ponds

[Steve Nguyen]

I think anything deeper than 6 ft is crazy. pressure? how many difference from 6 ft to 7 ft? does it really help your fish? these stuffs are not standardize so go with what you feel comfortable with but personally I would have my pond no deeper than 6 ft. in fact, for me 5 ft deeper is preferred.

I would do the filter chamber a bit deeper say 3 ft deep and fill up with Matala mats on top 2 ft. I used Japanese mats before and currently using matala. I definitely think Matala is better in up flow bio filter. BTW, your bio chamber should be around 15% to 20% of your pond water. the bigger the better and build them in multiple chambers for easier maintenance. for bead filter, I hope you are using Ultima II type. talk more when I get back in town.

Steve

Quote: Originally Posted by nguyen4 I have pop a question because i have too many idea about pond sizes, it will be liner and outside will block cement. Problem is some one told me at deep at i can 7,8 ' will better more pressure more water moving. But someones told me 5' will be good just make it longer. Contruction team will finish dig a hole this week (if no rain) if i have idea i can change my mind before they go ( i don't want do it myself) i have a box 7'L 4'W 2'H will around 500gl for bio filter Jap mat, 1 bead filter 3,5cin 1 votex 155gl do i need more for filter?

[dcny]

Quote: Originally Posted by nguyen4 I have pop a question because i have too many idea about pond sizes, it will be liner and outside will block cement. Problem is some one told me at deep at i can 7,8 ' will better more pressure more water moving. But someones told me 5' will be good just make it longer. Contruction team will finish dig a hole this week (if no rain) if i have idea i can change my mind before they go ( i don't want do it myself) i have a box 7'L 4'W 2'H will around 500gl for bio filter Jap mat, 1 bead filter 3,5cin 1 votex 155gl do i need more for filter?

Here's my two cents....

Deeper is better... because more volume is better... because greater dilution effect, more stable water parameters, more stable temp, etc. I wouldn't go past 9' because of the difficulty to catch your fish but 8' should not be an issue. Lots of people on this board have 8' or deeper ponds and hardly any wish it were more shallow. Lots of people have 5' ponds as well and some with it was deeper.

Personally, I think you need more filter. Either that or you have to use the more efficient filtration methods like aerated moving beds. Another options is to add a shower filter to help your bio filtration. A shower filter can be added to a skimmer/bead filter circuit fairly easily since you already need a high head pump to drive your bead filter.

What footprint are you considering? The footprint will drive your bottom drain(s) and skimmer(s) locations. Depending on the overall volume and drains, you would probably want a separate vortex for each drain. If you could have completely separate circuits that would give you some nice redundancy in case of a mechanical or electrical failure in any one component.

I wrote an article for the ZNA NorCal newsletter a while back about filtration option and will try to post it in another thread.

-Dan

[Birdman]

I don't think you have said how long and wide this will be. But my guess is 155 gal won't be big enough for settlement.