Hi, I'm new here:) Pump question and pond pic...

[markhewer]

I've just built a new pond and have been waiting for about a month for the green to go away. I still can't even see the fish. :( My pond is about 8ft x 8ft has 3 different levels, with the deepest being a 24 inch wide hole that's 3.5 feet deep. it probably averages abour 1.5 feet in depth. I have a laguna round flat pump with charcol filters and I put straw in there. It pumps out to 2 spitters. I currenty have the pump sitting on the middle shelf. I have 3 koi and 3 goldfish.
My question is... should I have the pump sitting at the deepest part of the pond instead of on the middle shelf? Here's a pic of the pond which is still a work in progress. It doesn't look too good yet, but over the next couple of weeks I'm working on it and will post another pic then :-)

Thanks for any help you could offer.http://www.markhewer.com/Photos/thumb.gif (http://www.markhewer.com)

http://www.markhewer.com/Photos/Pond4.JPG (http://www.markhewer.com)

Mark :grin:

[Jackie Ramo]

Hi Mark!!

Although there is some benefit from circulating the water from the bottom of the pond my concern is it something comes lose can the pond be pumped dry. Fish just hate that :frisbee:

As we spoke abbout at the ADI board you need to get more filtration in there than the mechanical that comes with the pump. Have a look in our construction section and ask any questions you have.

[markhewer]

Thanks Jackie :)

I'm thinking of moving the pump to the bottom and have it pump up to a level above the pond where I'm going to lay a spare section of liner, put some rocks on it, and make a homemade waterfall/filter medium for the water to pass through spilling back into the pond. Does this sound like a good idea?

[Cinnamon]

!welcome
Mark I agree with Jackie your problem is filtration. You can build your own. We built a 180 gallon filter out of a fiberglass stock tank. It really works well and you don't have to clean it as often as the smaller ones. If you want to check out our pics of it the url is

http://photos.yahoo.com/pamth@sbcglobal.net

Click on DIY filter. You can adjust the size for the same type of filter. Look under the consructions section as Jackie said and search for posts by ozzyrockman. He has done a couple smaller ones. If you need any info just ask. There are a lot of good people on this board that knows a lot about ponds. They have helped me keep my sanity :lol:

[markhewer]

Thanks a lot Cinnamon! http://www.markhewer.com/Photos/thumb.gif (http://www.markhewer.com)

[Merlin]

Hi Mark

No no no to having the pump on the bottom of the pond , as jackie has mentioned anything comes adrift all the water from your pond will disapear.
I use two submergables in my pond. The lowest one is around 18" from the bottom and feeds the filter, but has a float cut off switch should anything go wrong. The second pump is 20" from the top of the pond and feeds the waterfall. Green water is a pain, I took the easy way out and installed a UV.:).
If you have a good filter and as you say plants in the pond, it will clear in time, but you have to be patient.

Welcome to the forum by the way :)

Merlin

[ozzyrockman]

Hello Mark, sorry I've been MIA for a while b/c this time of year I don't get to spend too much time at home. It sounds like you are very modest on your fish load which is always a good thing b/c a light load is always the best way to avoid problems. You can get away with a smaller bio filter with a simple pump valved to your spitters and use the other elec outlet for a uv that you probably would only need to run (uv that is) for a couple hours a week to get rid of the green. Jebo makes an 18w that you can buy via ebay for about $40.00 plus shipping and the green is gone. I have been testing a Jebo 36w for 3 months w/o failure in our 700g qt and it works well for the $$$$ and no green or :twisted: parasite :grin:

Pondmaster utility 1200pgh pup (8' cord) $75.00
Tetra PF3 $80.00
Jebo UV 18w $40.00

From where you are at if you where to spend $200-300 you would make a very nice home for your wet pets with little mods to your landscape maybe a Rhoady to hide the UV and bio.

The reason I am suggesting the Tetra PF 3 is simply b/c for what you need you will not save much $$$ on a diy by the time all is said and done (5 g bucket too small 55 g barrel too big 50g stock tank $50 w/no media). Unless you have something like a 20-30g trash can available and have a way to hide it? If you feel comfortable with a little diy project let us know and I am sure we can put our heads together and come up with something.

As for pump loca always have the pickup at the lowest point of the pond during feeding season then a few weeks after you stop feeding raise the pump to about 6" from the surface and just let the water wave the surface with the bio disconnected. About mid sept make sure the bottom of the pond is clean of crud and check the board for winterizing pond.

Thanks, Allen

[markhewer]

Wow...this board is AWESOME!!! :grin: Hi Merlin and Allen. http://www.markhewer.com/Photos/wave.gif (http://www.markhewer.com)

Thanks very much for all the valuable info guys. Last night I went out and bought a 1200 gal pump and have it running to a small reservoir I quickly did up last night. The reservoir sits right beside the pond and is only about 2 feet in diameter and 4 inches deep. I put some rocks in there and the pump is spilling out onto the rock and flowing back into the pond in a small waterfall type effect. Do you think this will act a s a natural bio filter or should I add some hay in there, or just forget the hassles and go buy a uv. I was looking at a uv last night and it's $500.00 It's a high pressure filter with uv, but this seems rather expensive. The guy at the store said it would clear the water up in 2 to 4 days. I'm not sure what to do really. :roll:
Thanks again for the warm welcome and all the help! http://www.markhewer.com/Photos/thumb.gif (http://www.markhewer.com)

[Jackie Ramo]

Mark there are two kinds of filtration. The first is mechanical, that is removing things from the water, leaves dirt algae etc. Then there is a biological filter that removes those items we can not see, like ammonia and nitrites which poison our fish.

One normally removes as much of what the eye can see before it reaches the bio filter. Bio bugs work best if clean.

I'd look into Allen's suggestions for your needs. $500.00 seems a bit steep to me.

[Cinnamon]

Mark I am running a Fishmate UVc in my step waterfall. It has a 16W bulb and it takes care of my 2,000 gallon pond. It cleared it in about 4 days. You could barely see the bottom it was so bad. It costs around $130. So many ways you can go and all different price ranges.

[Merlin]

$500 their having a laugh !rofl Mark at a guess I would estimate that your pond can not be more than 2000 gallons. I have checked up on E.Bay ( Canada side ) and found a Tetra Pressurized 18Watt complete pond /UV filter , model PF2500 2.500 gallon maximum pond . which I feel is adequate for your pond. Price is $269.40 plus shipping.

In the UK the same thing retails at around £150/£180.

Hope that is of interest to you.


Merlin

[ozzyrockman]

Hello Mark, keep in mind when looking for uv's they are simply germicidal uv lamp inside a quartz tube with a ballast in a plastic or stainless housing that allows water to flow thru w/o contacting the lamp. The obvious is that if you have a crappy ballast the lamp will not work effectively or if the lamp is too far from the quartz sleeve it will not kill properly. $500 for the uv/pressure alone I'd say someone is setting you up for a real high end uv/filter and I say DON'T waste your money.

There is nothing wrong with a $150 version for your application and I have used the Tetra UV2, Jebo uv-h36, Pondmaster UV40 and a Seaview 15w. The next issue is maintenance for the uv's, lamps can cost up to $60 for these units and should be replaced every year which is a small price to pay each year in comparison to chems which I personally can't stand using snake oils in my ponds. Now when you get out of the mainstream production units the maintenance costs drastically increase so buyer beware.

Bottom line is that the construction cost issues and as I mentioned the Tetra PF3 is the cheapest best production bio that will work for your size. Below is a little upflow I made for our qt a few years ago it's not pretty but it works however while I qt'd 9 4" and one 10" koi I did add the PF3 and had no problems. So your call if you don't mind the looks it's a real easy build.

30g Containment no larger than 17" id
2 3/8" hole saw
Shower drain f/return to pond
4" pvc plus 6" higher than container
small roll of bird netting (ie netting for fuit trees)
couple of red 17" 3m floor sanding pads

If I get some time I will price out and get home depot part numbers for you so we can compare. Allen

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v698/ozzyrockman/QTMods2.jpg

[markhewer]

Thanks Merlin & Ozzy for all the great info. Very much appreciated! :grin:

[markhewer]

Oh...here's an updated pic...

http://www.markhewer.com/Photos/Pond5.jpg (http://www.markhewer.com)

Mark :grin:

[Jackie Ramo]

Whats in the waterfall Mark? Looks better water seems a bit clearer, nice fish!

[Merlin]

That is looking a lot clearer and the koi looks quite nice too. :) . Glad to be of any help.