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The 20 Step Pondless Waterfall Installation Process

A new technology in water features, the Pondless Waterfall, has been created for homeowners who want a water feature with out the pond. Now, you can have water cascading gracefully over rocks, creating a peaceful and harmonious sound without the care maintenance of a pond.

Water features have been a popular addition to todays outdoor environments. Water features provide a visually appealing focal point in any yard, and offer a beautiful sound that can block out undesirable noises.

Although water features are a welcome addition to many homes, for some homeowners they may just be another maintenance item. With the Pondless Waterfall, a homeowner can have a wonderful visual and audible sensation without the concern of maintaining a pond.

The Pondless Waterfall is maintained simply by refilling the reservoir every few weeks or by adding an auto-water fill valve to compensate for water loss due to evaporation. The system can be placed on an automatic timer so there is no need to run it continuously.

Each Pondless Waterfall system is designed to meet the needs of the individual homeowners. Each waterfall works without a pond as the water disappears into a gravel bed that is planted with aquatic marginal plants. The waterfall itself is made completely of natural rock and a great alternative for a front yard pond.

The Pondless Waterfall is perfect for commercial and residential applications. This is a safe option for a home where child safety may be a concern or liability.

Water features are one of the ways we can create our own paradise in our outdoor environments. It has been said that the sound of the water enhances all five senses. There is a special serenity and tranquility that accompanies the sight and the sound of water.

The new Pondless waterfall technology is available at Exotic Aquatics. We here at Exotic Aquatics create and personalize each pond and waterfall system to enhance and beatify the each customers existing landscape. Follow along with these simple to follow 20 steps to produce your own wonderful Pondless Waterfall.



Pondless Waterfall Installation Instructions

Step 1 Location, Location, Location! First and foremost, locate and mark out your Pondless Waterfall Basin Area before you do anything. By using a garden hose you can easily create your desired shape for your Pondless Basin.

Step 2 Place Biofalls Waterfall Unit into the Perfect Position. The position of your waterfall can seriously make or break your water feature. Make sure you can view your waterfall from many vantage points.

Step 3 Lay Out Your Plumbing Before Digging. Save time and money by eliminating the need to dig a trench. Simply lay out the PVC flex pipe along your stream next to the edge of your basin so that you can cover it with the soil out of your Pondless Basin once you begin to dig.

Step 4 Plumb and Level the BIOFALLS Filter and install the bulkhead fittings and attach the PVC flex pipe filter unit. The excavated soil from the Pondless basin can be backfilled around the sides and back of the Biofalls Filter once the fittings have been glued. Tamp and compact the soil during backfilling in order to reduce settling.

DESIGNER TIP - Avoid creating a volcanic look by trying to raise the BIOFALLS up four or five high in a perfectly flat backyard.

Step 5 Begin Excavating Your Pondless Basin. This is one of the more labor intense tasks, so pace yourself and get some friends and family to help out. Most basins will be 24 inches deep and will need to be on level ground. You will be using the spoils from your dig to cover your plumbing and waterfall filter unit.

Step 6 Once your excavation is complete, unfold the Geo-Textile Underlayment fabric and place it into your Pondless waterfall basin. Start at the bottom of the basin and remove the slack from the underlayment making sure it conforms to your basin. Then do the same with the EPDM rubber liner.
Step 7 Once the underlayment and liner is in place position the Micro Snorkel and Micro Centipede into the bottom of the basin.

Step 8 Install Rock and Gravel into the Pondless Basin. Fill the basin with ugly 2 to 3 rocks and gravel within a few inches from the top. Set larger 6 to 18 specimen rocks around the perimeter of the basin to support the edges and the put a finishing layer of to 1decorative gravel in the middle.

Step 9 With a garden hose rinse the rocks and gravel and pump out the muddy water. This step helps the pondless feature clear up faster.

Step 10 The flexible PVC flex pipe from the Biofalls can be cut to the proper length and inserted through the precut slot on the side of the Pondless Snorkel Vault and glued into the check valve that is attached to your pump.

Step 11 Begin to fill up the Pondless basin with water. At this point in the installation it is typically filled up to just below the decorative gravel.

Step 12 Build the Waterfall and Meandering Stream. First attach the rubber liner to the Biofalls using the snout, rubber silicone and stainless steel screws in your Pondless Waterfall kit.

Then, place two large boulders on either side of the waterfalls you are creating in order to frame the waterfalls. After you have framed in the Waterfalls and stacked up the rocks and slate for your spill ways, install your underwater accent lighting and then use your expanding waterfall foam to tie it all together.

We typically place the Biofalls Filter six to ten feet from the edge of the pond. Twisting and turning the stream makes it look more natural. I recommend taking a hike up to the waterfalls in Forest Falls before you tackle this step to see what Mother Nature has created to inspire and educate yourself.



Step 13 Bring in some topsoil and add it to the surrounding area in order to provide a good substrate for future landscape plantings.

Step 14 Finish off the area behind the Biofalls by building a retaining wall out of boulders. This step may or may not be needed, depending on the size of the undulation you have created into the existing landscape.

Step 15 As soon as the Pondless water feature is filled and the black waterfall foam is dry, you may plug the pump in and test the waterfall. You can tweak the waterfall by placing smaller stones and gravel on the waterfall cascades.

Step 16 Once the waterfall is running, go around the perimeter of the pondless basin and stream with a pair of scissors and trim off any excess liner, always leaving several inches above the water level as a precaution.

Step 17 Spread hardwood mulch around the waterfalls, pondless basin and any surrounding plants that you have added.

Step 18 Youre at the final stages of the project! All that is needed now is to clean up the mess youve made around the yard. This under no circumstance should take you longer than it took to build your water feature.

Step 19 Review your Owners Manual. Your Signature Series Pondless Waterfall kit will include water treatments designed to reduce maintenance and keep the water crystal clear. You can add your first dose of Aquaclearer Beneficial Bacteria.

Step 20 No further explanation is needed for this step, Enjoy!

For more detailed written explanations and installation photographs check it out on the web at www.theponddigger.com under Pondless Waterfall construction.

I recently purchased a MicroPondless Kit and currently in the process of finalizing the layout/design. The site is on a hillside with a 14 foot run from the top of the waterfall to start of the basin, with a raise of about 8 ft. I just have a few questions before proceeding.

1. Given the stream length and head, is the AquaSurge 4000 gph sufficient? I upgraded from the 2500 that came with the kit.
2. When creating the steam beds, what width and depth would you recommend digging (taking into the account the rocks, pebbles, etc)? I'm hoping for a least a 12-18 inches once completed.
3. I'm limited by my basin size (it's currently at 2.5 W x 8 L x 2 D). Is this sufficient if I line most of the basin with pipe rather than rock?

Thank you in advance for the guidance.

George

You have asked some very important questions for your pondless waterfall installation.

1. The Aquasurge pump.  I'm away from the office so I can't pull the accurate figures on the shut off rates for the Aquasurge line of pumps.  However, I can tell you that the pump you are using is not optimal for your application.  The Aquasurge pump line is best with little to no head pressure.

With that being said, if you would of used the Aquasurge 2500, you would of been disappointed with the flow rate, for sure.  

IMPORTANT NOTE:  I hope you upsized to 2 inch pipe as well or you will not get any better results than staying with the original 2500 pump.

Check on the side of the box and see if you can see what the SHUT OFF on the 4000 is.  According to the figures you have given me you are looking at a Total Dynamic Head Pressure of approximately 11 to 12 foot.

Based on rule of thumb, so leave a little room for fudge, if the 4000's SHUT OFF is say 20 foot, then you will be getting less than have of the pumps flow rates.  Approx. 2000 gallons an hour.

2. Gallons per hour usually determines with of the waterfalls and streams.  Typically we design waterfalls and streams to have 1200 to 1500 gph (gallons per hour) per foot of spillway.  Now if you want a very mellow waterfall then reduce the gph and on the flip side if you want a raging waterfalll add additional gph.  It is important to layout your expectations of the waterfall at this point of the design if not sooner to make sure your hardwork has a big payoff at the end.

If you are wanting tweleve to eighteen inch width in your streams and falls, we need to be sure we are calculating your pumps capabilities correctly, according to your expectations.

Once you sure your pump can deliver the gph desired then it is off to the dig.  If you want eighteen inch wide waterfall and you are looking at a eighteen inch tall waterfall, we would be using approximately twenty four inch boulders for that particular waterfall spillway. on the fouteen feet of slope and eight feet of rise, I am sure you will have many waterfalls to calculate.

So calculate the two waterfall boulders and then the desired waterfall width and you have your dig measurements.  Our dig would be approximately five and a half to six feet wide for what I have described above.

3.  The size of the basin can sometimes be limited and you are forced to work with what you have.  By installing as much pipe as possible for filler in the basin, will be a must to handle your water needs.  We can of course calculate it out to be exact if you wish but it appears that you will need to do with what you have, ya?

I hope this answers your questions...............Keep us posted.

Sincerely in Ponds,