How to Clean a Pondless Waterfall

How to Clean a Russell Pondless Systems™ Ultimate EASY to CLEAN Pondless Waterfall

Russell Pondless Systems™ Ultimate EASY to CLEAN pondless waterfalls are very different than the common rock and gravel reservoir type pondless waterfalls seen everywhere online.

Russell Pondless Systems™ Ultimate EASY to CLEAN pondless waterfalls are specifically designed to be easy to clean.

How to Clean a Russell Pondless Systems™ Ultimate EASY to CLEAN Pondless Waterfall
Simple, Quick, and Easy Instructions 

How to clean a Russell Pondless Systems™ Ultimate EASY to CLEAN pondless waterfall:

1. With the pump running, use a garden hose to rinse your waterfalls and/or stream into the Hydro Sieve™ pre-filter.  Keep your pump running and use an ordinary garden hose to rinse leaves, debris, and sediment from the waterfalls and/or stream down towards and into the Hydro Sieve™ pre-filter
2. Turn off pump - no need to remove pump for routine cleaning
3. Empty the Hydro Sieve™ pre-filter's stainless steel filter basket
4. Open the drain valve on the bottom and backside of the Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter and let it completely drain
5. Backwash the Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter, either manually with a garden hose, or with the HydroFlush™ backwash system using your existing waterfall pump
6. Close the drain valve and restart your pump when water flowing from the filter runs clear. The filter and the bio media is clean. 
7. Add fresh water to replace the small amount of water that was used for backwashing the Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter
8. That's It!  YOU'RE DONE! How easy was that?

Cleaning and maintaining a Russell Pondless Systems™
Ultimate EASY to CLEAN Pondless Waterfall is Super Easy!
No Fuss, No Muss, No Mess,
No Hassle, No Extra Costs.

Russell Pondless Systems™ Ultimate EASY to CLEAN pondless waterfalls eliminate the need for the hard to clean rock and gravel reservoir basin found in all the common pondless waterfalls seen everywhere online.  The Ultimate EASY to CLEAN pondless waterfall is different and features an easy to clean, completely backwashable, patented Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter behind the waterfalls for trapping and removing dissolved organics like dust and pollen from the water.

The waterfall and/or stream flows from the Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter downstream and into the Hydro Sieve™ pre-filter where all the wind-blown and other debris like leaves, blossoms, seeds, dead insects, worms, bird feathers etc. are trapped and held for easy removal before they can become foods sources for algae.

The pre-filtered water from the Hydro Sieve™ then flows into the Hydro Chamber™ all-in-one pump chamber/water storage tank where a submersible or external pump passes the water up to the Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter for micro-filtering, water polishing, and to start the waterfalls.

How to clean a Russell Pondless Systems Ultimate pondless waterfall in detail:

1. With your pump running, use an ordinary garden hose to rinse all leaves, debris, and sediment from the rocks and gravel in your waterfalls and/or stream downstream and into the Hydro Sieve™ pre-filter for easy removal.

No need to remove the pump when cleaning an Ultimate pondless waterfall.  

2.  Turn off pump and remove the stainless steel filter basket from the Hydro Sieve™ pre-filter. Empty the basket, hose it out, and then put it back inside the Hydro Sieve™ pre-filter. 

3.  Open the drain valve at the bottom of the Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter and let it completely drain.  You will notice dirty water draining from the Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter.   

4.  Back wash the Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter either manually, or with the HydroFlush™ Backwash System using your existing waterfall pump.  

Manual Backwash:  Using an ordinary garden hose, rinse the Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter from top down with fresh water.  Rinse water through the Hydro FilterSilk™ bio media inside Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter until the water flowing out the drain runs clear. When the water runs clear, the filter and bio media are clean. Close the drain valve and restart your pump and waterfalls.  

HydroFlush™ Backwash System:  With the filter's drain valve open, turn the HydroFlush™ valve to the "Backwash" position.  Turn on the pump to send water through the froth-port at the top of the Hydro Vortex™ filter.  The water will shoot upwards and then fall back down onto, into, and through the Hydro FilterSilk™ media inside the Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter.  When the water exiting the drain at the bottom of the filter runs clear, the filter and bio media are clean. Close the drain valve, and turn the HydroFlush™ valve back to the "Filter" position.  

 

5.  When water exiting the Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter's drain is clear, the filter and bio media are clean. Close the drain valve.  

6.  Turn on your pump and enjoy your clean and pristine pondless waterfalls.

If you opted for an automatic water fill float-valve, the valve will automatically re-fill the pondless waterfall inside the Hydro Chamber™ for you. Or, you can add water with a garden hose to replace the small amount of water that was used to backwash the Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter.

That's it! You're done!
No fuss, and no mess.
Super easy, super quick.

Russell Pondless Systems™ Easy to Clean Pondless Waterfall

Russell Pondless Systems™ Ultimate EASY to CLEAN pondless waterfalls are the absolute easiest to clean pondless waterfalls - period. Compare for yourself before purchasing any brand of pondless waterfall kit or having one installed for you by a contractor. 

Remember, it will be your pondless waterfall, and you will be the one who has to clean it, or pay someone a lot of money to clean it for you.

You can empty the HydroSieve™ daily if you choose.  You can backwash the Hydro Vortex™ filter in minutes whenever needed. You can use your garden hose to rinse your waterfalls and stream as often as you like - to keep it as pristine as you wish.  You can turn your pump on and off whenever you want.  The system does not rely upon beneficial bacteria, and with regular maintenance, rinses, and backwashes - algaecide use will be minimal.

Compare
How to Clean a Russell Pondless Systems™ Ultimate EASY to CLEAN Pondless Waterfall with
How to Clean a Common Pondless Waterfall

Common pondless waterfalls seen everywhere online nowadays are the rock and gravel reservoir type. Virtually every brand of pondless waterfall kits found online feature a slotted pump vault, one or more matrix blocks, and a waterfall spillway.  No filter of any kind, just 'rocks and gravel' that act like a pre-filter.

I did an internet search on "How to clean a pondless waterfall" (you should do it too) and this is what came up:

The internet search AI bot compiled this information from contractor/installers', retailers', and manufacturers' websites from across the internet. All of the websites sell the same type of rock and gravel type pondless waterfalls, but none of them actually tell you the truth about how to clean a pondless waterfall, how often it needs to be done, or what happens to the pondless waterfall if you don't or can't keep it free of debris and organics.

Sellers and installers of rock and gravel basin pondless waterfalls don't want you to know the truth - because they know that you won't buy what they're selling if you knew the truth about how to clean what they're selling.

Hopefully you can read the screenshot above, but in case the writing is too small, this is what the search AI Overview said:  (My comments are in this color)

1. "Turn off and remove pumps: Begin by switching off the pump and removing it for easy access to the waterfall's components." (There are no 'waterfall components' to access, the pump is inside a slotted pump vault, which is a separate item than the waterfall spillway - the pump and waterfall spillway are opposite each other.  Why do they instruct you to remove the pump to clean the pondless waterfall? Removing the pump is appropriate for winterization, but should not be necessary for routing cleaning.)

2. "Drain the reservoir: Drain the water from the reservoir to expose the rocks and debris for cleaning. This is also a good time to manually remove any large debris or leaves." (How do you drain the reservoir? There is no drain on the reservoir - the only way to 'drain the reservoir' is to pump it out. Either use the waterfall pump that you were instructed to previously remove, or purchase a separate sludge pump - but either way you must purchase additional discharge pipe and fittings to attach the pipe to the pump. When pumping out the reservoir, where does the dirty water go? The only way to 'manually remove any large debris or leaves' is by HAND. How do you remove the debris that the waterfalls forced deep down into the rocks and gravel?  You have to dig it out by HAND!)

3. "Power wash rocks and reservoir: Use a power washer to thoroughly clean the rocks, liner, and reservoir, removing algae and debris. A garden hose may not have enough pressure for effective cleaning."(Do you own a power pressure washer? If not, you will have to rent one. What happens to all the algae and debris that you pressure wash off? Why is there so much algae in common pondless waterfalls that they instruct you to power wash it off? Algae grows when it has organics that feed it - if you can get rid of the organics before it can feed algae like the Russell Pondless Systems™ Ultimate pondless waterfall does, you won't have the algae problem in the first place! Speaking from past experience, when pressure washing algae covered pondless waterfalls, you must cover patios and patio furniture within 20' of the pondless waterfall with plastic sheeting or everything will get splattered with algae, muck, and debris.)

4. "Rinse the reservoir: After power washing, rinse the reservoir with water to remove any remaining debris or gunk."  (OK, you're done power washing, how do you 'rinse the reservoir with water to remove any remaining debris or gunk'?  What is the 'gunk'?  How much water does that take?  Where do you rinse the 'remaining debris or gunk'  to?)  

5. "Clean the vault: Check the vault at the bottom of the waterfall for sediment buildup and remove it."  (How do you 'remove' the sediment buildup?   Shop-vacs won't suck up the smelly, muddy, slimy buildup, rinsing didn't get it all, so how do you remove the sediment and buildup?  By HAND!)

6. "Refill the water feature: Once the cleaning is complete, refill the reservoir with fresh water."  (How much water was wasted power washing and rinsing the reservoir?)

7. "Check edges and leaks: Ensure the liner edges are in place and secure to prevent leaks. If you notice any leaks, it's likely due to a low liner edge."  (This is  good advise.)

8. "Add beneficial bacteria: Consider adding beneficial bacteria to maintain water clarity and support a healthy water feature."  (Beneficial bacteria requires bio media to live upon, and oxygenated water flowing through the media for it to thrive and to do it's job. Beneficial bacteria is only effective if the pondless waterfall contains an actual biological waterfall filter that includes bio media inside that is designed for bacteria growth. Also, beneficial bacteria need the pump continually running 24/7 to keep it supplied with oxygenated water. Beneficial bacteria is aerobic and will not perform its job if the pondless waterfall gets turned off because it needs flowing oxygenated water to survive. If you don't have an actual waterfall filter with media specifically designed for bacteria growth, you will be wasting money on beneficial bacteria.)

"Additional Tips":

• "Regular maintenance: Regularly remove debris from the water and filter to prevent buildup." (How do you 'Regularly remove debris from the water and filter'?  By HAND!   Oh, and WHAT filter?  Waterfall spillways are not filters, matrix blocks are not filters, and slotted pump vaults are not filters.  The rock and gravel ACT as a pre-filter, but how do you remove the debris trapped deep down in the rock and gravel?  By HAND!!!)
• "Algae control: Consider using algae treatments if needed."  (The sad truth of the matter is that all rock and gravel reservoir type pondless waterfalls can require large amounts of algaecides!)
• "Water quality: Test the water quality regularly and adjust as needed." (Test for what?  Everything that affects the water quality should be removed from the pondless waterfall during regular maintenance. How would you adjust the water quality without purchasing even more products anyway?  Do you already own a test kit?  Do you have chemicals to alter the water quality if it needs adjusting?)
• "Filter cleaning: Clean the filters regularly to maintain water quality and prevent clogging."  (That's a good one!  WHAT FILTERS?!  Waterfall spillways are not filters, slotted pump vaults are not filters, matrix blocks are not filters, and the rock and gravel only  ACT as a pre-filter - but how do you clean the rock and gravel?  By Hand!)

To follow the "How to clean a pondless waterfall instructions" compiled for you by the search AI Overview, you will need to purchase or rent a power pressure washer, sludge pump, and discharge pipe.   

Does any of that sound easy to you?

Does any of that sound like fun to you?

 How much does that add to your cost of ownership?