Evening all,
well after what i deam to be careful planing,i've now come up with the design i want for my dads koi pond,the pond itself will be rectangle 8ft in length 5ft in width and 5ft in depth giving me 1250 gallons to play with,well i think thats what the pond will hold anyway.There will be one 4" bottom drain running in to a clover leaf filter mk2 which is suitable for ponds up to 2500 gallons so i think i'm ok on filter size,were does the uv filter need to be placed, prior to the pipe going in to the filter or is it connected on the return pipe coming from the filter?,roughly how many valves should look at buying for my set up?My pump will be a cloverleaf surface pump 1/4hp which pumps 2400 gph,will that be ok for my set up?.Also were is the best place to fix the return pipe in the pond,have it coming in above water level or below water level,what do you recommend.The waste pipe will run of the 4" bottom drain pipe so my plan is to put a t junction in just prior to were the 4" will run in to the filter or before the uv filter that then will have a valve on it so i can purge the bottom drain,will this work?,a 2" pipe then will run in to my dads garden for waste.Can anyone see this design being a problem before i start carrying out the work in spring,what depth of concrete shall i go for,im thinking more towards 9" for depth,the walls will be built using solid concrete blocks,then the outer walls will be constructed using nice dressed bricks from floor level up which is 2ft,thats my plan so far,if anyone thinks its not a good design then please let me know,because i want to get this right first time,with no regrets,plus its my dads pention money so i want it to be perfect for him with no mistakes,let us no cheers nye.
you need Bottom drain to filter to pump to UV to pond, if you can run a skimmer then put UV on it. put the return below surface level. the ideal is to have two returns one in each opposite corner- so you create a circular current in the pond. this helps pull the crud to the BD. would recomend an airated BD as a must.
normally the 4in into the drain is direct to the filter via a valve, then after emptying filter (cleaning cycle) you open valve fully this then purges the BD and pipework, so no need for a T joint. then put all the filter drains to the garden/waste.
pond construction sounds about right, but make sure you put some reinforcing mesh in the base or use fibres if you can include the above skimmer it would be better as you will regret not fitting at a later date. also go fibreglass.
good luck and remember you can always ask questions here
Were abouts is the best place to fix one,and to what is it connected up to??,also how much room does it take up,i don't have much room to play with in the filter housing,i can't run from the sides of the pond because there are footpaths running both sides so i don't really want to see a pipes going down the sides of the pond,the top end of the pond were the filters will be housed my dads drive is right nxt to them so i can't gain any addtional feet heading that way,the filter housing will be approx 4ft in lenth and 5ft in width thats all i've got,otherwise it means make the pond smaller,and don't really want it any smaller than its going to be which is 8ft in lenth,5ft in width,so as it stands so far i've got room for my cloverleaf mk2 filter which is approx 990x990x760mm high which is 3ft 3",so then i've got 2ft then to house my pump and UV,so if i've got room then yes i'll defo be putting one in,but i just can't see how i can with all the pipe work and so on,let us know if you have a good idea,cheers for the other info to relating to the build
Generally the best place to locate a skimmer is centrally at the opposite end of the pond from the filter return off the bottom drain. The return from the skimmer can then be located in or above the same pond wall, thus creating the vortex effect that helps move detritus towards the bottom as described by Steve. The skimmer will have pipework which will lead to a separate pump which returns water to the pond. The skimmer removes surface debris and has it's own strainer built in to deal with large items such as leaves. Generally there will be some sort of filter unit between the skimmer and it's pond return which supplements the main filter. This is often a trickle tower, bakki shower, protein skimmer or something to remove fine debris not collected by the main filter e.g. an Eazy pod or sieve. Usually the plumbing for the skimmer is a less elaborate affair than for the main filter and it is relatively easy to disguise, but it depends what equipment you intend to attach. However it won't require a long pipe run back to the main filter because the skimmer return is generally in one corner at the furtherst point away from the main filter return. Have a look at a few other peoples pond builds to see how other people have made use of their skimmer. You could possibly build it in and keep it blocked off until the pond is up and running for a while before you decide what additional equipment to attach. Personally I would go for a bakki or trickle tower which requires minimal plumbing and can sit on the side of the pond thus not taking up any additional floor space.
I presume you are building the pond with concrete blocks laid flat? If so, instead of having an outer skin of bricks, you could consider using a rendered finish instead. One of my mates has just done this with a white masonary paint finish so that the pond matches the house and it looks very effective. Also it will make a change from the standard partially raised pond (including mind) which ends up looking like a brick rectangle.
Couple of things. Firstly would suggest you use 2" pipe on the return from filter through pump and uv rather than 11/2", minimal extra expense and u will get more from your pump. Secondly whats the leccy usage like on that pump you mention. You dont sound like you need a pump with a lot of pressure so a cheaper one to run would be an aquamax.
steveW wrote:you need Bottom drain to filter to pump to UV to pond, if you can run a skimmer then put UV on it. put the return below surface level. the ideal is to have two returns one in each opposite corner- so you create a circular current in the pond. this helps pull the crud to the BD. would recomend an airated BD as a must.
normally the 4in into the drain is direct to the filter via a valve, then after emptying filter (cleaning cycle) you open valve fully this then purges the BD and pipework, so no need for a T joint. then put all the filter drains to the garden/waste.
pond construction sounds about right, but make sure you put some reinforcing mesh in the base or use fibres if you can include the above skimmer it would be better as you will regret not fitting at a later date. also go fibreglass.
good luck and remember you can always ask questions here
Well, thank you Steve for sharing with us that information. Your idea is much better for draining and cleaning to filter to pump to pond, and that can help everyone to clean their pond. Now, I know that it normally the drain is direct to the filter via a valve, then after emptying the filter (cleaning cycle) you open valve fully this then purges the BD and pipe work, so no need for a T joint, then put all the filter drains to the garden/waste. Thank you again.
then put all the filter drains to the garden/waste.
if you can include the above skimmer it would be better as you will regret not fitting at a later date. also go fibreglass.
