Anyone installed a Costco Waterfall Kit before? Any ideas?

We are having a major redo of our small backyard this year. We had our large Oak tree trimmed already and we are getting red Chicago bricks put down shortly, but an idea for a waterfall sprang up to put in the corner of our yard. We had been shown a fiberglass waterfall for about 660 but it looks pretty small, I did a little research online and found that Costco sells one for $799.99 delivered and it includes everything...even the rocks....real rocks!. I thought i'd show a picture of the place we want to put it and get suggestions/thoughts from my fellow DG'ers, hopefully someone has already installed one of these and can let me know if it's a good idea.....I will not be installing it myself, I'll leave it to our handymen.

We cannot grow grass in the backyard because of a dog and the large Oak tree, so it will be all red chicago brick and the sides will be white river stones.

I thought this waterfall looked beautiful to sit out with some nice chairs at night under the old Oak and listen/watch the water...maybe a few lights to accent around it with some nice greenery....tell me what you think?

Below is a picture of the corner of our backyard the waterfall will be placed. I've checked with our handymen and they said it will fit in there perfectly, maybe just a little change in where the actual pond will be depending on the roots of the tree (or they could raise it if there is a problem) The hose you see in the picture is where the pond will come out to, that's about 7.5ft.

I'm not sure if i can post the link to Costco's website, let me know if I can, if not, you can just do a search on costco's website for "Waterfall" and it will show up, it's the Pond & Waterfall kit, not the pondless.

The waterfall that they have pictured is very pretty. I read it more closeley and part of the description said the pond holds 55 gallons. That is the same amount of water I have in my indoor fish aquarium. To me that is not much water. Did you want it just for the waterfall aspect or were considering putting any plants or goldfish in it? If you want it just for the waterfall it might work very well for you but I doubt it would be able to support fish and you would need to consider an alternate method of misquito control. If you want to have some goldfish I do not think it would work as at 55 gallons it seems like the water would be only a few inches deep. In any case you have the perfect spot for it! Let me know if I can help at all. :^)

That's a gorgeous feature- I love the pictures they have of it. Both of the ones they offer were beautiful, hard choice!

I agree, looks like the perfect spot! You could plant around it and behind it, that would look really nice and lush. The lighting is a great idea too.
I was thinking though, it seems like the 55 gallons has to be a typo...why would it come with a 1150 GPH pump with only a 55 gal pond? I realize some of it has to be uphill for the waterfall, but even with those calculations it seems a bit much, maybe? But if it is 55 gal, at 5'x8', that would definitely be only inches deep. I think that the sound and look of a waterfall would be enough if that's what you're looking for, ie no fish and plants (which are the hard part anyhow!). So relaxing and wonderful to sit next to. Can't wait to see it installed, will you post pictures please? :) Susanne

Thank you tetleytuna and Susanne for replying, yes my husband and I want the waterfall merely for the sound and look, not for fish or plants. I have emailed the company about the size to double check the 55 gallons though, just incase it was a typo.

I have 2 questions also, in regards to the oak tree, we had it trimmed and my handyman said he can even trim the canopy directly above so that no limbs cover it, so that there is less debris that falls in, but I'm sure that some leaves and acorns will find their way into the waterfall, has anyone had this experience, I don't mind picking out the leaves every so often, but should I am worried that any acorns falling in will ruin the pump or something or will the filter be ok with them?
Also, since it is natural stone, how do they get the water to be that color blue....it looks like some type of dye, but wouldn't dye stain the rocks?

Thank you for your answers and help.
Samantha

It looks like it will turn out great! If you need any fish for your pond let me know. ;) I'm in Sarasota. Also more pics as you go along please :-)

Being that close to the tree, no matter how much they trim the canopy, you are still going to have a fair amount of leaves , and possibly acorns in the waterway. Frequent maintenance to remove the debris is a good idea. Otherwise, the tanins from the debri will color the water to a tea color. However, if you are not going to put any fish or plants in there, you can do complete water changes to fix that. There is a dye that is available to color the water and is usually found in the pond section of any store which carries that kind of thing.
I can believe the GPH on the pump. That is for more flow. You dont want a trickle, you want a rush!
I am running a 4000 GPH pump, not because of the size of the pond, but because of the lift to the waterfall. I want to hear those falls as soon as I open my back door!!
I think it will look very nice. And if you decide at some point that you want more waterfall, you can always add more rocks!!
Your biggest challange is when those leaves start falling!!

If you don't want to take care of a pond and my understanding is the smaller the pond the harder it is to keep the water good, why not do the Costco pondless waterfall. No maintenance problems then. You would still have the sound and the beauty and since the pond won't support musch you wouldn't have the up keep.

Don't know what kind of tree, but most tree roots will be as wide as the canopy of the tree.

Both Costco waterfalls are very pretty, looks like a great way to go.

Joyce

There is no doubt that 55 gal is a little small for fish. The shade from the oak will have a beneficial effect as it will slow down the algae growth. I have a concern about cutting tree roots when digging for the pond. Anything over an inch in diameter can be detrimental to the health of the tree. Does the tree have an unimpeded root run all round? Are there any driveways, sidewalks, decks, patios or foundations covering any of the root area? If not, then losing one or two large roots may be managable for the tree. It would be a super beautiful setting. If the root disturbance would be a risk consider a raised pool built on top of the ground.

Just paid my $5 for 2 mos after peeking in for the last few months and saw your post. How has your waterfall turned out? We're also in Brandon, FL....sm world! Julianne

Hi Julianne,
We ended up not going with the waterfall, the amount of leaves was too much, each day I monitored it and there was going to be too much upkeep. We did have our backyard redone though, and we love it. No more mud! We actually hired some great guys to do the work and they paved the backyard and put rocks on the side....

Here's a couple of pictures...
Oh I'm close to Providence/Lumsden.
Regards,
Samantha

Here's another this was the before......what a change!

We ended up installing rain barrels also to help with the rain come rainy season which was also causing so much mess. The large pebbles will drain the water and I can vacuum over them with a shop vac, the stones are large enough that they don't get suckedup. We're probably going to put a water fountain, but a smaller one againste the wood fence so we can still enjoy the sound.

Hi Samantha,

I am so impressed! I'm a sucker for before and after photos; thanks for sharing yours. Here's our first-timers effort about 3 years ago. We decided on a convex waterfall around an outside corner to be seen from the street as well as from our living room window. I'll check to see if I have a better photo. We're on the north side of 60 off Parsons on Rosier. Pretty close!

Julianne

Very nice Julianne.....is that a premade fountain or did you stack the stones up like that? I love how you have the fern spilling out of the top. I'd still love to have a waterfall but I'm glad I didn't put one in the backyard now.....the amount of leaves was hidden by all the mud/grass....now that I have the pavers down and white rock, I'll vacuum them up and then next day there is just as many.

Also...welcome to Daves Garden, Im still fairly new myself but there is such a wealth of knowlege here it's amazing....just be careful....quietly perusing other forums will get you addicted and you'll soon have a new favorite plant....my favorites list tripled in the last few months.
Samantha

We bought our liner and pump online, picked up two pallets of stone from Seffner Rock and Gravel and rented a jackhammer from Home Depot. The jackhammer was to eliminate the 15 foot 6 inch thick walkway from across the front window. By far the most laborous part of the job--we didn't raise 3 boys for nothing! Actually, 2 of the boys and one husband. The girls and I could hardly hold the thing up! The waterfall is dry set over a core of concrete blocks overlaid with soil. I turned a couple of blocks holes upward and used them to plant the aspargus fern in; the other ferns found their way from the fern garden in front of the window. The carolina jasmine was trained on a branch mounted above the falls. We get fallout from the nearby bottlebrush and the jasmine tosses in a few blossoms during bloom time. Biggest upkeep issue--hair algae. My husband raises/breeds fish in the pond and doesn't want to use anything that might harm the fish, so we are continually clearing that out. It's been a wonderful source of pleasure dispite the work.

Thanks for the welcome! I'm looking forward to "meeting" the Dave's Garden folks and learning all the tricks that will make our garden look the way I envision it in my mind.

julianne, that is very beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

Brenda