Hi Cliff
You seem to have a good pond going, I would suggest that you do more research on filter and pipe size, a 50mm pipe is in general the smallest pipe I would use for water flow. Bottom drains 110mm. You should also consider adding air to your bottom drain. From and electricity costing point of view I would consider a gravity fed system which will enable you to place the pump after the filtration point and use a waterfall or similar pump that will only use between 200 - 250w depending on size, 1200lt - 1800lt p/h pump.

I suggest posting a sketch on how you intend to design your filter, with the help of the experts on this forum you can save you lots of money, doing it right the first time. There are many experts that can assist with your design. Pieter, Paul and Wayne is experts on using sand filters should that be your choice and you do not mind the electrical cost.

Remember good filtration allows you time to enjoy Koi and more importantly happy and healthy Koi

this is the idea I have behind my filtration, please advise pro's!!

Yes this will not work for a gravity fed filter. I am sure you would not like the following, but is looks like you have enough space around the corner for a underground over under block filter.

Your filter design seems to be on the small side for 8000lts. I will at least look at a 100-200 lt underground settlement chamber with a standpipe flush system for the waste and regular water changes and then use a suction pipe to pump from the middle of this chamber to the rest of the filtration.

Hi Cliff
It seems that all the experts are between the sheets or up close and personal in front of a fire tonight to fight the cold.

The difference in water volume from your small to new pond will require a bigger filtration set-up to keep water clean and healthy.
For the above ground filter system you should seriously consider a sand filter and I would also look to increase the water flow ex pond by adding another suction (63 or 75mm mid water point) before plastering. The flow from your 50mm bottom drain will not be enough in my opinion with 8000ltrs of water.

I hope the experts chip in soon to share their experience with you, my experience is very limited.

A link with pond build info.

http://www.atlantakoiclub.org/calendar/2006/January%202006%20presentations/Nishikigoi%20Pond%20Filteration.pdf

Seems i'm quite the doos when it comes to drum sizes etc.

The drum I will be using as a settlement is 200lt, the resource I am buying the drum from also has a 200Lt mechanical\bio filter (the one with the trickle pipe onto sponge thru bio balls etc)

He advised that I wont be able to do gravity fed as the UV\Ultra Zap works on pressure so there wouldn't be enough pressure if I put the Mechanical on Bio filter first. So he has suggested I put the 200lt drum with submersible in, I then push this thru the UV light (15w) and then from the UV light feed it thru the 200lt mechanical\bio filter combo box and back into the pond from there.

I'm slowly learning, but think this may be a better setup as he has advised this will work and that these filters are definitely big enough for my size pond.

So a recap:

50mm Bottom Drain - 200lt Settlement chamber drum which submersible pump - UV light - 200lt mechanical\bio\trickle filter - Pond

He has also checked my pump and advised that the size pump I have will turn the water over within 2 hours which he says is correct.

Hi cliff,

You ideally need a 4 or 5 chamber gravity fed system where you could still utilise your submersible pump.

Instead of using drums, while you are building why not just build concrete chambers. They say your settlement chamber should be 5% of your pond size so use that as an indication. I would estimate around 400 litres.

The next chamber will still need to be some sort of mechanical filtration followed by 2 chambers of biological. You can then place the submersible in the final chamber. Because of the low wattage of the pump, you could use aeration in the bio chambers which would not only benefit the good bacteria there but add quite alot of air into the pond for your fish. Anything between 40 to 60 l/m air pump would be good. The piston ones are noisy though so an investment into a diaphragm one is advisable as it is outside you kids bedrooms.

Each chamber needs a bottom outlet to flush it so just remember that when you are building. The stand pipe as bobby mentioned is essential in the settlement chamber.

Think about using an upflow type system for your filtration. There are various media option (one of which is matala) but Marius posted a few diagrams in some of my posts when I was asking questions about a cost effective pond setup.

As the experts say, never undersize your filtration, rather oversize. So rather go for 110mm bottom drain into the settlement chamber.

Hi cam0.....thanks for the info, unfortunately the bottom drain is already in and it's a 50mm............

For now with cash flow restraints I will have to go with 200lt drum with submersible in, from there pump into uv, from uv then into mechanical\bio filter then back to pond.

Maybe ever from 200lt drum - submersible - ultra zap 25l - UV - Mechanical\bio Filter - pond

Then in the interim I will look for a .25 spek pump (if thats correct) and sand filter - and look into how noisy this pump is and see if I can build a sound proof box there then set this up. This I will have to do and I will have to buy these items month by month and then do that setup.


Is a .25 spek pump expensive to run??/......what the cost to run this thing for an entire month compared to a submersible pump

From the following website:

http://www.pond-waterfalls.com/artkinkedpipes.htm

Every pond pump driven by electricity is fitted with a motor. The motor is normally rated in watts or kilowatts. This is a measure of the amount of energy the motor can generate at absolute maximum and at 100% efficiency.
In every practical situation however it is impossible to get this amount of energy out of the motor and to transfer it directly to the water that is being circulated. In fact the amount of energy or power that's lost between switching the pump on and finally getting water to flow over the waterfall is enormous.
In some cases you have a degree of control over how well you sue the power generated and in others no control at all. For example the heat lost by the motor getting hot is totally beyond your control. What you can control and in fact must do so to get the best from your garden pond and waterfall pump is as follows ...
Length of pipe from pump to waterfall inlet
Diameter of pipe from pump all the way through the pumping system
The number and type of fittings in the pipe-work
Bends and other restrictions in the tubing and pipe-work runs.
The type of pipe or tubing used in the system
Then use of valves to regulate flow rate
I've seen many installations where the size of pipe from a pump is far too small in terms of pipe diameter. I've also seen many cases where pipes are kinked because a rock has fallen onto the pipe or the pipe has been bent to go around a corner.
Bends, sudden direction changes (eg T pieces), small diameter pipe all restrict water flow through pipes and as such try to avoid anything that interrupts smooth water flow through the pipe from the pump to the waterfall. Think about this for a moment and find let me describe an analogy ...
Let's say you're running down the street to catch a bus which you just saw cross the intersection ahead of you and disappear into the street at right angles to the one you're running down. To be able to turn the corner you have to slow down and then speed up again if you going to catch the bus and this takes energy. This is the same in a water system. If you make the water go round a bend energy is lost. You can think of the water as slowing down and then having to speed up again. This is a waste. The sharper the bend the more energy or power is lost.
The correct term is that the pressure drop through the pipe is increased and in any system increase in pressure drop translates into reduced pump flow.
Algae inside the pipe also creates restrictions so try to avoid using transparent piping (sunlight allows algae to grow so transparent pipe helps this process. Black piping is best.
Inevitably in almost all situations there is a need for fittings and bent pipes. Just make sure you don't overdo it.
To make allowance for this loss of energy add 20% to the head or height you want to pump. For example let's say yoru waterfall inlet is 2 metres and you want to pump 1000 litres per hour over it (about 450 gallons per hour) then choose a pond pump that will deliver 1000 litres per hour NOT at 2 metres (6.5 feet) head but at 2.4 metres head (8 feet) ... in this way we've allowed for 0.4 metres ( 1.5 feet) of head to be wasted in piping or tubing systems.
Remember ...
Make sure you get the widest diameter pipe that will fit your pump and that it's length is as short as possible. For most pond pump situations do not use pipe less than 1 inch (25mm) in diameter unless you can't avoid it (for example in very small fountain pumps)
Paying attention to these 2 factors will save you electricity costs (and with oil at present prices we need to save as much energy as we can)
MAXIMUM HEAD
The height at which flow from any pump STOPS ... eg if this figure is 4 feet then at a height anywhere between 0 and 3.99 feet there will be some water flow although it will get significantly less as the height increases and approaches 4ft. However at 4 ft there will be NO water flow at all. Many people believe wrongly believe they will get 1000 gallons max flow from a pump at its maximum head of say 4ft
MAXIMUM FLOW
This happen at the level of the pond surface and is the flow with no pipe attached to the pump. The fact that the pump is sitting at bottom of the pond does not make any difference.
The electrical energy from a pump's motor is shared between flow (actually mass) of water and the height (head) to which it must be pumped. What this means in simple terms is that you cannot have both more flow AND more pressure form the same pump. You must choose ... do you want more flow or more head (pressure). And you can choose somewhere between zero and maximum flow and zero and maximum head.
In practice you need to remove or lower the impact of any restrictions to flow. You therefore will get better pump performance if you do the following ...
Use widest diameter pipe for your waterfall pump
Use shortest possible pipe length to go from the pump exit to the inlet of your waterfall.
Do not kink the pipe.
Do not squash the pipe under rocks
Do not use more valves than necessary. Reduce T pieces and/or Y pieces and/or sharp bends to a minimum.
Prevent build-up of algae inside the pipe by using NON-transparent piping. Black ribbed pipe is best in fish pond environments
When you use stepped connectors cut off the smaller diameter steps. Use the maximum step diameter you can.
To totally and accurately specify a pump you need to know 3 things
1. Volume of water flow required
2. Height to which this flow must be pumped
3. Head (or friction loss) loss due to restrictions in pipe and fittings.
This last component is complex to calculate and this is where you should use my calculator. In a normal situation if you add 20% to the height you want to pump this will normally be safe. You would use this new number .... Actual Height + 20% .... to specify the pump.

I would never put mechanical filtration after biological. It doesn't make any sense.

Well it depends on the rating of your submersible.

The calculation is as follows:

kw * unit price * hours in day * number of days (Thanks to Wayne for that)

0.25 * R0.90 * 24 * 30 = R162

I assume you unit price is around R0.90 as most of ours is around there.

If you look under general discussion there is a post around kw costs after Eskoms price hike.

Ok, it's decided then......I will buy a .25 speck pump, connect this directly to my 50mm bottom drain thru a weir like found in a pool system, then will then filter thru a sand filter, then thru a 25L Unltra Zap, thru a 15w UV and then back into the pond.

Are these .25's very noisy???

I would say more of a hum than the .45 and up speck pumps. It isn't quiet

Hi,

ek is bly ek hoef nie nou 'n dam te bou nie!
Met al die raat sou my kop mooi plat ( of platter) gewees het.

A .25 is to small!!!!!!! Get rid of the "drum" go streight to the pump ( .75kW)>sandfilter>UltraZap Bio filter> uv light> back to the pond.

Never try to save money on your "filter system" you always end-up paying more!

Well did some tests over the weekend and a pool pump is just too loud for directly outside my sons room and with summer and having to have the windows open it will just cause more hassle than anything.

So I will be doing the drum, I am upgrading my pump to another submersible which does 8000 litres an hour, found another filter on the weekend which I will be buying this week end which is the Hydro - Bio Pressure filter, it's the drum looking one with the clean\work\pump outlets\inlets on the top with the 24w UV light. It says its suitable for a 13500lt pond and my pond is around 7200lts.

Also I get minimal sun in the mornings, by 7h30am theres no more sun on my pond so I definitely wont be having an algae problem.

Did plastering on the weekend....will post pics of that soon!