How to Hide a Waterfall Spillway

Tips for Hiding your Waterfall Spillway 

A pond waterfall box provides biological filtration as well as serving as the starting point for the re-circulation of your pond’s water. But who wants to see a big black box at the top of their stream or waterfall when they try so hard to keep it as natural looking as possible? 

Here are a few ideas on how to hide a waterfall spillway, but still keep it accessible for maintenance. 

Fake Rock Covers: 

Fake rock lid covers, are molded from plastic to look like real stone. They are light and very easy to move. Rock lids are available in several different colors to blend in with your natural stone used to build your waterfall and pond. 

Real Stone: 

Although heavy, you can’t get a more natural look than real, natural  stone. A singular piece of flag stone may be just enough to cover the waterfall spillway box – or you can use several smaller stones, that match your current pond stone, to sit on the top grating of the waterfall box. This will give the appearance of water bubbling up between the stone as if it were coming from an underground source. 

Just be aware that whatever stone you use, it will need to be moved in the fall to extract your  biological filter media for cleaning. 

Floating Pond Plants: 

Water hyacinth and water lettuce have roots that dangle below the surface of the water and reproduce very rapidly. These plants may be a great way to hide that waterfall box, improve filtration and keep the plant’s roots out of reach of those nibbling koi fish. Tying a piece of fishing line across the front of the spillway will keep your floaters from taking a plunge over the waterfall. 

Since these pond plants reproduce so rapidly, regular thinning should be done to keep the roots from blocking the water flow and causing your waterfall filter to overflow. 

Potted Plants: 

Your waterfall spillway box is designed to house biological filtration. When seeded properly with beneficial bacteria, the biological filter will change fish waste from the pond into useful nutrients for pond plants. Many pond plants, known as  marginals, can be potted in aquatic planting soil and set right inside the waterfall box on top of the filter media. The roots will grow through the bottom of the pots and absorb the nutrients coming straight from the filter. 

Sometimes the roots grow into the filters mesh media bags as well, but when the time comes, the filter media can be cut free, or replaced in the Spring. 

Hanging baskets or decorative planters also do a nice job at hiding spillways. Cover the box itself with a piece of wood or grating and set a full and luscious planter on top. Cascading flowers and leaves not only hide the pot they are in, but also the area they are sitting on. 

Hopefully these tips help you in hiding your waterfall spillway box. Count on Hoffman’s Water X Scapes to have the pond supplies and accessories needed for your ponds and water features, both  online and at our Uniontown Ohio location.