Before Starting

DESIGN BEFORE YOU START

One thing to do before you start any project is to get a idea of what you want, it is very hard to wing something like a waterfall.

Things to watch:

• drainage
  
• waterfall length
  
• pond size
  
• pond elevation
  
• weeping tile (if needed)
  
• area you can build in
  
• electrical
  
• lighting
  
• plants
  
• big trees
  
• gas lines and water lines
  
• rock type
  

and much more .....

Just do your homework on local bylaws and restrictions and build something you are happy with, replacing or change water feature is very hard and costly, do it right the fist time.

New Water Bowls

A Water bowl can be any bowl or container that can hold water and be placed on your deck or garden. In many cases no pump is needed but a small amount of water movement is recommended. Then add water plants. Water plants are some of the greatest flowering plants. A water bowl allows you to have these plants in a simple low maintenance container. Usually you will get a marginal plant with a couple floaters around it. The more surface area covered the better as plants will blog sunlight and take care of nutrients algae always look for. It is always my recommendation to put a small goldfish in the bowl, feeding it is not needed if the bowl is over 5 gallons as long as you do have plants covering the bowl surface. Many times i also recommend that you put lava rock or rock in general in the bowl. This allows beneficial bacteria to grow and will again cut down on maintenance. Besides that do partial water changes as needed and watch you plants grow.

Planning

Before any project is started it is essential to plan it out. Having a dream is the first step to any project. Do you want fish or no fish? Pond-less or pond? Big or small (to calculate approximate gallons it is Length x Width x Depth x 7.5)? Invision the project the way that you would want it in an ideal situation. Sketch it out if possible, this will help others understand what you want as well as give you an idea of price and materials needed. The next step is to come up with a budget for the project. Getting a professional to do the work will cost roughly double or triple the costs of the materials on average, depending on the size of your project and materials used. Completing a water feature project take a lot of time, the average 8x11 pond and small waterfall will take about 90 man hours to complete from start to finish.

Constructing Bubblers

Installing a rock bubbler is one of the easiest water features to install.

Materials needed:

• Basin
• Pump
• Rock with hole
• Rocks for surrounding
• Lights (if wanted)
• Hole for through rock and to attach to pump
• Flow valve
• Quick connections or clamps

First thing to installing a bubbler is to know where and plan the area of installation. Spray paint works best for marking the area. following this digging the hole where the basin will be place is next. Once the basin is in make sure that it is level, if it is not then you will not be able to fill it up to maximum capacity. Before placing the rock on top, feed the hose through the hole and make sure you have enough. DO NOT cut the hose until the pump is in the basin and you know how much you need to get to it. Once the hose is through and the rock is placed on the basin, get the pump ready. Hook up the pump to the hose, at this point test it all out, fill with water and see if the bubbler has to be levelled to achieve the desired water flow once turned on. If you are hooking up multiple bubblers to one pump it is essential to have a flow valve and T connection. The flow valve will regulate the lower of the bubblers which will get more water flow from the pump if the valve was not there. After the rock is in the desired position, all that is left is placing rocks around the bubbler. Bubblers only take about 8 man hours to install if the rock is a manageable size.

Constructing Waterfalls

Building a waterfall is something that not only takes manpower but also an artistic touch. When building a waterfall, waterfall foam is the builder best friend. It is the cement that hold rocks together and prevents water from getting behind rocks and rather go over them, maximizing the waterflow that can be enjoyed. One tip is not to get black waterfall foam on your hands, it does not come off easily unless washed and scrubbed with water immediately. Read the cans for precautions before using. The foam expands so only fill 1/3 of the gap when using. When dry it acts like a cement and hold rocks together even bonding to the liner. When building the edges of steams the best plan of action is to dig into the ground wide enough so that rocks can fit on either side of the stream while still maintaining the desired stream width. Place Large rocks first in areas that fit what you want the stream to look like, then slowly add smaller sizes from next biggest all the way to the smallest. Many people hire a professional to just do the waterfall part of a feature because the waterfall is the most common spot that leaks are found.

Constructing Ponds

Ponds take to most man hours out of any water feature to complete and are also the most costly. The major cost of any pond is the cost of the rocks. It is a misconception that liner and pumps are the major costs of having a water feature. When picking rocks use the ones that fit your style of yard and ones that are found close to your area. If you decide to use a imported rock the costs of your pond may double or triple depending on the style and color of the rock. When building a pond it is essential to plan out where to pond is going to be, how deep you are going to go, and what feature you are creating (eg. Koi pond or long stream). To support a long stream for example, you would need a larger amount of water in your pond. This way when the pump is started the entire pond does not empty to support the stream volume. In addition, when building the pond it is essential to have a tiered shelf around the sides. This shelf will be used to be able to stack and foam rocks into the inside of the pond. If the sides are to steep and high it is very hard to rock the inside of your pond as the rocks will continually slide down. Before placing the liner down, it is recommended that a sand base with an underlay fabric be placed down first. The underlay fabric is to prevent rocks pushed up from frost in winter from punching a hole through your pond liner. After placing the liner use and place large rocks first, extra cut offs of liner can be folded and placed under large rocks as extra cushion. Continue with smaller and smaller rocks until the pond looks completely natural. It is important to use a 3/4"-2" rock on the bottom of the pond to minimize spaces for harmful bacteria to grow between the rocks. If adding a waterfall or stream to the pond, do both at the same time as the overlap of liner from the stream/waterfall will have to come into the pond.

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