Summer Waterfall Woes
There are so many facets of a water feature -- fish, water lilies, the sounds it makes. But in most cases, your waterfall is the focal point of your water feature. So when something is a little off with the waterfall, it catches our attention. Here are some of the issues your waterfall may have in the summer:
Decreased Flow
Have you ever looked at your waterfall and it just seems to not be flowing like it once did? The pump seems to be flowing fine... where is the water going? When your water feature was installed, there was probably waterfall foam used to build your waterfall. Waterfall foam is a black foam spray (just like the yellow spray insulating foam) that is fish safe. It is used to fill in the nooks and crannies where water likes to go. It forces the water to go over the rocks instead of behind them. After a while this foam can degrade, dislodge, or the rocks can settle. An easy fix, unplug your waterfall, re-foam, allow it to dry, and plug back in. Don't use so much that it is easily visible -- remember it expands!
Decreased waterfall flow can also be caused by a dirty pump. Now is a great time to take your pump out of the water feature and give it a thorough rinsing off. Check the impeller and make sure its free of debris and turns smoothly.
Exposed Filtration
The beauty of a waterfall filter is that you have a filter that is the building block of your waterfall as well. Sometimes there is settling, rock movement, etc. and the filter starts to show itself. Ugh, now what? There are many ways to camouflage the waterfall -- rocks, logs, plants. It's also important to make sure you have enough dirt around your waterfall. Settling happens.
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| Log on top to hid waterfall |
Water Loss
Does your water feature hold water when the pump is off but as soon as you plug in your pump it starts to lose water? The waterfall and stream area are where most leaks are found. Here are a few things to check:
- Make sure water is not going over the sides of your waterfall box or filter. Pushed up filter pads, unruly biomedia, or overgrown floating plants can cause this situation easily. A waterfall filter that has settled and the water is flowing over the side or back is also not uncommon.
- Plant roots. Do you have a lot of vegetation along your stream or waterfall? Trees, shrubs, perennials, they will all send roots over the liner to the water. These roots then push the liner down causing leakage.
- Another common issue is faulty or old bolts on the face of the waterfall. Sometimes over time these bolts will corrode and the liner attachment isn't sound. Dig behind your liner where it attached to the waterfall. Is it wet? If it is, that's your problem. This is not an impossible fix. You need silicone and new bolts.
- Low edges can also be the issue. Pets, critters, settling, these can all cause a low edge over time.
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| These water hyacinth are dangerously close to making this waterfall flow over the sides. |
Algae
Algae is the number one problem with waterfalls in the summer. Sometimes it's just darn hard getting control of it in the waterfall. String algae loves highly oxygenated areas so our waterfalls and streams are perfect! Some excellent recommendations for getting control of string algae can be found here. If you have tried those suggestions and are still having trouble, Algae Off can be used sparingly. If you have read our other articles, you know that we recommend not using any algaecide in a pond (algaecides are perfect for pondfree waterfalls). But if you unplug your pump, sprinkle a little on, and wait 20 minutes or so, the algae should wash off when your plug your pump back in. JUST SPRINKLE LIGHTLY ON THE WATERFALL, NOT IN THE POND. Now here is the problem, all that dead algae and algaecide is flowing back into your pond -- not ideal. That's why I say use sparingly. I would recommend purchasing a debris filter for your skimmer at the same time to pull the dead algae out of the pond.
Keep this in mind, this will not prevent the algae from coming back, it will only take care of what is there. Make sure you pull any long strings out by hand before you apply the algae off. If you want my opinion (you're going to get it), I would not use the Algae Off. I would pull the long string off and let the rest of the green be. But that's just me! I like a more natural looking water feature.
If your waterfall looks like the photo below... you need Remove Away Plus in a bad way and use a double dose!
Your waterfall should be a thing of beauty and peace. Hopefully these recommendations help with that!
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| Does your pond or pondfree waterfall need an upgrade? Contact us. We would love to talk! |
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