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Pond Pumps & Building a Waterfall Your pond pump is one of the most important aspects of your pond One of the highlights of a pond or backyard watergarden can be the waterfall. A waterfall is something that when we experience one in a natural setting always fills us with awe. I have been camping as a child and some of the most vivid memories are of seeing a cascading chute of raw river water tumbling over a natural granite formation! As I grew older, and perhaps a bit colder, I never ceased to be awed and amazed by a waterfall...it is perhaps one reason that so many of our clients are looking for free waterfall plans or instructions for building a cheap waterfall. The thing is, I always tell my clients that there is no such thing as a really well built cascading waterfall that is cheap. I have seen some of my clients refuse to believe that they needed a 45 mil EPDM membrane to line their rocky cascade and instead they went and bought a cheap pond liner that was nothing more than a geotextile that they used to line their waterfall. The result? Well you can imagine that the waterfall leaked and the liner disintegrated within a year and the pump clogged and well....you get the picture...if you are looking for the best way to build a waterfall you should always try and build it right...you can build a cheap waterfall but it often won't be right. Building a waterfall, doesn't really require an expert as much as it requires expert advice. The thing to do when you are building a waterfall is to make sure the pumps and liners and rock structure and waterfall lighting is actually appropriate for the height of the rock pile and width of the water cascade you are envisioning. Your
Pump Is The Heart of Your Pond and Waterfall
I'm not against trying to whittle a beer-opener out of a tree branch, heck, I've done that many a time but when it comes to my pond I want to just buy a cheap pump that lasts for years and has good reviews and then I'm all set! My time is becoming more valuable as I get older and I don't want to spend 12 hours in the garage building my own aeration pump if I can order one for a few hundred bucks! Stage 1 - Placement of pump Secure flexible tubing to the outlet of pump using a stainless steel hose clamp. Submerse at the furthest point from the waterfall. Route the tubing over side of pond (can be hidden under perimeter stones). Make sure the stone does not pinch the tubing, and avoid sharp bends in the tubing so it does not kink and reduce flow. Stage 2 - Tubing Route the tubing to the waterfall. Bury under soil. Stage 3 - Building waterfall pond Use displaced soil from pond to build an elevated area for waterfall. Consider making a small auxiliary pond in this mound. Position the spillway to flow into main pond. Build the small pond using the same techniques and liner as the main pond. Two layers of liner are recommended for this pond. The first one contains the water. The second liner channels the water towards the fall. Important! Be sure the liner drapes underneath the waterfall spillway stones - otherwise you will experience water loss when the waterfall is in operation. You may need to use liner seam tape in this stage. Stage 4 - Building spillway Once the spillway liner is in place - you will want to pump water up to the auxiliary pond and watch it flow down the liner spillway. (At this stage - your pond should be full of water). Carefully select stones and position them - while the water is flowing over them. With the water flowing over the rock, you may replace, shift and add stones so you achieve the desired water spills you desire. Place plant moss and small plants between the stones around the waterfall to achieve a natural look. Complete Water Fall Kits 
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Building Books and Guides
Let's look
at my last simple, cheap waterfall in a small pond I built with
my brother-in-law. I'll tell you first off I'll think-twice next
time I say "Yes" to building a pond for a friend or relative
without setting some clear contractual rules of engagement. Shaking
Jimmy's hand after a few cold beers at last month's Family Reunion
the pig-roast might not have been the best idea! But hey...any time
you can built a unique and original cascade for a pond it is worth
it in the end! So Jimmy, I salute you in the end! It looks fine!
For
waterfalls it is recommended to have between 50 Gallons per Hour
and 150 Gallons Per Hour for every inch of width of your waterfall.
I.e.: If you want an 18" wide waterfall you should have a pump
giving between 900 and 2700 Gallons per Hour. To determine the size
pump you need for your pond, take the total volume of water of your
pond (in gallons) and select a submersible pump that will pump at
least that much water per hour. So, if you have a 1000 gallon pond,
you will need a pump with a flow rate of at least 1000 gallons per
hour. It is better to use a larger pump that required and add a
flow restrictor valve, this allows you to adjust the flow as required.
If you have any questions please email
us
Why should
I have a pump? The size of
the pump you choose depends on what you want it to do. If it is
just for a fountain then most pumps come with suitable attachments.
If it is to run a filter and fountain then it needs to be slightly
bigger. There are multipurpose systems that have multiple outlets
that allow tubing to run to your spitter or waterfall as well as
add-on fountain nozzles that can be changed to create cheap fountains
anywhere from 12 inches to 6 feet of spray above the pond! Now...choose
the best pump for your surroundings Another thing to be considered is how much will it cost to run? The cheap pump from the hardware store or the one you bought on Ebay may be cheaper to purchase but what about its running costs and the warranty? A "sump" pump is fine and you can buy one from the local hardware store for less than $100 but those sorts of pumps are mainly for sucking the flood waters from your basement and not designed for continuous duty in a pond! A system that must run 7 days a week and 24 hours per day must be reliable and when it is running most of the summer, with the cost of electricity, you need to avoid the cheap "power hungry" models and get something that is efficient...the initial cost may be high but just because you get a deal from Jimmy in South Dakota selling his aquarium filtering pump on Ebay doesn't mean it's the right thing to do! How to calculate the right size waterfall pump: First you should look at the width of your waterfall. When you measure the width you are looking at the width of the top of the waterfall, starting from where the water flows out of the catchment pond if you have built one. Of course, you can always setup a system of a single tube from a pump or multiple outlet pipes from one or more small pumps in the pond at the far end, typically the deep end of the pond, that simply cascade over rocks. If you are not using a catchment basin and are only having hoses hidden under stones or rocks to create the waterfall then you have to make sure the pump and tubing is correctly sized or you may have a waterfall that sprays out like my my Gramma used to say looked like "Pee out of a Tomcat!". A waterfall, when it is natural, flows, drips, dribbles and splashes...it definitely does not spray out like a spitter or a fountain. This is why having a small elevated pond or retention basin to be the start of the falls is often preferable. For every inch of width of the lip of your waterfall you need to have on average of 100 Gallons Per Hour or 1.6 Gallons Per Minute. For every 10 feet of tubing between the pump and the output end of the pipe you should calculate a loss of about 1 foot of head. Plus the final height between the pump in the pond and the top of the output pipe must be counted. It's a simple calculation really. EXAMPLE: The waterfall is 36" wide (width at the top, this is how wide you want the water stream over the waterfall lip to be) The total "head", the height between the bottom intake of the submersible pump to the highest point of the tubing, is 4 feet. There is a 50 foot length of tubing running from the pump on the main pond to where it enters the retention pond or the top of the waterfall. The 36 inch wide waterfall requires 3600 Gallons Per Hour (100 Gallons Per Inch) There is a 4 foot head (Height difference from pump to top of tubing) 50 feet of tubing is equal to an additional 5 feet of head. (Every 10 feet of tubing equals 1 foot of head) You need a pump that can pump 3600 Gallons Per Hour at a 9 foot head, or lift as it is sometimes called. Make sure your pump can deliver the correct flow at the correct head! Now...choose the best pump for your surroundings There are two types of waterfall pumps we use. The External Pump and the Submersible Pump. The external pump sits outside of the pond much like a swimming pool pump would. It has an intake hose in the pond, preferably at the deepest point of the main pond and far from the waterfall to provide the best circulation efficiency for the system. The Submersible pump is actually in the water and sucks water directly through the pump into the outlet hose to the waterfall or retention basin. Both work, but all pumps are not equal. External Pond Pumps 
External pond pumps are usually mounted on the shore
and are great because they are easier to service because you don't
need to go up to your elbows in stinky, smelly pond water to retrieve
them!
The Pond Report
has tested dozens of external pond pumps including the Dynamo Pumps,
WunderFlo Pumps, Aqua Flow, Artesian Pumps, Cascade Pumps, Swing Check
Valve Sequence Pumps, Little Giant etc. etc until we were sick of
trying every little cheap pump that said "Made in China"
on the sticker!!. Of course we all prefer something that is "Made
in USA" or we have found Japan, Taiwan, and Germany also make
very good aquatic systems!
The Pond Report has given Pentair Sea Flow High Performance Self-Priming Pumps feature sophisticated design translated into unprecedented power that offers the ultimate in efficiency our highest PK 7 rating as they are simply the best pumps money can buy. . These unique external pond pumps are designed to handle the larger capacity jobs of ponds or larger aquariums to deliver excellent flow with less friction and less noise while using smaller horse power motors. For best pump performance, install this pump out of direct sunlight within 3' of the water surface level. Perfect for use in pool, water garden, and koi pond applications, these aboveground pumps keep maintenance convenient. The large strainer basket and see-through lid permits fewer services and easy inspection. Their unique diffuser and impeller provide excellent pressure performance at a wide range of gallon-per-hour flow rates. Easy to remove drain plugs on the strainer basket and pump chamber make end of season maintenance a breeze. Complete Water Fall Kits  This pond-less waterfall (also known as disappearing waterfall) kit contains just about everything that you need to construct your waterfall except for the stone and water. With this waterfall kit you can build a basin up to 5 ft x 5 ft x 2 ft deep with a waterfall and stream up to 5 feet long. Includes: 10 x 15 Pondgard Rubber Pond Liner, Pond Underlayment, Leader Clear Answer 2 Pump, Savio Pond Free Waterfall Well, 16" Savio Waterfall Weir, 20 ft. 1-1/2" Flexible PVC, 1 Can Black Waterfall Foam (more may be desired, this depends on the application), Waterfall Inlet Assembly, Pump Outlet Assembly, PVC Cement, Installation instructions An alternative to a full-fledged pond, a pondless waterfall is simply a waterfall and stream, without a pond. The pondless waterfall is for people that have safety/cost related concerns about ponds, as well as people who enjoy the soothing sounds of waterfalls. This is a complete system. If it is hard for you to imagine a waterfall and a stream without a pond, it must be hard to figure out how it works. Questions like, Where does the water come from? and Where does it go? These are common questions for the inquiring minds. Well the truth is that it works much like a regular pond. A hole, deeper than a normal pond, is dug, then lined with rock and gravel, and filled with water. The water is then circulated from beneath the rocks and gravel by a pump that sits on the bottom. A pipe runs from there up to a BIOFALLS filter and into an overflowing waterfall, where it falls back to the reservoir. Since the water level never pools above the level of the rock and gravelfill, it gives the appearance of a pondless waterfall. But the greatest part of it all is that all the anxieties you have about ponds goes right out the window the minute the waterfall is turned on! NurseryPro MicroPondless 4' Waterfall Kit includes: MicroCentipede Module, MicroSnorkel Vault, MicroFalls Filter Vault (no filter media is included. The aggregate in the basin provides a much larger surface area for bacteria to grow than the filter media do), AquaSurge 2500 GPH Pump, 1.5' x 25' Kink Free Pipe, Plumbing Assembly, 10 foot x 12 foot 45 mil EPDM Liner, 10 foot x 10 foot Underlayment, & Installation Instructions. Browse through our TJB-INC Amazon Store for more Aquascape items. See the Best Models Of Water Fall Kits and Pondless Waterfalls
 
All
About Building Waterfalls, Ponds, and Streams
A practical, easy-to-understand guide to adding both still (ponds) and moving (waterfalls and streams) water features to any garden. Includes complete, easy-to-follow instructions on designing, establishing, and caring for a variety of eye-pleasing water projects. More than 220 vivid photographs and illustrations, plus detailed instructions, make this guide a must-have for garden enthusiasts looking to plan and build a water feature. Expert advice on selecting the right fish and plants for embellishing any backyard aquatic paradise. Solution-based format will inspire you to confidently create water havens in your own yard.  
Smart
Guide: Ponds, Fountains & Waterfalls (Landscaping)
Whether readers are deciding on the type of pond that best suits their wants and needs or trying to decide whether a stream or a waterfall fits better into their landscape, Smart Guide: Ponds, Waterfalls & Fountains has it all. Completely rewritten and packed with all-new full-color photographs and illustrations, this guide will help homeowners plan, build, and maintain their water feature with step-by-step do-it-yourself sequences and easy-to-understand directions. Chapters cover everything from plant and fish selection to tips on choosing a spray or statuary fountain, how to install pond shells, digging out a watercourse and waterfall, and even adding accents such as bridges and steppingstones to the backyard. For homeowners who can't wait to get started in the spring and want to show off their creativity, Smart Guide: Ponds, Waterfalls & Fountains will not only help their project take off; it will instill the confidence to finish.  
How
to Build Ponds and Waterfalls and Much More...: The Complete Guide
How to Build Ponds and Waterfalls and Much More. Was written with the consumer in mind: it's a show and tell presentation of everything needed to build spectacular water gardens. Jeffrey Reid proves that knowing the correct steps and using the right product for the job practically guarantees success. The methods shown in these chapters are proven, and have been taught to thousands of do-it-yourselfers. In an easy-to-read and easy-to-understand format, this book shows readers how to build ponds and waterfalls, as well as providing information about Koi fish, submersible pumps, water lilies, water features, water garden designs, UV lights, rock placement, filter systems, pond fish, marginal plants, preformed ponds, excavating, pond liners, plumbing, and landscaping. Adding a pond or waterfall to your landscape can be very rewarding. "How to Build Ponds and Waterfalls and Much More." Ensures it will also be successful.
Pond
Building Books and Guides
Waterfall
Websites Waterfall
Design Examples, Parameters & Techniques:
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