What if everything you’ve been told about pondless waterfalls is wrong?
And what if the real solution is easier than you think?
You’ve probably heard that pondless waterfalls are “low maintenance.” But that is simply not true – by ignoring routine maintenance, you are simply deferring it until you need an expensive annual cleaning. Virtually all kits on the market are built with rock and gravel basins and no real filtration — which means they trap debris, clog up fast, and feed algae.
At Russell Watergardens, we do things differently.
Our Pondless Systems™ are engineered for routine, easy maintenance — not costly overhauls.
Unlike all other pondless waterfall kits when it comes to designing and building a pondless waterfall, Russell Pondless Systems™ Ultimate Easy to Clean pondless waterfall kits are built for unmatched flexibility, unlimited scalability, and feature simple, easy, routine maintenance that replaces expensive annual deep cleanings — making them perfect for both residential and commercial pondless water features.
Russell Pondless Systems™ take the guesswork out of the reservoir size. One HydroChamber™ together with one HydroSieve™ pre-filter holds 52 gallons of water above the pump which is ideal for most residential and commercial pondless waterfalls.
To most people, that doesn’t sound like very much water – especially when you see the many videos from installation contractors talking about building 500-gallon rock and gravel reservoir basins. To put into perspective how much 52 gallons of water actually is - this is what you can build with the combination of just one HydroChamber™ and one HydroSieve™ pre-filter …
a 1½ foot wide stream that is 1½ inches deep at 35 feet long totaling 51.06 gallons,
or a 2-foot-wide stream that is 2 inches deep at 20 feet long totaling 50.87 gallons,
or a 3-foot-wide stream that is 3 inches deep at 9 feet long totaling 50.49 gallons.
Need more water storage? Just add another HydroChamber™ to nearly double your capacity. It’s that easy. HydroChambers™ daisy-chain together for unlimited water storage.
Every brand of rock and gravel pondless waterfall kit found online not only requires you to install the water storage reservoir directly beneath the last waterfall, but they also require you to excavate the reservoir large enough to hold 2-3 times the amount of water that is in motion in the waterfalls and stream because of rock and gravel displacement in the reservoir.
Our system is different …. It is a no gravel pit pondless waterfall. We store nothing but water inside the HydroChamber™.
With Russell Pondless Systems™, you can install the HydroChamber™ and HydroSieve™ pre-filter remotely and completely out of sight while remaining easily accessible for routine maintenance.
That means you have greater freedom to design any landscape water feature. For backyard waterfall ideas, you can install the HydroChamber™ and HydroSieve™ pre-filter either together or separated with underground piping.
For the best pondless waterfall design, the HydroSieve™ pre-filter and HydroChamber™ can be installed away from the water feature itself for the most natural appearance.
Russell Pondless Systems™ allow you to have your waterfalls and stream in one location, an easy to clean pre-filter in another location, and the water storage tank with pump in yet another location.
With a Russell Pondless System™, you not only have a low maintenance water feature, but you also have complete freedom to design anything you can imagine.
Installing the HydroChamber™ out of sight allows for the use of super energy-efficient external pumps for an energy efficient water feature that provides you with drastically lower operating costs than submersible pumps while having much longer warranty periods than typical submersible pumps.
External pumps save on electrical costs, which lowers your monthly and annual cost of ownership. External pumps also have much longer lifespans than submersible pumps – which also lowers your long-term ownership costs.
Each HydroChamber™ is pre-plumbed with two female threaded outlet ports for use with one or two pumps - either submersible or external – and a dedicated auto-fill valve port at the exact height for proper pump function and water storage.
Unlike slotted pump vaults that require you to drill holes in the unit to add a second pump or for an auto fill valve, the HydroChamber™ allows you to install two pumps and an auto fill valve without modifying the unit – no drilling, no tools, and no extra fittings.
Compare a Hydro Vortex™ Easy to Clean Waterfall Filter with a Waterfall Spillway
Waterfall spillways are not filters of any kind. Their single purpose is to slow and spread water exiting from a pipe – that’s it – they don’t do anything else. They don’t trap dust, pollen, impurities, or dissolved organics from the water. Anything and everything that enters the system stays in the system to feed algae.
Unlike a waterfall spillway, the patented Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter is an actual filter that traps dust, pollen, impurities, and dissolved organics from the water for easy removal with a simple backwash that provides you with the absolute cleanest, clearest water possible.
The patented Hydro Vortex™ Waterfall Filter features the patented HydroFlush™ backwash system that cleans the filter simply by turning two valves and letting your waterfall pump do all the work for you.
The Hydro Vortex™ filter’s patented design features a vortex settling chamber for centrifugal water motion to separate sand and sediment from the water flow into a settling cone prior to the bio media stage, and then a media chamber filled with our proprietary Hydro FilterSilk™ bio media for micro and macro filtering the water flowing through it.
Hydro FilterSilk™ media is engineered for massive surface area in a compact space for beneficial bacteria growth while featuring over 90% open space for rinsing with low pressure water which protects the bacteria during backwashing.
Hydro FilterSilk™ fibers trap dust, pollen, and dissolved organics for easy removal with a simple backwash of the filter. Removing sand, sediment, dust, pollen, impurities, and dissolved organics from the water creates unsurpassed water clarity, sparkle, and brilliance.
And the best part is that you don’t have to remove the Hydro FilterSilk™ from the Hydro Vortex™ filter for cleaning – it stays in place during routine backwashes.
Here is how easy it is to clean a Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter with the HydroFlush™ backwash system.
Turn off the pump, open the Hydro Vortex™ filter’s drain valve and let it completely drain. Turn the HydroFlush™ valve to the BACKWASH position and re-start the pump.
The HydroFlush™ backwash system will shoot water up in the air at the top of the Hydro Vortex™ filter where it will fall back down through the filter and out the drain at the bottom of the filter – rinsing the Hydro FilterSilk™ clean.
When water flowing from the drain runs clear – the filter and its media are clean.
Close the drain valve and turn the HydroFlush™ valve back to the FILTER position.
An automatic water fill valve inside the HydroChamber™ will replace the small amount of water that was used for the backwash. That’s it! It is so easy that anyone can do it.
Now let’s talk about the rock and gravel water storage reservoir.
Every brand of rock-and-gravel pondless waterfall kit comes with the same major drawbacks:
The rock and gravel reservoir “acts” like a pre-filter. It captures leaves and debris, but with no easy way to clean it, it clogs with rotting debris and then grows algae like crazy - which then requires ongoing chemical treatments just to stay functional.
Then, you’re told by the installer or retailer that you need to purchase additional “fixes” like algaecides, copper ionizers, bacteria treatments, and auto-dosing systems. All of which drives up the annual cost of ownership but does nothing to address why the algae is growing in the first place.
Even with all of that, you’re still expected to pay for an expensive annual deep clean to remove the causes of the algae growth, which involves completely draining the system, hand picking rotting leaves and debris from the rock and gravel, scrubbing and pressure washing algae covered rocks, and rinsing the reservoir again and again to remove all the dirty brown and green water.
That’s time-consuming, expensive, wastes huge amounts of water, and is totally avoidable.
We reinvented the rock and gravel pondless waterfall reservoir by eliminating it all together and replacing it with a HydroSieve™ pre-filter and HydroChamber™ combination water storage tank and pump vault.
Russell Pondless Systems™ Ultimate Easy to Clean pondless waterfalls completely eliminate the entire rock and gravel reservoir basin by featuring:
· No slotted pump vaults that allow pine needles to reach and clog your pump
· No matrix blocks with sharp edges that can puncture rubber liner
· No rock and gravel that “acts” like a pre-filter
· No basin liner that is subject to puncture from either rocks or roots in the ground, burrowing critters, or the matrix blocks themselves and
· No dirty, gunk-filled gravel pit to clean
Say goodbye to reservoir basin rubber liner, basin underlayment, matrix blocks, slotted pump vaults and heavy, difficult to clean, debris-trapping rock and gravel.
Another common problem with rock and gravel reservoirs are punctures in the basin liner.
As this installation contractor explains:
“We want to make sure that if there's anything in there once you put weight on this with the aqua blocks and water and rocks on top of it, if there was something down there
that could push through that could be catastrophic for a reservoir.”
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Punctures in a rock and gravel reservoir basin liner from rocks, tree roots, or burrowing critters requires the complete disassembly of the entire reservoir just to repair it.
Some installation contractors recommend doubling or tripling the layers of underlayment in an effort to avoid eventual punctures in the reservoir liner – adding to the cost of installation.
The HydroSieve™ is an easy to clean pre-filter that traps leaves and debris for easy removal before they can rot and feed algae. The HydroChamber™ is a direct-burial, heavy-duty water storage tank that is impervious to punctures by rocks, roots, and burrowing critters.
With the combination of a HydroSieve™ pre-filter and HydroChamber™ water storage tank, you don’t need to dig through a slimy rock and gravel reservoir basin to remove leaves and debris by hand — you simply rinse the debris from the waterfalls and stream towards the HydroSieve™ pre-filter with an ordinary garden hose and nozzle - and then simply open the HydroSieve™ and remove the stainless-steel filter basket. Empty and rinse the basket and then return it to the HydroSieve™. Quick. Clean. Easy.
Russell Pondless Systems™ Ultimate Easy to Clean Pondless Waterfalls feature two-stage filtration for crystal-clear water.
Just like a properly filtered pond uses both a skimmer and a biofilter, our Ultimate Easy to Clean Pondless Waterfall Kit follows the same principles: The HydroSieve™ pre-filter to catch wind-blown debris, leaves, and organics – and the Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filter, to polish the water by removing fine particles, impurities, and to support healthy bacteria growth for dissolved organics removal.
The Benefits include cleaner waterfalls, less algae, reduced chemical use, and a drastically lower cost of ownership.
For your own piece of mind, build an easy to clean pondless waterfall — Not one that is hard to clean.
Russell Pondless Systems™ give you more than just a beautiful pondless waterfall — they give you freedom from annual cleanouts, provide you with unlimited design options, offer real energy saving alternatives, and unsurpassed long-term reliability. Simple, easy routine maintenance replaces expensive, drastic annual cleanouts.
Whether you're a ‘do-it-your-selfer’, or an installation contractor, our Ultimate Easy to Clean Pondless Waterfall System is engineered to provide you with cleaner water, easier maintenance, unlimited design options, better performance, a much lower cost of ownership, and happier owners.
Russell Pondless Systems™ are the Ultimate Easy to Clean pondless waterfalls.
