Indoor Pond, please critique

[Birdman]

My wife and I hope to add a passive solar Sunroom on our house this year, with an indoor koi pond for me. The sun room would be totally inclosed in the winter but all side glass would be removable in the summer.

I think I have come up with a finial design for my new indoor pond. Please offer your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions. This will be concrete filled, concrete block construction, on a concrete floor, then sealed with Sani Tred. The pond is about 19 feet long, 6 feet deep, a 4 1/2 foot radius at one end and a 4 foot radius at the other end. Pond volume around 5,500 gal. Filter volume around 500 gal.

My filter pit will be 6 feet deep, concrete floor with concrete block walls.

Filtration as follows

Two 4" bottom drains, each going to a vortex filter 2' wide and 4' high, then to two 1/4 horse pumps in series to an Advantage 10 bead filter, then to an Advantage 10 glass filter, then to two moving bed filters, then to the water fall. Each moving bed filter will be 2' wide by 4' high and will have 8 cubic feet of Bio Flo 9 bio media. Each moving bed filter will be powered by an Alita 80 air pump.

One skimmer going to a 1/4 horse pump, through a UV sterilizer, then returning to the pond through the three TPRs.

Questions,
How large a UV do I need?
How high of the pond bottom should the TPRs be?

Thank you for your help. I don't want to be a nuisance, but as much as this thing is going to cost I don't want any mistakes either.

[kingkong]

Can we guess on the cost? A 2006 Chevy Trailblazer is 16,989.00, hot or cold?

[koiczar]

Steve

Looking at your design it appears that you will have a very nice system.

A couple of thoughts on the diagram - You show the directional flow of your TPRs as clockwise-shouldn't they be counter-clockwise for this hemisphere?

You say you will have 2 vortex for settlement to 2 1/4hp pumps going into ONE bead filter. Why not replace the glass filter with a second bead and have two separate systems - one for each BD. That way, when you want to clean one system, the other is still functioning. Seems like it will give you much better performance IMHO.

I would suggest using 80 watts of UV - but then again, if you are indoors you shouldn't necessarily need any as the UV rays of the sun would be a factor - or will they!??

Mike

[gregbickal]

Nevermind.

[Birdman]

Quote: Originally Posted by kingkong Can we guess on the cost? A 2006 Chevy Trailblazer is 16,989.00, hot or cold?

I haven't got a finial on cost yet. just now starting to get bids. But I will be doing all my own work, concrete, block, and flagstone. Still it's goan cost a bunch. (Don't tell the wife)

[junglegeorge12]

How much sun will this be getting, what is the roof made of?

If it gets no direct sunlight, you will have trouble with color fading. With little sunlight it will do better, and if you had a shower you might not need UV at all.

[dcny]

Putting your bead and glass filters in between the vortex and the moving bead may be a problem. The bead and glass filters will add a significant head loss to your pump and you'll lose alot of flow to your moving bed.

Maybe you can move the bead and glass filter to the skimmer circuit. The UV will be more effective with the slower water flow. Also add a bypass to the UV, you won't need it that often since you'll be indoors.

Also consider adding a microscreen to the vortex chamber. It should significantly increase your mechanical filtration and help the bio-filtration capability of your moving bed.

-Dan

[dcny]

Quote: Originally Posted by Birdman Questions, How large a UV do I need? How high of the pond bottom should the TPRs be?

Depends on the type of UV you're using. Canister UVs (zapp, wlim) are more effective than in-line UVs (aqua, gamma). Since you're indoors you probably don't need a very strong UV. Maybe the smallest canister available or a 40W in line? You can also go with a Savio skimmer w/ the built in UV as an option. The advantage is that it won't impact your pump head loss. The disadvantage is that you can't valve the flow to it so you can't control the flow rate thru the UV.

The effective height of a TPR is about 2', so for a 6' deep pond, place them about 2' from the bottom and 4' from the bottom.

-Dan

[Beadmaster]

Hi birdman,

Indoor ponds are great for enjoying koi all year round. I had one in my previous hous and do have three indoor ponds (each 9 m3) in my new house.
These are no show ponds but only for quarantine purpose. All are filtered simply and effectively by one beadfilter / pump / UV for each unit.
One thing to be aware of: you will need lots of ventilation to get rid off the high humidity in wintertime when the sunhouse is closed (or start an experiment in growing / studying fungus )

To your question about UV; I do agree with the before mentioned 40 Watt plus units. Maybe you will have not that much algae problems but the UV unit could also cure some water clarity problems with the new -not matured- filtration (my experience with beadfilters).

But it was actually something else in your design that made me type this reply.
Did you realise that if your moving bed filters are pump fed, the water leaving the MB by gravity / overflow will not flow uphill from there to the waterfall that I believe will be higher than the pond level...... Or you will have to raise the top of the MB filters to the hight of the waterfall.

Maybe I did misunderstand something , but if not its not to late to change your design. Please let me know.

Cheers,
Hans

[Birdman]

Quote: Originally Posted by koiczar Steve Looking at your design it appears that you will have a very nice system. Mike

Not a bad idea Mike, I'll turn the drawing over and see what it looks like.