3000 Gal pond

[John Bloch]

Tell me if this will work correctly...

This is a 12x7x5 pond design... I need to know the size pvc I will need, and if my filtration will work... I would guess I need a pump that will move like 6000 gph...

http://www.geocities.com/johnblochd/Pond.jpg



suggestions on a pump and filter designs/filters? I really have no clue what to look for... any help is appreciated!

ps. I decided not to do my quarinteen pond first, as it will hinder my cash for the main pond... I might build a quaranteen pond eventually, but I'm planning on using big filtered containers (i'm not planning on importing full sized fish into my pond)

[John Bloch]

Bump...

bumpity bumpity bump...

[Steve Nguyen]

John,

ok, what's harry potter?

I am not an expert but let me try

your 12x7x5 will give you a 4450 gals size pond. filter should be around 10 - 15% of pond size so that works out to be something in between 445 to 667 gals. of course, this it really depends on your fish load and weather you use bead filters or bio chamber filled with media such as matala/japanese mats or combo of bead and media or some other media in poly barrels.

based on your drawing, if those 3 filters are 55 gals barrels, it's might not be sufficient as your fish grow say 3 yrs from now and beyond. also, I would think the pump will likely to starve of water if its intake only come from 3rd barrel. check out my new pond design to see if it's something you want to consider http://koi-bito.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4669

for pumps, I recommend to purchase a pump that at least equal to your pond size, preferrally double your pond size. for example, your pond is 4465 gals, you should get a pump that deliver at least 5000 gals per hour. you may want to consider two pumps for redundancy with 3000 gals or more per hour. if you are looking for whisper quiet pumps, then purchase artisian performance or sequence primer pumps. my friends are using them and they are whisper quiet. if you don't care about the noise, then aqua flo pumps will do the job. if you want purchase online, I can recommend a very good place for you. you might even get some discount. PM me for details if you like. I am not a seller.

your bottom drain layout looks fine for 12 ft long pond. you can use two 3" and connect them into one 4" pipe before feed them into the vortex settling tank. on top of the vortex settling tank, you can have a 6" matala to trap little sediments that did fall to the bottom of the vortex. this helps the pump and filter from clog up with unwanted wastes.

depends on where you live but the 1" plant shelf might provides a platform for heron to stalk your fish. if you want to use plants to help filtering the pond (btw, I think using plants for helping pond filtering is great), you should have a bog garden and have the water overflow from the bog garden into the pond. this way, no heron can stand up there and stalk your fish. besides, koi are know for biting on plants. btw, imo water hyacinths are best but I was told that peppermint plants are the best. have not use peppermint plant in my pond those. water hyacinths in the same pond with koi is asking for a lot of clean up. koi bites on its root and create a mess so have a separate bog garden for this.

I don't know what you meant by "dock" in your drawing. is that for the waterfall? personally, I like small water fall because I like the sound of the water fall run. I don't like the noisy waterfall. big waterfall also create a choppy water surface in the pond. i enjoy the tranquility more I guess.

what type of media do you plan to use for bio filters?

Steve

[John Bloch]

Originally Posted by Steve Nguyen

John,

ok, what's harry potter?

I am not an expert but let me try

your 12x7x5 will give you a 4450 gals size pond. filter should be around 10 - 15% of pond size so that works out to be something in between 445 to 667 gals. of course, this it really depends on your fish load and weather you use bead filters or bio chamber filled with media such as matala/japanese mats or combo of bead and media or some other media in poly barrels.

based on your drawing, if those 3 filters are 55 gals barrels, it's might not be sufficient as your fish grow say 3 yrs from now and beyond. also, I would think the pump will likely to starve of water if its intake only come from 3rd barrel. check out my new pond design to see if it's something you want to consider http://koi-bito.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4669

for pumps, I recommend to purchase a pump that at least equal to your pond size, preferrally double your pond size. for example, your pond is 4465 gals, you should get a pump that deliver at least 5000 gals per hour. you may want to consider two pumps for redundancy with 3000 gals or more per hour. if you are looking for whisper quiet pumps, then purchase artisian performance or sequence primer pumps. my friends are using them and they are whisper quiet. if you don't care about the noise, then aqua flo pumps will do the job. if you want purchase online, I can recommend a very good place for you. you might even get some discount. PM me for details if you like. I am not a seller.

your bottom drain layout looks fine for 12 ft long pond. you can use two 3" and connect them into one 4" pipe before feed them into the vortex settling tank. on top of the vortex settling tank, you can have a 6" matala to trap little sediments that did fall to the bottom of the vortex. this helps the pump and filter from clog up with unwanted wastes.

depends on where you live but the 1" plant shelf might provides a platform for heron to stalk your fish. if you want to use plants to help filtering the pond (btw, I think using plants for helping pond filtering is great), you should have a bog garden and have the water overflow from the bog garden into the pond. this way, no heron can stand up there and stalk your fish. besides, koi are know for biting on plants. btw, imo water hyacinths are best but I was told that peppermint plants are the best. have not use peppermint plant in my pond those. water hyacinths in the same pond with koi is asking for a lot of clean up. koi bites on its root and create a mess so have a separate bog garden for this.

I don't know what you meant by "dock" in your drawing. is that for the waterfall? personally, I like small water fall because I like the sound of the water fall run. I don't like the noisy waterfall. big waterfall also create a choppy water surface in the pond. i enjoy the tranquility more I guess.

what type of media do you plan to use for bio filters?

Steve

to clear a coupla things up...

I just learned that the city ordinances require you to have a permit to build a pond deeper than 2 ft deep... I also learned from pond shops around that the city wont check unless somone drowns in your pond... so I'm pretty much going to forget about the city, because they wont check, and no one is going to drown in my pond, because Its going to have a small fence around it (sorry to say, but i have a golden retriever, and she will be in the water lickety split if there isnt a fence...) But, in lou of the city, I'm planning on only making it 4 ft. deep...

also, I'm not sure about your gallon conversion... I thought one cubic foot was 7.48051 ect. gallons... thats what the conversion charts are telling me...

if that is true, my pond (as of 12x7x4) is only 2486 US gallons or so... which means that I want about 250 gals of filtration right?

also, your design seems QUITE complex for me to take in at the moment... say I wanted to bypass the bog idea (which might not happen in the long run, but just for now) could I just run my filters in series? like from each barrel to the pump, and from the pond into each barrel?

the "dock" is actually going to be just that... a dock... like a bridge, but It will only go halfway across, its where I'll feed them from, and I think it will be a nice asthetic touch if I do it right... which means no waterfall, and no having to turn it off in the winter... the "jets" in the pic are going to be the moving force of the pond, and I'm going to have to put a venturi and a skimmer in there somehow...

Harry potter... I'm going to have to post a pic of him soon...

hes some sort of wierd doitsu mutt that I picked up at walmart out of pity... the rest of the fish in his tank were skin and bones, and he looked at me like "get me out of here please"

hes orange, with black spots on top, but with a doitsu pattern...(wierd blackish gold scales too) and the reason he's called harry potter is because he has sumi around his eyes that connects in the middle, and it looks like eyeglasses... potter eyeglasses...


so, I should probably pick up a pump that can move 5000 gals per hour... and what about filters? Could I buy an "all in one" filter that i could use on this pond? would it be cost effective? because I dont know if 5 55 galon barrels will be easy to hide in the yard...

[Steve Nguyen]

I think there was a typo somewhere last night. for 12x7x4 size, it's about 2500 gals so you are correct. the filter amount should be measured with water in the bio chambers. don't count the settling tank. settling tank is just a mechanical to remove fish waste from the pond. the actual chemicals break down of ammonia/nitrates are in the bio chambers.

I would say pump with rating of 3000 GPH to 5000 GPH would be good enough. I would suggest get a 5000 GPH pump though. if you can afford more, then get bigger pump. imo, the bigger the pump, the better. keep in mind, you will not get any close to the rating number they provided so give yourself some overhead.

good idea to have a dock. you get a better view of the koi from top anyhow.

maybe you can use six 55 barrels as follow:

#1 and 2 - use as settling tanks. inlets from pond, outlets to prefilter
#3 - pre-filter. inlet from settling tanks. outlet to pump. you might need two prefilters if your pump is 5000 gph. if the water come in two fast, solids won't settle to the bottom of the settling tank.
#4 - bio chamber #1. inlet from pump, outlet to pond
#5 - bio chamber #2. inlet from pump, outlet to pond
#6 - bio chamber #3. inlet from pump, outlet to pond

can you fill the three bio chambers with whatever media you like. btw, you can bury the barrels to keep them out of eye sight.

have fun buidling your new pond,

Steve