Waterfall vs. Fountain

[Lisaebetten]

No it was thick floating clumps of stinky stuff and the bottle caps were all just floating up at the surface not really moving.

So I have been saving bottle caps like crazy, should I skip it? I do have bio balls and other squiggly plastic stuff from the pond store. I thought the scrubbie pads where a good idea also. I just love the challenge of doing something home made when I can.

 

[Lisaebetten]

All right, rub it in people. All of you with your pretty waterfalls and clean water and lights... Rub it in... (of course I'm going to do the same thing when I get mine up and running, however until then, IT'S NOT FUNNY)... Odd question though, does anyone have pictures of the backside of their waterfalls? I have a general idea of how to build up the front, ie rocks, blocks, gravel, etc but have no idea how to blend in the backside of this gigantic pile of.... I'd like to have a small patio that will be next to the waterfall so I will have a view of the back end and can't seem to envision how it looks.

Great question!! I have very little room to mound large piles of rocks. My structural support for the falls box is the small concrete block with re-bar into the ground. From there I will have to be creative and cover the blocks up. I want smaller rocks with plant pockets for a rock wall garden. Necessity is the mother of invention I hope.

 

[Lisaebetten]

I have seen so many unique and creative designs from everyone here I believe you can build what you need to suit your situations!!!!

 

[Lisaebetten]

The back of my water fall is just carefully placed rocks all piled up to the top.
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How did I miss seeing this waterfall in your posted pics??? This is awesome and can't wait to create my own pond next time around!!! I guess you don't have to have those pre-made falls boxes. Every time I look at my falls box I wonder why in the world so many people pay big $$$$ for them. I got mine off craigslist so I paid less then 10% of original.

 

[j.w]

@Lisaebetten you can try the bottle caps and see how they do for you. I think my problem was not enough circulation in waterfall tub. The caps just sat at the surface and mulm just accumulated really thick. If yours gets mixed around a lot maybe it will be fine.

 

[tbendl]

@snoozer, or anyone for that matter, I am using concrete blocks as steps and building up with the pond liner. I am not sure how to channel the water on the ledges to make sure it doesn't flow to the sides. Especially at ground level. I bought some pool noodles and thought I would lay those under the liner then stack rocks around them to give a little bit of a berm so the water won't flow around the sides. Any other ideas?

 

[tbendl]

Another question... (shocking I know). Since I am going fish-less, can I just do a mini pond on the top of my waterfall? I would do a bowl shape with maybe lava rockl or something in the bottom, rock around it to hide the water tubing coming in and use a rock lip for it to cascade down. I don't think I can do a mini bog since the water flow rate will be higher than what I understand bogs should be but if I can have plants in it that would be great.

 

[Shdwdrgn]

Late to the party again, but here's what I did... The 55gal barrels on either side are buried up to the first rings so the overall height is only about 2 feet. I wrapped the rubber liner right up the sides of the barrels to help with sealing the flow holes. The gravel bed behind the bricks is about 12" deep. The trim boards are all cedar and there's been no problem with them rotting in the last 3 years. I spray-painted the outside of the barrels black, then planted tall plants around them. There is a small gap between the back of the falls and the fence, and the honeysuckle on the fence is growing up from the ground back there. By moving around the smaller river rocks in the gravel bed, I can even out the flow of water and get a 'sheet' effect.

2012

2013

 

[Lisaebetten]

Here are a couple of pictures when we were building. We started digging when I had the bright idea of building a water fall. My son borrowed a skid loader to move and compact the dirt. We ended up with 6 truck loads and a skid loader really compacts dirt. You can see the falls cut from the berm. Where the wheel barrow is sitting was dug out for the header pond. The large rock is sitting on what had been the level of the yard, everything behind them was hauled in. The picture of the falls is from the first year, it looks so empty, it's a jundgle now. The stream follows the berm to the right to the other end of the pond.

Hi Snoozer, did you foam or mortar your rocks in place?

 

[tbendl]

Shdwdrgn that is amazing. I love the straight rock walk look, it has a formal feel to it. I wonder if I can incorporate that look into my waterfall. Thank you for the inspiration.

 

[Shdwdrgn]

Thanks... My pond is anything but formal, however I was working in a tight space and didn't have room for a cascade style. I used Colorado sandstone bricks which are a bit expensive but when they're clean they have some really nice colors. I've also been trying to get some clematis to grow, but both that and the honeysuckle have done poorly this year, plus I lost my largest lily. Not sure what's happening, but everything else is still growing well. The vining plants help break up the unnatural lines around the barrels, but irises also do a good job.

 

[snoozer]

I used foam to keep the water mostly in front of the rocks. We used concrete block on each shelf for the base for the bluestone. The last blocks were set on end with the liner over the top. This made the ends higher to keep the water where is should be. Here is a picture of the block when they were working on it

 

[tbendl]

@RobAmy So this is a goofy question but what do your Laguna air pumps do?

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