4
Ideal Water Level
3/4" Below
Front of Skimmer
Soil Level
on 1st Shelf
• Remove any sharp objects from
the excavated hole that may dam-
age the liner.
• Unfold the underlayment fabric
and place it into your excavated
pond. Starting from the bottom,
remove the slack from the under-
layment, making sure it conforms
into all of the elevations.
• Now place the EPDM Fish-Safe
liner on top of the underlayment.
(See fig. 9)
• The installation process is the
same as the underlayment, start-
ing at the bottom and contouring
the liner up and out of the pond.
• Try to get the large folds out, but
the main goal is to make sure
that it’s lying flat and going into
all corners. Don’t try to get it
perfect—you will hide the liner
with rocks and gravel later.
• Make sure the liner is high enough
around the edges of the pond. This
should not be a problem if you
measured out the pond and exca-
vated it correctly. Problems can be
fixed by readjusting the liner into
the excavation, backfilling (making
the pond smaller) in areas where
there is not enough liner, or simply
buying a larger liner.
Fig. 9
Place the liner on top of the underlayment following the same installation
procedures. Make sure liner is positioned in such a way that allows it to
extend and completely cover the opening on the BIOFALLS
®
filter.
Install Underlayment and Liner
STEP 5
Installing the Skimmer and Overflow Installation
STEP 6
• Follow the same bulkhead installa-
tion steps used when installing the
bulkhead on the BIOFALLS
®
filter.
(see BIOFALLS
®
manual).
• Install the PVC slip fitting into
the bulkhead on the outside of
the skimmer to receive the pump
plumbing and overflow plumbing.
Use some of the silicone sealant or
teflon tape (not included) to coat
the threads of the fitting, in order to
help provide a watertight seal.
Set up and Level the Skimmer
• You’ve already roughed out a hole
for the skimmer during the excava-
tion phase. Use a 2' bubble level in
order to make sure your Skimmer
is properly set into position. Your
Skimmer should be level from side-
to-side and front to back.
• Make sure skimmer is set so the
desired water level in the pond is
approximately 3/4" below the top
of skimmer opening.
(See fig. 10)
• Follow instructions for
Overflow Installation.
Fig. 10
Cross section of ideal water level
viewed from front of skimmer.
Excavate your Pond cont …
1st plant and rock shelf:
shelf varies 8" or greater wide,
1" to 12' deep
Set 6" to 12" size cobblestones
on vertical edges. Gravel on all
horizontal surfaces
2nd plant & rock shelf:
16" to 20" deep
Plant pocket 6" to 8" deep,
10" to 16" diameter
Water line
Marginal plants should be removed
from containers and placed directly
into the gravel
Liner ends 1" to 2'
outside of pond
Mulch
Fig. 8
Pond excavation - side view of plant pockets.