Need pump & filter advice for small pond

Last year I buried a 145 gallon hard shell pond (80" x 54" x 18" deep -
Tahoe model) and installed a Pondmaster 500 gph pump - box said it's
good for up to 10 1/2 feet lift. The pond is about 18" deep and I
stacked flagstone about 12" high to create a small waterfall. The pump
has a 3/4" output and I used a splitter to create 2 outlets that
cascade down over the flagstone. The waterflow is way too weak for
what I'd like. It's less than a garden hose would produce.

Also, the water is constantly cloudy so I installed a "Garden
Treasures" Low Profile Mechanical/Biological filter (Model MF750) . It
says it's for use in ponds up to 750 gallons with pumps between 300 and
700 gallons per hour. It's not a bypass filter, the pump's input is
connected to this filter so the pump draws through it. It's just 2
sponge type filters and some bio balls and it didn't help, the water's
still cloudy and I'm guessing it's restricting the water flow.

What would be a good filter & pump size to go with to create a better
water flow and keep the water clear? This is a little pond so I don't
want overkill but something that will look nice. There aren't any fish
or plants in the pond.

Thanks.

On 19 Jun 2006 19:08:42 -0700, wrote:

Last year I buried a 145 gallon hard shell pond (80" x 54" x 18" deep -
Tahoe model) and installed a Pondmaster 500 gph pump - box said it's
good for up to 10 1/2 feet lift. The pond is about 18" deep and I
stacked flagstone about 12" high to create a small waterfall. The pump
has a 3/4" output and I used a splitter to create 2 outlets that
cascade down over the flagstone. The waterflow is way too weak for
what I'd like. It's less than a garden hose would produce.

Also, the water is constantly cloudy so I installed a "Garden
Treasures" Low Profile Mechanical/Biological filter (Model MF750) . It
says it's for use in ponds up to 750 gallons with pumps between 300 and
700 gallons per hour. It's not a bypass filter, the pump's input is
connected to this filter so the pump draws through it. It's just 2
sponge type filters and some bio balls and it didn't help, the water's
still cloudy and I'm guessing it's restricting the water flow.

What would be a good filter & pump size to go with to create a better
water flow and keep the water clear? This is a little pond so I don't
want overkill but something that will look nice. There aren't any fish
or plants in the pond.

My guess is yes, the filter is possibly restricting the flow, or it could
be the tubing you are using to feed the water feature. What type and
diameter is it? If garden hose, they are meant for much more psi then our
small pumps up out, and have lots of friction within.

For a different filter you could try a fake flower pot filter. Got to
www.jjspond.us and click on *My Filter* and scroll to the bottom where
there are 3 pictured. ~ jan
--------------
See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

The tubing is black corrugated 3/4" ID tubing from the "pond" section
at Home Depot.
It gets split about 1 foot above the pond with a T splitter into 2 so
that I have 2 separate streams.

~ janj wrote:
On 19 Jun 2006 19:08:42 -0700, wrote:

Last year I buried a 145 gallon hard shell pond (80" x 54" x 18" deep -
Tahoe model) and installed a Pondmaster 500 gph pump - box said it's
good for up to 10 1/2 feet lift. The pond is about 18" deep and I
stacked flagstone about 12" high to create a small waterfall. The pump
has a 3/4" output and I used a splitter to create 2 outlets that
cascade down over the flagstone. The waterflow is way too weak for
what I'd like. It's less than a garden hose would produce.

Also, the water is constantly cloudy so I installed a "Garden
Treasures" Low Profile Mechanical/Biological filter (Model MF750) . It
says it's for use in ponds up to 750 gallons with pumps between 300 and
700 gallons per hour. It's not a bypass filter, the pump's input is
connected to this filter so the pump draws through it. It's just 2
sponge type filters and some bio balls and it didn't help, the water's
still cloudy and I'm guessing it's restricting the water flow.

What would be a good filter & pump size to go with to create a better
water flow and keep the water clear? This is a little pond so I don't
want overkill but something that will look nice. There aren't any fish
or plants in the pond.

My guess is yes, the filter is possibly restricting the flow, or it could
be the tubing you are using to feed the water feature. What type and
diameter is it? If garden hose, they are meant for much more psi then our
small pumps up out, and have lots of friction within.

For a different filter you could try a fake flower pot filter. Got to
www.jjspond.us and click on *My Filter* and scroll to the bottom where
there are 3 pictured. ~ jan
--------------
See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

Well if you like to home brew crap and hope it works thats fine, but
to me I want a filter that woprks and a pump that puts out sufficient
water to do what I want and not have my pond look like a dogs
breakfast or an abortion.

Veggie filters work and work fine, but do take up lots more room.
IMNSHO for a pond of yur size I wold certianly buy a Hozelock Cyprio
1000 with or without the UVC. and power it with a Hozelock Titan pump
of 800 or 1000 size.......That pressurized filter is a super filter
and it can be had for about $60 without UVC. The pump is more than
capable of suppying water to a water fall beyond the filter as thats
what its designed for......to supply a waterfall after the filter.

You cold power the filter with that pondmaster pump but there would
not be sufficient flow for a water fall. A nice thing about the Cyprio
is it can be buried in the grup up to the removeable lid, so its not
obtrusive, and its super easy to maintain. Most any external filter is
better than the submerged box style filters.

My wife drug one of the Cyprio filters and Titan pumps home a few
weeks ago for her outside tropical fish pond of 165 gal, which was
totally green with suspended algae. Within a week the water is just
about clear, and she was able to add a nice water fall as well with a
stream of approx 4 feet, and she still has some of the discharge water
diverted to a spitter. Nice thing is yu can tell whrn the filter
needs cleaning as the water fall slows down, or on her filter canister
the pressure indicator pops up.

AZPonds has them pretty cheap. YOu can use other pumps etc, but shoot
for a 800 to 1000 gal per hour flow for best results. Your going to
have to reduce flow through the filter to about 500 gph anyhow for it
to work at its optimal potential and even slower will not hurt, if yu
use UVC in it, and it will stil be capable of turning the pond over 2
or 3 times an hour. The filter and pump uses up to 1" tube which makes
for a better flow than 3/4" does.



On 20 Jun 2006 07:13:44 -0700, wrote:

The tubing is black corrugated 3/4" ID tubing from the "pond" section
at Home Depot.
It gets split about 1 foot above the pond with a T splitter into 2 so
that I have 2 separate streams.

~ janj wrote:
On 19 Jun 2006 19:08:42 -0700, wrote:

Last year I buried a 145 gallon hard shell pond (80" x 54" x 18" deep -
Tahoe model) and installed a Pondmaster 500 gph pump - box said it's
good for up to 10 1/2 feet lift. The pond is about 18" deep and I
stacked flagstone about 12" high to create a small waterfall. The pump
has a 3/4" output and I used a splitter to create 2 outlets that
cascade down over the flagstone. The waterflow is way too weak for
what I'd like. It's less than a garden hose would produce.

Also, the water is constantly cloudy so I installed a "Garden
Treasures" Low Profile Mechanical/Biological filter (Model MF750) . It
says it's for use in ponds up to 750 gallons with pumps between 300 and
700 gallons per hour. It's not a bypass filter, the pump's input is
connected to this filter so the pump draws through it. It's just 2
sponge type filters and some bio balls and it didn't help, the water's
still cloudy and I'm guessing it's restricting the water flow.

What would be a good filter & pump size to go with to create a better
water flow and keep the water clear? This is a little pond so I don't
want overkill but something that will look nice. There aren't any fish
or plants in the pond.

My guess is yes, the filter is possibly restricting the flow, or it could
be the tubing you are using to feed the water feature. What type and
diameter is it? If garden hose, they are meant for much more psi then our
small pumps up out, and have lots of friction within.

For a different filter you could try a fake flower pot filter. Got to
www.jjspond.us and click on *My Filter* and scroll to the bottom where
there are 3 pictured. ~ jan
--------------
See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website


--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On 20 Jun 2006 07:13:44 -0700, wrote:

The tubing is black corrugated 3/4" ID tubing from the "pond" section
at Home Depot.

Corrugated inside or smooth?

It gets split about 1 foot above the pond with a T splitter into 2 so
that I have 2 separate streams.

Is the splitter something from the pond section or a garden hose splitter?
~ jan
-----------------
(Do you know where your water quality is?)

Also ponding troll free at:
http://groups.google.com/group/The-Freshwater-Aquarium

On 19 Jun 2006 19:08:42 -0700, wrote:

Last year I buried a 145 gallon hard shell pond (80" x 54" x 18" deep -
Tahoe model) and installed a Pondmaster 500 gph pump - box said it's
good for up to 10 1/2 feet lift. The pond is about 18" deep and I
stacked flagstone about 12" high to create a small waterfall. The pump
has a 3/4" output and I used a splitter to create 2 outlets that
cascade down over the flagstone. The waterflow is way too weak for
what I'd like. It's less than a garden hose would produce.

I did that once and the 500 gph pump, not split flow, gave me about
5x1/2" (That is a best guess, eyeball measure.) of spillway that
almost disappeared over the rock falls I had built below the spillway.

Also, the water is constantly cloudy so I installed a "Garden
Treasures" Low Profile Mechanical/Biological filter (Model MF750) . It
says it's for use in ponds up to 750 gallons with pumps between 300 and
700 gallons per hour. It's not a bypass filter, the pump's input is
connected to this filter so the pump draws through it. It's just 2
sponge type filters and some bio balls and it didn't help, the water's
still cloudy and I'm guessing it's restricting the water flow.

It takes some time for a fish pond system to load up with the bacteria
it needs and balance itself. The biofilter houses bacteria that are
found in the earth and ponds with fish waste. These bacteria consume
and convert fish wastes into nutrients plants can absorb, but it takes
a few weeks to get the filter working properly.

Aluminum sulfate is a great for coagulating floating stuff in the
water that makes it cloudy. It either drops to the bottom or gets
taken out when you clean the filter. Aluminum Sulfate 2.66 ounces
per 1000 gal. However it may drop pH and leave a small white ring
around your pond if used a lot. I don't use it as a regular
treatment, but sometimes once or twice a year I kill algae and clean
up with it.

What would be a good filter & pump size to go with to create a better
water flow and keep the water clear? This is a little pond so I don't
want overkill but something that will look nice. There aren't any fish
or plants in the pond.

The pump and filter you have may be adequate for a good goldfish pond,
but it may take a bit of tinkering to work out everything. If you
are set on more water flow over the falls, that may be achieved with a
larger pump and perhaps you can rig the filter for gravity flow, or on
a splitter not to exceed it's limit, instead of pump draw.

If you don't plan to introduce fish and plants into the pond, life
will be more simple if you shop at swimming pool type centers and buy
pool products that will kill fish and plants, but allow you to have
clear water without having to balance and maintain the balance of a
pond. These pool chemicals have to be added regularly to maintain
clear water without fish and plants too.

Regards,

Hal