Making a Waterfall

[sanddrag]

I need to make a waterfall. The water will begin falling at about 13 feet from the ground, be caught and spilled out again at 10 feet, again at 7 feet, and reach a final landing at 3 feet off the ground, where it will be collected and pumped back to the top. I'm looking for a flow in the range of about 6,000 GPH. I have selected a pump, but am having a little trouble with the rest of the components.

I was looking at one of these for the very top, but what I'm having trouble finding is something to cath it in and then release it again. I was thinking maybe there is something like this but with a wider spillway. Haven't found anything though. Should I build a wooden box and cover it in pond liner? I want all three falls to be somewhere in the range of about 24 inches wide.

Thanks.

EDIT: Rethought it, and perhaps I don't want the water to come out perfectly flat. But yeah, still looking for ideas on the "catch and release" part of it. It's hard to try out until I actually have the pump.

[EricH]

Float planning already? Or are you doing something else?

I'd suggest taking a box of, say, wood (material doesn't matter right now) and lining it with, say, a trash bag. Now, the trick is to get a flat flow, so try cutting a flat rectangle out near the top of one side. Fill it with water from above to the point where the water is flowing out from the rectangle. Hopefully, the water flowing out will be fairly flat, and the box angle can be adjusted for the flow you want.

All the flat waterfalls I've seen have had a flat lip at the top, just under the water. As long as nothing is in the way, it should stay flat. (And, if you are building this for a float, that includes in the way in case of sudden start or stop.)

[Joe Matt]

I'm a fan of the cheap plastic containers that you find at big box home improvement stores. They are small, have "lips" on them for the water to fall off of, and can be easily decorated. To make sure the water comes out flat, you need to maintain laminar flow and also that the water isn't rough at the bottom. Try to add some sort of device to prevent turbulant flow in the tubs, either with porrus materials, or some sort of rock or something that'l stop the waves.

Sorry if my words didn't present a very good mental image, it's kind of hard to describe the things in creating fountains. It's a personal hobby of mine. Go pick up some books, IM me if you want, fountains are cool!

[Daniel_LaFleur]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

I need to make a waterfall. The water will begin falling at about 13 feet from the ground, be caught and spilled out again at 10 feet, again at 7 feet, and reach a final landing at 3 feet off the ground, where it will be collected and pumped back to the top. I'm looking for a flow in the range of about 6,000 GPH. I have selected a pump, but am having a little trouble with the rest of the components.

I was looking at one of these for the very top, but what I'm having trouble finding is something to cath it in and then release it again. I was thinking maybe there is something like this but with a wider spillway. Haven't found anything though. Should I build a wooden box and cover it in pond liner? I want all three falls to be somewhere in the range of about 24 inches wide.

Thanks.

EDIT: Rethought it, and perhaps I don't want the water to come out perfectly flat. But yeah, still looking for ideas on the "catch and release" part of it. It's hard to try out until I actually have the pump.

A couple of things:

First, I know you picked your pump already but make sure that it is rated for that flow rate into the 13+ foot head. Pump manufacturers are notorious for giving flow rates into 0' head and then saying that it 'can' pump into a 'x' foot high head (but they give no flow rates for that elevation).

Secondly, building it out of wood and then using pond liner will work very well as long as you plan your spillway properly and put a baffel in (and gravel in the bottom) to create laminer flow. If this is going to be a permanent structure do not use trash bags as they will not survive very long and will begin to leak, however if this is for a short term project then trashbags should be fine. An alternative material could be the plastic bins used in 'Stack Attack' a few years ago. You can heat the sides with a heat gun (do this outside, as it will smell) to make the spillway.

Also if you are using gravel anywhere (and even if you are not, it's a good idea) make sure your pump inlet has a fine screen in it, and that the screen is easy to clean. The screen will restrict the flow (so your GPH will decrease) but its better than getting the impeller jammed.

[Steve W]

Again we are not sure if for long or short term. I am a natural type of guy. I have a pond that has a water wall that is as natural as can be. My top section has a pipe with holes drilled in it and capped at one end. It sits under flat rocks and on top of another flat rock. The water comes out and rolls down the bottom rock to the fall. The width is based on the rock size and pipe size. If you want the water to fall into another holding area I would recommend a rubber pond liner with rocks siliconed to the rubber. That would force the water to go over the rocks as the water rises. Repeat as desired. The whole waterfall will have a backing of rubber pond liner that directs any back flow to go down the back on into the pond.

The head pressure depends on not just height. Bends, elbows, tubing size, length and filters all effect the head capacity. My findings are that I always go bigger and if I have too much I just put a valve with either another outlet (frog, pump, fountain) or jus allow the flow straight back into the pond. There is nothing worst than having too little of a flow. I have in my pond a foam filter in the water, a mechanical filter outside of the pond and an ultra violet filter between the mechanical filter and the waterfall. As the foam and mechanical filter get dirty the water flows drops quickly as the greater the resistance the.......

This is an easier to build idea with flexibility and easy maintenance. Easier as the rubber will conform to whatever size hole you have and is not ridged. The rubber can be patched if a hole occurs. Enjoy the experience.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Sandi,
Take the above advice, if you use one pump for the whole thing it will require some thinking and planning. If you want a really outstanding look, remember that water can be made to appear like a large flow with the addition of turbulence and air. Turbulence can occur with a textured water trough and you can introduce air through small jets behind the water. Don't forget you can also add to the illusion with an audio recording of falling water.

[petek]

I can't improve much on all this helpful advise (though I second Dan's reminder about manufacturer's specmanship), but if this will be a permanent fixture, you'll need to include filtering and maintenance in your plans. The annual Cleaning of the Pond at our house is always a fun-filled festival of fish capture, snail rescue and tadpole counting, accompanied by the pleasant aroma of algae and year-old bottom of the pond muck.

If you find your project to be too easy, you can always make the water go uphill.