setting up a constant water change system

[DrDave]

Because it will clog in minutes with particles in solution. Home Depot has the 1/4" wire mesh.

 

[DrCase]

The drain will act like a skimmer,,every thing will want to go out the little hole..
the koi seem to be a little smarter and will stay in the pond

 

[koiguy1969]

the flow out the overflow drain will only match the flow into the pond which will be what, a gallon or 2 an hour? not much risk in that. loosing even small fry. its not like the pipe will be full, it will have a trickling flow.

 

[chilligirl]

Yeah, it'll be about 2 1/2 gph running out of it.

 

[DrCase]

Thats not fast but will make the water draw to it..

 

[chilligirl]

Yeah, that was my thought, which is why I wanted to cover it with mesh. Although I can see the salvina getting stuck to that and clogging things up really quickly...maybe a little ring around it also, to keep the salvina away??

 

[ed2]

Hi guys,

I was just wondering how those who set up constant water change systems have got on with them and what % of water you are changing?

Thanks,

Ed

 

[brandonsdad02]

I have used flexable gutter screen for guards on stuff before. I have a 2100gph pump that I run for my stream and mini bog and I broke the intake cage last year. Anyways I have this pump about 4" below the water line burried in the the rocks. No matter how I placed the rocks around it, fish and frogs kept getting sucked into the mini food grinder. I have 3 layers of this gutter screen placed in the rocks now and haven't had any problems since. I will check on it once a week to clear out some of the gunk that collects on the screens, but its large enough that even when gunked up, it still allows for water flow with out starving the pump.

this is the gutter guard I use http://www.homedepot.com/Building-M...splay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&storeId=10051

 

[addy1]

What a neat idea, going to use it. My screening on the end of the stream pump came off again, will get some of this stuff and use it.

 

[j.w]

Neat idea Brandon!

 

[brandonsdad02]

Best of all, the gutter screen is plastic.

 

[fishin4cars]

I've been running my pond with a constant feed for the last four weeks. I used the lowest point where the water would naturally overflow. I stacked layers of small river rock in front of larger river rock. The flow is so small that no plants have even gone to it at all. If the get caught they get in the skimmer not at the over flow. I'm flowing 6-8 gph in a 9000 gallon pond. ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are staying at 0. I was reading some ammonia during the cycle from the new pond but even that has cleared over the last week. if you going to notch wood, it will not need to be a very big notch and 1/4' to 1/2" should be plenty. You'll need to prepare more for hard rains than the constant feed. That's when I've run into the most issues but using more rock has pretty much solved most of the issues I was experiencing.

 

[ed2]

I've had a 30W UVC and 10% constant water change set up for 24 hours. Here are the results....

Before:

After:

I've set it up with the water coming through an irrigation pipe that is thread from the outdoor water tap and through a carbon filter

Ed

 

[addy1]

Fantastic! that is looking good

 

[j.w]

Cleared up good!