Just thought I would ask on progress.
If you hit any problems there is lots of help in this group
Maybe post a Pic or 2 just to let everyone know how you are going.
You are right about height and flow you will need a fairly large pump to give you a good water flow. Maybe you should think in terms of 2 pumps especially if you are thinking of having fish in your lowest pond. That way if 1 pump fails you will still have flow for the fish. It is also easier to get the flow you want by balancing the 2 pump flows with simple Ball type control valves or taking flow from the pumps to fire up a fountain or bubbler.
Best of Luck
--- In PONDERS_INTERNATIONAL@yahoogroups.com, "buy_14226" <buy_14226@...> wrote:
>
> Thanks for the information,yes I am lucky to have a very helpful neighbor with a backhoe, Bobcat, loader etc. I will call upon his help for digging the pond and if needed to place any really big stones. As I mentioned stones are not a problem. I would like to keep the stones for the water falls on the smaller size say 2 feet long or shorter because I don't want a really huge falls. I would like to have a dropoff high enough to make a nice sound. I have done something similar to what you suggested as far as the height goes. I put an 8' ladder at the base of the fill and put a piece of wood on the top and ran it over to the hill. This is how I chose the 8' height.I read somewhere that the the higher I go the bigger the pump. Also the wider the stream the bigger the pump.
>
> --- In PONDERS_INTERNATIONAL@yahoogroups.com, "Raymond I" <rasta_rayi@> wrote:
> >
> > Thank You Art,
> > I think you have the making of a very pleasant series of water falls.
> > I see that you have some boulders and large stones that can be used to effect.
> > #1 question
> > Do you have access to any equipment such as Bobcat, mini Excavator
> > or rubber tired back hoe? I ask this because I am trying to figure out how much work it would be reasonable for anyone to do without the help of equipment.
> > Do you know the current fall in the land from where you would like to have your highest water fall and the pond at the bottom.
> > Here is a simple way to achieve that if you cannot use survey equipment
> > The best way you can do that is to is to use a water level.
> > Making a Water Level.
> > ( That is made by buying 100ft of 3/8" or 1/2" clear plastic tube which you fill with water until the water is about 1'6" from the end when the two ends are brought together, make sure there is no air in the tube, Put plugs /corks in either end of the tube so you can handle it without loosing water)
> >
> > It will take at least 2 people and maybe 3, A step ladder and a length of 1"x 2or3"wood batten 10-12ft long( longer if you slope is more than 12ft but it looks like it should do)
> > Fix your top sight line where you wish the waterfall to first appear.
> > Mark that on a driven in wood stake. At the bottom dive another stake in until it is at the elevation/level of the bottom pond water surface.
> > On top of the bottom stake hold the length of 1"x 2" upright on the stake (this is where you could do with that 3rd person.)
> > Another person carries the tube up the hill to where you have marked the top of the falls. The person at the bottom Climbs the ladder and holding the tube against the batten and with pencil in hand ready to mark the batten.
> > The person on the ladder has now sight where they believe the tube is level with the marked stake up the hill. remove plugs( you have to be quick to raise the tube if water comes out) hopefully the water stays in the tube and now the person at the top brings the water in the tube with the line the line on the stake. The person up the ladder marks the batten with the top of water at this bottom end. Put the plugs back in the tube get off the ladder and with a tape measure you will find how much drop you have between the top and bottom ponds by measuring from the bottom of the batten to the mark you made on the batten.
> > You have now established establish the head of water your pump has to lift. Quantities of water to be pumped and size of ponds etc are secondary to this first measurment.
> > Pumps deliver x amount of water at Y head. You have now established Y the head.
> > That is the first thing you need to know and the most important because it sets up every thing else you do.
> > You can use the same water level (tubing) to establish the individual elevations of the connecting ponds and water falls.
> > It is cheap and can be fun and if you cannot use survey equipement the very best way to calculate and establish levels.
> > You should try working with a simple water level around the yard so you get use to how it feels and acts in use. It works on the simple principle that water finds it's own level and has been used by tradesmen over hundreds of years. It has one great advantage in that providing you can hear each other you can still use the water level in area's of scrub or behind large trees or around a bend where sight is not possible. It is a commonsense tool that will never lie to you provding no one steps on it while you are taking the levels.
> > You can now go out in your backyard and with a few stakes and pencil you can establish the elevations for each pond and waterfall. On a steep sloping site like yours a step ladder is a requirment.
> > (That 3rd person would be needed to steady the ladder on that first shot).
> > Now you can have fun setting each pool and spillway of your waterfall
> > Enjoy and have fun and let us know how you get on.
> > I just cannot wait and we are always here to help if we can.
> > You can let us know if you are having 3 or 4 pools and falls and we can maybe help in suggesting methods but my question #1 is still important so let me know
> > RayI
> >
> > --- In PONDERS_INTERNATIONAL@yahoogroups.com, art pfenninger <buy_14226@> wrote:
> > >
> > > Thanks for the tip and information on how to post a picture. I have now posted a few pictures in the album "back yard hill". As I originally posted I know what I would like but just can't seem to grasp how to do it. I would like two or three pools on the hill each with a water falls. I am thinking of starting 8 feet from the ground but could go higher. I think that would require a more powerful pump however. There is already one boulder there that I though I could use as a side of one of the water falls and could get another one. Rocks are not a problem. My question is how do I dig the flat rocks in and still have a drop off for the falls? If I use the boulders as the sides and put a flat rock near or at the top to create a drop off then how do I put the rubber lining in , does it have to go under the boulders? If so then it would be below ground level at the bolder spot and not as low in the stream spots. If I lay a rock near or at the top of the
> > > boulder then it would be higher than the ground around it so do I have to add more dirt in order to bring the level up? As far as the pools go if I flatten an area out then the area in front of the pool (the waterfalls) will have to be dug out even more so that would create a step that would be lower than the surrounding ground. If I could see a picture of a waterfalls on a hill that would help. Atually writhing about it helps me vizuallize it a little better.
> > >
> >
>
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