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  • Results 1 to 9 of 9

    Thread: Determining size of pump for bead filter

    1. #1
      Jojoartie's Avatar
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      Determining size of pump for bead filter

      Hi All,
      So it has been a while…many brain cells lost….
      I want to add more filtration to my existing pond which only has a skimmer and waterfall matts. The pond is only 1100 gal. Has two waterfalls. Its in full sun pretty much all day. I dont have an autofill but will find a way to install it over the pond side.
      Funds are limited. I have been burned by a bad experience with a drum combi unit so not going the route of a drum again because no one professionally wants to fix them in my neck of the woods.
      I am currently looking at an Evolution aqua k+ pressurized filter. I have been told by the manufacturer that i will be able to use a Periha pump on it and use an Aquasieve 2 prefilter on it (like a giant stainer basket). I wanted to originally use a zakki sieve but i see the prices went up quite high. High enough to push my out of that market. So for now, its the Aquasieve 2.
      I plan on 2 retro bds which will be joined together before the Aquasieve2, then to periha pump, then to bead, then to waterfalls.
      The pond is 2ft deep. The waterfalls are about 5ft high. The pump and bead will most likely sit about 1-2ft above pond water level. The pump and bead will be fairly close to the pond (within 5ft).
      So i know i have to figure out total head to determine the right size pump. Do i add the length of tubing from the bottom drains, out of the pond and to the pump, into the head calculations? Or do i just calculate the strainer, bead and piping that is after the pump?
      Then as a second separate question, perhaps a new thread for this…
      If i oversize the bead, could i add a second pond and enlarge the pump at that time or is that just really a nightmare to do? Im thinking ball valves placed before pump and after bead could regulate flow of water between the two ponds. Would it depend on what is the min and max flow rates on the bead im guessing? Or is it just cleaner to have separate beads?
      Thanks for the replies!

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    2. #2
      icu2's Avatar
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      Great to see you again!

      Yes, you'd add the pipe length fittings from the BD's to the Aquasieve and the height you rise above pond level. So even if your BD's to the pump
      are 4' high, you're only working to move the water above pond level, so if it's 2 1/2' from pond level to the pump, use 2 1/2' in your calculation plus the
      length of the pipe and extra from any fittings. Head calculation instructions start on about page 8 of this .pdf file that might help:

      https://www.koiphen.com/forums/attac...8&d=1364954739

      It sounds like you won't have much pipe and fittings before the pump so I suspect most of your head will come from the height the pump is above
      pond level. You'll need check valves on the BD pipes to keep water to prime to the sieve if it's above pond level too.

      I wouldn't pump to another pond from your filter. If something catastrophic happened in the extra pond you could end up losing water height in
      both ponds. I would just plan a separate filtration scheme for the other pond.
      Side note: always control flow after the pump, so if you put a ball valve to control flow, put it somewhere after the pump. You never want to starve
      your pump of water by restricting flow to it to slow the flow.
      --Steve



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    3. #3
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      I agree the Zakki Sieve is overpriced now and most that need can not realistically afford in this economyOn the other hand the Aqua Sieve II cannot be found since Covid shut downs
      The will of God will not take you where the grace of God cannot keep you. .....
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      If this is going to be a pump fed system, do you see any issues with using the Aquaforte pump-fed sieve or a strainer (AquasieveII) before the bead and then pumping back to the pond via the waterfall? Does any of that equipment need to be higher than the waterfall? I have been told by a dealer that i can not put a sieve or stainer before the bead. The bead has to be on its own on a pump fed system. I can see the leaves clogging the pump in about a day if this is the case as the pump will be before the bead, correct?

    5. #5
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      The dealer is right about pump feeding the sieve like the Aquaforte. If you pump feed it it would have to be above the waterfall to return the water to the
      pond that way and no bead filter. I can't find anything that says the Aquasieve II can be pump fed. Most of the dealers have it being installed between the
      pond and pump like an oversized priming pot. And yes, if you have a separate pump for the bead it would have to be before the bead. The Zakki sieve
      is unique in that it runs off a vacuum from the pump and allows it to be placed above pond level and before the pump and would allow putting the bead after
      the pump. No other commercial sieve that I know of can accomplish the same thing.
      --Steve



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    6. #6
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      So i can do…

      BD—->AquasieveII—->pump—->bead—->waterfall

      If so, where is check valve placed?

      Does the bead need to be placed high enough to that the line coming out be gravity fed back to waterfall or is this not necessary as long a pump is sized correctly to push water thru bead and up pipe to waterfall? I am trying to eliminate daily checks on a prefilter so the Aquasieve II, which is like a giant strainer, will hopefully fit this bill. I wanted to go with a Zakki sieve but the price on it jumped up quite a bit. The other option would be to install a savio skimmer and add a bd attachment to it. Just dont know if a 10yr old pond liner is still pliable enough to cut into and add the skimmer. Anyone out there who has tried it i’d love to hear from you.

    7. #7
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      Yes. I'd bring the retro drains together under water and add the check valve there and the rest would look
      something like this:

      Name:  Image3.jpg
Views: 141
Size:  21.4 KB

      By putting the check valve in the pond you should be able to open the priming pot and fill it with water and it will fill
      all the way from the pond to the priming pot and it should hold prime to start the pump without a problem.
      The bead is sealed and pressurized so yes, you can pump through it and up to the height of the waterfall and leave it
      at the similar height as the pump and other equipment.
      That's how I would do it anyways! Hope that helps.
      --Steve



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    8. #8
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      Yes Steve, this was exactly what i was thinking. I got so confused with the other dealer. The Aquasieve 2 is going to be the priming pot in front of the pump. I’m not sure if the other dealer just didnt understand what i meant. Hopefully, in the future the zakki sieve will come back down in price and i can replace the aquasieve 2 with that. Although, once i get ahead on the filtration with the K+ bead i shouldnt have too much in algae and crap coming into the strainer. If i can get the strainer cleaning down to every 4days to a week, that would be awesome. Also a bigger UV will help too. Thanks again Steve for you help.

    9. #9
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      https://www.koiphen.com/forums/attac...7&d=1659403425

      So if anyone can chime in on this, in this pic (steves pic above, dated 8/1) the two bottom drains are 2” piping. They will be joined to a 2” wye. Then the 2” pipe will run to the Aqusieve2 strainer —->pump —-> either s/g filter or bead (leaning not towards s/g)—-> back to pond via waterfall.
      My question is, if all pipes are 2” before the pump, will that effect the size of pump used?
      Since the two retro bottom drains start with 2” pipe and are joined by a wye to another 2” pipe, will there be some settling inside the pipes closer to the retro drains as the flow will be cut in half until it gets to the wye?
      I have a periha 18000 pump, which flows 4100-4300gph that I would like to use on this set up if possible. I plan on splitting the pipe after the pump to divert any extra flow if need be from the s/g. I’m thinking i will have quite a bit of head pressure before the pump because of sveral elbows needed to get up and over the side of the pond and thru the strainer (Aquasieve2) but after that is just pushing up thru the s/g (or bead). Thoughts on this? Thanks.

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