Water Gardening: New pond project now under way - join us!, 1 by fleursdefouquet

fleursdefouquet wrote:
Hi Kathy! It's been a real learning experience for us. Even with all the DG members' advice, a book, dvd and pond supply store owner giving us detailed instructions....we've still made mistakes. At least we've made fewer mistakes than we would have without all the help!

The 'mouth' you can see in the photo is called a 'weir'. Ours is 16" wide but they come wider for larger falls. Here's a link if you would like to see what it looks like. http://www.pondusa.com/filter3j.htm The weir has a box on the back that serves as a reservoir that fills with water then flows out the mouth section seen in the photo. Without it, the water would shoot out of the tubing with such force it would overshoot the rocks and probably hit about mid-pond! It also helps control the direction of the water.

We've learned there is more to building the waterfall than it first appears. The same 45mil material used for the pond liner is also used to line the waterfall to prevent leaks. Then there's the canned foam that is sprayed between the stones to also prevent leaks and direct the water. Whew! details....details....details! We filled the pond and turned on the pump for the first time last evening - and learned very quickly if the waterfall is not built correctly, the mistakes are discovered immediately! Our liner was not laid properly under the falls and we have a leak that is going to be difficult to repair. We also have leaks at the pump connections and both filter connections. The connection leaks will be easier to fix, but the leak within the falls will be more challenging. We will just keep 'tweaking' until it's right!

Here it is as of last evening. DH agrees we need to purchase more of the larger stones to line the pond as the limestone is too small for the look we would like. We will probably choose individual stones to complete that portion rather than buying a pre-picked pallet of stones. We will also add the vertical boulder in front of the tree and waterfall. This is not a one weekend job! Yes, I'm a little disappointed we didn't get more done this weekend, but would rather take longer to do it and be happier with it in the end than rush the job and never really be satisfied. DH is ready to put fish in it now! I'm having to keep reminding him we have to make all the adjustments and repairs first in case the pond has to be drained. No fish until it's complete. I'm glad he's showing interest in it and believe we will spend many hours enjoying it.