I am interested in fixing my pond issues (fish health was poor) from last year and want to add a bio-filtration system and UV. Also, I considered taking the liner out and putting in a drain (a ton of work but important.) Does anyone here use venturi's and how do they get plumbed in?
bio-filter recommendations-2000 gal pond
Are the venturi filters made my tetra? I don't know that brand.
I'm know I'm prejudiced but the matala biostep is a great, easy filter. It says it fitlers a 1300 gallon koi pond but it also says 2600 gallon pond. I think it could handle 2000 gallons, you would just have to clean it more but it is very easy to clean. They come with UVs. I have only a 11 watt UV on my 2000 gallon pond and my water is crystal clear. The matala matting is awesome, lots of area for bacteria.
I also like the savio living ponds versatile filter. I don't have one but I have been very happy with everything savio I buy because it is such good, sturdy stuff. It is easier to hide then the matala. I think that is rated for 5000 gallon pond which might be overkill but with koi, I don't think there is such a thing.
Where is your pump located? I would just have the pump run to the filter, to the waterfall. It would be very simple:) Good luck!
This would be a simple, low budget ( relatively speaking to a bead filter) compact addition. I use one on the small goldfish pond and it's performance has been outstanding. It's by far the easiest filter I've ever had to maintain. As a supplemental option it should be a good choice that wouldn't necessarily cause a big problem in sighting it. Mine is buried to the lid in the ground inside a nursery bucket with the bottom of the bucket cut out. That keeps the sides of the hole from collapsing, especially over the winter. In the winter I put a flat rock over the hole. I've done it for about 6 yrs. now. Also the replacement UV lamp ( every other year) doesn't require a second mortgage on the house to finance. It's the only filtration I have on the goldfish pond. I had to oversize the filter to allow it take the pressure from a pump strong enough to give a good flow over the waterfall because I have a lot of head, or lift as some call, it up to the waterfall. Works beautifully.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=14422
Fishmate 2000 or 3000 with UV
The filter from ground level. I'ts now buried a little deeper and completely disguised with a couple of big rocks and a large hosta.
Snapple what a great idea! I have a similar filter, the Laguna Pressurized 1400 and I've always had a problem with mud and it getting stuck in the hole. I've got to try the bucket thing!
Such clever people on Daves-Thanks for the input. So do I understand this right. I did a hole next to my skimmer and use a bucket or basket with the bottom out of it and use that for the bio filter. Now does this bio filter discharge the gunk into the hole or do I have to manually clean it weekly or something like that? I want it to work very well and be easy to maintain! Last summer I spent so much time around the pond cleaning and such and hospitalizing fish that I hardly enjoyed it. This year I want to change that! :)
I don't know about the Laguna. With the Fishmate you turn off the pump it's attached to and hook up a discharge hose to the third outlet on the filter. I have a piece of hose with a screw end on it just the right length to direct the gunk out to the garden bed by the pond. Then you turn a knob on the top of the filter from "run" to "clean". Turn the pump back on and run it for a couple of minutes until the discharge gunk slows way down and the water is clear. Turn the pump off for a couple of minutes, then run the pump again a second time for a couple more minutes with the filter still on "clean". Shut off the pump. Disconnect the discharge hose. Recap the filter outlet. Turn the knob back to run. Turn the pump back on and your done. Ten minutes - tops. Once a season you take the filter up and clean the foam blocks inside. So it's about ten minutes - max - 2 to 3 times a week to run the filter on clean and discharge the gunk, and one take apart cleaning mid season. That's it. It's really easy to maintain. Even the mid season " take apart" is simple. About 1/2hr to get it apart, rinsed and put back together. Make sure the connections are tight when you put it back in service. Also don't bang it around. Although the UV bulb is pretty well protected it's a good idea to handle the assembly carefully.
Because you're using pond water to back flush this filter you never "lose" the filter. Also it doesn't take up a whole lot of pond water to back flush either. You will probaly add some water to top the pond off afterwards but not a great deal. I really like mine. I first had a pressurized Cyprio Bio Force and it was very difficult to maintain. I was glad when the thing finally broke and I could replace it. The bucket is just to keep a neat opening in the ground that allows rain to drain and keeps the dirt off the filter. Any old nursery tub/pot large and deep enough will work. Just cut the bottom out.
Good information. Thanks for the input everyone!
BTW: Venturi's aren't filters but a air/water jet that circulates the pond water so that there are no dead spots.
I don't know that venturis really solve all dead spot problems. Jets work really well too and would be easier for you to install than a venturi:
http://www.sacramentokoi.com/SUBcategory.php?categoryKey=57&subCategoryKey=307&subCategoryName=Jets
Unless you are running a system year-round, you're also going to need to figure out how to winterize so that the pipes dont freeze in winter. For a gravity fed system, I think that the answer is to drain the pond by about a foot in fall so that water is no longer flowing out. That is what I plan on doing when I build my system. I don't know what the answer would be for a pump fed system, though.
That's an interesting strategy about drawing down the pond level for winter. If I did that I'd have a foot of liner exposed to UVrays ( which is said to be deleterious to pond grade EPDM) and it would look pretty ugly from November to late March too. Are you Shotcreting your pond?
Snapple-do you run your biofilter on the same pump that does your water falls or on a separate pump? If on the same pump does it slow down the flow to the waterfalls?
I am asking because I am concerned that my flow would be reduced to the stream if all are connected together. I am considering another pump and small falls for the bio filter-is that overkill?
L
I'm still on the fence on what I'm going to line the pond with. I will wait until next year to have both priced out. I am also going to have a few companies give quotes on the entire project, but will wait until 2010 since so much can change between now and then.
I thought that the newer Firestone liners are all guaranteed for 20 years against UV damage?
MM - In my both ponds, the pumps either pull or push the water through the bio-filters and up to the falls. Matching pond volume turnover in gph to filter capacity to head is probably the trickiest part of filtration, and the most critical.
I started figuring backwards. First determine the total pond/stream volume. Second determine what turnover rate you want. There are various rates given for koi ponds. I turn over the total water volume once an hour (2500 gph). Then I chose a biofilter that was large enough to biologically process that many gallons at that rate of flow with UV's that were equally capable. Next I measured the head distance. Then I chose a pump that could push that much water, given the head distance, through the skimmer filter and up to the waterfall filter briskly enough to aerate the water as it came over the falls, but not so fast that the filter couldn't process the biological waste. In the case of the koi pond I wound up with a Savio Living Ponds waterfall filter, Savio Skimmer and a pump that has a capacity to pump 3900 gph.
The little goldfish pond was trickier yet. Total stream/pond capacity is 480 gal. It has 22 feet of head. I had to use a pump with a rate of 600 gph (Danner MagDrive) and a FishMate 2000 filter ( with UV) to get the right flow. Matching all that stuff up is not easy. The filter is way over sized to handle the pump pressure. If I used a smaller pump the water was barely a trickle over the falls.
It's not possible (for me anyway) to give advice on pumping and filter capacity without some hard numbers. Gallons in the stream, gallons in the pond, what turnover rate you want achieve and the head distance. It doesn't even take into account space limitations, esthetics and how it would either add to what's going on now or integrate as a second system.
My turnover rate is very much on the high side. I wanted that because I wanted good aeration from turbulence at the waterfall. I got it!
IC - Yes Firestone is warranted from UV damage for 20 yrs. It's what I have too. I'm just not personally comfortable with exposed liner baking in the sun. It looks crappy and I can't get it out of my head that not being underwater where the UV rays are deflected is OK. It's just me.
My reasoning is that everything looks crappy in winter, so if I have to deal with some ugly exposed liner for a few months it will be better than dealing with frozen pipes : )
My pond turns over 2.5 times an hour. I really don't want to mess with what already works in my pond. I think another pump and small falls for the biofilter would be best for me. Does anyone else do it this way or is this some weird "Mole" thinking?
Wow! That's some fast turnover rate!
I never got my external pump up and running last year but running two pumps was my plan and I think that it would work fine. I was running my skimmer and one filter off my submersible and then run my bottom drain and another filter to the waterfall off the external. I think it is good because if something goes wrong with one pump you have the other. It is probably easier to plumb that way too.