Problem With Filter

[kevinsmbuk]

Ok cool, so if i will the pot once and quickly turn it on should it work? Or might i have to do it severel times?

I was just thinking that every time you open the lid on that pot more air is getting back in sso defeats the point? Or am i wrong?

 

[Pondmaster]

Ok cool, so if i will the pot once and quickly turn it on should it work? Or might i have to do it severel times?

I was just thinking that every time you open the lid on that pot more air is getting back in sso defeats the point? Or am i wrong?

Well thats true, but it may take several attempts it always did when I was doing it.

 

[carolinaguy]

beautiful pond. especially nice brickwork. troubleshooting this system should be easy. start at the pump, as it is the heart of the system. is it operating? what kind of pump is it? if its a low amp unit, it uses a throw wheel to drive the water, and this wheel could be clogged with litter. as suggested before, make sure your knife valves are all open. the filtration system appears to be an open tank that is mounted at the pond's water level, so these containers should have gravity fed water in them. yes? it appears you have cleaned the filters so they should not be the reason. yes? if there are pipe clogs, not common but not impossible, you can blow the lines out with air.

the other possibility might involve recent construction that could cut or crush a pipe, but you should see an unusual water flow from that. good luck.

 

[kevinsmbuk]

beautiful pond. especially nice brickwork. troubleshooting this system should be easy. start at the pump, as it is the heart of the system. is it operating? what kind of pump is it? if its a low amp unit, it uses a throw wheel to drive the water, and this wheel could be clogged with litter. as suggested before, make sure your knife valves are all open. the filtration system appears to be an open tank that is mounted at the pond's water level, so these containers should have gravity fed water in them. yes? it appears you have cleaned the filters so they should not be the reason. yes? if there are pipe clogs, not common but not impossible, you can blow the lines out with air.

the other possibility might involve recent construction that could cut or crush a pipe, but you should see an unusual water flow from that. good luck.

Thanks very much for the compliment, the pump is operational, quite loud, I will take a picture of it so you know what make it is, I will open the all valves tonight and try again, yes the filters are the same level as the pond and full up to the same level as the pond, so as I understand it this is the definition of a gravity fed system. The filters have been cleaned as best we can, so I cant see any problems there, apparently at the bottom of the tanks are loads of little pipes, I guess they transfer the water onto the next tank.

Nothing has been constructed recently, but the owner did say in his notes that there was a small leak from the black pipe leading to the basket pump.

 

[carolinaguy]

okay. the pump is loud. pumps are not loud normally. a pond pump manufacturer usually uses the quiet nature of the pump as a sales point. a loud pump probably means a failed pump, but i'm not an expert on all pumps or know what pumps are used in the UK. how old is the pump? who is the manufacturer? the pump should be installed with gasketed quick release joins so that it can be removed for service. i would take it out to check for a pump failure. you will have to close your knife valves before removal to isolate the pump as your water is gravity fed.

pumps usually are built in two sections, an impeller section and an electric motor section. you should be able to open the impeller housing to inspect the impeller and bearings. if the bearings have failed, the impeller might wobble in the housing and hit the sides causing damage. the bearing will also have disintegrated. if the pump is older than five years, you can buy a more efficient one that uses low amperage and will cost less to operate. pick a pump that will enable you to turn over your pond volume every 80 minutes or so. they are rated in gallons per hour of flow, so the choice is easy. yours will probably use 1/3rd to1/2 an amp. the specs will also tell you your annual operating cost.

 

[kevinsmbuk]

Good news guys it was that we needed to prime the pump! I stuck buckets of water in the sealed basket pot, quickly closed the lid then ran the pump, did this several times and the water level in the basket pot rose higher and higher until it eventually started to overflow, we then stuck the lid on and turned on again and sucess! It pulled the water up!

Just wanted to say thanks to all you guys for your advice couldnt have done it without you, will post pics up of the system fully working with the uv filter aswell!

 

[koiguy1969]

ah....success stories are always nice to read!

 

[kevinsmbuk]

Ok guys here is the pond itself, sorry for the crap pictures, they were taken on my phone.

Pump

UV Filter

Pump & Basket & UV filter

Looks like the pump is a decent one!!!

http://www.pondbiz.com/home/pb1/page_984_48/sequence_power_primer_pump__free_shipping.html

 

[stroppy]

glad you got it working !! just a thought have you put a new bulb in the uv ?

 

[kevinsmbuk]

glad you got it working !! just a thought have you put a new bulb in the uv ?

No, do I need to? It's working ok, can see the light at the end of the tube

 

[kevinsmbuk]

Oh yeah, next on the agenda is cracks in the rocks where the waterfall is, I think we are losing water because of it, Is there anything we can use to seal the cracks? they are not big cracks

 

[carolinaguy]

waterfalls are fun to deal with. they are the most common site for leakage. i'm not familiar with the materials available to you in the UK, so take this with a grain of salt. you can sort out leaks from the top down in a waterfall if you can bypass the various levels. filling in the cracks in a mortared waterfall can be easily done with thinset mortar and cement dyes that color the cement to the shade you want to blend in. thinset mortar is basically portland cement and sand with a polymer glue in it or admixture. its used to lay tile in bathrooms over a base and is applied thinly. when dry, it provides a water barrier that ordinary cement will not give you since cement is porous by nature. there are also quick setting cements that set in 10 minutes. thin set will take a while to cure. you can also use silicone based caulks as are used on home exteriors. the big issue with these products is whether or not the product is fish safe. petroleum based materials can be a problem. i've found that in very small applications, these solvents are not a problem, especially if you let the product cure and dry. very little solvent will remain and basically evaporates off. just so long as the fish cannot come in direct contact with the sealant, as on a waterfall face, there is little to worry about. just don't drip the stuff into the pond.

there are two waterfall sealants sold here that are basically black silicone not much different in formulation from the regular stuff and an aerosol that is like great stuff! that is sprayed between the rocks. don't use the aerosol. the material absorbs water and discolors making a real mess.

 

[koiguy1969]

on the U.V bulbs will light up long after their effectiveness has deteriorated or diminished completely. keep track of their use most bulbs start to lose effectiveness at 8 months of "run time" and are all but shot at 11 months.

 

[carolinaguy]

koiguy1969 has a good point about uv lights. if they say they last 12 months, you probably should change them out at 10. they gradually deteriorate so the output might be 40 percent by then. the other issue is whether or not you really need a uv light on that pond. is it shaded by landscaping? plus, English skies are not especially blue most of the time, so how much do you really need? i've got a 4000 gallon pond, but i only use a 25 watt uv because of the amount of shade, and it works just fine. i don't know if you can do it, but the quartz sleeve will become coated with junk and attenuate the uv rays. can you wipe it off? mine came with a wiper that seems to help.

the other thing is to make sure you can still get a replacement bulb for your uv. sometimes they stop making a certain model. and when you decide to change the bulb, read the uv instructions. you can find them online with the manufacturer if you don't have them. the most common problem with a uv is breaking the quartz sleeve when you change the bulb.

 

[kevinsmbuk]

koiguy1969 has a good point about uv lights. if they say they last 12 months, you probably should change them out at 10. they gradually deteriorate so the output might be 40 percent by then. the other issue is whether or not you really need a uv light on that pond. is it shaded by landscaping? plus, English skies are not especially blue most of the time, so how much do you really need? i've got a 4000 gallon pond, but i only use a 25 watt uv because of the amount of shade, and it works just fine. i don't know if you can do it, but the quartz sleeve will become coated with junk and attenuate the uv rays. can you wipe it off? mine came with a wiper that seems to help.

the other thing is to make sure you can still get a replacement bulb for your uv. sometimes they stop making a certain model. and when you decide to change the bulb, read the uv instructions. you can find them online with the manufacturer if you don't have them. the most common problem with a uv is breaking the quartz sleeve when you change the bulb.

Jesus, you really know your stuff!!!

Right, for the pond waterfall sealant I bought this...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AQUATIC-GRADE...rFeatures_UK&hash=item2c570c632b#ht_623wt_911

I trust this is the sort of thing I should be using, the other type of cement you mention sounds great, but maybe a bit tricky!

There must be a reason the original owner put the UV light in, maybe money was no object and he just got the best stuff, anyway we will get the bulb changed to enhance it's effectiveness as I reckon it must be old!!!