Valves let you to control the rate of the flow of water to a waterfall, sluice to a drain, or close down for repairs or maintenance. Well placed valves can make your waterfall more enjoyable and easier for regulation.   Float valve Float valve automatically controls the level of water in your basin. Once attached to a water system and installed at the edge, the valve will prevent leakage of water. Can be hidden under edge or plants. It works like the float valve in a toilet.   Three- way valve Three-way valve can shut off water flow, send a controlled flow to a spill way, or open a flow for draining.   Ball valve Ball valve turn on or off water quickly away from the source, this water flow regulator operates with a one-quarter turn on the handle to start the water flow. Inside is a ball with a hole in it. When the hole is aligned with the pipe, water goes through it.   Gate valve Where you want to make sensitive flow adjustments, use a gate valve. Turning the handle lifts or lowers a barrier inside of the valve. Lifted barrier allows water to flow freely, when lowered, it stops the water flow completely. You can regulate the barrier to any size opening to change water flow.   more...

Before designing a backyard waterfall you should inspect some natural basin at the top of the fall, area around, sides, and bottom of a fall. Observe how the water spills over and around the rocks, and how far it falls. Visit public or private places that have waterfalls, fountains, ponds, streams. Look at pictures and photos. Ask designers to show you waterfalls that they have completed.   Style When you have collected designs and ideas, join it into your plan, note others. The design of your waterfall should be visible now. A formal design can have geometric forms, such as a straight canal, stepped falls, or a wall that water drip over. The best building materials for formal design include cut stones, slabs, tile, glass, metal, and acrylic. The backyard can include ground grass, trees and shrubs.   An informal or realistic design usually includes a single fall way, surrounded by a rocks and plants. Or you can choose for multiple-cataract waterfall, where more than one stream flows over the fall way. The plumbing for this design utilized a manifold behind the falls that divides the pipeline from the pump into two or more lines. Each line has its own valve to adjust how much wate more...