Bought a house with a pond in need of some TLC

[AJ1500]

I can't speak for it's lift capabilty but I have that same alpine in my pond, I have it split on top of the outlet and 1 hose feeds my bio filter for the waterfall and the other feeds my bog. I have been very pleased with it. I had the impeller break about a year into it, just called them e-mailed a picture of the broken impeller and they sent out a new one no fuss. I have had it for about 4 years now. I don't have lots of exp with pumps but this one has been great and super easy to clean out when it starts building up at the impeller.

 

[LankBoy]

Thanks AJ! I've been set on an alpine for a while but I needed some opinions on the head height, this one has a max of 25' so that should work I think...

 

[tbendl]

I can't speak for it's lift capabilty but I have that same alpine in my pond, I have it split on top of the outlet and 1 hose feeds my bio filter for the waterfall and the other feeds my bog. I have been very pleased with it. I had the impeller break about a year into it, just called them e-mailed a picture of the broken impeller and they sent out a new one no fuss. I have had it for about 4 years now. I don't have lots of exp with pumps but this one has been great and super easy to clean out when it starts building up at the impeller.

AJ, do you know what it costs you in electricity to run? And do you run it 24/7?

 

[AJ1500]

yep I run it 24/7, can't really say I know what it cost but it doesn't seem to be that noticable
I also have a smaller pump in a basket full of batt material I made that removes floating debris,
I have it set up with a dual spout, there is a spout under the water that keeps the current moving that the waterfall creates and then it has a spout on top that aerates some from it splashing back down.
only downside to that is a I get a high evaporation rate in the hotter months, but the fish seem to like it

 

[tbendl]

I think @LankBoy will have a big issue with evaporation/splash given his current pond size and the height of the falls. He had asked about the additional cost of running a pump so I was curious since I don't have an alpine.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Thanks AJ! I've been set on an alpine for a while but I needed some opinions on the head height, this one has a max of 25' so that should work I think...

Keep in mind that, for either pump, all of the plumbing must be a minimum of 2" ID including the pipe that you mentioned connecting the upper gravel area to the waterfall (which should really be a minimum of 3" ID.

 

[AJ1500]

I agree there will be major evap loss from the falls
I would be willing to bet the waterfall was for controled use only. he mentioned a timer, I would say it was set up to only run at certain times and then shut off, I would think it would need a good one way check valve in line to prevent it from having to push the water up that high each time it comes on.

 

[LankBoy]

@Meyer Jordan thanks for mentioning that, I hadn't considered it. Looks like I'll have to run a new line up the side of the stones in the ground...that should be fun... haha. Do you recommend a certain type of tubing? On Amazon I'm finding this. To get 50 ft of 3 inch tubing would be close to $300....would it really be necessary? I'd be concerned it would empty the lower pond out before the waterfall even gets moving. It takes a little while for the cycle to complete after I start pumping water to the top.

@AJ500 Yea I never considered evaporation once you have water dropping from that height. I'm sure I'll be around to check the water levels daily but still. I will definitely be hooking it up to a timer. In regards to the check valve: why wouldn't I want it to push water up that high? Where else would it go?

After reviewing the Alpine cyclone manual it looks like the PAL6550 would still be sufficient at 25 ft....

 

[tbendl]

You can get sump pump hose that is 3" in diameter and I think 15 or 20' from Lowes. Let me see if I can find the link. It's way cheaper, like $10. And link 2 together if need be.

 

[tbendl]

https://www.lowes.com/pd/ProPlumber-Plastic-Hose/3578090
Wow I was wrong, this is only 1 1/4. Sorry.

 

[LankBoy]

no worries, thanks for checking!

 

[AJ1500]

I think you missed my meaning, by installing a check valve at the bottom when the pump shuts off it won't empty all the water from the hose back into the pond and it won't have to start filling the hose back up every time it turns on
this would be the only way I could see keeping your levels balanced between the top and pond as well as not stressing your pump every time it starts.
just my 2 cents but go bigger than just enough to get the job done, it will be better on you wallet in the long run

 

[Meyer Jordan]

2 inch ID hose (or PVC) should be of sufficient size for either pump. The 3 inch that I mentioned was for (unless I read wrong) the pipe connecting the top gravel pool to the waterfall as this portion of the water transit would be gravity-fed.

 

[tbendl]

@Meyer Jordan his PVC that is built in looks to be about 1 1/2", which I thought was a "standard size" aka "used a lot". Given that it is built in, what would the downside be to him using it to pump water up to the top? Is there any pump configuration which would make this doable?
This is assuming the pipe is functional.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

@Meyer Jordan his PVC that is built in looks to be about 1 1/2", which I thought was a "standard size" aka "used a lot". Given that it is built in, what would the downside be to him using it to pump water up to the top? Is there any pump configuration which would make this doable?
This is assuming the pipe is functional.

There is no standard size PVC or hose size. It depends on the flow rate of the pump. It would be foolish to try to pump 10,000 gph through a 1' line.
For most water feature applications, a flow is expected of average velocity. By decreasing pipe size, one increases velocity: increasing pipe size reduces velocity.For a fountain application one would use a smaller pipe size than usual in order to get the 'geyser' effect, but this is certainly not wanted for a waterfall.
The manufacturer's of the two (2) pumps that were mentioned both called for 2 inch pipe, with one stating 2 or 3 inch.
A smaller pump could be used, but this would, of course, result in a smaller flow for the waterfall.
This may be why this water feature fell into neglect....the original owners could not get the flow (pump) acceptable.