Hi all. Thanx for taking the time to read this and hopefully you will be able to give me some guidence in several areas. I kept tropical fish for a few years in my old house but I have since moved to a house that has an existing pond (cement with fibreglass lining) of approx. 3000 liters. I have already sorted the pond out by patching several spots where the fibreglass had worn though or looked a little weak, installed a bottom drain and am now in the process of laying piping and thinking of a pump/filter system. I am pretty keen to go the DIY route as I love this type of thing.
This is where I need some help. What kinda pump should I been looking at ? The major concern here is that I have to pump water UP out of the pond, through the filter system and then back into the pond whilst still keeping enough pressure to create a current. Unfortunitley I cant go with a gravity fed system as space is limited and as I said the pond is already built. I am planning to run the waterfall/water feature off a sperate pump as I have one spare and not only is it easier to install but this way I wont have to worry about diverting water/pressure from the main pump.
Furthermore I am also hoping to run a skimmer (DIY - and old pool skimmer that I have adapted) off the main pipe that is conected to the bottom drain, just by using a T piece and creating a "split". I am concered about having to get a pump powerful enough to pull from both the bottom drain and the skimmer though ....
And onto the next challange...a filter !
Firstly, making my own filter has captured my imagination and I am very keen to do this. A barrel filter seems to be the way to go. I am thinking of using a dustbin (lol) for this purpose...those kind that have the flip up handles that hold the lid down.
Pump in line before the filter ..or after? Before seems the way to go cause then I can also use the pump too drain the pond when nessesary (once again using a T piece to split the pipe and also using a cut off valve/cock stop). The challange here is the by pushing the water through the filter, would there still be enough pressure coming out of the filter to create a current? Also this kinda defeats the object of having "clean" water going through the pump. And how do I create a airless vacume inside the filter (is my logic right by thinking I would be creating a pressurized filter ?)
Ok..thats enough for now Please feel free to make comments, suggestions or just tell me I am crazy to try do this myself ! Anything would be welcome
Just as a end note...although I am hoping to have Koi one day I probebly wont be having any soon...so I would either go with just a aquatic garden or gold fish (or cold water fish for that matter.
NOTE : I originally posted this message under the wrong topic so I have reposted it here. Thanx to all who replied under the previous topic
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