UV clarifier and gph pumping water uphill

[Rthomson]

I have a small 300 gallon pond and a 5w uv clarifier. I'm running a solar pump in it and it just isn't doing the job because (I think) it doesn't run at night and it can't catch up with the alge (I'm assuming) . The solar pump is 460gph... But there is no way it's pumping that because it has to go uphill.... and it's a cheap solar pump. The tetra 5w clarifier suggests 330gph max. I'm going to buy a plug in pump that can run all night but I don't know what size! I'm attaching a picture if the small hill behind the pond. Would a 480gph pump be to much even if it's pumping uphill to the clarifier. The tube it's going through is probably about 10 feet long. With about a 3 ft rise over or 6 foot distance. I think it's a 5/8 tube that we have converted to 3/4 at the opening of the clarifier. I have no idea how to figure out what I need. Am I getting to technical? As a side note I have about a 100 gal stream and waterfall that circulates through to pond and down to a small holding pond thats a much larger pump and filter system so the pump for the clarifier is it's own thing.

 

[j.w]

@Rthomson

 

[JRS]

Welcome to the forum.
Ideally the pump you are considering would have a head pressure chart similar to this from Supreme to show the performance:

PM NAME	PM ITEM #	Watts	Flow at 1'	Flow at 2'	Flow at 3'	Flow at 4'	Flow at 5'	Flow at 6'	Flow at 7'	Flow at 8'	Flow at 9'	Flow at 10'	Shut-Off (Feet)
PM 250	02522	24	280	230	170	130	65	25	-	-	-	-	6' 5"
PM 350	02523	35	420	375	325	280	235	190	140	90	30	-	10' 4"
PM 500	02525	45	525	450	400	350	300	235	200	150	95	-	10' 6"
PM 700	02527	70	655	605	565	530	450	420	325	275	200

Your 10' of pipe will have some effect but more if you have any elbow fittings. Here is a calculator you can try some different numbers in to get an idea.

Pump Selection Wizard - Everything-Ponds.com

A simple wizard to determine the size of pump you need

www.everything-ponds.com

 

[Rthomson]

@ j.w Thank you

View attachment 164428@Rthomson

Welcome to the forum.
Ideally the pump you are considering would have a head pressure chart similar to this from Supreme to show the performance:

PM NAME	PM ITEM #	Watts	Flow at 1'	Flow at 2'	Flow at 3'	Flow at 4'	Flow at 5'	Flow at 6'	Flow at 7'	Flow at 8'	Flow at 9'	Flow at 10'	Shut-Off (Feet)
PM 250	02522	24	280	230	170	130	65	25	-	-	-	-	6' 5"
PM 350	02523	35	420	375	325	280	235	190	140	90	30	-	10' 4"
PM 500	02525	45	525	450	400	350	300	235	200	150	95	-	10' 6"
PM 700	02527	70	655	605	565	530	450	420	325	275	200

Your 10' of pipe will have some effect but more if you have any elbow fittings. Here is a calculator you can try some different numbers in to get an idea.

Pump Selection Wizard - Everything-Ponds.com

A simple wizard to determine the size of pump you need

www.everything-ponds.com

Thank you! This is helpful!

 

[RMaynard]

By capturing the discharge from the UV, you could time how long it takes your pump to fill up a known size container (like a 5gal bucket) and multiply out to get GPH.

 

[Rthomson]

I was actually thinking about that! I'm thinking I'll just get a little larger than I think I need and just reduce the flow.

 

[Phaewryn]

I have a small 300 gallon pond and a 5w uv clarifier. I'm running a solar pump in it and it just isn't doing the job because (I think) it doesn't run at night and it can't catch up with the alge (I'm assuming) . The solar pump is 460gph... But there is no way it's pumping that because it has to go uphill.... and it's a cheap solar pump. The tetra 5w clarifier suggests 330gph max. I'm going to buy a plug in pump that can run all night but I don't know what size! I'm attaching a picture if the small hill behind the pond. Would a 480gph pump be to much even if it's pumping uphill to the clarifier. The tube it's going through is probably about 10 feet long. With about a 3 ft rise over or 6 foot distance. I think it's a 5/8 tube that we have converted to 3/4 at the opening of the clarifier. I have no idea how to figure out what I need. Am I getting to technical? As a side note I have about a 100 gal stream and waterfall that circulates through to pond and down to a small holding pond thats a much larger pump and filter system so the pump for the clarifier is it's own thing.

Use the calculator for this!
Calculator for this!