How we created a beautiful Vanishing Waterfall in our front yard using a Cascade I system from Berkey Supply Inc. and Filtrific.
After over a year of visiting local pond suppliers and online internet research, we decided to use a Cascade I system from Berkey Supply Inc. in Woodinville, WA to build a vanishing waterfall and stream in our front yard. We already knew we didn't want a pond and the maintenance that goes along with one. After seeing many waterfalls with ponds and the algae that they can have, it wasn't what we wanted. I suppose algae is a good thing for the "pond crowd", but it wasn't for us. We simply wanted a waterfall (or two) along with a short stream. The Filtrific system made perfect sense, with all the water in the system "disappearing" into the tank after the pump is shut off. Being able to shut the pump off and on at will and not being forced to run a pump continually was another huge selling point of the Filtrific system. The pump supplied in the Berkey kit draws only 650 watts which is less than the total wattage of lights in my basement, and with a pumping rate of over 60 gallons per minute there is plenty of water available for a pleasing waterfall. With that being said, let's jump into this and get the shovel out, right? Whoa!!...hold on a minute!
The first thing I needed to do was to decide which Berkey system they offered was right for us and our needs. As with anything else, bigger is usually better, and a Filtric system is no different. Water containment (in the tank) is the biggest deciding factor as to how long and wide your total system can be. When the pump is turned on, the water must make a complete cycle up thru the plumbing to the falls, down the falls, and down the stream to the bottom where the skimmer is located, BEFORE the tank runs out of water. At 60gpm, this happens pretty quickly on a 75 gallon tank. Berkey and Filtrific have excellent charts available on their websites to calculate which size system you'll need. These calculations are based on width and length of stream and depth of rock in the stream. I found these charts to be extremely helpful, although I made my stream length and width a bit on the conservative side. With my system running, approximately one half of the tank is full. I knew about how long and wide I wanted my stream to be based on how much area I had to work with in the front yard. The only thing I did do that was maybe a bit radical was I wanted two falls off of one pump. With all this in mind, I made a phone call to Mike at Berkey Supply and told him of my idea of two falls. He said he believed it would work so I ordered the Cascade I kit and an extra Waterfall Starter.
The first thing I did was make a scale drawing, (we don't do anything without a drawing in my line of work), of the entire area where we wanted the waterfall. This was to be in the corner of the house and the garage and enclosed by the front sidewalk leading to the porch. After measuring everything out, I drew up the scale drawing, made a round scale cardboard template of the tank using the dimensions off of Filtrific's website, cut a piece of string to scale the length of the supplied 2" PVC hose in Berkey's kit and I was ready to start laying out my design. I already knew of the layout I wanted, it was just making it all come together taking into consideration the size of the area I had to work with, the size of the tank, the length of the supplied tubing and the calculations from the sizing charts. I also wanted to utilize an existing drain line coming from a nearby gutter downspout to tie my tank overflow line into. The drain line proved to be extremely useful to pump out the tank as I would later find out.
Photo shows area in front of house and garage where we wanted the falls and stream.
I had the kit shipped to my place of work as it shipped common carrier. I was very pleased with the way it was packed, tightly shrunk wrapped in three boxes on one skid. I loaded everything up in my pick up and brought it home. When I first opened the tank box, I thought, good grief I have to dig the hole for this thing by hand?!! I was very impressed by the way Berkey had everything packed.
Using my scale drawing, I knew I needed to make a trip to the local home do-it-yourself warehouse for some assorted pipe and fittings. The assortment and quality of fittings supplied with the kit is excellent, but with anything else, every application will require additional parts. I purchased extra pipe for the 2" drain line, four 2" ball valves for water control, some additional fittings and a piece of 1 ¼ PVC to run the pump cord in from the tank to my GFC outlet. The reason I ran the cord inside pipe was I knew that the cord would run under some heavy rocks that were to be part of the hardscape. I also know that someday I will have to replace the pump and wanted an easy way to pull the cord through and fish the cord from the new pump back to the GFC without disturbing anything.
Again, using my scale drawing, I spray painted the area on the ground where the tank would go. Because I wanted to use the existing down spout drain pipe for the tank overflow, the depth of the whole project was set by the depth of this pipe. I excavated the drain pipe so I could level across to set the depth of the tank. The distance from the tank to this drain line was around 7 feet. I figured a two inch slope was plenty so measuring down from the top of the tank to the middle of where the molded fitting is for the tank overflow, this then set where the top of the tank would be. Luckily the top of the tank is at ground level, so it all came together. Berkey's instructions say to excavate the stream bed, set the tank to the correct depth based on that and then run the overflow line. Because I wanted to use the existing drain line, I needed to install everything in reverse of what Berkey recommended. It all came together.
After digging the tank hole, dropping the tank in place, digging some more, measuring, leveling, digging some more, checking and re-leveling, the tank was in place...YAY!
Photo shows tank in place. The string line and level are so I could set the depth of the tank based on the depth of the existing downspout drain I wanted to tie the tank overflow into.
Again, it would have been a lot easier if I had someone with a back hoe or if I was 20 years younger, but oh well. Next, I proceeded to excavate for the plumbing to the drain and the falls themselves. . The local ground here in this part of PA is nothing but clay and rocks, so the trusty rotor tiller came in handy to break everything up. After a couple hours of shoveling and rotor tiller work, I was ready for some plumbing. The plumbing was actually fun. The PVC 2" flex tubing supplied in the kit glues right into a standard slip PVC fitting and the supplied glue worked very well.
Photo shows rotor tiller being used to break up soil.
I probably over-engineered the plumbing, but here is how I did mine. I wanted a way to pump the tank out if I ever needed to. This proves to be a great idea, because when I first started up the completed waterfall/stream, a lot of dirt and debris came off the rocks and muddied the water. Because I used the existing downspout drain line, I installed a T in the pump discharge line. On the falls side of the "T", I installed a 2" ball valve. On the drain side of the "T", I installed another 2" ball valve. By being able to close the falls valve and open the drain valve, I can direct the flow of water coming from the pump out the drain line to the street instead of going to the falls. This is how I can drain the tank anytime I want without using a separate pump. After draining, I simply re-fill the tank with the garden hose, open the falls valve and close the drain valve and the falls function normally. After initial start-up, I drained and re-filled the tank probably 8-10 times to eliminate the dirty water caused by the rocks.
Because I wanted two waterfalls, I installed another "T" in the discharge line after the falls ball valve. Then after the "T" I installed two more 2" ball valves, one for one fall, one for the other fall. By being able to regulate the flow of water to each individual fall, I can get the effect I want. The sizing chart for the Cascade I system said I could have a 30" wide stream about 13' long. I made one fall about 18" wide and the other around 12" wide, thus giving me an effective 30" width. Hoping that my math was correct, it worked. I adjusted the 12" fall's ball valve down a little so it would have less water than the 18" wide one. All ball valves were placed in the ground in 6" ball valve boxes with lids flush with the ground level and covered with mulch.
Photo shows buried tank with pump and discharge kit installed. I chose to use this discharge port instead of the port that the supplied fitting fits because of plumbing routing issues. It meant purchasing an extra rubber reducing coupler, but well worth it.
Photo shows plumbing layout. Large 4" drain in foreground is drain from downspout. This pipe set the height for the entire system. 2" white PVC is overflow from tank. Black flexible 2" PVC is discharge from pump. Photo shows plumbing utilizing ball valves for drainage of tank using existing discharge pump.
Photo shows another view of the plumbing layout. The large port for the skimmer is stuffed with plastic to minimize dirt getting into the tank. A great idea from my wife.....
The excavation of the actual falls and stream came next. Again, using the rotor tiller, I was able to break up the ground and with a couple hours of shovel work, I had it pretty close. From here on in the mechanical part was finished and now the creative part begun........
Photo shows area before stream excavation. Stakes are used to mark location of buried 2" PVC discharge line.
Photo shows excavated stream/waterfall area. Soil was moved from down around the skimmer area up to the falls area. Extra soil was also brought in. Pipes are set for falls and from skimmer to the tank.
Photo shows the underlayment in place and trimmed.
The underlayment and liner went in next. The directions for connecting the liner to the waterfall and skimmer pipes were excellent as was the supplied clamps. This is a very easy process.
Photo shows the install of skimmer using pavers to support a large rock the correct height. This took some trial and error to get it to fit just right. Too high and the skimmer was visible....too low and debris (leaves, etc.) would catch on the rock and not go in the skimmer. None of the weight of the rock is on the skimmer itself.
Photo shows the completed Vanishing Water System with mulch and some beginning landscaping. Low voltage lighting includes two small spots incorporated into the rocks which shine on both falls at night. All fieldstone was available piled up behind a friend's barn. A huge thank you to friends, T and Linda Shakespeare!!! The 3-5" river rock was purchased from a local landscaper as was the smaller 1", ¾" and pea sized river rock.
Another view of both falls running.....
Photo shows skimmer area, and how water vanishes under the large rock. All water in this area, as well as the entire falls/stream system drains into the tank when the pump is turned off, creating a true "Vanishing Water System". Awesome!!
This is a larger photo of system running and full of water.
Photo of system with the pump off and all water "vanished". All water is now in the tank. No photo can do this justice. The sights, sounds and smells of this are truly a joy.
After over a year of visiting local pond suppliers and online internet research, we decided to use a Cascade I system from Berkey Supply Inc. in Woodinville, WA to build a vanishing waterfall and stream in our front yard. We already knew we didn't want a pond and the maintenance that goes along with one. After seeing many waterfalls with ponds and the algae that they can have, it wasn't what we wanted. I suppose algae is a good thing for the "pond crowd", but it wasn't for us. We simply wanted a waterfall (or two) along with a short stream. The Filtrific system made perfect sense, with all the water in the system "disappearing" into the tank after the pump is shut off. Being able to shut the pump off and on at will and not being forced to run a pump continually was another huge selling point of the Filtrific system. The pump supplied in the Berkey kit draws only 650 watts which is less than the total wattage of lights in my basement, and with a pumping rate of over 60 gallons per minute there is plenty of water available for a pleasing waterfall. With that being said, let's jump into this and get the shovel out, right? Whoa!!...hold on a minute!
The first thing I needed to do was to decide which Berkey system they offered was right for us and our needs. As with anything else, bigger is usually better, and a Filtric system is no different. Water containment (in the tank) is the biggest deciding factor as to how long and wide your total system can be. When the pump is turned on, the water must make a complete cycle up thru the plumbing to the falls, down the falls, and down the stream to the bottom where the skimmer is located, BEFORE the tank runs out of water. At 60gpm, this happens pretty quickly on a 75 gallon tank. Berkey and Filtrific have excellent charts available on their websites to calculate which size system you'll need. These calculations are based on width and length of stream and depth of rock in the stream. I found these charts to be extremely helpful, although I made my stream length and width a bit on the conservative side. With my system running, approximately one half of the tank is full. I knew about how long and wide I wanted my stream to be based on how much area I had to work with in the front yard. The only thing I did do that was maybe a bit radical was I wanted two falls off of one pump. With all this in mind, I made a phone call to Mike at Berkey Supply and told him of my idea of two falls. He said he believed it would work so I ordered the Cascade I kit and an extra Waterfall Starter.
The first thing I did was make a scale drawing, (we don't do anything without a drawing in my line of work), of the entire area where we wanted the waterfall. This was to be in the corner of the house and the garage and enclosed by the front sidewalk leading to the porch. After measuring everything out, I drew up the scale drawing, made a round scale cardboard template of the tank using the dimensions off of Filtrific's website, cut a piece of string to scale the length of the supplied 2" PVC hose in Berkey's kit and I was ready to start laying out my design. I already knew of the layout I wanted, it was just making it all come together taking into consideration the size of the area I had to work with, the size of the tank, the length of the supplied tubing and the calculations from the sizing charts. I also wanted to utilize an existing drain line coming from a nearby gutter downspout to tie my tank overflow line into. The drain line proved to be extremely useful to pump out the tank as I would later find out.
Photo shows area in front of house and garage where we wanted the falls and stream.
I had the kit shipped to my place of work as it shipped common carrier. I was very pleased with the way it was packed, tightly shrunk wrapped in three boxes on one skid. I loaded everything up in my pick up and brought it home. When I first opened the tank box, I thought, good grief I have to dig the hole for this thing by hand?!! I was very impressed by the way Berkey had everything packed.
Using my scale drawing, I knew I needed to make a trip to the local home do-it-yourself warehouse for some assorted pipe and fittings. The assortment and quality of fittings supplied with the kit is excellent, but with anything else, every application will require additional parts. I purchased extra pipe for the 2" drain line, four 2" ball valves for water control, some additional fittings and a piece of 1 ¼ PVC to run the pump cord in from the tank to my GFC outlet. The reason I ran the cord inside pipe was I knew that the cord would run under some heavy rocks that were to be part of the hardscape. I also know that someday I will have to replace the pump and wanted an easy way to pull the cord through and fish the cord from the new pump back to the GFC without disturbing anything.
Again, using my scale drawing, I spray painted the area on the ground where the tank would go. Because I wanted to use the existing down spout drain pipe for the tank overflow, the depth of the whole project was set by the depth of this pipe. I excavated the drain pipe so I could level across to set the depth of the tank. The distance from the tank to this drain line was around 7 feet. I figured a two inch slope was plenty so measuring down from the top of the tank to the middle of where the molded fitting is for the tank overflow, this then set where the top of the tank would be. Luckily the top of the tank is at ground level, so it all came together. Berkey's instructions say to excavate the stream bed, set the tank to the correct depth based on that and then run the overflow line. Because I wanted to use the existing drain line, I needed to install everything in reverse of what Berkey recommended. It all came together.
After digging the tank hole, dropping the tank in place, digging some more, measuring, leveling, digging some more, checking and re-leveling, the tank was in place...YAY!
Photo shows tank in place. The string line and level are so I could set the depth of the tank based on the depth of the existing downspout drain I wanted to tie the tank overflow into.
Again, it would have been a lot easier if I had someone with a back hoe or if I was 20 years younger, but oh well. Next, I proceeded to excavate for the plumbing to the drain and the falls themselves. . The local ground here in this part of PA is nothing but clay and rocks, so the trusty rotor tiller came in handy to break everything up. After a couple hours of shoveling and rotor tiller work, I was ready for some plumbing. The plumbing was actually fun. The PVC 2" flex tubing supplied in the kit glues right into a standard slip PVC fitting and the supplied glue worked very well.
Photo shows rotor tiller being used to break up soil.
I probably over-engineered the plumbing, but here is how I did mine. I wanted a way to pump the tank out if I ever needed to. This proves to be a great idea, because when I first started up the completed waterfall/stream, a lot of dirt and debris came off the rocks and muddied the water. Because I used the existing downspout drain line, I installed a T in the pump discharge line. On the falls side of the "T", I installed a 2" ball valve. On the drain side of the "T", I installed another 2" ball valve. By being able to close the falls valve and open the drain valve, I can direct the flow of water coming from the pump out the drain line to the street instead of going to the falls. This is how I can drain the tank anytime I want without using a separate pump. After draining, I simply re-fill the tank with the garden hose, open the falls valve and close the drain valve and the falls function normally. After initial start-up, I drained and re-filled the tank probably 8-10 times to eliminate the dirty water caused by the rocks.
Because I wanted two waterfalls, I installed another "T" in the discharge line after the falls ball valve. Then after the "T" I installed two more 2" ball valves, one for one fall, one for the other fall. By being able to regulate the flow of water to each individual fall, I can get the effect I want. The sizing chart for the Cascade I system said I could have a 30" wide stream about 13' long. I made one fall about 18" wide and the other around 12" wide, thus giving me an effective 30" width. Hoping that my math was correct, it worked. I adjusted the 12" fall's ball valve down a little so it would have less water than the 18" wide one. All ball valves were placed in the ground in 6" ball valve boxes with lids flush with the ground level and covered with mulch.
Photo shows buried tank with pump and discharge kit installed. I chose to use this discharge port instead of the port that the supplied fitting fits because of plumbing routing issues. It meant purchasing an extra rubber reducing coupler, but well worth it.
Photo shows plumbing layout. Large 4" drain in foreground is drain from downspout. This pipe set the height for the entire system. 2" white PVC is overflow from tank. Black flexible 2" PVC is discharge from pump. Photo shows plumbing utilizing ball valves for drainage of tank using existing discharge pump.
Photo shows another view of the plumbing layout. The large port for the skimmer is stuffed with plastic to minimize dirt getting into the tank. A great idea from my wife.....
The excavation of the actual falls and stream came next. Again, using the rotor tiller, I was able to break up the ground and with a couple hours of shovel work, I had it pretty close. From here on in the mechanical part was finished and now the creative part begun........
Photo shows area before stream excavation. Stakes are used to mark location of buried 2" PVC discharge line.
Photo shows excavated stream/waterfall area. Soil was moved from down around the skimmer area up to the falls area. Extra soil was also brought in. Pipes are set for falls and from skimmer to the tank.
Photo shows the underlayment in place and trimmed.
The underlayment and liner went in next. The directions for connecting the liner to the waterfall and skimmer pipes were excellent as was the supplied clamps. This is a very easy process.
Photo shows the install of skimmer using pavers to support a large rock the correct height. This took some trial and error to get it to fit just right. Too high and the skimmer was visible....too low and debris (leaves, etc.) would catch on the rock and not go in the skimmer. None of the weight of the rock is on the skimmer itself.
Photo shows the completed Vanishing Water System with mulch and some beginning landscaping. Low voltage lighting includes two small spots incorporated into the rocks which shine on both falls at night. All fieldstone was available piled up behind a friend's barn. A huge thank you to friends, T and Linda Shakespeare!!! The 3-5" river rock was purchased from a local landscaper as was the smaller 1", ¾" and pea sized river rock.
Another view of both falls running.....
Photo shows skimmer area, and how water vanishes under the large rock. All water in this area, as well as the entire falls/stream system drains into the tank when the pump is turned off, creating a true "Vanishing Water System". Awesome!!
This is a larger photo of system running and full of water.
Photo of system with the pump off and all water "vanished". All water is now in the tank. No photo can do this justice. The sights, sounds and smells of this are truly a joy.
