Abstract:
A man-made aquatic environment comprises a falls assembly and a skimmer assembly. The falls assembly has features designed to help the assembly blend into the surrounding landscape. The skimmer assembly has a removable bucket for holding filter media and other means for removing debris from the water before it is pumped from the skimmer to the falls assembly. Various features of the falls and skimmer assemblies are optimized for manufacturing and storage prior to installation.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention concerns man-made aquatic environments, particularly landscaping ponds. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Ponds are popular elements of modern landscaping design. Typically such ponds include some system for circulating water within the pond. Examples include the systems shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,991 (Wittstock et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,054,045 (Wittstock et al.), the entire contents of both of which are incorporated by reference. 
     DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION 
     One aspect of the invention is a falls for a landscaping pond system. The falls comprises a retaining lip arranged to prevent unintentional dislodging of material into the falls. In other embodiments, the falls further comprises a recessed ledge lying beneath the retaining lip; or a vertical retaining wall, lying at an outermost extent of the falls, the recessed ledge lying between the retaining lip and the vertical retaining wall; or a plurality of slots in the retaining lip. 
     Another aspect of the invention is a skimmer assembly for a landscaping pond system. The skimmer assembly comprises a non-porous skimmer tub and a filter bucket adapted to fit within the skimmer tub. The filter bucket has any combination of a porous bottom, and at least one porous lower sidewall, both or either. The filter bucket fits within the skimmer tub to form a plurality of chambers (typically but not necessarily two chambers), each chamber capable of housing an independent pump system. The outputs of each independent pump system are directed through sidewalls of the skimmer tub. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The figures are schematic illustrations only. 
     FIG. 1 includes a top and side elevation view of a falls, pond, and skimmer. 
     FIGS. 2A-2E are side isometric views of the falls component of the invention; FIGS. 2B-2E are cutaway views taken along the line  2 — 2  of FIG.  2 A. 
     FIGS. 3A is a side view of the skimmer assembly component of the invention. FIG. 3B is a side view taken along the line  3 B— 3 B of FIG.  3 A. 
     FIGS. 4A and 4B are oblique views of the filter basket component of the skimmer assembly of FIGS. 3A and 3B. 
     FIG. 5A is a side cutaway view of the weir component of the invention, taken along line  5 A— 5 A of FIG. 5B, which is a perspective view. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     This invention includes specific components of a man-made aquatic environment system. This system includes components installed and maintained to perform a series of required functions. These functions include water oxygenation, algae control, water flow management, collection of surface debris, and creation of a landscaped water volume suitable to support aquatic flora and fauna. 
     FIG. 1 shows that one preferred embodiment of the man-made aquatic environment system has two primary components, commonly referred to as a falls assembly (or falls)  2 , and a skimmer assembly (or skimmer)  3 . The falls  2  contains no moving parts. The falls is a container that serves as the elevated origin of the water supply to the waterfall, stream, and pond (shown schematically as pond  4 ). The skimmer  3  serves several functions. The skimmer houses at least one pump to create water flow. This water flow is important to the algae cleaning design, the falls flow appearance, and the ability to skim debris from the surface of pond  4 . 
     The falls unit  2  is the most exposed component of the man-made aquatic system  1 . Aquatic systems tend to support growth of undesirable algae on rocks and other objects at the bottom of the pond, as well as on rocks typically included in the falls unit  2 . Thus, the falls  2  must have enough water volume to contain and support de-nutrifying bacteria. The man-made components of the falls container should be hidden or blended into the overall landscaping. FIGS. 2A-E are perspective views of embodiments of falls  2  according to the invention. Falls  2  is a container of water having an elevated mouth or other region from which excess water, pumped into the falls, flows out of the falls and into the pond. The exact shape of falls  2  (e.g., generally rectangular as illustrated) is not critical to the scope of the invention. 
     In the specific embodiments shown, a retaining lip  21  lies generally around the upper periphery of, and prevents unintentional dislodging of rocks into, the main container  22 . A recessed ledge  23  lies beneath retaining lip  21 . Recessed ledge  23  lies between retaining lip  21  and vertical retaining wall  24 . In the preferred embodiment shown, recessed ledge  23  is somewhat U-shaped (although the exact cross-sectional shape is not critical). Thus, recessed ledge  23  is additionally capable of providing a volume  25  that is fed by water flowing outwardly from main chamber  22  through at least one of a plurality of water passages  26  in retaining lip  21 . The number and shape of water passages  26  is not critical to the scope of the invention. V-shaped water passages  26  are illustrated, but U-shaped, rectangular, curved, etc. shapes are all within the scope of the invention. Passages open to the air above (as opposed to holes through retaining lip  21 ) are preferred to avoid clogging, and to add reinforcing strength. However, the use of holes through retaining lip  21  is within the scope of the invention. The free flow of water back and forth helps prevent stagnant water. This provides water to nourish aquatic plants (as shown in FIGS.  2 C and  2 D). Another, independent, advantage of recessed ledge  23  is that it will help retain landscaping rocks (as shown in FIG.  2 E). It is also possible to use both plants and rocks together in any combination desired. 
     FIGS. 3A and 3B show an improved skimmer  3 , comprising a filter bucket  5  which fits within a skimmer tub  6 . (Both filter bucket  5  and skimmer tub  6  are shown as generally rectangular but this is only an example and not a limitation on the scope of the invention.) Filter bucket  5 , shown specifically in FIGS. 4A and 4B, has porous bottom  7  and lower sidewalls  8   a ,  8   b  against which conventional fine filter media (not shown) may be positioned and held in place in any convenient manner. A net for capturing large material (not shown) can be positioned horizontally across the top of the assembly, using any conventional technique. In general, filter bucket  5  need have only at least one porous face (i.e., a porous bottom or a porous sidewall), but embodiments having multiple porous faces are preferred. 
     This bucket design enables a “dry hands” removal of the filter media. This design also has no below water level tolerance fits between the filter bucket  5  and the tub  6 , which eliminates the problem of debris in the water bypassing the filters. 
     The invention is superior to designs using horizontal filter media, because the latter presents interference problems with respect to pump installation and removal. Specifically, an installer must cut out a comer of the filter media to conform around the pump and output water piping. This poor tolerance cutout creates an opportunity for debris to bypass the filter media bypass, thus subsequently clogging the pump. In vertical filter designs, because of the location of the pump relative to the filter, the water tends to flow at one point at the bottom of the filter, then draws down the water level and eventually starves the pump of water. Thus can lead to either pump failure (if the pond is starved of water) or poor pond circulation, which in turn creates a number of problems, including decreased skimming efficiency, less oxygenation of the water, and an unbalanced ecosystem. 
     As shown in FIG. 3, filter bucket  5  fits within the skimmer tub  6  to form at least one pump chamber. In the preferred embodiment shown, there are two side chambers  9 ,  10 , each capable of holding respective independent pump systems  11 ,  12 . Prior art skimmer assemblies, whether using vertical or horizontal filter media, have space for only a single pump per skimmer container. The prior designs do not easily accommodate a second pump. By contrast, the invention permits use of a second pump in the skimmer assembly for water aeration, pond fountains, or secondary falls. Even if a second pump chamber is provided, it is not necessary to install or use the second pump if it is not desired to do so. 
     The outputs of the pumps are directed out the skimmer faces at points  13  and  14 , on a direct route to the falls assembly. Prior systems are designed to direct output flow piping away from the skimmer inlet, which creates piping inefficiencies. It is a design requirement that the output of the skimmer be directed to the falls unit, thus creating the falls water flow. Directing the skimmer output directly away from the pond adds to the piping length, or requires a ninety-degree elbow; each creates added water friction and reduced pump flow output. 
     As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the skimmer assembly  3  includes a weir  15  in the side of skimmer tub  6  to control the intake of oxygen-rich water (top surface water) and floating debris. Weir  15  comprises a simplified sidewall  16  made from a folding or flexible material. To promote best skimming and minimize the skimmer exposure, the weir is mounted on the inside of the skimmer tub. This interior location creates a geometric interference with the skimmer net (not shown) and filter removal. A skimmer that closes flush to the skimmer interior wall is desirable. The filter basket  5  has a cutout as required to accommodate weir  15 . 
     Therefore, as compared to prior landscaping pond systems, the invention provides a more natural appearing, less conspicuous blending of the falls assembly into the surrounding landscaping; an improved design for manufacturing of a sidewall, low protrusion weir assembly; and a skimmer assembly with reduced filter bypass, easier filter removal, and geometry compatible to common multiple pump applications.