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  • Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
    Results 21 to 36 of 36

    Thread: Just inherited a pond - Help me fix its issues please!

    1. #21
      b_erin is offline Member
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      Is the purpose of the settling chamber to protect the pump from debris in the system kind of like a skimmer, but for what's coming off the bottom of the pond? And then what does a sand/gravel fitter do - filter finer sized particles?

      Sorry for all the questions, still learning.

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    2. #22
      catfish whiskers's Avatar
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      Don’t be sorry for any questions , feel free to ask as many as You like , Someone will answer
      The purpose of a settling chamber , is to give a place to collect the heavier solids , like poop , in a container outside of the pond . Letting those heavy solids settle in this container, Makes them easier to remove by draining the settling chamber, or just draining enough water from the bottom of this chamber in order to dump any poop that has collected in there . The reason we use the 10% volume rule for settling chamber size , as in a 500 gallon chamber for 5,000 GPH of flow , is to allow those solids to settle . Too much water flow through too small of a chamber , will not let those solids settle . There are alternatives that help too small of a container , like a partition of matting , but then the solids will never settle , and the matting has to be rinsed off.
      A settling chamber , which is considered a prefilter , helps seperate most of the largest and heaviest debris before it gets to the pump . The pump then sucks water from another smaller prefilter that is placed inside the settling chamber , near the top where the water is the cleanest.
      Here’s a typical settling chamber with prefilters
      https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showt...32#post2212432
      .
      These 275 gallon totes make good settling chambers , just make sure to get a food grade container
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      The Birdman 55 gallon Sand and Gravel filters are a big favorite around Here , they are a great mechanical / fines filter that is easy to clean . Love,love,love them.
      Find the 55 gallon poly drums on Facebook as well , usually find food grade drums for under $20.
      .
      The reason for having all these different seperate stages , is for ease of cleaning , and each previous stage helps the next stage do its job better. There is no true all in one filter .
      .

    3. #23
      b_erin is offline Member
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      Thank you! Does the IBC tote need to be food grade?

      So on the pond that was running just a waterfall filter, what are they actually filtering and what issues might they have, and timeframe issues would crop up?

      same question for the pond running that undergravel filter followed by bead filter

      and same question for the pond running the bog filter,

      I ask because All 3 ponds had nice clear water, with the undergravel/ bead filtered pond having crystal clear water if that makes sense, I could see everything in the bottom at 5 feet. I found an artical that looks like it explains the undergravel filter part http://www.pondtrademag.com/so-you-w...autiful-water/
      Last edited by b_erin; 02-01-2019 at 11:10 AM.

    4. #24
      pickerel's Avatar
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      One of the main reasons to spend more $ up front is to lower maintenance down the road. A waterfall filter will trap lots of gunk and crap, but all that stuff will have to be regularly washed off the filter mats. That means removing the mats and cleaning them. On my last small pond I had two 20 gal. planters that I used as bog filters. They worked great, but once a year I had to get out all the gravel and clean them. I had Pickerel Rush growing in them. It was beautiful, but the roots spread so much that they were intertwined between all that pea gravel. Cleaning gravel sounds easy, but it was a PITA. You and your husband have to decide how much regular maintenance you want to have to do and decide on a budget, then try to balance the two.

    5. #25
      catfish whiskers's Avatar
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      Judging filtration effectiveness by water clarity alone is not a true representation of a healthy pond . A pond without any filtration can have clear water. Clear water is pretty , but it’s mostly for Us , the fish don’t care .
      All the ponds / filters / bogs You mentioned above do provide some bio filtration , beneficial bacteria’s will live on all pond surfaces , but efficiency’s and maintenance suffer in many ways that may not be seen .
      What’s most important is bio filtration , the fish need healthy bio filtration that manages the Amonia and nitrite levels , or else they will be swimming in their own toxic waste. The beneficial bacterias involved in the nitrogen cycle are microscopic , and We want to provide a good home for them to live. Benificial bacteria’s don’t eat poop , they eat Amonia and Nitrite’s . Poop decays , and We want to remove as much of it as possible. A bio filter clogged up with debris , poop, algae , plant matter, has less space for these tiny bacteria’s to live, that’s the major reason why We prefilter the water through a few stages before it gets to the bio filtration stage. Also , a bio filter should never need cleaning , and doing so could wash away most of the beneficial bacteria. This is why all in one filters are less effective , when the solids are cleaned , beneficial bacteria is lost.

    6. #26
      GloriaL's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by b_erin View Post
      I would like to build all filtration if possible, I have a massive area around the pond to work with, the caveat is I want all filtration to not be visible, how would I go about doing that?

      Seems like for the biological filter lots of ppl on this forum are singing the praises of a shower filter, but I wouldn't want it to shower directly back into the pond, I would want it to filter in a hidden area, I guess into a tub, that then had a pipe run over to the waterfall and come out there as the headwaters if that makes sense. Is that doable? Or how could I hide this filtration. I have a bunch of dense plantings (nandina) I could hide filtration behind.

      I guess if there wasn't a way to hide the shower, how much worse is a skippy filter or 55 gal drum barrels in parallel filters? It seems like I could use a skippy filter as the headwaters of a waterfall? Is that what a waterfall filter is for bio filtration?
      To have gravity fed filtration, meanig the water and waste flows to mechanical filtration without being pureed by the pump, you will either have to find a place in your yard that is lower than pond level or dig a filter pit. Many koi ponds operate with a filter pit. The pictures show my shower and enclosure with my first DIY shower made from US Plastics containers and my current ZakkiShower. The building was made from 4 bamboo fence panels, one was split top to bottom and framing added to the edges so they could be doors. Then we added the roof. I have insulated the inside with 1/2" thick foam insulation and put a space heater inside when the weather is cold.
      One other thing to consider if you are enlarging the pond is the electrical circuits you will need to run the pond. Obviously you have electricity there now, but you may need additional circuits if you increase your equipment.
      Welcome to the obsession!
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      Last edited by GloriaL; 02-01-2019 at 02:03 PM.
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    7. #27
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      not all shower filters are ugly..Zakki makes a Japanese lantern shower
      Attached Images Attached Images  

    8. #28
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      Quote Originally Posted by b_erin View Post
      Thank you! Does the IBC tote need to be food grade?
      It's nice if they are but none of my barrels were and I've not had a problem. An oxidizer like
      potassium permanganate and/or Dawn dish soap and hot water will go a long way to getting them
      usable.
      --Steve



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    9. #29
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      I have an option to get a 275 gallon tote that the person said previously held fertilizer or glyphosate, would I be able to thoroughly clean this? I imagine the fert tote might cause algae blooms and the roundup tote might kill any pond plants?

      How much lower than the pond does a settlement tank need to be? Does the top of the tote's water level need to be below the ponds water level? How do you drain out the bottom of the tote if it's set in a recessed pit?
      Last edited by b_erin; 02-01-2019 at 11:20 PM.

    10. #30
      catfish whiskers's Avatar
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      I’m not sure about those fertilizers or that chemical , but hasn’t it been determined that Roundup causes cancer ?
      Totes are easy to find , at least in My area ? Search for some that had food products in them .
      The top of the tote needs to be slightly above water level , or else it will overflow . Water by gravity , will seek it's own level .
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      Draining the settling chamber to a lower point is necessary .
      Most people bury another container lower than the settling chamber , and place a trash pump into that lower container , then pump that to the garden.
      Some people have placed the trash pump directly into the bottom of the settling chamber , and pumped from it directly .
      A flat bottom settling chamber is more difficult to drain than a coned bottom settling chamber , so I have some suggestions . Use concrete to create a hand formed coned bottom to give a low point for the solids to settle and be easier removed
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    11. #31
      icu2's Avatar
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      I'm with Catfish. I'd be leery of one with RoundUp. You'll probably get algae bloom with or
      without one with fertilizer , but if you've got a lot to choose from, might as well be picky.
      Most of mine had alum in them and others had some oily product in them that I was able
      to clean out.

      Here's a picture that might help envision the setup too. My SC is home made with a liner on the left
      and to the right is a 55 gallon barrel dug into the ground that the SC drain at the bottom can flush
      into when I open a valve. A sump pump with a float sits at the bottom of the blue barrel so it
      automatically comes on when it reaches about 3/4 full and pumps it out into the woods.

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      --Steve



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    12. #32
      b_erin is offline Member
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      Update: Koi have been rehomed, liner and equipment pulled out, depth was only 16" - yikes!

      We dug down to 24" and hit limestone, could probably get maybe 4 more inches before hitting the solid bedrock where we couldn't chip off anymore pieces and requiring a jackhammer so that leaves us with either using a jackhammer or building up somewhat above grade to reach a 3' depth.

      We have decided we are going to do a wakin goldfish pond with water lotus in the fish pond, my husband wants a bog attached for more pond plants to grow in like irises, lilies and pennywort. Probably attached as an upper pond that flows over the side into the fish pond.

      Due to hitting the limestone shelf at 2 ft, he laughed at the settlement tank and said no way is he digging that too. So that brings me to my actual question:

      Lets assume total pond depth will be 3 ft, with 2 - 2.5 ft of it below grade, and the rest built up above grade, could we run filtration that is bottom drain > sand and gravel filter(s) > bio filter (moving bed?) to bog > pond. Would this be an ok filtration plan or is there a better/different alternative given our constraints and the desired use of the pond?

      Also, should we run the skimmer to the filters or just straight back to the waterfall?

    13. #33
      catfish whiskers's Avatar
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      If You can’t do a settling chamber , it will be difficult to do any type of bottom drain without sucking up and hurting goldfish.
      Consider trying to do a settling chamber even if it a shallow one that is the same depth as the pond

    14. #34
      b_erin is offline Member
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      oh, alright.

      what size bottom drain should we get? pond is 13x7 on one end tapering down to 4 ft wide at other end. And does it matter if we get aerated or not?

    15. #35
      catfish whiskers's Avatar
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      I would get (2) 3’’ Bottom drains . But since Your doing a water garden with goldfish , aerated covers are not as necessary .
      I’ll show You a simple style that is partly DIY , that will save You a lot of money .
      My reasoning for doing two BD’s is mostly because of the small size of the goldfish , plus , You will get better coverage to pick up debris over most of the pond. Bottom drain covers are usually installed with an edge gap of around 3/4’’ , but that size gap can easily suck up even a large goldfish if they turn sideways. So I would suggest a 1/2’’ gap . A 1/2’’ gap is as small as I would want in order to not get clogged up as easily with plant debris, and at 1/2’’ it still might get clogged up , but having the two drains would Most likely insure that there would allways be flow. I have a large bottle brush on the end of a stick ,that I use to push plant leaves out of the way if they collect around the BD and clog it . Having two 3’’ BD’s could allow for up to around 5,000 GPH of flow , more than You will need , but the next size down is 2’’ , and 2’’ would most likely be too small for plant debris.
      .
      Here’s what You can use as bottom drains
      .
      https://www.dreampond.com/flanged-connector-3-sxs.html
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      These install through the liner with the same flanged seal ring method that the large bowl type BD’s do , But You will make Your own concrete cover , and You will glue a large 3’’ Elbow fitting on the bottom.
      Making Your own concrete covers is easy . I use plastic planter bowls , or those flat shaped drainage dishes that go under pots , to make a concrete molded cover .
      .
      Here’s the covers that Russ makes
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      Here’s the underside showing the feet of a similar one that I made. I set threaded PVC couplings into the concrete mold , that way , the legs are removable , and adjustable .

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      More details later when You get to that point.
      As far as location , I would center them as much as possible , and then allow for a little overlap for the best coverage , something like this .
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    16. #36
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      Glyphosate was not found to cause cancer. It has been known for quite a while that N-nitrosamines which are carcinogenic can form in minute quantities in glyphosate under improper storage conditions. Legal cases don't change the science regardless of how it gets reported. The glyphosate tote would be fine. After washing it would have such little residue left in it that it wouldn't even be able to hurt plants. A potassium permanganate treatment would definitely break down any trace glyphosate.

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