Water Movement
Waterfalls
A
waterfall makes a great addition to your pond. It is a good idea to
plan the site of the waterfall before you begin construction of the
pond as you may want to use the spoil (leftover soil) from digging
the hole to make a mound to put your waterfall on.
Preformed
waterfalls
There are many ways
to make your waterfall, the simplest is to buy a
preformed
waterfall and
place it at the side of the pond. These will need to be supported,
usually on a mound of earth (it’s handy that you’ve got
a huge mound of earth left over from digging the pond!). You can
vary the slope on these waterfalls just by raising or lowering the
back a little but be aware that this will change the way the water
flows or pools on the fall itself. Once you are happy with the
position it’s easy to just put a hosepipe from your pump over
the back of the waterfall and disguise it with rocks or
plants.
The style of
preformed
waterfalls varies enormously, from inexpensive black plastic ones to
fibreglass or resin ones that can look very realistic. As with many
things, the more you pay for one of these the more impressive it
will be but even a cheap waterfall with some cobbles in it and
edges disguised by planting can look and sound good.
Homemade
Waterfalls
You can make your
own waterfall too and, although it is a little more work, you can
at least be sure to get exactly the look that you want and make
sure it matches your edging stones perfectly.
Usually you would
put a
pond
liner offcut
under the waterfall and on top of your mound of earth. This will
hold in the water and means that the decorative part of the
waterfall doesn’t need to be waterproof. Hang the bottom end
of the
liner over into the pond and raise up the edges
to make a channel. Into this you can then position rocks, cobbles
or flat stones to make a waterfall that looks good to you. Straight
edges that overhang the rocks beneath are particularly
effective.
We suggest that you
avoid concrete products (like paving slabs), as they can cause
problems and try to build the whole thing without mortar. If you
must use mortar then you should paint it with an
aquatic
sealer, like
G4, when you are done to stop the lime from
leaching into the water. Lime can cause the pond to get an alkaline
pH which is bad for your fish and good for the dreaded
blanket weed.
Click here to see our range of
pre-formed waterfalls
Now that you
know more about installing a waterfall in your pond, why not take a
look at one of our other guides:
Waterfall
Pumps
Nature ponds
Fountains
Electrical supply to the
pond
Connecting the pond pump
and pond filter
Adding fish to the
pond
Or click here to see a list of
all our pond building guides
