Hello all! It's finally starting to feel like spring/summer here in Denver, and I'm in full swing starting my first expansion of our little water garden. The first step was replacing the biological filter I installed last year. While it worked moderately well (until it filled up with muck). It was insanely difficult to clean, (it was hard to avoid some septic stuff back into the water).
Step 1 - Bio Filter
It seems to be the skippy style biofilter is the way to go. My first step was to choose a container that could be pleasing to the eye. I settled on an old oak wine barrel (Hungarian Oak, red wine, Napa County). It's pretty standard inside, with a settling chamber separated by a small structure supporting some poultry netting. For the media, I used 3/4" 1" sprinkler tubing (200 ft!) and some swamp cooler pads (non-organic). The tricky part here was plumbing... Using my PondMaster 1800GPH pump, at the top of the barrel, I'm getting about 320GPH of flow. More difficult was figuring out how to get all that water back to my pond. I'll note here, my intention with the filter placement was to have it in it's permanent home, but build a temporary system to bring it on-line right away.
Getting the water back to the pond was an interesting, yet fun experience. I ended up getting a 50' pool vacuum hose at a local pool/spa place for about $60. It's 2", flexible and clashes quiet nicely with the landscape, but I figured it would do. After a week of different attempts at getting gravity to drain 300+ GPH, I finally bit the bullet and tried plumbing it like a bathtub. Result? Great Success!!
The bio filter has been on for a week now and my water quality is improving very rapidly. Further, I really like the drain on the bottom of the barrel. I've been hooking a hose up to it to water my plants and lawn, and in turn adding fresh water to the system. Hopefully it will help me stabilize the PH levels better this year.
Step 2 - Upper Pond(s?) and Stream
the image below gives a rough idea of what I am trying to accomplish. This weekend I will begin moving soil to build up the lower portion of the grade. I plan to use a combination of the "raised edge method" and rock-on-a-roll and granite rock (like the rest of the pond). I want to work more water plants into the system and provide a place for small fish to grow up.
Step 1 - Bio Filter
It seems to be the skippy style biofilter is the way to go. My first step was to choose a container that could be pleasing to the eye. I settled on an old oak wine barrel (Hungarian Oak, red wine, Napa County). It's pretty standard inside, with a settling chamber separated by a small structure supporting some poultry netting. For the media, I used 3/4" 1" sprinkler tubing (200 ft!) and some swamp cooler pads (non-organic). The tricky part here was plumbing... Using my PondMaster 1800GPH pump, at the top of the barrel, I'm getting about 320GPH of flow. More difficult was figuring out how to get all that water back to my pond. I'll note here, my intention with the filter placement was to have it in it's permanent home, but build a temporary system to bring it on-line right away.
Getting the water back to the pond was an interesting, yet fun experience. I ended up getting a 50' pool vacuum hose at a local pool/spa place for about $60. It's 2", flexible and clashes quiet nicely with the landscape, but I figured it would do. After a week of different attempts at getting gravity to drain 300+ GPH, I finally bit the bullet and tried plumbing it like a bathtub. Result? Great Success!!
The bio filter has been on for a week now and my water quality is improving very rapidly. Further, I really like the drain on the bottom of the barrel. I've been hooking a hose up to it to water my plants and lawn, and in turn adding fresh water to the system. Hopefully it will help me stabilize the PH levels better this year.
Step 2 - Upper Pond(s?) and Stream
the image below gives a rough idea of what I am trying to accomplish. This weekend I will begin moving soil to build up the lower portion of the grade. I plan to use a combination of the "raised edge method" and rock-on-a-roll and granite rock (like the rest of the pond). I want to work more water plants into the system and provide a place for small fish to grow up.
