Does a Pondless Waterfall Need a Filter?

The pondless waterfall industry found everywhere online is dominated by  pondless waterfall kits that do not have a filter of any kind, just a "waterfall spillway".  Many retailers and installers of pondless waterfall kits with waterfall spillways say that you don't need a filter on a pondless waterfall because there are no fish.

To those retailers and installers, I ask: Without a filter, what happens to the dissolved organics and debris that blows into the pondless waterfall?  The only reason I can come up with to not have a waterfall filter on a pondless waterfall is simply to reduce the kit price.  If you buy a car without an engine, it will be less expensive, but won't be much fun to drive.  You can buy a pondless waterfall kit without a filter for a lot less money, but you won't have much fun owning and maintaining it.

Pondless waterfall maintenance without a filter is a giant maintenance nightmare. That is why I created the easy to clean pondless waterfall kit that I call the "Ultimate" pondless waterfall kit. I wanted to make routine maintenance much easier on myself, and to benefit my customers.  I invented the HydroSieve™ pre-filter to catch and hold leaves and other wind-blown debris until you can easily remove them by simply rinsing out the stainless steel debris basket.

I created and patented the backwashable Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter to catch and hold dust, pollen, and other dissolved organics from the water until you can remove them with a simple backwash.  No disassembly required to rinse clean a patented Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter.

Any debris or dissolved organics that remain in a pondless waterfall will feed algae like this pondless waterfall that we built with a rock and gravel reservoir.  Green waterfall rocks are simply ugly - there is no other word for it. 

We have learned that it is best to have not one, but two types of easy to clean filtration for the absolute cleanest possible pondless waterfall.  Pre and post filtration makes for a more beautiful pondless waterfall that is easier to maintain, and that will provide years of enjoyment.  Removing organics before they can become a food source for algae will keep your pondless waterfall looking more beautiful.

An easy to clean pondless waterfall is a joy to own. A difficult to clean pondless waterfall will become a maintenance nightmare and an algae eyesore over time.

The truth of the matter is that any pondless waterfall will only remain as beautiful as it can be maintained.  Filters assist in keeping pondless waterfalls free of debris and beautiful.

As the creator of the Original pondless waterfall, and the inventor of the Ultimate pondless waterfall kit, both my company and me often get asked the question: "Does a pondless waterfall need a filter?".  The short and simple answer to that question is YES!, but the more important follow-up question should be "WHY?"  

When you look around online you will find that virtually every single brand of pondless waterfall kit - with the exception of Ultimate pondless waterfall kits - exclude a waterfall filter ...... again the follow up question should be "WHY?"

The first step in answering the question of "Does a pondless waterfall need a filter?", you need to ask the follow-up question first.  "WHY does a pondless waterfall need a filter - after all, there are no fish?".

I am going to answer that question with more questions:  "Does the wind blow?", "Does it rain?", "Is there dust in the air?", "Is there pollen in the air?", "Do birds like to bathe in pondless waterfalls?", "Are there tree leaves, weed seeds, tree seeds, tree blossoms, or any other type of wind-blown debris anywhere in your neighborhood?".  I can go on and on with these types of questions regarding pondless waterfalls. Do you understand my line of questioning?  What happens to the debris that blows into a pondless waterfall?

As you can read from Our History, and my Pondless Waterfall Design Ideas blog that close to the turn of the last century I built the Original pondless waterfall using an Aquascape bog filter and an Aquascape biofalls filter. I came up with the idea of reversing the bog filter and the pondless concept was born.

I had repurposed Aquascape's bog filter and shared what I had built  with the Founder of Aquascape.  I showed my now famous photo of the Original pondless waterfall to the higher-ups at Aquascape and they used my photo in both their product catalog and magazine to announce the brand new pondless waterfall concept.

Go back and find an old Aquascape magazine or catalog from the early 2000's and you will see for yourself.  "Pondless waterfall by Russell Watergardens" is clearly listed on my photo in Aquascape's catalogs and magazines.

I built the Original pondless waterfall that started the entire industry.  My Original pondless waterfall became known the world over, and as a result, Aquascape sold a huge amount of pondless waterfall kits based on the products of theirs that I repurposed.

Aquascape's success at selling pondless waterfall kits spawned countless copycatters within the industry.  Everyone from Easy Pro to Savio and everyone in between and on the side made their own versions of the pondless waterfall kit that I put together using 'off-the-shelf' products from Aquascape.  I created the Original rock and gravel pondless waterfall basin, and everyone has been doing the same ever since.

Here is the thing:  Everybody loved the Original pondless waterfall that I created, everyone loved the look, the concept, and the entire pondless waterfall idea in general - but nobody asked me how I had to maintain the pondless waterfall!  Everybody loved what I built, but nobody asked me how I had to maintain it!!  

Back then, pond kits were all the rage and my company was one of Aquascape's largest customers in the late 90' and into the early 2000's.  We built hundreds of ponds throughout the Seattle area.  Every pond we built had a pond skimmer for the purpose of removing leaves and other debris that the wind would blow into the pond.  Every pond also featured a waterfall filter for filtering dissolved organics.  

Pond owners are instructed to empty their pond skimmer as needed to keep leaves and other debris from rotting and decaying in the pond that would otherwise become a food source for algae growth.  The pond's waterfall filter would get cleaned "once per year" to remove everything that the filter had trapped.  It was very basic maintenance, but at least is was SOME kind of maintenance.  A little maintenance is better than no maintenance when it comes to algae prevention.

Routine pond maintenance is important for the health and appearance of the pond.  A pond that is filled with algae is an eyesore. As it turned out, a pondless waterfall covered in algae is also an eyesore.  When it comes to ponds and pondless waterfalls, algae can easily ruin the appearance of the most beautiful ponds and waterfalls.  Something that everyone can agree upon .... algae is ugly.

Since the Original pondless waterfall was the first of its kind, I used it as a test water feature.  I built the Original pondless waterfall, and the brand new pondless waterfall concept - but I hadn't figured out how to maintain it yet before I forwarded my concept and photo to Aquascape.  Being my 'pet-project', I was the one who took on the maintenance chores so I could learn from it.

Pondless Waterfalls act like Water Garden Ponds and Vice-Versa

What I found out was interesting.  Just like ponds, pondless waterfalls are a magnet for wind-blown debris.  Properly built ponds always have a pond skimmer for removing wind-blown debris from the water, and a waterfall filter for removing dissolved organics. 

Please notice the similarities in these two diagrams I created for you.  The first diagram is what our water garden pond kits create, and the second diagram is what our Ultimate pondless waterfall kits create.  Both feature an easy to clean pre-filter and a backwashable waterfall filter for ease of maintenance.

The rock and gravel reservoir basin of the Original pondless waterfall acted like a pond skimmer.  Leaves and debris that the wind blew into the waterfalls ended up trapped in the rock and gravel.  The rock and gravel acted as a pre-filter - like a pond skimmer to a pond. 

To solve the maintenance issues with the Original pondless waterfall, I ended up inventing the Ultimate pondless waterfall system that functions like a pond system.  The HydroSieve™ pre-filter acts like a pond skimmer, the HydroChamber™ holds all the water, and the Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter starts the waterfall and filters the water.

The problem I experienced with the Original pondless waterfall was in cleaning the rock and gravel reservoir.  The truth about algae is that it grows when it has a food source.  It is important to remove as much debris from a pond and a pondless waterfall in the fight against algae.  More algae food sources in a pond or pondless waterfall equals more algae.  Less algae food sources in a pond or pondless waterfall equals less algae.  Pretty simple concept to understand.  But how can I remove the leaves and debris that get trapped in the pondless waterfall rock and gravel reservoir?

I tried turning the pump off and letting the rock and gravel dry - I then took a gas-powered leaf blower to it.  The blower only blew the debris off the surface of the rock and gravel reservoir, but did nothing to remove the debris stuck down in the rocks.  Then I tried using a shop-vac. I used a skinny attachment to the vacuum hose hose so that I wouldn't suck up the rocks.  Again, I could only vacuum the surface of the rock and gravel reservoir basin.

The only way I could remove debris from down inside the rock and gravel was to get down on my hands and knees and manually remove individual rocks and hand pick the debris from between the rocks.  As you can imagine, I hated hand picking debris from the rock and gravel reservoir basin!  My back and knees didn't appreciate me hand picking the debris from the rock and gravel reservoir.

At the top of the waterfall, I had installed an Aquascape mini biofall filter.  While the filter was better than no filter at all, I found that the only way to clean an Aquascape biofall filter is to completely disassemble the filter and rinse the soiled media by hand!  I don't know if you've ever tried to clean a waterfall filter that has trapped debris for any period of time, it is a difficult, heavy, and smelly mess!  

I started noticing more and more algae growth on the Original pondless waterfall.  Algae started growing on the waterfall rocks, and all over the rock and gravel reservoir basin.  I simply could not remove all the debris that blew into the Original pondless waterfall.  Decaying debris trapped down inside the rock and gravel reservoir became the food source for algae.  

My Original pondless waterfall started an industry craze for the positive - that is the good news.  The bad news is that nobody talks about how to clean a pondless waterfall.  Since I was so tired of banging my head against the wall trying to maintain the Original pondless waterfall by hand, I decided there had to be a better way.

So I invented the HydroSieve™ pre-filter that is super easy to clean.  It is a dual-use product, the HydroSeive™ is a pondless waterfall pre-filter and a koi pond bottom drain pre-filter.  The HydroSeive™ replaces the rock and gravel as the pre-filter in typical pondless waterfalls. The HydroSieve™ eliminates the need to hand pick debris from rock and gravel reservoir basins.

The HydroSieve™ works in conjunction with a HydroChamber™ which is another one of my inventions.  The HydroChamber™ replaces the slotted pump vault, underlayment, liner, matrix blocks, and tons of rock and gravel in the Original pondless waterfall.

Since typical bio fall type waterfall filters are a giant pain in the butt to clean, I invented and patented the easy to clean, backwashable Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter.  The Hydro FilterSilk™ media inside Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filters acts as surface area for beneficial bacteria growth when installed on ponds with fish.  The Hydro FilterSilk™ media in pondless waterfall applications micro-filters dissolved organics from the water, and polishes the water for crystal clear clarity and sparkle.  

Rebuilding the Original pondless waterfall with what later became known as the 'Ultimate pondless waterfall system' made keeping the pondless waterfall clean and pristine super simple.  

Maintenance of the Original pondless waterfall went from hand picking debris from the rock and gravel to simply hosing out the stainless steel filter basket from the HydroSieve™ pre-filter.  Cleaning the biofall filter went from completely dismantling the filter to clean it by hand, to turning two valves and letting the pump backwash the filter for me.  Without a food source, algae growth was reduced by over 95% naturally, and the waterfalls remained much more beautiful.

The answer to the question of "Does a pondless waterfall need a filter?" is YES!!  An easy to clean pre-filter for routine removal of wind-blown leaves, debris, and bird poop.  An easy to clean backwashable waterfall filter for the routine removal of dissolved organics.  Without a pre-filter, or a waterfall filter - algae feeding debris will remain within the pondless waterfall. 

Common rock and gravel reservoir type pondless waterfall kits do not have a pre-filter, or a waterfall filter.  A waterfall spillway is just that - a spillway.  A waterfall spillway is not a water filter of any kind.  The truth is that all rock and gravel pondless waterfall kits utilize the rock and gravel as the pre-filter, and the waterfall spillway does nothing to remove dissolved organics from the water.

Debris stuck in the pondless waterfall rock and gravel reservoir basin feeds algae.  Dissolved organics in the water feed algae.  Period.  End of Story.  

I did a Google search on the term "How to Clean a Pondless Waterfall" and this is what Google came up with:

  In the screenshot, Google's AI Overview said:

1.  "Turn off the pump and drain the reservoir:"

• "Power down your pump: to stop the water flow and allow the reservoir to drain"
• "Remove debris: Manually remove any leaves, debris, or other items from the waterfall and reservoir"

2.  "Clean the rocks and gravel:"

• "Pressure wash: Use a power washer to effectively clean the rocks and gravel, removing algae and sediment buildup"
• "Scrubbing: For stubborn algae or grime, consider scrubbing the rocks manually with a brush"

3.  "Rinse and clean the reservoir and vault:"

• "Rinse the reservoir: Thoroughly rinse the reservoir to removed loosened debris and sediment"
• "Clean the vault: Remove any sediment or debris from the vault, which is the hidden area beneath the waterfalls"

4.  "Refill and maintain:"

• "Refill the water feature:  Once the reservoir is clean, refill it with fresh water"
• "Check for leaks:  Inspect the liner edges for any leaks ..."

OK, well and good advice, but how do you do those things?  How often should you clean your pondless waterfall?  How do you 'Drain the reservoir'?  They don't tell you that you will need to remove your pump and attach additional discharge pipe to your pump before you can drain the reservoir.  Do you have any extra pipe lying around that you can use?  If not, you will have to purchase additional pipe to drain your reservoir - oh, and don't forget the fittings to attach the pipe to your pump.

How do you 'Manually remove debris'?  By hand is the only answer to that question that I have found.  If anyone has a better idea on how to remove debris that is stuck deep down inside the rock and gravel reservoir I'm all ears.  

Do you have an algae scrubbing brush to scrub the rocks?  What type of brush do they recommend?  Does 'manually scrubbing rocks' sound fun and easy to you?

For the next step, you must either own, or rent a pressure washer.  What happens to all the gunk, algae, and other decaying debris that you pressure wash off the rocks and reservoir?  Make sure to have enough plastic sheeting to cover your patio furniture, patio, and anything in the landscape, including your house that you don't want splattered with gunk as pressure washing algae covered rocks makes a huge mess!  (I speak from experience.)

How do you 'Rinse the reservoir thoroughly'?  How much water does that take?  How long will it take for you to rinse the reservoir thoroughly? How do you know when the reservoir is rinsed 'thoroughly'?   Where does all the pumped out dirty water go?  We have found that it is unlawful to pump dirty water into storm drains, and your neighbors won't want it flooding their landscape either, so where does the dirty algae water go?

How do you 'Clean out the vault'?  With a shop-vac and by hand - it takes both, as the shop-vac doesn't remove the 'gunk' - you do.

There is no waterfall filter to clean with pondless waterfall kits found everywhere online, so the dissolved organics remain in the water to feed algae. 

Google's AI bot compiled that information from the overwhelming amount of websites that don't know the truth about maintaining pondless waterfalls.  Those websites and Google itself don't provide you with the real answers for "How to clean a pondless waterfall?".  I speak from practical experience.  I built the Original pondless waterfall, and I had to figure out how to keep it clean.  I discovered that there was no way to keep a rock and gravel reservoir clean, and I'm the one who built the Original pondless waterfall!

I created, designed, and built the Original pondless waterfall with it's original rock and gravel reservoir. The internet and installers all over sell many brands of the original concept that I created, but I stopped selling rock and gravel reservoir pondless waterfalls years ago.  Why?  Because I know first-hand what a maintenance nightmare my Original pondless waterfall became, and all the pondless waterfall installations that use my original concept will do the same.  

I learned from my Original pondless waterfall creation.  I took what I loved about pondless waterfalls, and simply subtracted what I didn't.  I absolutely detested hand picking debris from the rock and gravel reservoir basin.  The Ultimate pondless waterfall kit was born out of my frustration with trying to maintain the rock and gravel reservoir. 

The Original pondless waterfall became the original test pondless waterfall.  That is how I learned what works, and what does not.  Years and years of experience maintaining hundreds of pondless waterfalls that I originally built with a rock and gravel reservoir.  The good news is that Basin-ectomies became a successful upgrade for our customers and for our business.

Here is how to clean an Ultimate pondless waterfall.

1. Turn the pump off
2. Open the drain valve of the Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter
3. Using your ordinary garden hose, start hosing down your waterfall and stream in the direction of the HydroSieve™.  Wash all the debris and dirty water down the stream and into the HydroSieve™ pre-filter.
4. 
   Lift out the stainless steel filter basket from the HydroSieve™ pre-filter, empty it and hose it out. 
5. Return the stainless steel filter basket to the HydroSieve™
6. If you have the HydroFlush™ backwash system option, turn the HydroFlush™ valve to backwash and turn on your pump and let your pump backwash the filter for you.
7. 
   If you opted for 'manual backwash' simply use your garden hose to rinse water down through the Hydro Vortex™ filter.  NO disassembly required!
8. When the water running out of the Hydro Vortex™ filter's drain runs clear, close the valve and return the HydroFlush™ valve to the Filter position.
9. YOU ARE DONE!!!

Routine maintenance of your Ultimate pondless waterfall will keep it free of debris and organics.  Routine rinsing of the waterfalls and stream along with backwashing the waterfall filter will drastically reduce your water consumption and completely eliminates flooding yours, or your neighbor's property with sludge water from massive annual cleanouts. Routine maintenance is so quick and easy, you can do it in just a few minutes, and without paying for extra pipe or renting a pressure washer.

An easy to clean pondless waterfall is a joy to own.  If it is not easy to clean it will become a maintenance nightmare in time.  That is why Ultimate pondless waterfall kits include both an easy to clean pre-filter, and a backwashable waterfall filter - to make owning and maintaining your pondless waterfall a joy!

Does a Pondless Waterfall Need a Filter?  YES!!!!!

Any body of water with a filter will be much more clean than a body of water that does not have a filter.  Period.  You don't have to take my word for it, do your own test by pouring yourself a glass of water from a typical pondless waterfall and compare the water clarity to a glass of water from an Ultimate pondless waterfall.  The difference will be clear - pondless waterfalls do need a filter.