Your thoughts on pond fountain and waterfall combinations

by Jim Stawecki
(Western Pennsylvania)

What do you think about a fountain and waterfall combination?

My recently constructed pond is an oval 15' by 10' 40" deep with 18" shelfs half-way around the pond.

The pond is not completed but it does have 12 goldfish and several hardy water lilies sleeping on the bottom. This past Fall I ran my fountain and removed it before the cold weather settled in.

Right now I'm running my aerator and have a two foot diameter hole in the ice and the fish seem to be doing alright. I live in Western Pennsylvania. Again, I was thinking of adding a waterfall, what do you think? Thanks

Jim

Doug says:

Garden design is a pretty individual thing and no two gardeners are going to agree on what makes great garden design.

Personally - if I'm growing lilies as the primary reason for the pond, then I'd not use a waterfall. I'd want the lily collection to be front and center. I've had several water lily ponds that had no power whatsoever or moving water. The objective was to grow lilies.

Having said that, if you're looking for a total pond experience, then a waterfall and stream combination is a tough one to beat in the landscape. It gives you motion/sound and a full range of bog, streamside and pond plants to play with.

It all depends on your landscape and objectives for the pond.

The one thing I will say is that it is harder to"naturally" incorporate a waterfall into a landscape than a straight pond. Having a waterfall "rise up" out of nowhere isn't great landscaping. So if you have a slope or can create one, then a waterfall/stream is a great idea.

But it's your .02 here. :-)

understanding my water pump

by David Siracusa
(Scappoose, OR)

I've got a Horizon Sure Pro HSP4500 pump with a 2" suction and 2" discharge, 4500 gallons per hour at 5'. My pond is 300 gallons. Will my pump perform if I change the suction to 1 1/2" as well as the discharge? I'd like to pump it through my Tetra filter and back into my pond. Currently have a "Disney" mess of different sizes. My previous pond it all worked well, had to move and I'd like to clean up the mess.

Doug says as soon as you change the input or output of a pump you're putting stress on the motor.

Can you do it? Sure.

Should you do it? Nope - not if you want your pump to last.

Devise a system where you run the water through the right size input-output but that you have a t-valve in the system. One side goes to your filter - the other back into the pond. Adjust the flow to your filter to your liking and allow the remainder to flow back into the pond through the other side of the t-valve.

Or get a pump that's sized right for the filter and pond. :-)

Is My pump to big?

by Shirley
(Seaforth, Ontario)

I have bubbles on the top of my pond, under the waterfall. Is this pump to big? If so without buying another one could I adjust this one. As far as I know there is no adjustment on the pump itself. Maybe slowing the flow somehow??

Doug says that some bubbles underneath a waterfall are quite normal. It's like pouring water into the sink - you get bubbles where the water forces oxygen into the water. Not a problem.

Having said that - if you need to slow down the pond pump because you have Niagara Falls types of bubbles, then you can do this by installing a t-valve into the outflow of the pump (the line where the water goes out of the pump to the waterfall area. The t-valve is adjusted so that you get the right amount of water going over the falls and the remainder if diverted back into the pump. So thing t-shape. One end of the t is incoming water and the other two ends of the t are outgoing. One outgoing to the waterfall (adjusted to the flow) and the other t outflow is to the pond with the excess water. It's a bit of a balancing act to close the two outflow valves to get the water flow you want over the waterfalls but that's the easiest way to regulate a too-strong pump.