Project 3

	MainPond	Upper Pond	Stream	Falls
Length	16'	6'	24'
Width	9'	6'	6"-18"	18"
Depth	2'	1'	1"-2"
Height				6'
Gallons	1,200
Pump	Aquascape 2700
PVC flex pipe	2"
Length of pipe	40'
Static Head	6'
Friction Head	2'
Total Dynamic Head	8'
Gallons per hour	2,160

This was a terrific site for a water feature. Not only was it able to be enjoyed from the patio, it could be heard and viewed from the kitchen, dining room, and master bedroom. The hill had a six foot elevation change, which allowed us to construct a long, serpentine stream with multiple 3-4" step-downs as well as stretches of gravel.

Looking from the lower pond level we see the pond and stream. Just barely visible in the middle of the picture are the falls box and upper pool. The stream leaves the upper pool heading towards the left side of the picture then swings back across the hill side before entering the pool.

Water from the falls box flows into the upper pool, which in turn flows into the stream. Both the falls box and the upper pool can be loaded with plants to act as a biological filter. Although this water feature is in the shade, there are aquatic plants that will perform well here. Some of the plants we would recommend in this situation are listed on the page titled 'Water Plants for Shady Ponds.'

This picture has been included to show how well the opening to the skimmer box can be hidden. The opening is under the stone that appears to be right in front of the air conditioning unit. (And actually the air conditioning unit is across the patio about twenty feet away.)

Looking down into the two foot depth of the pool shows the good clarity of the water. After we did this pool we decided that the two foot deep portion of a pool should be the dominate area. We are now making very few 6" shelves, some 12" deep areas, with the majority of area being 2' in depth. This way the fish have more room to swim and hide and the water feature has more presence.

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