Equipment manufacturers

[FountainMan]

For those who have followed my previous thread "I'm back" I'm redoing my pond. Over the years I've tried many makes of equipment such as Beckett, Laguna, some Oase, Smart/Total Pond (Lowes and Home Depot) etc. I want something dependable and will last a lifetime. But I don't want to spend a ton. Here's what my wish list looks like, I want an all in one filter/pump/fountainhead. I saw a Pennington kit at Loews but in researching learned the company doesn't have much contact info so support looks a bit shady. I want something from a company who stands behind their product. Also been looking at Life Gard Aquatics. Anything made in USA?

 

[Waterbug]

So you want low cost and good?

IMO all combo filter/pump/fountainhead deals are very poor choices. They're built and marketed to first time pond owners. When looking at the selection of products at big box stores these customers generally have very little understanding of what is needed so adding "filter included" and "fountain" are things that sound good but really do nothing. And of course price is the main comparison. Cheap is king and they don't expect any repeat business.

However I've only seen brands like Beckett, Little Giant and a lot of brands I've never heard of in the big box stores. I think Laguna, Oase can be a step up. But these are all hit and miss. I've had pumps last a month while one cheap pump lasted for years and was abused. One model pump from a manufacturer might be great and a slightly different model be crap. I've not noticed any pattern.

 

[Lisak1]

I agree with WB - any product that is multi-functional is going to be of less value overall than buying a single product designed to perform a single function. And the company that builds the best pump may not make the best filter - so now you're choosing one function over another.

The pump is probably the single most important investment. I would spend my money there. If money is an issue, build your own filter - lots of DIY ideas on this forum. And get a cheap fountain if you want to add one - those are easy to replace down the road.

 

[dieselplower]

I agree with what the above posters have said, in that an all in one unit is never going to be the best of anything however sometimes when space is limited they do fit a need. I bought a pump, filter, fountain combo from Home Depot or Lowes, i forget which, back when I had a 150 gallon preformed pond, and it has given me 3 years of service, including 2 Winters. Now, is this my primary pump and filter now that I have a 1600 gallon pond? No. Sorry, I can't assist you with brands, but I would buy the Home Depot/Lowes thing again if it fit my needs. Regarding service after the sale... I would toss a part that broke into the trash and buy another one. That's what you do when you buy something cheap

 

[morewater]

Spend the coin on quality. For pumps, I like AquaScape, Pondmaster and Matala.

Pre-filter them or at the very least, protect the inflow, inspect and clean them periodically.

Go through a cheap pump, buy another one and voila...........two cheapies equals the cost of a single quality.

Run the fountain head off a tee with a reducer. A single pump can do a lot of work if you buy bigger than you think you need.

 

[sissy]

I decided to go with laguna but was looking to save money on utilities and right now at 95 watts on a 2900 gph pump with a 1 1/2 inch hose is pretty good and 4 year warranty and 179 dollars .I did have a 59 dollar harbor freight pump and it used 175 watts on 2150 gph pump not to bad .I got it on sale with a 25 percent off coupon .I took it over to the other house for the other pond

 

[FountainMan]

Thanks. Will definitely keep that in mind. The other thing I can think of is incorporate a pressurized biological filter into the waterfall then have a separate pump run the fountain.

 

[FountainMan]

After browsing I'm kind of leaning towards Tetra Pond equipment. Seems like good stuff. Anyone have experience with Tetra Pond?

 

[FountainMan]

Right now I'm bidding on a Tetra 5 pattern nozzle kit to be hooked up to a 1300 gph pump. The pump will also hook up to a spigot system for watering plants around the pond which don't like tap water. The line that feeds the water course will have pressurized bio filter with built-in UV. The backflush feature will allow me to pump sludge into the garden which acts as fertilizer.

 

[FountainMan]

After shopping for pressurized biological filters I found the Aquascape UltraKlean 2000 to be a better deal. The Tetra unit requires a minimum of 2000 gph and my 3600 won't fit in the container I have for it. The UltraKlean has some features I like such as a backflush indicator. Don't want to drain the pond if I don't need to.

 

[FountainMan]

I've decided to use the pumps I already have. I'm going to be buying a separate nozzle kit for them. No need to have a hundred pumps. Got a really great deal on a 1300 gph for 44$ from a Northern Tool tent at the Texas State Fair back in October. It's a great pump. I want to run the fountainhead and spigots off of that and integrate the pressurized biological filter into another 1300 gph powering the water course. As I mentioned in another thread I want to stow the filter in an underground vault. Like those boxes irrigation valves are installed in with the green lids. Then glue pavers to the top to his it under the walkway. I'll be attaching a hing to the lid to work like a trapdoor. The plumbing will run under the walkway to the waterfall header pool. The backwash output will be plumbed to another spigot to provide natural fertilizer to the plants.

I'm sure some might say a bio filter and separate UV clarifier would be best but for my limited space combined is my only option. Tomorrow I'll be off to Lowes to buy gravel for the surrounding bed.

 

[FountainMan]

Here's a little diagram of the underground filter.