Throughout the summer of 2019, I made minor changes to the pond configuration. I was still trying to cope with a couple of serious problems.
- I was still having a problem with losing water due to splashing.
- There were still lots of areas that did not have adequate face coverage (rocks/bricks)
- The third pond area on the top was just not working.
- Water pressure for the waterfall was insufficient to make a constant stream.
Solutions:
Splashing Water
I realizes that the water coming from the topmost pipe in the wall did not have enough pressure when the pump got plugged up with debris. This would cause the water to drip out of the pipe and hit the back border of pond letting some of it sneak behind. It would empty itself in about an hour.
Not only was this a problem when the water pressure was low, but the entire time, the water came out to fast and would cause splashing in the top pond. I created a second reservoir in the top pond to add a fountain or just to divert some of the water pressure, but found that it was just not working the way I wanted. Plus the second resservoir on the top pond ended up being difficult to seal without replacing the liner for the top pond.
Since I was running two pumps simultaneously to get enough water flow to the top pond to make a smooth waterfall, it was constantly a battle between too little pressure or too much pressure. I was using 2″ corrugated flexible wastewater irrigation tubing for a sump pump so the water came out with lots of bubbles and noise in all directions.
I pulled everything out and installed 2″ PVC that screwed into one pump housing directly. In order to be able to service or replace the unit, I added a universal valve allowing me to disconnect the pump and replace it in case of failure or ugrade.
I ran the PVC all the way to the top fountain and found that one pump provided plenty of water flow to get the effect that I wanted. Plus, the water was a lot smoother, but still not perfect.
I then used a 35 Gallon bucket that I connected the supply tube to in the bottom of the bucket. Ideally I was hoping to get a one-way valve to eliminate back-pressure on the pump, but have not installed that yet.
I took a 4″ piece of PVC and ran it to the opening of the large terracotta tube that makes the top fountain. I sealed it with a rubber gasket and used silicone on the lower connection. I laid a small slab of concrete behind the wall to sit the bucket on. From inside the bucket, I continued the 4″ tube with an elbow and pointed the elbow opening up. This allowed the water to fill up the tote and slowly descend into the supply for the upper fountain. It ensured the smoothest possible exit from the upper fountain and eliminated all most all of the noise.
It did not stop the splashing however.
So I realized that if I put a decorate pot in the pond and let the waters splash into the pot, the sides of the pot would catch any splashing water and redirect it to the pond. I drilled holes in the pot below the waterline and for the first time, it worked like a charm. It looked nice and we were all pretty happy.
But it only lasted a couple of days at most. I looked for leaks and couldn’t find them. Much later, I realized that pot that I was using was not sealed. It was sturdy, but it was actually absorbing the pond water and letting the water evaporate over the entire expose surface of the pot. The water would only last a couple of days.
Finally, in April of 2020, I managed to get a rubberized pot that I drilled holes in the bottom below the waterline. Now, the water falls into the pot and the splash is contained by the sides. It’s been running for a couple of days and the water level has barely changed. Any water lost at this point is most likely do the vines robbing water to feed themselves around the pond. I will be cutting the feeders soon.
At the end of 2019, when I finally had given up on trying to resolve the water issue, I added a float switch that would trigger the cistern pump and automatically refill the pond when the water got low. Though this idea will be nice when correctly implemented, it took some planning and some education on the part of the other users of the cistern to ensure that the supply line was left open when not in use for other reasons. I’ll write a seperate post about the cistern shortly.