Instructions for Birds Choice Bird-Creek Single Level

Instructions for Birds Choice
Bird-Creek Single Level
CONTENT:
50”x30” ABS molded single pool (MOSPA1) with attached black mesh gravel strainer
300 GPH pump (AA973)
4 ft. of 3/4” tubing (AA860)
Alpine Falls waterfall (C710)
Bib liner
Gravel sample, and instructions
Biological clarifier (AA930)
Barley Straw 7”x7” (AA935)
DVD- Creating Bird Water Garden
C-510
MATERIALS REQUIRED:
*Shovel for in-ground installation
*Garden hose connected to a nearby faucet
*Creek gravel- about 8 gallons of rounded, about 1/4 to 3/8 inch gravel (sample inclosed)
*Edging and waterfall rocks- about 5x7x1 inch thick, which if laid out would form a border 20 ft long (approximately 100 LBS).
*Edging rocks thicker than 1” are fine and often are easier to work with.
SELECTING AN OUTDOOR LOCATION:
A good location should meet as many of the following as possible.
* Area already frequented by birds. Often this is near a bird feeder, but do not position the bird bath too close to the feeder
as seeds and hulls will fall into the bath.
* Easily viewed from a location where you frequently sit to watch birds.
* Near trees and shrubs for cover and partial shade. To keep the water cool and free of algae, it is best to have no more than
6 hours per day of direct sunlight.
* Relatively level area ( this makes installation easier)
* Avoid dense ground cover which can hide a cat
INSTALLATION:
1. Once you have selected a location, use a garden hose or piece of rope to outline the location on the ground where the pond
will be.
2. Create a depression which mirrors the shape of the molded pond. The edge of the pond should be slightly above the
surrounding soil to keep run off out of the pond. If you are installing the bird pond on an incline, you will need to move some soil
to the lower side to level the rim. Once you have the hole about right, set the molded pond in the depression and check for it to
fit and be sure the bath is level. Keep adjusting the hole contour until satisfied.
3. Fill the pond with water. As the pond fills, adjust the level of the molded part by sliding it toward the lower side to raise the
lower side. You can also slip small edging rocks under the lip to raise a low side. When full, the water level should be even with
the rim all the way around.
4. Place the edging rocks around the rim of the bath so that they sit on the inside of the rim about 1/4 in the water and 2/3’s out
of the water. It is often easier to fit the rocks one next to the other if their long dimension projects into the bath. If you have
some gaps between the rocks, these can be filled with pebbles or gravel. You should cover all of the flange, or if you prefer, you
can trim the flange with tin snips.
5. Construct the waterfall. When making the waterfall, it is very important to make sure that ALL water is returned to the pond.
The surest way to do this is to build the waterfall within the boundary of the pond as shown in the sketch on page 3. If you
choose to construct the waterfall outside the pond, place the bib liner under the wakeful to direct any leaks back into the pond.
Position the Alpine waterfall rock just below the top of the waterfall . The Alpine waterfall rock reduces the water exit velocity to
create a more natural waterfall.
6. Connecting the pump. Attach the tubing to the discharge of the pump. Remove one screw holding the mesh gravel strainer,
slide the pump under the mesh in the deepest part of the reservoir pool with the pump discharge pointing horizontal. Lead the
tubing and electric cord out beneath the mesh and then reattach the mesh with the one screw that was removed. Note that id
you pull carefully on the mesh strainer, you can pop it off the screws like unbuttoning a shirt. It then can be reattached just like
buttoning a shirt.
7. Connect the tubing to the Alpine waterfall rock. Eventually you will want to bury the tubing, and cover it with a rock as it exits
the reservoir pool.
8. CAUTION: supply electricity to the pump per the vendors instructions. These instructions include always connecting
the pump to a grounded outlet with a Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI, AA809). If you do not have a GFCI outlet you
can purchase a portable GFCI from your Birds Choice dealer or direct from Birds Choice. GFCI outlet conversion kits are also
available at most hardware stores.
9. Put the pump in and verify it is pumping water out the Alpine waterfall. Adjust the placement of the waterfall rocks to get the
desired waterfall sound without splashing water out of the bird pond.
10. If the water is muddy and does not appear to be settling, disconnect the tubing from the Water Fall Flowmaster, and lay it
away from the bath and use the pump to empty the pool out onto the adjacent ground. Then unplug the pump, and sponge out
the last of the muddy water.
11. Next form the gravel-bed biological filter by completely covering the mesh strainer with WASHED 1/4 to 3/8 inch gravel. If
the gravel you bought has a lot of fines, shake the pail so that the tines settle to the bottom and the scoop the coarser gravel off
the top of the pail and use it to over the mesh. The gravel should cover the filter plate, leaving about 2 inches of open water
above the gravel. Also cover the shallow areas with a thin layer of gravel so that the entire bottom is overed by gravel.
12) Refill the pond with clean water and plug the pump back in and verify it is still pumping. If it was pumping before and is not
pumping now, some gravel may have jammed the impeller or jammed between the magnet rotor and pump body. If this
happened unplug and remove the pump, take the impeller housing off and remove the impeller and magnet rotor, rinse and
re-assemble. Reinstall by sliding the gravel to one side to position the pump back on the pool bottom.
13) For algae control add the biological clarifier after about 2 days of operation, if the temperatures are above 45 degrees F.
Follow the instructions supplied with it. Also cut the barley pad either in halves for a very sunny location, or in quarters, and place
one piece in the bottom pool in the flow path of the water, and hold in place with a rock.
14) Plants: Shallow water plants should be planted directly in the deepest gravel around the pump and filter
housing. Be sure to gently flush as much of the soil as possible from the roots before planting in the gravel. Plants
naturally cleanse the water by trapping sediments and removing dissolved nutrients from bird droppings.
15) Water replenishment: All bird baths are most effective in attracting birds when kept full of fresh water. An Avian
Aquatics Leaf Mister (M-431), Rock-Mister (M-430), Dripper (D-411), or Mister-Dripper Combo (C-420) can be used to
supply fresh water on a daily basis. This becomes even easier if you use a water timer to automatically turn the water
on and off each day. We recommend the Orbit (801) water timer for reliable shut off at the low flows involved. Mild to
late afternoon seems to be a favorable bathing time.
Care during routine operation:
* Hot weather: Water loss can be rapid. Make sure to keep the water level up.
* Mysterious water loss: Can occur because the waterfall bib liner is not channeling all water back to the pond. Also be sure
all waterfall rocks slope down toward the reservoir pool.
* Plants: Will probably need to be pruned or thinned during the peak growing season. Otherwise they can overtake the
bath.
* Mosquitoes: Need stagnant water to breed, and have not been observed in our recirculating ponds.
* Leaves: Can be a major problem for a wooded yard in the fall. However, because of the shallow depth, it is easy to pick the
leaves out by hand or with a small net.
* Gravel-bed filter cleaning: is recommended when you notice a significantly diminished flow rate at the waterfall. The gravelbed filter can be rinsed free of most debris by rinsing the gravel with a garden hose while pumping the dirty water out onto the
adjacent ground.
* For a very complete cleaning, which we recommend about 4 times per year, use the following procedure. It should take only
about 15 minutes. (Step Process on next page)