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Journal Pond on a slope

Augusta

Member
Joined
12 Apr 2016
Messages
30
Location
Northumberland
Hi all,

Having had a little look around this wonderful site I know I'm in the right place.

I'm currently landscaping my front garden and want to include a wildlife pond (no fish) into my design. Unfortunately I know very little about pond construction.
Front_Garden1.jpg

In the picture, I'm planning on positioning the pond to the left of the fern in pot. The path has been broken up and will now sweep around following the line of the green hosepipe. The pond size i'm planning will be about 3m x 2m. Where the steps are i am going to build a stone retaining wall all the way across. Out of this wall i want water to trickle out into a 'brook', which will feed into the pond. So there will be some pipe going up behind this wall. The angle of the slope is 10 degrees. There is a garage at the bottom of the garden from where the power will come.

My wife isn't that keen and will be watching closely, i don't want to hear her say 'I told you so'!!

So from you guys i would really appreciate any advice/help on what you think i'll need. Pump/pipe size etc etc ...oh and i plan on using pond liner.

Many thanks
 
A waterfall can be a great looking thing if done right, but like all things done well there is more to it than meets the eye, but here goes.:)

If you get "any pump" how do you know if it will be right or not? The answer is you don't get "any pump" you have to use some maths to calculate the right one.
The average waterfall has a water depth of 6mm* For every 2.5cm of width you will need 3.8 litres / water / minute.
So if your waterfall is 25cm wide you will need a water flow of 38 litres / minute.

Most pumps will have a "flow graph" on the box to tell you how much they can pump and to what height.

Height? where does that come in? The height is the difference from the water surface to the highest point of the waterfall.

Lets say 1m

Most pumps have the flow graph in LPH (Litres Per Hour)

So you need to look for a pump that can pump 2280 Litres of water / hour to 1m in height.*

Not all pumps are the same, there are a variety of pump types, such as filter pumps, fountain pumps, sump pumps, feature pumps. Each has its own specific use. You need to find one that matches or is bigger than you require.

You should also take into consideration the water will need to get from the pump to the top of the waterfall, as you will be having 2280 LPH a small hose will probably be too small and restrictive so you will need to use a dedicated pump hose.

You also have to consider that the pump will need electricity (You did mention a supply is available in the garage) But you will have to install a steel wire armoured cable from your garage to the pump. You can either do this yourself, get a part P registered electrician to do it or there are "kits" available

*You change these figures accordingly, so if you want half the water you divide everything by two etc.

There is more regarding construction, but Its up to you if you still want to continue.

Me? I would not have the waterfall, build a decent pond and leave it and see what happens (You said you want a natural pond)
 
If its a wildlife pond depending on how exactly you want it you dont need to take in as much consideration as fish are not a issue ,a piece of water with plants in its simplest form. Practical Fishkeeping Spring issue as a free pullout by Jeremy Gay about all aspects of building a pond,equipment etc and even a waterfall.
 
If it's plants only and whatever wildlife wants to jump in on it's own, you do not need to take filtration in account.. Plantmass will/can do the job for you. :) Seeing you garden a nice cascading stream going down is indeed a very idyllic idea.. Depending on what you want this can be a challange construction wise.. But doesn't need to be such a massive undertaking. If you want a top pond and a bottom pond connected with a ditch looking like a stream and make it look natural you need a truckload of rocks and very thick pond foil.

For the stream you can take slabs of pond foil and overlap them like laying down roof tiles, water never runs up hill so 1 foot overlap maybe 2 might be more then enough. so it doesn't need to be 1 piece.. The pond foil only needs to be thick enough not the get punctured bu the rocks you lay upon it to hide it away. So this is going to be a precise tiddy job to layout choosing rocks without sharp edges and work your way up hill like paving a path and still make it look natural.

Since you need to dig a ditch down hill you can lay the piping up hill in the same ditch and connect a pump like this
dompelpomp_eurom_spv750i-001.jpg

These pumps are designed to pump dirty water and are available in a large range of capacities.. Since you don't need to filter these can be rather sufficient.. The piping up hill in the ditch it's best to take Polyethylene piping.. And it's best to create a construction in the bottom pond so the pump doesn't rest on the bottom, to prevent it from sucking in dead leaves etc and get clogged. Best is to hang it on a chain a foot above the bottom. For example dig a connected well with some kind of overflow and a cover next to the pond to hang in the pump. :) If it ever clogges, pull it up, clean it, hang it back.

Construction can all be relatively simple, just need diggin, foil, PE tube, a truckload of rocks, lots of elbow greas and a nice design plan.. :)
 
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Looks like a nice project! Always beneficial for getting a waterfall when you already have the height you need rather than having to build up the layers with your landscaping.
 
Since you need to dig a ditch down hill you can lay the piping up hill in the same ditch and connect a pump like this
dompelpomp_eurom_spv750i-001.jpg
Wooooow....you can't use these for a pond. They are not continuously rated. The one in the picture needs a 10minute rest every 1hour pumping.

You need a proper kosher pond pump, preferably with input filter to supply your water feature.

Something like this...
https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Pumps_and_Aquatics_Index/Hoze_Aquaforce/index.html

But if doing properly one of these filters, even better with UV, will help keep the water clear.
https://www.tlc-direct.co.uk/Main_Index/Pumps_and_Aquatics_Index/Hoze_Bio_Force/index.html

I helped a mate build a waterfall/river feature, years ago, in a similar type situation as yours.

He used concrete and bricks and reinforcing bar to make the water fall run, all built on a layer of waterproof butyl rubber placed on packed sand. Drilled holes in rocks/boulders, inserted stainless rod and placed on concrete water run. The rod stops the rocks moving, especially if you walk on them. Then filled gaps between rocks with concrete and expanding foam.

The final pond was two layers of butyl sheet, with couple cm sand between layers.

Water was pumped up from lower pond via a 1" pipe (I think) run in a buried length of drain pipe. This enables you to fix/change the pump pipe at a later date easily.

The upper pond acted as his filter, with the water cascading into a "box" with filter material in it.
 
Wooooow....you can't use these for a pond.
It was just a example picture.. :) There are pump designs with simular model which can be used continuously, seen them in the lfs pond section. Never looked close enough to see the brand, just saw an immerseble pump like on the picture for pond use.. If it can operate a fountain 24/7 it can operate a waterfall as long as the HQMax is met.. So just took the first picture i found. Sorry for the confusment and sloppy picture search. :)
 
Just a quick reply to say thank you for all your excellent advice. I'll have more time at the weekend to digest it all and reply.
It is just a wildlife pond I'm after.
If i do without the waterfall coming out of the wall. Go with an upper small pond linked to a larger lower pond by a 'babbling brook', it will be 7m in length
Many thanks again :)
 
For the record here is one i kinda like the name because it's best to hang them above the bottom. Hence the sumilar construction. Hungpump :rolleyes: But known brands like DAB have same model pumps for continious use as said waterfall ore fountain doesn't realy make a differnce the common name fontain pump can be distracting. They are actualy just continious submersable dirt water pumps. :thumbup:
 
Following on from what ian_m said, in regard to "sump pumps" (The pump shown and and any similar are known as sump pumps) apart from the fact most are NOT meant for continual use, when they are used they draw a lot of current. Or to put it another way "They are expensive to run" they are very good at their main job, that of pumping out a sump which in theory should not take that long, and as such you don't mind the running costs.
 
If the pump is too small it will not be up to the task required, but you got it because it "looked nice" and was "not too costly"

As I said before, if you want a specific "look" (small running brook in this case) then you have to work out the requirements and choose a pump accordingly. If you don't choose the correct pump for the job you will in one way or another waste money, be that in electricity use or in a succession of pumps till you find the right one.

As an aside, not all pumps can operate a fountain.
Some you physically can not get a fountain nozzle to fit directly onto (sump pumps) and others (filter pumps) can pump the volume of water but they have no pressure to operate a fountain nozzle.
 
Waterfalls are perhaps the most difficult aspect of a garden pond to get right.
Making a waterfall look nateral is not easy but apart from the aesthetics, waterfall can cause major evaporation issues!
On warm, windy summer days you can expect to lose several inches of water from the pond, if the waterfall is exposed to direct sun then you can lose even more!
Good luck though as it can also be very satisfying to watch and listen to a nice waterfall.
 
If you do do the stream/waterfall you could shade the waterfall with heavy plants and stone, to keep evaporation down a little 20160415_210757.jpg 20160415_210807.jpg 20160415_210807.jpg
 
Unfortunately haven't been able to get hold of the Practical Fishkeeping (pond edition). Appreciate all the advice. Will definitely add updates ...I always like to see how people's project develop myself :)
I'm off during the summer holidays so hoping to get most of the work done then
 
Hi mate if you go in to ponds. You will see my project being built. I am having a upper pond built. The upper pond is 5 feet above ground. I agree with Ian . You will need the type of filter to bury in the ground. So as to hide it. Or put it in the garage. Then if so get an easy pod..have you decided if your having pump in the pond pumping out or dry pump that's sit s out side of pond. My last ones on my old pond where in pond pumps. I now have three dry pumps for my new pond. You can buy a pump now a days that can do both. I have one. It's a super fish pond eco 15000. Very low electricity user. So economically very good. There cheapish. With 3 year guarantee. Connect hose from 25 32 and 40 mm. Gets rid of solids up to 8 mm. Powerful enough to go upto h max 4.10 m. So work out your pipe work. Length of run. Try to use 90% swept bend. This is to reduce friction loss. These pumps go larger. Good pump though. I have had mine for other a year now. Also you can use your upper pond as a filter in its self. Like I am going to do. A bog filter.lots of gravel and baskets with plants in. Als I will be running air pipes in the upper pond. To clean it out. Every so often. Need to because I keep koi. So have to keep clean as it can help the wrong bacteria grow. That can harm my fish. In your case though your not keeping fish.
The more bends you have in the pipe work the harder the pump has to work. Hope this help s mate best Fred
 
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Firstly thank you Andy D so much for sending through the pond brochure

The original path is now broken up and I'm hoping to use most of the 'rubble' as part of the foundations to the retaining walls and paths. Weather getting better here so hoping for more progress soon.

Thanks again for all the advice and support
 

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