I have 2 8' Sheer Descents that are back to back for a 16' wall of water. I takes a 1HP pump for each of the Descents and wide open they have just enough water. 1 1/2hp would probably do a better job without having to run the pumps wide open. The suction is from several(4) side wall inputs. I have no problem with clogging since the inputs are about 2' under water they pick up nothing floating or anything that has sunk to the bottom. The sheers make a spectacular addition to the pool and are great fun to play in, they arc out enough to walk behind. To clean them out make a wire with a small hook on the end and use it to pull out any leaves or junk. Cliff s

kgolby- Can't comment on the cost of Rico Rock vs sheer descents for your part of the country. I'm in Louisiana and knew I wanted Rico Rock for the natural look I was after. After working closely with Rico Rock on the selection of boulders/waterfalls for my design, they provided a list of local builders that have experience with their products. Rico Rock only sells to distributors/PB's and the price of their products are region specific. What I like about Rico Rock is their natural look and exact dimensions so you can design the "look" of your poolscape on paper and know exactly what you are going to get. Also, their waterfalls work great and are designed to sheet perfectly at specified gpm's and drain down when off so there is no standing water. It all depends on the look you want. Personally, I think sheer descents look to contrived for a natural poolscape and they go better with symmetric roman style designs but to each his own. My experience was the Rico Rock product was about twice as much as natural boulders or other type of water features such as sheer descents. The PB told me that they double the price of the waterfall kit to account for installation, labor and materials for a structural kit. I did not have any modular kits, because I didn't like the look of them as much as the structural, but I would expect the labor to be less because they are easier to install than the structural kits. The structural kits require more concrete, rebar, shaping and custom mortar work. It took 3 guys plus me an entire month to finish all the Rico Rock waterfalls and boulder placement around the pool! They commented if the waterfalls were modular, it would have taken them 1 week tops to complete everything and move on to the next job. Hope this helps!

At least 24" for a unit that wide. When I install those features, I try to keep the raised beam height around 75% of the width of the unit. With that said though, I have never installed a unit larger than a 4'. If the unit gets too high, the "sheet" of water will be more likely to split with even the slightest breeze. FYI, You can order those units in different colors of PVC (gray, tan, or even stainless steel) that will make the PVC body less visable. If you are installing a salt system however, it is not recommended to use the stainless steel units. Good Luck!

Two things come to mind. First is that you could have something stuck in the impeller. Is the check valve on the suction side? If so, when you replaced the valve some PVC glue might have made it's way into the impeller. Second is that it could be the check valve itself. Did you replace the valve with the exact model you had before? If not, the current one may have a stronger spring in it and be restricting the flow a bit more. For example, the check valves you can get at the hardware store have very strong springs and very high head loss. On the other hand, a Jandy swing check valve (no spring), has very low head loss but has to be installed in a certain direction.