water const

The first step to building waterfalls, is to decide to use the existing contour of the land, or to build the falls from soil and rocks. In the picture below we used the contour of the land as the base for our waterfall. Once we placed our BIOFALLS Filter in place we were ready to excavate the waterfall area. Your biofalls filter will then be hooked up to your pump and skimmer. Most ponds kits will come with all the necessary equipment you will need to set up a waterfall. They will have a skimmer, biofalls filter, all the hoses you will need and usually you can choose which size pump you want for your project.

Waterfalls serve three major functions,
1) the means by which water re-enters the pond following its cycle through the filtration system, 2) a means of aerating the pond water providing oxygen for fish and other pond life, and 3) an aesthetic accentuation to the pond, both visually and with sound.

This is a picture of a biofalls filter. This is where the water will flow from.

When building your waterfall a water retention pocket should be provided for the waterfall stonework to be built within. Without this step, leaks are probable. The retention pocket which is located under the waterfall acts as a "bib" and returns water to the pond. These retention pockets should also be as level as possible to prevent leaks. Once the water fills the first hole it will overflow into the second and third and so on for however many layers you have in your waterfall.

As a general practice, on most waterfalls, we prefer to install 3" drains at the lowest pool on the waterfall prior to water returning to the pond. This provides the pond owner with the ability to open this drain and literally hose down the waterfall as you would your driveway. This feature dramatically reduces maintenance. This drain eliminates waste collected in the waterfall from entering the pond.

This illustration shows the drain in the last pool before the water will enter the pond

Once you have your pools formed and drain in place you can install your liner, just as you did for your pond. The illustration below is a good example of a liner being installed correctly for this waterfall. Once the liner is in place, you can then place in the rocks and tweak the waterfall to your liking. Then start running water into your biofalls and pump and you will have the peaceful sound of a waterfall..

The waterfall liner is 10 feet wide to allow for plenty of splashing and for
the turns in the course of the three falls. Note that the pond liner extends
well up the course of the falls, with a generous overlap