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Summary of Contents for Blue Thumb PB1250
- Page 1 Water Garden Elite Pond Kits Installation Manual For use with 14”, 22” and 30” Elite Waterfall Kits #PB1250, #PB1267, #PB1276, #PBE1621K, #PBE2126K...
- Page 2 Blue Thumb Eco-Systems About Our Complete Elite Pond Eco-System Biological Waterfall Boxes Fish Filters harmful waste and toxins from water, Adding colorful Koi and Goldfish creates an keeping your pond clean and clear. Provides even more dramatic display. Water gardens excellent surface area for beneficial are great for Goldfish and Koi.
- Page 3 STEP 1 Determine Pond Shape & Spray Outline The first step to installing your new water garden is to lay out a garden hose on the ground to help create the size and shape of your new pond. Locate the pond near the house, patio, deck or other living areas for the best views and interaction with the fish and waterfalls. Determine the shape of your pond then outline using a can of spray paint. Once you’ve sprayed the outline you can remove the garden hose but keep it handy — you’re going to need it later! STEP 2 Position Filtration Boxes & Flexible Hose After removing all products from the kit, place your Waterfall and Skimmer Boxes in the desired locations. NOTE: Refer to the Elite Keep in mind that whenever possible the skimmer and Waterfall and Skimmer waterfall should be placed at opposite ends of the pond. Installation Guides for Next, lay the PVC Flex Hose into position.
- Page 4 STEP 4 Excavation of Pond Area Outline the area to be excavated for the Skimmer Box placement, then set it aside during excavation. Check to make sure the Waterfall Box remains level during excavation. If it is installed off-level, the water will not flow evenly over the weir. Tamping the area beneath the Waterfall Box will help minimize settling, which may create an uneven waterfall. Excavated soil can be used to cover the Flex Hose, to build up your waterfall and stream, and to create a berm around and behind the Waterfall Box. You should excavate your pond with at least two levels. Excavate the pond down as deep as you’d like your first level to be. Once the first level is dug out completely, spray outline the area that will become the deeper portion of the pond. The size and shape Waterfall Box of this area is completely up to you but keep in mind that we’ll be filling this area later with boulders that will take up some of the space. The use of a laser level is very helpful in determining whether the sides of your pond are level, a string level works too. Excavate the area beneath the Skimmer Box until Skimmer Box the desired height is achieved, checking to ensure that the Skimmer Box is level. Once the skimmer has been installed, you can bring your flexible hose into the Skimmer Box by pushing it through the rubber fitting. Push it in as far as necessary, you can cut off any excess when we install the pump. Now is a good time to install the overflow hose if you are installing an Elite Skimmer. Use any extra flexible hose from the kit to take the overflow water from the skimmer to a French style drain or to wherever drainage is available in your yard.
- Page 5 STEP 5 Install Pump in Skimmer Using a clockwise motion thread the check valve assembly onto the pump. Next, you’ll want to set the pump inside the skimmer box and cut away any excess pipe. Connect the black flexible hose to the pump discharge using a screw or nut driver to tighten down the hose clamps. Note the notch at the top of the skimmer along the back—this is where you’ll bring the pump power cord through. STEP 6 Install Underliner & Fish-Friendly Liner Unfold the protective underliner and lay it in the pond squarely. Work your way from the bottom out to ensure the underliner is installed properly. Hold underliner in place with a couple boulders until the liner is installed. Next, unfold the rubber liner and lay it in the pond on top of the underliner again working your way from the bottom out. You want the liner to be able to lay along top the underliner without any tautness. Note: Be sure you are using a fish-friendly liner. We recommend a 45mil, rubber, EPDM liner. STEP 7 Attach Liner to Skimmer Box It’s now time to attach the pond liner to the Skimmer Box. Refer to the instructions included with the skimmer box for exact instruction.
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Page 6: Underwater Lights
STEP 8 Add Boulders & Rockwork You typically want to begin rocking the pond from the deepest area out. Complete rocking in the entire pond but don’t complete the area where your stream or waterfall will enter the pond. Around the backside of your waterfall box, use some boulders to help create your berm. STEP 9 Attach Liner to Waterfall Box Refer to the instructions provided with the waterfall box for assistance. Once the liner has been installed on the waterfall box you can complete rocking in your waterfall and streambed. STEP 10 Add Gravel Use gravel to fill in the areas between the boulders. This will help keep the boulders in place as well as hide the black liner completely. STEP 11 Underwater Lights Underwater lights can create stunning, romantic images in ponds and make the pond safer for visitors... - Page 7 STEP 13 Fill’er Up At this point you can begin filling the pond with water while you complete the rest of the steps. Along the way it’s a good idea to wash off any dust from your rockwork. If desired, you can then pump out the dirty water a few times before a final filling. STEP 14 Pond Build’n Black Waterfall Foam Included in our Elite Pond Kits is a can of Pond Build‘n Foam. It is used to seal in and around the rockwork of the waterfall. This forces the water over the top of the rocks instead of around and beneath them. It greatly enhances the waterfall effect and will help to seal everything together. It’s black in color and can be cut away once cured if it expands too much. Before curing completely you can sprinkle some rock dust on the foam to disguise it. STEP 15 Add Biological Media Even the best waterfall boxes are not filters unless biological media is added to them to grow and hold the beneficial bacteria that keeps water healthy and clear. 15a The Elite Waterfall Kit includes two green Matala filtering mats and a mesh media bag. Position the filter mats horizontally in the bottom of the waterfall box. Fill the media bag with biological media of your choosing (not included) and placed on top of the filter mats.
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Page 8: Finishing Touches
STEP 16 Creating a Natural Falls Look The Blue Thumb Elite Waterfall Box is the only system on the market that comes complete with the Landscape Lid! Once you’ve added the biological media, disguise the Waterfall Box from view by using some mulch, gravel, slate, driftwood and a selection of creeping aquatic plants. Because the Elite Landscape Lid is designed with holes in the bottom, the root system of the plants will always have flowing water around them. STEP 17 Finishing Touches After the pond is full and you can see that there are no low areas or leaks, you can trim the excess liner but we recommend leaving at least 12” along each edge and folding it back into the landscape. 17a Hide the extra liner by folding it behind or under the rocks and mulch along the edge. Another option is to dig away the soil beneath the liner, creating an area for the liner to lay with topsoil added back over top. This will allow you to bring your landscaping that much closer to the pond edge. Leave as much excess liner as possible to allow for settling and future repair. Once you’ve taken care of the ponds edges, mulch can be added to give your feature a finished look. 17b Add in some landscape plants around your new pond to really set it off! STEP 18 Add Start-up Water Treatments If you are filling your pond with chlorinated water you will want to add a de-chlorinator. Chlorine is not good for fish and aquatic plants. Next, add beneficial bacteria to...
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