Filter Questions

[FlutterChin]

I am building my first pond, its still in the beginning stages as I have just started adding plant life and have not quite finished arranging rocks and getting things settled.
Nature decided to speed things along for me and fill up the pond before I was ready. We recieved enough rain in less then 4 days to fill up my14 inches to 3 foot deep at its deepest point 11.5 x 17 foot pond....needless to say the water was a bit murky due to the wash in.
I installed my second filter today and have them both running. I am using an ecovort dirty water pump to hopefully avoid ever having a major clog... I have the line split 3 ways comming from the pump so that the water in going into the two filters is reduced by about 1/4 and the rest is being diverted through a third hose (1/2 total pressure) that will later be attached to my water feature.

I have a little giant filter for a 3000 gallon pond and a tetra 3000 gallon doing the filtering...both are bio filters....

Ok so here is my question. Will those filters be able to clear my water to a reasonable level? Or do I need to be doing something else? I am figuring it will take a while....so I am not too bent out of shape...I am not asking for crystal clear water...but at least clear enough to see the pond life.

Thanks

[Jackie Ramo]

How much runoff did you get or is it just murky from being mostly rain water?

A lot of the dirt will settle to the bottom over time if it is not stir up so the water will clear. A shop vac will suck that up pretty fast once its settled.

If you are planning to add fish please buy test kits and test the water and post the numbers here for us. Rain water often isn't the best for fish. The numbers of your source water (tap or well) would also help.

[FlutterChin]

I had not really planned on having a "koi" pond, which is why I had originally posted this question in the water gardens section...cause it wasn't a fish pond...

Any how....the run off was not as bad as it could have been but our soil here is bright orange/red so my water pond looks like a big mudd puddle. There is not a signifigant build up on the bottom...its just mostly cloudly from the fine clay particles.

[Jackie Ramo]

Yes, you had posted in the right section, I moved you to see if you got some better responses than mine, I'm not much of a techy when it comes to filters and pumps etc. The techy folks hang out in this section :grin:

Do you have a pic of the set up?

[FlutterChin]

Yes, you had posted in the right section, I moved you to see if you got some better responses than mine, I'm not much of a techy when it comes to filters and pumps etc. The techy folks hang out in this section :grin:

Do you have a pic of the set up?


Hey thats fine no problem...I just thought I was loosing my mind this morning when I didn't see my post where I put it....then found it here...I thought...gee....what did I do wrong ;)

Thanks
Hopefully some one will have an answer for me. I did purchase some Koi Clay...hoping that will help clear up the water.

[Jackie Ramo]

Sorry I had sent you a PM that I had moved it... did you read your message, top left hand part of the screen, under your name, private messages :wink:

Seems you have enough clay at present, I'd not add more. Not that koi clay isn't a good thing, just not what I think you need right now. Do you have a place that you could put batting as in quilt batting or tshirt material in a basket and let the water run through it. This removes the fines very nicely. I put it in the skimmer.

[Terri]

I am confused as to why you are only running 1/4 of the flow through the two filters? Idealy you want all the water in the pond going through the filters before returning to the pond. It may take a little longer for the filters to clear the suspened solids the way they are hooked up. A 50% water change with a good vac would speed things along.

This is a plant pond only?

[FlutterChin]

I am confused as to why you are only running 1/4 of the flow through the two filters? Idealy you want all the water in the pond going through the filters before returning to the pond. It may take a little longer for the filters to clear the suspened solids the way they are hooked up. A 50% water change with a good vac would speed things along.

This is a plant pond only?


Becasue when I ran it 100% it would blow out the top of the filters...my pump is too powerful. So when I cut it back it still had a tad of leakage. Actually 50% of the water is running through the filters and 50% out of the water feature.

[Jackie Ramo]

You could always put a filter before the water feature and still keep the pump split.

[FlutterChin]

You could always put a filter before the water feature and still keep the pump split.


Well If I did that then it would blow the filter.

If I cut the water 50/50, one in one filter, the other line to the second filter, its too strong, before or after the water feature doesn't matter...because either way, one of the two filters will have to withstand a strait 50%. so 50% goes through the water feature and then I split the other 50% through the two filters. That gives me just enough power and don't loose as much water from the pressure pushing it out the top of the filters.

When I bought my filter I went with the ideal that you can never have too much water flow...I won't make that mistake again :)....I understand the logic, I mean I can always dumb it down you can't boost it up...better too much I guess in case I ever decide to expand later on.

[Jackie Ramo]

I meant an additional filter rather than the filter you are using now. Several DIY ideas in this section on how to build one. For that matter a DIY may take the flow your current filter isn't taking.

Has the water settled out any as of yet?

[Merlin]

As my pump did the same , overflowed the filter I just added a tap to slow it down a tad. I now get the correct movement through the filter aprox 20 mins from entering the filter until it starts to exit back in to the pond . :)

[Busy B]

What kind of a tap Merlin?

Welcome to the board Flutterchin :wink:

I'd start with a big water change...easier that way for your filters to handle the job. Do you have berms around the edges so you don't have runoff into the pond? Got fish? Kinda sounds like Got Milk huh :grin:

Is your pump a sump pump/solids handling pump?

Lotsa ?'s huh?

[FlutterChin]

As my pump did the same , overflowed the filter I just added a tap to slow it down a tad. I now get the correct movement through the filter aprox 20 mins from entering the filter until it starts to exit back in to the pond . :)

I could have done that and probably would have if I only had a filter and a water feature...but since there were two filters...I decided just to split it instead.

[FlutterChin]

I want to let everyone know after 2 weeks of treatment with koi clay and an extra filter medium in my filter, I can now see the pump at the bottom of my pond...the difference is amazing!...the water gets more clear every day.

[Jackie Ramo]

I'm sure the extra filter media helped a lot. Its amazing sometimes what a small change to the system accomplishes. Thanks for letting us know what worked for you.

[Sandi_W]

I now get the correct movement through the filter aprox 20 mins from entering the filter until it starts to exit back in to the pond . :)

Merlin, How can you time the water going into and out of the filter?

Sandi