A Waterfall

Alright, now it is time to work on the most visual part of the pond feature.  We have already talked about how to plan and how to build the basin, now let’s discuss the waterfall.  The waterfall as I said is the most visual part of the feature.  It is not the most important, but is what creates the sound, texture and feeling of the feature.  When done right, it is also the major filtration of the pond and can ultimately keep your pond water crystal clear.

So where do you begin on the waterfall?  Let’s begin with the height.  By now you should have the dirt built up in a pile from the digging of the basin, or you would have had sloping ground because of how you planned out your pond.  Go ahead a get a rough measurement of the height of the falls and decide how many tiers you want to try and install.  Of course, you have to let your mind and creativity run wild and be ready to change it as you go.  No matter how much you plan, it will not turn out exactly like you imagined.  Most of the time it turns out much better than you were dreaming about at night.

It is always a good idea to install your waterfall box first.  What is a waterfall box you ask?  It is a open top box that is filled with water from the pump and slowly over flows and creates the slow water fall effect.  Inside the box is multiple forms of filtration to help keep the water clean.

Once the waterfall box is set in place, then you can lay out your liner all the way down the waterfall.  Once attached to the box, then you can start digging out the stair steps for the different layers of the pond.  Under the liner, you want to dig the dirt to mirror the steps, and above the liner, you want to lay out the rocks that the water will flow on top of.

Waterfall Box

Once all of the digging and rock laying is in place and you are testing the water, use waterfall foam in a spray can to direct the water and to keep the water on top of the rocks and in the center of falls.

Happy Falls

using a shovel to build the basin

Well, have you picked the location of your pond yet?  I think a pond will go just about anywhere you want to put it.  All the landscaping that is done around it can make it blend with any environment.  Today I want to talk about making the basin.  The basin is the pool of water which is the actual pond.

The easiest way to start, is to get a can of the upside down spray paint.  This will allow you to spray the ground with your design and adjust it till you are completely happy with the shape and size.  Now it is time to find several of your friends that love to work for food and bring them to your house with a shovel!  There are two ways to dig the basin, the first is with a shovel.  This is not a bad way of doing it, it is just time consuming.  Be patient, it will all get done.  The second is with a small backhoe.  These can be rented by the day at the local rental stores.  This is a good option also, but if you have never run one, you can mess up your basin pretty quickly if you are not careful.  By using a shovel, you are able to detail the edges and really dig it to the depth that you are wanting.

When digging the edges, if you are not using a preformed liner, it is a good idea to leave a plant ledge of dirt to set potted plants on to get them up the water level that they like.  A ledge basically looks like a step half way down the edge inside the basin.  If you are using a preformed liner, than you have to dig the basin to match the liner.  Don’t dig it too big, because it will be extra difficult to properly backfill around the edges.

When deciding on the depth, two to three feet is a really good average depth.  Any deeper and it is hard to maintain, any shallower and the fish don’t have good protection.  It is good to have the bottom as smooth as you can just for the ease of installation of the liner later in the installation.

The dirt that is pulled out of the basin can be used for the waterfall.  We will discuss building the waterfall soon, so stay tuned.

Happy Basin

Jeremy, Jessica, and Pinky

This has been so much fun this week at the Wilson County Fair.  We have been taking pictures with Pinky and posting them to this site.  If you look at the top of the page on the menu bar, you will see a tab that takes you to the Wilson County Fair 2009.

Even if you haven’t gotten your picture taken, take a look and see all the other people from all over the country having their picture with Pinky.  I have seen people from NY, KY, FL, OK and several more.  What fun times!!

When you click on the link to the pictures, you are able to download, print, or send to a print store directly from the software.  It can be used for blackmail as well if you so choose. J

Happy Fair

Koi Pond

Many of you out there have thought about putting in a Koi pond with a waterfall in your back yard at sometime or another.  You probably thought, I don’t know that I can do the work and I sure can’t afford to pay someone to do it for me, and to this day you still don’t have one.  We are going to give you the tips and tools you will need to build your own pond and enjoy it for years to come.

Today, we will discuss location and planning.  Location is key to making a pond look like it belongs.  Sometimes there will be a sloped spot that is a very obvious spot to put a waterfall.  Other times, you are working with level ground and will need to create from scratch, the waterfall.  Either way, it can be done, and done right.

Next you will need to decide how large of a basin you are wanting.  This will be determined by the fish you want to stock, and what plants you are wanting to put in there.  You will also need to decide what shape of basin you want.  You can build it round, oval, and irregular.  There is not an advantage to one over the other except for the look of your particular area of installation.

Now it is time to decide how much waterfall you are wanting.  You won’t know exactly at this point, but you must try and guess a good size to start the planning process.  With a waterfall, you can go up and out.  Up is how far from the ground the fall starts, and the out is how far away from the basin the fall starts.  Knowing that will determine how big of pump and filter you will be installing.

There are two different types of water collection material you can buy.  One is the preformed heavy plastic units that the big box places sell.  These are permanently shaped and just need to be sunk in a hole and your pond is ready for water.  No flexibility is given when using one of these.  The other option is using a heavy liner material.  This option gives you complete flexibility in the shape, size and depth of your pond.  It is more work during installation, but is usually the better choice in the end.

Happy Pond