• Amused
  • Angry
  • Annoyed
  • Awesome
  • Bemused
  • Cocky
  • Cool
  • Crazy
  • Crying
  • Depressed
  • Down
  • Drunk
  • Embarrased
  • Enraged
  • Friendly
  • Geeky
  • Godly
  • Happy
  • Hateful
  • Hungry
  • Innocent
  • Meh
  • Piratey
  • Poorly
  • Sad
  • Secret
  • Shy
  • Sneaky
  • Tired
  • Results 1 to 7 of 7

    Thread: Redo plumbing - need opinions please

    1. #1
      MovingTarget is offline Senior Member
      is Is tired of dealing with sick
      fish
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Apr 2016
      Location
      Castle Rock CO
      Posts
      183

      Redo plumbing - need opinions please

      Hi, so I currently have a 8k gallon pond. I have 2 - 3" bottom drains and 1 Savio skimmer with a 2" pipe that expands to 3". All three come into a 2" pipe like this:

      Name:  Current In.png
Views: 211
Size:  30.8 KB

      I want to change this and found a 3" PVC insert (because I foolishly plumbed it with no unions or gaps to put in new plumbing and I don't want to drain the pond to do the new plumbing, these inserts will work great), to have all three go into 2 - 3" pipes, unless you all think of a better solution.

      Anyway, right now all go into a 2" pipe that feeds a 1/2 hp H Limm (wave 2 I think) pump that goes through a Sacramento Koi 15 bead filter, then through a 75 watt UV and out to 3 TPRs and to the water fall, all 2" pipe. Looks like this:

      Name:  Current Out.png
Views: 204
Size:  41.6 KB

      I know I'm sending too much flow into the bead filter and I want to split it so about 1/2 goes there and another 1/2 goes through something else. I was thinking DIY S&G filter and a drip system, but open to ideas.

      I'm not too keen on adding another pump, due to electric costs (wife is already unhappy).

      I was thinking the S&G setup would look something like this but will probably need more than one barrel:

      Name:  Proposed SandG.jpg
Views: 204
Size:  27.0 KB

      I was also thinking I would change the intake setup so I get 2-3" pipes. I was thinking I would send just 1 to the pump and leave the other for future use. I was also thinking maybe I run both to a Zakki Sieve (the one that takes 9k flow). I don't know if I need it but would be thrilled to have it if I didn't also have to put in the S&G filters. New intake would look like this, again unless someone has a better idea:

      Name:  Proposed In.jpg
Views: 200
Size:  39.2 KB

      I know I'll need to split my out going line but don't know what filter should go to which out (waterfall or TPR) so I was thinking of doing this:

      Name:  Proposed Out.jpg
Views: 203
Size:  39.0 KB

      So questions in my head right now:

      -If I use the Zakki Sieve do I also need S&G filters?
      -Do I really need to spend $2500 + shipping for the sieve if I add the S&G to my setup?
      -Am I thinking about my new plumbing ideas correctly? If I had 2 or more S&G filters, do I run them in series or parallel?
      -What am I screwing up this time and should be thinking about differently?

      So, last two years, the water has looked great until around August. It starts to get green and I would like it to be more clear (wouldn't we all). I've been pretty happy with the flow in my waterfall but I'm pretty confident I've been running too much through the bead filter and the UV, in fact, the green water might be because I'm running the water too quickly through the UV.

      Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

      • Remove Ads
        Advertising from Google
        Promoting Koi and Pond
        keeping since 2007

         

    2. #2
      pickerel's Avatar
      pickerel is offline Supporting Member
      is enjoying new pond
       
      Feeling:
      Happy
       
      Join Date
      May 2018
      Location
      SC
      Posts
      1,269
      I feel bad that you're not getting any advice from the experts. Maybe if you break it down instead of posting the whole plan all at once. I know I feel kind of overwhelmed before I can look at all the info you gave.

      I can only answer two parts of your post: The Zakki Sieve is only for pre-filtering. You will need the SG after it. If you use the SG without the Zakki, you will have to blow it out more often. Good luck and post pictures of what you do. I'm sure there is interest.

    3. #3
      delbert is offline Supporting Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Jun 2013
      Location
      NE Arkansas 7a
      Posts
      2,999
      You can use this tool to drill the 3” pipe out of the hub .

      You don’t want any restrictions , you would want the 3”one

      Name:  3E3D58CA-BBBF-4ECF-8B82-7F0F714F881D.jpg
Views: 118
Size:  119.4 KB

    4. #4
      icu2's Avatar
      icu2 is offline Administrator ~ WWKC President
      ~ WWKC Treasurer
      is sorry otters exist
       
      Feeling:
      Annoyed
       
      Join Date
      Feb 2007
      Location
      Poulsbo, WA
      Posts
      32,942
      Lot's of information but nice drawings!

      I'm not great at flow efficiency but I think your manifold to the pump looks fine but I think
      you're over thinking the outgoing one. I'd just tee the output from the pump and put a valve
      on each line to control the flow.

      Like pickerel said, the two filters are for different filtration. If your bead filter needs cleaning
      too often and/or is getting clogged from too much debris, the sieve is going to help with that. The
      s/g filter is going to help with fine floating debris and cloudy water. I'm not sure what is in the
      "drip system" but if it's more like a trickle tower it should help with the green water... although I'm
      surprised your UV, if it's the correct size and new bulb, isn't controlling it. So ideally both the
      sieve and the s/g filter with trickle tower would both be benefits... just differently. If the only thing
      you're trying to correct is the green water in the later summer, I'd got with the s/g and trickle tower.

      Each s/g filter is good for about 2000 gph, how much flow are you planning on diverting to it for
      the waterfall?
      --Steve



      Koiphen 2021 Koi Person of the Year!

    5. #5
      MovingTarget is offline Senior Member
      is Is tired of dealing with sick
      fish
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Apr 2016
      Location
      Castle Rock CO
      Posts
      183
      Thanks everyone.

      I didn't know about that drill bit, pretty cool.

      From what I've recently read, if you send too much flow through the bead filter, you will blow the crap right through it, and I think I'm putting too much flow through the IV, which I always use new bulbs and is rated for a 10k pond.

      I totally agree that I've over thought the return but I don't know which will give me the best flow to the waterfall, the return from the shower or bead filter, so this would let me try both.

      I was thinking the S&G would have to deal with 4000 to 5000 for the flow.

      So 2 55 gal drums? Do I just run one into another or y it and send to 2 at the same time?

    6. #6
      icu2's Avatar
      icu2 is offline Administrator ~ WWKC President
      ~ WWKC Treasurer
      is sorry otters exist
       
      Feeling:
      Annoyed
       
      Join Date
      Feb 2007
      Location
      Poulsbo, WA
      Posts
      32,942
      Quote Originally Posted by MovingTarget View Post
      Thanks everyone.

      I didn't know about that drill bit, pretty cool.

      From what I've recently read, if you send too much flow through the bead filter, you will blow the crap right through it, and I think I'm putting too much flow through the IV, which I always use new bulbs and is rated for a 10k pond.

      I totally agree that I've over thought the return but I don't know which will give me the best flow to the waterfall, the return from the shower or bead filter, so this would let me try both.

      I was thinking the S&G would have to deal with 4000 to 5000 for the flow.

      So 2 55 gal drums? Do I just run one into another or y it and send to 2 at the same time?
      Yep, 2 55g s/g filters would flow 4-5k gph... and add a wye to run them in parallel and put valves on each input to
      control the flow if needed, then you probably could dump both into the trickle tower and then out to the waterfall.
      --Steve



      Koiphen 2021 Koi Person of the Year!

    7. #7
      pondfishguy is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Dec 2018
      Location
      Los Angeles
      Posts
      398
      Regarding your UV sizing. This summer in Southern California a friend with a 6000 gallon pond (approx 6000 gph flow) and a couple of fish and turtles was unable to remove the peas soup green from the water (unable to see the fish at all) with a manufacturer recommended "Classic 57" UV. We added two generic 55W UV ($92 each eBay) in parallel and the water was clear in 2 days. Restocked the pond with an additional 40 koi 6-18" and the water has been clear ever since. As the water cools we reduce the operating hours on the UV's with a timer to keep utility costs down. Now running a few hours per day at 50 deg F water temperature. His pond is very shallow in parts which exacerbates the UV requirement.

      I have run a generic 55W on a 1000g pond for years and water is always crystal clear. Runs on a timer, usually less than 12 hours per day when the water is 72 deg F or higher to off during the winter.

      • Remove Ads
        Advertising from Google
        Promoting Koi and Pond
        keeping since 2007

         

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •