fill and flow.
I would also do some foam/sealer under the lip of the water flow to prevent water dripping back underneath and leaking.

Ruben

 

[herzausstahl]

Progress! (we think)

Taking a few days off really helped.

This can work land will look like a stepped rock bottom river. We have one near me, can post a pic next time I'm on computer not iPad & remember. Right now goes with rock walled canyon/gorge kind of look in my mind. Properly placed waterfall foam will direct water over not around/under the rocks. It expands (think great stuff) so a little goes a long way & wear gloves when using!

Place it under each rock to direct over, not under. (Green is foam).

Put it behind the side rock to direct water to front of them & in the "V" gap between side/bottom rocks to direct water flow to the middle. Put the foam under the rocks with the purple arrow pointed at them to direct water over.

 

[herzausstahl]

To go this route, put the waterfall foam down first & scatter the rocks on top to force the water over the top of the rocks.

 

[CreatureBlackLagoon]

View attachment 100736
To go this route, put the waterfall foam down first & scatter the rocks on top to force the water over the top of the rocks.

Progress not perfection, I've heard, will keep you from losing your mind. We've got water moving over the rocks somewhat, but it is much more going down the sides. We used a lot of foam. I can live with it for now. I am a little disappointed because I had wanted the weir to be much closer to the pond so that we'd get some sound. Part of me wants to rip it all up and start again before planting, but I think we've done all we can for now...

(aquatic plants are placed willy nilly for now... just wanted to get them in the water. And... we built up the walls too much in trying to get the ground level, so the water is way too shallow. We're going to see if we can raise the skimmer a bit, but it might be impossible.)

 

[Usman]

Progress not perfection, I've heard, will keep you from losing your mind. We've got water moving over the rocks somewhat, but it is much more going down the sides. We used a lot of foam. I can live with it for now. I am a little disappointed because I had wanted the weir to be much closer to the pond so that we'd get some sound. Part of me wants to rip it all up and start again before planting, but I think we've done all we can for now...

(aquatic plants are placed willy nilly for now... just wanted to get them in the water. And... we built up the walls too much in trying to get the ground level, so the water is way too shallow. We're going to see if we can raise the skimmer a bit, but it might be impossible.)

i did warned u in my last post that this design will not work , water will run from sides and below & stone placement is critical, i think u shud call herzausstahl to fix it lol it was his idea .

me and many of us pointed this too that fill pond then run water and then adjust , there shud b some distance between spillway and where the water falls to see good effect , this cascade design is admired by few too but this is contrary to waterfall , its made to break the current and make mild sound .

.... imagine if u remove all the stone but the last one or leave the 1st one only and let it fall in pond , water will have greater velocity , sound anf visual effect some ppl create small pool before it falls down that gives good effect and pressure volume too .

also keep in mind ur pump pressure will decrease as u pump 3 ft heigh so to cover , the width of the water fall wil need to b narrower , may b half size if u dont see considerable flow , other thing is the flag stone that is giving u the waterfall needs to b sharp and thin , if its rounded and thick , it will not throw water infront . (ur 1st flagstone is best for it)

i would say ur pond as whole is looking very beautiful ..to b honest the rock work inside and gravel etc looks very professional , nice neat edging . the thing is we all did mistakes and had undesirable results thats why we like to share them , i have made this design too then rebuilt it several times until i get what i want and thats the fun ie ongoing progress improvement as we observe and work on it , we get to see how water behaves and how rocks effect etc then we get more understanding daybyday . so its never end of the world lol thats the fun dont b frustrated or impatient its just beginning

 

[CreatureBlackLagoon]

i did warned u in my last post that this design will not work , water will run from sides and below & stone placement is critical, i think u shud call herzausstahl to fix it lol it was his idea .

me and many of us pointed this too that fill pond then run water and then adjust , there shud b some distance between spillway and where the water falls to see good effect , this cascade design is admired by few too but this is contrary to waterfall , its made to break the current and make mild sound .

.... imagine if u remove all the stone but the last one or leave the 1st one only and let it fall in pond , water will have greater velocity , sound anf visual effect some ppl create small pool before it falls down that gives good effect and pressure volume too .

also keep in mind ur pump pressure will decrease as u pump 3 ft heigh so to cover , the width of the water fall wil need to b narrower , may b half size if u dont see considerable flow , other thing is the flag stone that is giving u the waterfall needs to b sharp and thin , if its rounded and thick , it will not throw water infront . (ur 1st flagstone is best for it)

i would say ur pond as whole is looking very beautiful ..to b honest the rock work inside and gravel etc looks very professional . the thing is we all did mistakes and had undesirable results thats why we like to share them , i have made this design too then rebuilt it several times until i get what i want and thats the fun ie ongoing progress improvement as we observe and work on it , we get to see how water behaves and how rocks effect etc then we get more understanding daybyday . so its never end of the world lol thats the fun dont b frustrated or impatient its just beginning

Thanks, @Usman! We deserve the scolding. I am in agreement with you. Not to get too personal, but part of this was also an exercise in spousal compromise. I think it looks too much like an Aztec pyramid. I think we'll take some time to reflect and consider moving it all forward. Getting all of the those cascade fieldstones level was a huge ordeal that I thought was not necessary, given we couldn't see what it looked like without foaming it. That's what I think confused me about setting it up and then readjusting... how can you fill the pond and run the water and adjust without putting the foam in? Another mistake we made was that we couldn't work on the cascade without being partially IN the pond, so we couldn't fill it up.... Ah... I think I should write a book about the mistakes we made! But that's what the pond forum is for... Good to hear about the type of flagstones! That makes sense. I'd really like to remove everything and start from scratch...we'll see what my husband thinks in a few weeks...

The small pool near the top is an interesting idea. I love the look but thought it too advanced for beginners. I wonder if that would work...if we could do that instead of moving the whole weir forward...

Thanks so much for your advice!

 

[Usman]

did u check these .. both have different type of waterfall , observe the distance both have between spillway and pool where its droping , u need to maintain that in order to see some good results of fall

(1) Ponds Gone Wrong | Backyard Ponds - Episode 2 - (Part 2) - YouTube

Pond Construction - Ponds Gone Wrong - Episode 1 - (Part 4) - YouTube

 

[CreatureBlackLagoon]

did u check these .. both have different type of waterfall , observe the distance both have between spillway and pool where its droping , u need to maintain that in order to see some good results of fall

(1) Ponds Gone Wrong | Backyard Ponds - Episode 2 - (Part 2) - YouTube

Pond Construction - Ponds Gone Wrong - Episode 1 - (Part 4) - YouTube

Oh boy! We've watched this. A running joke has been, "We hope we don't end up on Ponds Gone Wrong!"

 

[cas]

Don't get too discouraged @CreatureBlackLagoon . Your pond looks very nice and you have all the time in the world to adjust things. You should see all the changes that have happened to my waterfall over the years!

 

[CreatureBlackLagoon]

Don't get too discouraged @CreatureBlackLagoon . Your pond looks very nice and you have all the time in the world to adjust things. You should see all the changes that have happened to my waterfall over the years!

Thanks, @cas! I have admired your showcase a few times already! I love your plantings especially! <3

 

[cas]

Thank you. Just to show you how much a waterfall can change.. here is a picture when it was first built and how it is this year. I don't use foam because I change the rocks every year.