Disappearing Waterfall FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions About disappearing waterfalls

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s) about the disappearing waterfall is an educational tool for both the beginner and advanced pond builder. We have listed frequently asked questions here in and easy to read format in order to provide you with a greater understanding of the fascinating concept of disappearing waterfalls.

By researching a good list of frequently asked questions on the subject of “disappearing waterfalls”, you will learn tips and tricks in areas of installation, maintenance, disappearing waterfall design, tools, plantings, and the list goes on. Use all of our Frequently Asked Questions pages to get well rounded on the subjects of water gardens, pond design, Pond Construction, of course the disappearing waterfall system and much more.

The Pond Digger Answers disappearing waterfall questions

Question 1: How long does a disappearing waterfall installation usually take?

Answer: Depending on the design and the magnitude of the project, installation could be done in as little as one day or span out over a week or two! Most residential disappearing waterscape designs are installed with little to no damage to existing mature landscapes in just one or two days! When you contract with a professional contractor that specialized in Waterscapes Design and Construction, you can count on a crew of highly talented individuals to get in and out or your property, delivering waterscapes that far exceeds your expectations!

Question 2: What is the price difference for a disappearing waterscape construction as apposed to regular pond construction?

Answer: Many people mistake the these types of waterscapes construction as being less expensive than a pond. That is not the case. Believe it or not, done correctly, this water feature costs close to the same as a similar sized pond. However, over all these waterscapes are less expensive than a pond. You won’t need to purchase fish for your disappearing water feature, or fish food, or chlorine neutralizers, or filter pads. The likely hood of you paying for sometimes costly annual cleanings (Depending on Fish Loads) on a disappearing waterscapes are little to none. Since you will have a waterfall without the pond you won’t be compelled to purchase rare and expensive water lilies! So the perception that these waterscapes are, less expensive than a pond is very true, but it is not the case on the cost of construction.

Question 3: Can we still have aquatic plants in a disappearing waterfall?

Answer: Absolutely, however water lilies are out of the question. Marginal aquatic plants do wonders at softening the edges of a streams and in waterfalls. If you want to keep your maintenance to a minimum, we suggest choosing only from the wide variety of shallow rooted aquatic plants that are easy to thin and remove. 99% of the aquatic plants that are readily available can be aggressive so stick to the manageable species like; bacopa, micro-sword, golden buttons, acorus, Japanese arrowhead, sagitarias, dwarf papayrus, and other dwarf varieties. Stay away from large varieties of iris, umbrella palms, and defiantly stay away from anything labeled GIANT, like Giant Papyrus for example! It can grow up to 12 feet tall!

Question 4: Can I put any fish in my disappearing waterscape?

Answer: Yes and No! Yes you can but the fish in your disappearing waterscapes, but they will likely not live very long, so we suggest the latter, NO! The mystic about these disappearing waterscapes is that you have this wonderful waterfall, sometimes even coupled with a meandering stream that magically disappears into a bed of ornamental gravel. While there are many designs that actually call for a small catch basin that pools up six to ten inches of water for aquatic plants, it is not suggested to put any type of fish in these sytle waterscapes. While there are always exceptions to the rule, typically fish tend to wander down stream and when your fish decide to wander down stream in these waterscapes, they will be met with an unfortunate and uncomfortable demise. This is one of the reasons The Pond Diggers are not fond of the Skim Bog Style of Pond Construction.

Question 5: Does my disappearing waterfall need to run 24 hours a day?

Answer: NO! One of the most compelling reasons the disappearing waterfall has become so popular in today’s landscape is because you can turn the waterfall off whenever you want. With an ecosystem pond it is mandatory that your run your waterfall filtration 24 hours a day in order to maintain life in your ecosystem. With these style waterscapes you can shut the system off and on as you desire. If you run the pump on your disappearing waterscapes only 12 hours a day, it will cost you half the price, in electricity, of a similar sided pond. Leaving town for a couple of weeks? NO PROBLEM, just turn you disappearing waterscapes off and when you get home turn it back on! Just another reason the disappearing waterfall has reached such stature in such a short span of time.

Question 6: Can I put my waterfall on a timer or remote control?

Answer: Positively! Your disappearing water features can be put on a time that turns your waterscapes on and off just like your pool or nightscape lighting. Many people have this landscape water feature run early morning while preparations for the day are underway depending on location of the waterfall. For example, if your disappearing feature is located as a focal point to your kitchen, it is nice to be greeted by the sound and look of your waterfall when you are making coffee, reading the paper, making breakfast & lunch for the day. If you wake up at 6am and leave for work at 8am, you could have your waterfall actuate just before 6am and turn off just after 8am and then turn back on just before you get home while saving electrical costs all day long.

You can also get a little remote control for your disappearing waterscapes that you can use from inside the house to turn you waterfall on and off! The bonus to this feature, as opposed to the timer, is on a Saturday morning when you ordinarily have a large breakfast, your waterfall won’t suddenly turn off just after 8am. Most timers won’t know you planned on sticking around longer in your kitchen on a Saturday morning. I’m sure you get the point.

Question 7: Will my disappearing waterfall still attract wildlife without the pond?

Answer: Without a doubt these disappearing waterscapes will still attract wildlife. The sound of water is very attractive to your local fauna. Within moments of turning on a disappearing waterscapes waterfall for the very first time we have had dragonflies and birds show up to properties where the homeowners had never experienced them before! The sound of your waterfall will attract birds to your property that you would normally never see. Believe it or not, Bird Watching is an extremely popular past time! We have designed and built many a waterfalls for bird watching enthusiasts with the primary goal to attract local and migratory birds to their very own backyard. In these specialty disappearing waterscape designs for bird enthusiast, we take great care to create the waterscape with the birds in mind.

Question 8: What kind of maintenance can I expect with this kind of waterscape?

Answer: The disappearing waterfall is quite possibly the easiest waterscape to maintain. Algae can be maintained by the addition of and algae control product or beneficial bacteria and enzymes on a monthly basis and with the proper installation of an automatic water fill valve you should never have to add water to your waterscape to compensate for evaporation. These disappearing waterscapes can be turned off and a blower can be used to remove leaf debris in a now dry creek bed each fall.

Question 9: How much money does it cost to run a disappearing waterfall each month?

Answer: You could spend up to 15 bucks a month in algae control products and in most ornamental pond applications up to 11′ x 16′ x 2′ the cost to run the waterfall pump 24 hours a day is approximately one dollar a day. So with that being said, depending on how many hours a day you plan on circulating your waterfall system will determine your cost. 24 hours a day at a buck a day plus the 15 bucks a month in algae control products should set you back just under 50 bucks. Or save yourself 15 bucks a month and run your disappearing waterscapes only 12 hours a day. One thing I do want to be very clear on is, “What are your expectations of your waterfall? Often times people request waterfalls that are BIG, LOUD, RAGING and with lots of volume. You can count on paying more for electrical on more elaborate applications.

Question 10: What kind of water consumption should I expect from this waterscape?

Answer: The amount of water that you use due to evaporation in your disappearing waterscape should be minimal. Typical sized custom disappearing waterscapes usually holds less than 300 gallons of water. In the winter you will experience little to no loss of water due to evaporation and in the summer months you should expect to loose a reasonable amount of water. If you have a properly installed automatic water fill valve and you still need to add water to your disappearing waterscapes it is very likely that you have a leak. Consult with your installer a.s.a.p. Things to consider during the design of your disappearing waterfall is summer temperatures and the height of your waterfall. If you have a disappearing waterfall in the desert communities such as Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Victorville or Hisperia, you will experience much great evaporation rates than disappearing waterscapes in say, mountain communities such as Big Bear & Lake Arrowhead or the beach communities like Huntington Beach or Laguna Beach. Also take into consideration, the taller the waterfall is, the more splash you will receive, creating greater evaporation rates and larger water bills.

Question 11: Will a disappearing waterfall attract mosquitoes?

Answer: Mosquitoes are attracted to stagnant water so the answer is NO, so you can breath easy. With a disappearing waterscape you are dealing with a waterfall and usually a small stream with chaotic moving water that is less than appealing to the pesky mosquitoes. What your disappearing water feature will attract is dragonflies and birds, which both prey upon mosquitoes. So it could be debated that a disappearing waterfall my even decrease the amount of mosquitoes on your property! I wonder if we should start marketing the disappearing waterfall that way? Just kidding………….