Bought a new house...have a pond with koi and need some help.

[Waterbug]

I've bought a lot of pumps over the years (maybe 100?) and I've never seen any pattern other than maybe the stuff sold at big box stores. I don't like filter/pump combos or any pump that has a fountain because it's a sign of low quality imo.

First time I do is remove the foam pre-filter if there is one and throw it out. I often also toss out the plastic cage around the intake for the reason you cited. I'm talking mag drive type pumps. I normally place the pump behind the skimmer so that acts as the pre-filter. Otherwise some mid to high point so it's not pulling in stuff from the bottom or surface where most clogging stuff is.

I've made many filters in my day, like you wouldn't believe many. The best filter for removing waste I found was no filter. Unless of course you get into high end filters which I assume are out of the question here. The best, cheapest, easiest way is a vacuum. My page on vacuum options. Once you can on top of the vacuuming lots of other things will get easier too like pumps not clogging.

You couldn't pay me to mess around with DIY mechanical filters any more. Bio, sieve sure.

 

[WhiteNoise]

Hey Waterbug, Thanks! I would really like to add river rock style gravel to the bottom of my pond. The only thing that has held me back is that I would have to invest in a vac that could handle it. My in-door aquariums always needed to be vaced to keep everything beautiful.

The filtration system I want to build will only have gravel (three diferent layers of three different sized gravel and I was hoping this would be a good biological filter. I'm going to head over to your page and do some reading right now. Thanks for the advice.


/edit: I just read your entire page and have to say I enjoyed that. Very imformative. Picked up some ideas too.

Much appreciated!

 

[CountryEscape]

WhiteNoise, instead of a rock on the bottom of your pond to lift your pump off bottom, use a milk crate. You can buy them in hardware stores, Wal-Mart, etc. They have lots of holes, so easy to zip tie the pump to it. That way your pump will be at least 12" off the bottom. I had a line pull loose last year in January, came home to only 14-16" of water! Thank goodness someone told me to elevate the pump. As said by others, it will keep your pump much cleaner. I only have to clean my pumps a few times a year.
I have a small skimmer on one end of the pond, and that catches all the floating algae when the temps warm up in the spring, it floats up from the bottom for a while, then once all plants are growing well, and the water temps stay warm, it seems to complete the cycle, and the water clears up.
As far as gravel on the bottom, don't do it. Leave your bottom free of any type of rocks, as if you have fish and plants, you will have stuff covering the bottom, and keeping the rocks clean will be a never ending battle. Enjoy the pond and fish and plants instead.

 

[WhiteNoise]

Thanks for the input. Just got back from Lowes. Grabbed a butt load of large, 3/4, and pea gravel for the 55 gallon drum, PVC pipes, fittings, some flex hose etc...
Need to hit up Home Depot in the morning to grab a couple shut off valves, bulk-heads and hole saw bits. Speaking of which...

I'm going to use 1.5" PVC as my intake to the filter and 2" PVC as my return. I'll be buying a 2" and 1.5" bulk-head. Can anyone tell me what size hole saw I will need for each one? I think I need a 2-3/4" dia. hole saw for the 2" and I assume a 2-1/4" dia for the 1.5" bulkhead? Am I correct?

 

[RobAmy]

Thanks for the input. Just got back from Lowes. Grabbed a butt load of large, 3/4, and pea gravel for the 55 gallon drum, PVC pipes, fittings, some flex hose etc...
Need to hit up Home Depot in the morning to grab a couple shut off valves, bulk-heads and hole saw bits. Speaking of which...

I'm going to use 1.5" PVC as my intake to the filter and 2" PVC as my return. I'll be buying a 2" and 1.5" bulk-head. Can anyone tell me what size hole saw I will need for each one? I think I need a 2-3/4" dia. hole saw for the 2" and I assume a 2-1/4" dia for the 1.5" bulkhead? Am I correct?

You can use the same hole saw for both. Just measure the bulk head fittings to determine the size. I believe on my savio units they where 3" holes. Easy to measure, they just screw together. Just unscrew them and measure the male end and go a little bigger. There is not enough difference between the 1.5" and 2" to need different hole saws. The gasket on the bulkheads are fairly large. Good luck, it sounds like you have a fun project ahead of you

 

[j.w]

Rock looks nice in a pond but w/ it just laying loose there it can get lots of muck stuck in between and if you don't like cleaning it all out this would not be for you. Some love it but it's not for me. I have found this prefilter that another ponder here uses in her ponds to be quite effective in my pond now. It is easy to lift out and clean w/hose and attaches to the tubing from your pump. Lasts a long time in there collecting junk w/o clogging. My waterfall is where the output goes and it keeps on running full force. I do net stuff off the bottom a couple times a year. I use a pondmaster pump 2400gph in my appx 2500 gal pond. It's been going strong for abt 12 yrs now.

Here's the prefilter thingy and you can double them up or use single and they have smaller size also:

http://www.matalausa.com/prod48.html
I bought mine here:
http://www.webbsonline.com/Category/Matala-EZ-Bio-Mechanical-Pre-Filter
This is mine doubled up by screwing two together:

 

[RobAmy]

I use the same prefilter, they work great. I use just a single one on my 1800 gph pump

 

[WhiteNoise]

Busy day. Spent most of my day shopping more for the parts I was missing. Eventually I found everything I needed and started building the filter around 5pm. The plumbing for the 55 gallon barrel is done. I just have to move it to it's new home off to the side of the pond and run the intake and return pipes. I also need to wash all the gravel and then load up the barrel. Then test for leaks. With any luck I should have it up and running tomorrow at some point.

The new 2000 gph pump arrived. Tested it out and OH LORD it pushes some water!! On the 1.5" PVC intake line to the filter I'm going to run a T off it with a 1.5" to 1" adapter, then it's own ball valve and run a 1" straight to my two tier fountain. This way I can divert some of the in-flow away from the filter and just let it head back into the pond. This pump is really powerful for my 1200 gallon pond. Much more than I expected.
I cut a milk crate in half and zip tied the pump to it. It is about 6-7" off the pond floor and still about 3ft below the water line.

I still have a new 950 gph (I originally thought it was 975 gph....it's not) pump...I have no idea what to do with it. I highly doubt it's needed now.

A few pictures...

 

[Nepen]

I would recommend you test for leaks before putting the gravel in. I had to adjust several things before and I was glad I didn't have to empty the gravel to find what was wrong

 

[WhiteNoise]

Already tested. It be good.

 

[WhiteNoise]

Okay I spoke too soon! lol

The first run I saw no leaks but after running it for 20 minutes or so (without rocks of course) I noticed several very small drips. Two coming from the bulkhead. The ones coming from the intake pipe are no biggie as I didn't seal them up yet and just pressure fitted everything for testing. But the ones coming from the intake bulkhead could not be fixed. No matter how tight I made the connection it would still leak around the bulkhead threads and rubber/foam seal.

I realized that there is a raised stamp on the barrel (barrel info and I didn't think when I drilled out the hole that it would matter since the seal is rubber but I guess it does.

Does anyone know if there is a sealer like silicone or something that can be used with the rubber/foam (can't tell what the material is...) that will help seal? My only other option is to scrap the 50 gallon barrel and buy another one. It's only $25 so I might just do that and save myself the headache.

I wonder if I should use Teflon tape on the threads for the bulkheads? Usually when I do threaded plumbing I always use Teflon but I didn't with these bulkheads.

 

[CountryEscape]

Yes, Addy uses it to seal EVERYTHING, and it's what I finally was able to get my Skippy bottom drain sealed with. It's called PL Roofing sealant. Comes in a tube like caulk, looks like black tar. Can use on rocks to situate them and keep them in place, or for sealing things like you have going on. I still

had a partial tube, so here's a pic. Good luck!

 

[WhiteNoise]

Thanks! I will swing by Home Depot and pick some up.

 

[WhiteNoise]

very little progress...After sealing the inflow and outflow pipes I will let them cure till Saturday.

Couple of pictures:

In this picture you see the 2" out flow going down in one step with a shut off valve, the 1.5" inflow with it's shutoff valve followed by a 'T' bracket to a 1" down pipe and it's own shut-valve. This 1" line will feed my waterfall. (That first down tube on the out-flow pipe will have a 't' bracket that i will use to attach a hose to. I'm going to drain all the dirty water to my gardens.)

 

[CountryEscape]

OK, I'm confused, but trust me, this is normal for me. If I read it correctly, you are bringing the water into the barrel at the bottom (1.5" inflow) and it will flow out at the top (2" outflow), right? If that's the case, how can the 1" pipe at the bottom go to your waterfall? In my world ... OK, my Skippy filter which is somewhat similar, the dirty water is in the bottom where it is pumped to from the pond, then it filters up through all the types of filter media, and comes out clear at the top (outflow). Also, my drain for removing "dirty water" is at the bottom, and it sounds like you will be "draining the dirty water" from your top "outflow" pipe. Did I interpret your info correctly, or am I totally out in left field here?!