You might want to go to their website if you don't have the paperwork. it should provide the flow at any given head to it's maximum. Not too many pumps are going to supply water at 23 feet unless you get a well pump.
Waterfaaaalllllllll !!!!!!!!
- Thread starter cichlidChad
- Start date
the manual is online, no flow rate
23 ft?!!!! Yikes. How come? Surely not that much true elevation. Is your pump that far away, lots of joints, 90 degrees etc?
IF you actually have 23 ft of head, you may need to run two pumps. One to filter and a second one closer to the falls for the falls. 23 ft. Yikes.
IF you actually have 23 ft of head, you may need to run two pumps. One to filter and a second one closer to the falls for the falls. 23 ft. Yikes.
I am mainly looking at the specs for my pf1 filter. It is saying 2000 gph. Plus, I want to make sure I have enough pressure coming out to do my fall. It will have to raise about 4' to my pf1 and then about 2' to my fall.
Camper Man
Pond Curator
You have a couple of issues here. First, is this your filter?
http://www.thewatergardenshop.com/tetrapf1.html
This page says max gph is 500. That's MAX... this is a gravity-flow unit; as the pads clog, expect the outflow to drop.
Second: Your pump looks suspiciously like this pump manufactured by Jebao Electrical Appliance, Ltd, of Zhongshan City, China. While I'd guess it is an inexpensive unit to buy, you will definitely see that 550 wattage draw on your electrical bill. (As a comparison, my Cyprio Titan 3650 draws 275 watts.) I am surprised that in a 16-page owners manual, there is no flow chart to be found. So we are guessing, really...and my GUESS would be that at 6 feet well-head height, this pump will deliver about 1,000 gph. I say that in part because of this Sunterra/Jebao's relatively small 1" input / output fittings.
Sooo...1)we can only guess what the true output flow of the pump will be at 6 feet well-head height. 2) That pump will be expensive to operate. 3) If your filter is indeed a Tetra PF1, it won't handle a flow of more than 500 gph.
http://www.thewatergardenshop.com/tetrapf1.html
This page says max gph is 500. That's MAX... this is a gravity-flow unit; as the pads clog, expect the outflow to drop.
Second: Your pump looks suspiciously like this pump manufactured by Jebao Electrical Appliance, Ltd, of Zhongshan City, China. While I'd guess it is an inexpensive unit to buy, you will definitely see that 550 wattage draw on your electrical bill. (As a comparison, my Cyprio Titan 3650 draws 275 watts.) I am surprised that in a 16-page owners manual, there is no flow chart to be found. So we are guessing, really...and my GUESS would be that at 6 feet well-head height, this pump will deliver about 1,000 gph. I say that in part because of this Sunterra/Jebao's relatively small 1" input / output fittings.
Sooo...1)we can only guess what the true output flow of the pump will be at 6 feet well-head height. 2) That pump will be expensive to operate. 3) If your filter is indeed a Tetra PF1, it won't handle a flow of more than 500 gph.
Attachments
It is easy to get the flow/head by simply measuring it. Calibrate a 5 or 10 gallon container, set it at measured heights and use a stop watch to measure the time it takes to reach your mark. The rest is basic math that anyone should be able to do.
This is why I don't use pads... Although mine is up-flow, the clogging of pads would lead to them clogging the overflow. With tubes, the flow is never restricted unless you never backflush it.
Where I live, sunterra is pretty much the only thing I can get. I have a sunterra pump already. Had it for 3 years without a problem. As far as output as filter clogs, that is a way for me to see when it's time to clear the filters. I am sorry that I misread the pf1 info sheet, yes that is what I have. But, you also came back pretty hard.
Camper Man
Pond Curator
27 goldfish - I re-read my reply and I can see what you mean about the tone. I'm sorry and did not intend it that way -- a lesson to take a minute & re-read once before posting.
that's fine.
Are you sure about this, Koiguy? My understanding is that it's exactly the opposite. If the pressure gets too low at the eye of the impeller, the water will turn to water vapor, and the pump will cavitate. Now, a submersible is typically submerged only two or three feet, hence at three feet of negative head, it's impossible meet the net positive suction head requirement of the pump, and the pump will cavitate. But in the same setup, a typical pond pump will be able to lift the water 10-20 feet before the head pressure is too much and the water stops flowing.koiguy1969 said:
For practical purposes, though, I doubt it matters much. If the friction head of the tubing is high enough that moving the pump will make much difference, what we really need is bigger tubing.
koiguy1969
GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
this info was given by a tetrapond rep... pressure is equal under water inside and outside the pump thats why head heigth is measured from water surface not top of pump. the pump doesnt know the water is being pulled from aways away.. as long as the pump remains as deep as the prefilter... no problem. i think i explained that right. i asked, they answered.. anyways i do it no problem, and id rather move a prefilter than a pump, and i use 2 prefilters so i draw the water from different spots with only one pump.
All pumps have greater force on the output side than they have on the input side. That is why you will see a larger inlet than the output opening, The impellers compress and accellerate the fluid or gas depending on what you are pumping.
The company I work for builds gas turbine driven pumps that move almost all the worlds gas and oil.
The company I work for builds gas turbine driven pumps that move almost all the worlds gas and oil.
The pressure is equal as long as the pump is off. But I'm not sure what that has to do with whether or not it would help to move the pump closer to the falls. I'm also not sure how measuring from the top of the pump came into the discussion.koiguy1969 said:
No, but it will feel the effect of a long run of narrow tubing at the inlet more than it would if that same run were on the outlet. If the tubing is wide enough, of course, it won't matter because there will be very little friction head anyway.
koiguy1969
GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
o.k. i stand corrected... thats why they should be at the same depth,but i just checked my flow on the basement pond with and without the prefilters about 18 seconds to fill a 5 gallon bucket both ways, so no significant change. i did this a few minutes ago when i saw your posts.. i may of been misinformed, or but all i know is..its works