| Sansai
Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Fremont, CA Posts: 257
| Outstanding, you have most of the pond info that will help you properly select a pump. Most folks just go out and buy a big pump. Stands to reason that a bigger pump will make the koi healthier, doesn’t it? As Steve C continually points out, all the components in a pond are interdependent parts of a system, from the number and even the sex of the koi down to the size of skimmer weir. If the pond is designed well, the system will reach synergy, if not money and possibly health can be deminished. Some items, Such as maximum fish load, pond designers can determine after the pond is designed. Others, such as the pump/s have to be determined when the job it’s to do is understood. I usually allow about 1000gph for an 8” weir. The 3” line won’t have a great impact on that flow. I assume you’re using gravity flow and when we get into it, you will understand why. The total flow rate is determined by the size of the pond and all accessories (Filters, etc.). I like to aim for 100% pond turnover of 1.5 to 3 hours with larger ponds leaning toward the 3 hour mark. My personal interest here is to run a reasonable power consumption and still provide a healthy pond. That will lower the nation’s energy consumption and also save you money. I’ve seen ponds with the wrong sized pumps installed where the changeover to the right size would pay for the pump in six to 10 months and then continue to save money for the life of the new pump. With that in mind, the 4” lines can deliver up to 4800 GPH in gravity flow. I doubt your pond will exceed the capabilities of the total of these 3 gravity flow lines. I don’t pay a lot of attention to Bakki showers as I prefer trickle tower because they are so easy to assemble and in reality, they do the same thing as far as I’m concerned. Not to say they don’t work well; they both do. I’m certain there are a number of people on here that can answer that for you. Need some information to move forward. How big is your pond? What is the length and size of each independent line and the length of each line feeding branch lines? Include the fittings (elbows, straight couplers, type of valves, etc) in each of these lines. What is the maximum exit height of the water leaving the pump over the surface of the water in the sump? Get your hands on a pipe flow chart that includes a velocity (in fps) column, a friction loss column in psi and a friction loss column i, feet of water column. Then get an equivalent friction loss in fittings chart. That will give you the equivalent loss of a particular fitting that you will add to the line length of the line it’s installed in. I usually use the flow charts at http://www.ewing1.com/general/ews_resources.htm#guides. Then click on Flow Velocity & Friction Loss (Sch 40) and Friction Loss Chart. Look at them a little so you get an idea of their contents; dont worry if they seem like too much info, it’s fairly simple when you actually go through it.. I don’t know your background so all this may put you off but as you go through it you will see it’s actually simple and straight forward. I will be traveling on and off for a few weeks so if you need assistance, Steve Childers is familiar with this process. If he doesn’t pick up on this thread you can contact him, if I’m not getting back in a reasonable time. By the way, how big is your pond going to be. If it doesn’t need 4” drain lines it’s better to install smaller lines so there won’t be as much debris depositing in the line. If the pipe is already down, don’t worry. |
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02-20-2007
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