Your Waterfall Design Comes First. The Equipment Comes Next.
From wide, dramatic waterfalls to multiple cascading streams, your landscape design determines the system you need. HydroPure™ Customizable Filtered Pondless Systems allow you to configure the pumping, filtration, and underground water storage to match your vision — rather than limiting your design to a prepackaged kit.
Dreaming of a wide, dramatic waterfall? Multiple waterfalls cascading down a hillside? Or a large pondless waterfall feeding a long and winding stream through your landscape?
Large pondless waterfalls require more than simply choosing a bigger kit. At Russell Watergardens, we start with your waterfall design, determine the water flow and storage requirements, and configure the HydroPure™ filtration system to match.
Your design should determine the equipment — not the other way around.
HydroPure™ Customizable Filtered Pondless Systems are designed to accommodate projects that go beyond conventional prepackaged waterfall kits.
Instead of trying to make a standard kit fit your project, we help determine the filtration, pumping, and water-storage components your design actually requires.
Whether you're a landscape contractor designing a commercial water feature or a homeowner planning an impressive backyard waterfall, the process begins with the waterfall itself.
Beautiful above ground. Smarter below ground.
How Do You Design a Large Pondless Waterfall?
Step 1: Start With the Width of Your Waterfalls
The first question we ask is simple:
How wide do you want your waterfalls?
Waterfall width is one of the most important factors in determining how much water your system needs to circulate.
A broad, gently flowing waterfall requires less water than the same waterfall with a powerful, white-water appearance.
As a general guideline, waterfall flow requirements begin at approximately 100 gallons per hour (GPH) per inch of waterfall width. More dramatic, white-water waterfalls may require 200–400 GPH per inch, depending on the desired appearance.
For example, a waterfall measuring 10 feet wide has 120 inches of waterfall width.
At 100 GPH per inch:
120 inches × 100 GPH = 12,000 GPH
For a more dramatic appearance, the same waterfall could require substantially more water.
The waterfall width and desired appearance establish our starting flow requirement.
The same 10-foot-wide waterfall can require 12,000, 24,000, or 48,000 GPH depending on the desired appearance. Waterfall width and flow rate are the starting points for determining the pumping and filtration requirements of your custom HydroPure™ system.
Step 2: Determine the Pump and Water Flow Requirements
Once we know the desired waterfall flow, we can determine the appropriate pumping capacity.
But pump selection involves more than the number printed on a pump's label.
We also consider:
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The vertical distance water must be lifted
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The length and diameter of the plumbing
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Friction losses through pipes and fittings
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The number of waterfalls and their locations
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The desired water flow at each waterfall
These factors determine how much water the pump must deliver at the actual operating head of the system.
Larger projects may require multiple pumps or separate pumping circuits.
Our goal is to deliver the desired waterfall appearance while selecting equipment that operates efficiently.
Step 3: Determine How Many HydroSieve™ Pre-Filters Are Needed
Once we know the required pump flow rate, calculating the number of HydroSieve™ pre-filters is simple.
Each HydroSieve™ handles up to 5,700 gallons per hour (GPH).
Total Pump Flow (GPH) ÷ 5,700 = Number of HydroSieves Required
Always round up to the next whole number.
For example, a large waterfall requiring 24,000 GPH would need:
24,000 ÷ 5,700 = 4.21
Round up to 5 HydroSieve™ pre-filters.
This allows the system to accommodate the required water flow while capturing leaves and debris before they reach the pumps.
The greater the water flow, the more pre-filtration capacity the system requires.
Waterfall width determines the required flow rate, and flow rate determines the number of HydroSieve™ pre-filters needed. In this example, a 10-foot-wide waterfall flowing at 24,000 GPH requires five HydroSieves™, each capable of handling up to 5,700 GPH. The pre-filters are installed discreetly in the landscape, with concealed inlet pipes collecting water from the shallow pool before it reaches the pumps.
How Much Underground Water Storage Does Your Waterfall Need?
Step 4: Calculate the Water Volume in Motion
Once we've determined the required water flow and number of HydroSieve™ pre-filters, the next step is calculating how much water is in motion throughout the waterfalls and streams.
Why does this matter?
When the pumps turn off, the water flowing through the waterfalls and streams drains downhill into the underground storage system.
That water needs somewhere to go.
To calculate the water volume, we determine the length, width, and average water depth of each waterfall and stream section.
Length (ft) × Width (ft) × Average Water Depth (ft) × 7.48 = Gallons
For projects with multiple waterfalls and streams, we calculate the volume of each section and add them together.
We also account for water draining from elevated plumbing and other components when the pumps stop.
The total volume of returning water determines how much underground storage the system requires.
Water flow determines the number of HydroSieve™ pre-filters, while water volume determines the number of HydroChamber™ storage tanks. Each HydroChamber™ stores approximately 50 gallons of water. This illustration shows five HydroSieves™ and three HydroChambers™ connected by underground plumbing, with only their access lids visible in the landscape. Actual chamber quantities are calculated from the water volume that must be stored when the pumps turn off.
Customize Your Hydro Vortex™ Waterfall Filtration
Large pondless waterfalls may require more than one Hydro Vortex™ biological waterfall filter.
For example, a project might include:
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One broad waterfall created with multiple filter outlets
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Several waterfalls at different elevations
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Multiple waterfalls feeding a common stream
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Separate waterfall features within the same landscape
Hydro Vortex™ filters provide biological filtration while creating natural-looking waterfall outlets that can be concealed within the surrounding stonework.
By incorporating multiple filters where needed, the system can accommodate different waterfall arrangements and distribute water to the desired locations.
Each filter can also be equipped with the HydroFlush™ backwash system for convenient routine cleaning.
The number and placement of waterfall filters are determined by the design, required flow, and filtration needs — not by a fixed kit configuration.
The beauty is what you see. The engineering is what you don't. Multiple Hydro Vortex™ biological waterfall filters can be installed side by side to create wide, natural-looking waterfalls. Completely concealed behind the stonework, each filter delivers water directly to the waterfall while providing biological filtration. HydroPure™ lets you customize the number of filters to match your waterfall design — not the other way around.
Large Waterfalls Shouldn't Require Large Maintenance Projects
A spectacular waterfall should be something you enjoy — not something you dread cleaning.
Large rock-and-gravel pondless reservoirs can accumulate leaves, sediment, and organic debris deep within the underground storage area.
Cleaning these reservoirs may involve draining the system, removing accumulated debris, and pressure-washing rock and equipment.
HydroPure™ takes a different approach.
HydroSieve™ Pre-Filters: Capture leaves and debris in removable stainless steel baskets before they reach the pumps.
HydroChamber™ Pump Chambers: Provide accessible underground water storage and pump access without digging through gravel.
Hydro Vortex™ Biological Waterfall Filters: Provide biological filtration with convenient cleaning and optional HydroFlush™ backwashing.
The components can also be installed in accessible locations away from the main waterfall and stream, allowing the landscape design and maintenance layout to be planned independently.
Whether your project uses one filter or several, the objective remains the same:
Beautiful waterfalls. Accessible equipment. Simple routine maintenance.
Large Pondless Waterfalls Are Custom Projects
Large pondless waterfalls often involve substantial excavation, heavy boulders, complex plumbing, and multiple pieces of equipment.
For these reasons, larger installations are generally best suited to experienced landscape contractors and professional installers.
However, that doesn't mean homeowners need to leave every design decision to their contractor.
Understanding how waterfall width, flow rate, filtration, and underground storage work together helps homeowners make informed decisions about their projects.
And for contractors, the ability to configure individual components provides greater flexibility when designing around challenging terrain, multiple waterfalls, or unusual project dimensions.
You design the waterfall. We help you configure the system.
No two landscapes are alike — and your waterfall system shouldn't have to be either. From wide, natural boulder waterfalls to dramatic multi-level cascades and architectural stone spillways, HydroPure™ systems can be customized with multiple Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filters, HydroSieve™ pre-filters, and HydroChamber™ storage tanks to accommodate your project's unique design, water flow, and storage requirements.
Planning a Large Pondless Waterfall?
Tell Us About Your Waterfall Design
Every large waterfall begins with an idea.
Maybe you already have a detailed landscape plan. Perhaps you know how wide you want your waterfall but haven't determined the equipment requirements.
Either way, we can help you work through the important questions:
How wide will your waterfalls be?
What kind of water flow do you want?
How long and wide will your streams be?
How much elevation change is involved?
From those answers, we can help determine the pumping, pre-filtration, biological filtration, and underground water-storage components your project requires.
Whether you're a contractor preparing an installation or a homeowner working with a landscape professional, HydroPure™ gives you the flexibility to build the waterfall you envision.
Your Waterfall Design Comes First. The Equipment Comes Next.
Explore HydroPure™ Customizable Filtered Pondless Systems
Russell Watergardens & Koi — We Think About Ponds and Pondless Differently.
