How to Build Your Own Waterfall for Backyard Goldfish Ponds

Melanie L. Marten
Backyard gold fish ponds are less appealing when they lay stagnant and still. While some choose fountains and sprayers to agitate the water surface and provide aesthetic appeal, others opt for a more natural waterfall affect. Contracting professionals to augment your gold fish ponds can be expensive. To save money, you can build your own waterfall for backyard gold fish ponds.

Waterfall for Goldfish Ponds - Materials Needed

To build a waterfall for your existing gold fish pond, you need something to build the height of it with. This can be a mound of dirt, a pile of rocks, or an existing ground slope. You will also need a length of flexible tubing that fits with your pond pump strong enough to use for waterfalls. A tube attachment with a ninety-degree turn is helpful. A preformed plastic waterfall mold is optional.

Waterfall for Goldfish Ponds - Building

The first step to build the waterfall for a gold fish pond is to attach the flexible tube to the pump you will use. Make sure this is long enough to come out of the gold fish ponds and up through the height of the waterfall without kinking. Next, build up the ground level on one side of the pond. This can be done by piling dirt in a berm, stacking up large rocks, or any manner which suits your personal taste. While building up the waterfall base, remember to run the flexible tube up through the pile.

At the top of the waterfall pile, you must make the tube point at a ninety-degree angle to the ground so the water flows out and then falls down into your gold fish ponds. This can be done easily with a plastic, preformed waterfall mold. If you do not use one of these for your gold fish ponds, position a flat rock that the water can flow over. Be sure that the falling water will not erode the waterfall hill.

Waterfall for Goldfish Ponds - Naturalizing

After the structure of the waterfall for your backyard fold fish ponds is built, you will probably want to naturalize it. This is the process of making the waterfall fit in with the garden of landscaping around your gold fish ponds.

Planting creeping plants on the waterfall mound will not only help it look better, but will hide hardware and help stop erosion. To make the waterfall by your gold fish ponds look more natural, match the types and sizes of plants, rock, and other accents to the rest of the area around the pond.

Building a waterfall for your backyard gold fish ponds is not as hard as it may seem. Simple materials and clever placement make for the backyard oasis of your dreams.

Published by Melanie L. Marten

Melanie Marten is self-taught and self-employed. Besides freelance writing, she dabbles in website design and owns dozens of websites and blogs. Work is squeezed in between parenting two boys, homeschoolin...   View profile

  • Contracting professionals to augment your gold fish ponds can be expensive.
  • The first step to build the waterfall for a gold fish pond is to attach the tube to the pump.
  • Building a waterfall for your backyard gold fish ponds is not as hard as it may seem.

8 Comments

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  • Anthony 11/21/2010

    where do you get the waterfall tube attachment

  • Frank 4/23/2009

    I am about to put in a pond and the extra dirt from digging the pond seems like the answer for the "hill" of the water fall. I am wondering how much it will settle over time though.

  • Stephen Joltin 7/1/2008

    I was just discussing the idea of building a backyard pond with my wife. This would be a great addition. Thank you.

  • Mike Spain 6/22/2008

    great information, I may add one to my pond one day

  • Secretsides 6/13/2008

    I would love to have a p;ond and waterfall in my backyard. someday hopefully this is great information.

  • Pam Gaulin 6/10/2008

    I could use this soon!

  • Judy Shubert 6/10/2008

    Also good information for goldfish lovers.

  • J P Whickson 6/10/2008

    These are such relaxing things to have in your backyard

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