hey pond pros...need your help with 2 things...

[ryangrieder]

hey guys, my girlfriends father wants to upgrade his pump. his pond is maybe 900-1000 gallons. from the skimmer box to the top of the waterfall is around 8 feet going up a hill slightly, but not too steep. he just got a turbo twist 36w uv. he WANTS to hook up the uv right to the main line which i told him im pretty sure your not suppost to do so because its too much pressure and going through the skimmer too quickly so it will not prove anything. that is right...right? that wont work correct?

so first question would be what do you reccomend doing? hook the uv up to its own pump and let it just flow back into the pond either right into the main body or a long hose going to the top of the waterfall? or maybe just take another pump then hook it up the uv then get a Y pipe and join it into the main line? or is both of those idea wrong and you can help me on a better lead or idea?

second, i know they say take the gallons and x10 to find a good pump equal to your gallons but 10,000 gph pump seems crazy! he does not know what he has right now, the guy who did the pond just hooked it up for him and never told him the brand or gph. he said its a pool pump though he believes because its big. i dont know. what pump do you think he should go with? gph? brand? would just a big mag drive do the job like a mag24? the pipe going to the top of the waterfall is 2 inch pipe. what do you think he should get?

 

[JARRETT SHARK]

hey guys, my girlfriends father wants to upgrade his pump. his pond is maybe 900-1000 gallons. from the skimmer box to the top of the waterfall is around 8 feet going up a hill slightly, but not too steep. he just got a turbo twist 36w uv. he WANTS to hook up the uv right to the main line which i told him im pretty sure your not suppost to do so because its too much pressure and going through the skimmer too quickly so it will not prove anything. that is right...right? that wont work correct? He can tee of the pump with a valve to reduce flow

so first question would be what do you reccomend doing? hook the uv up to its own pump and let it just flow back into the pond either right into the main body or a long hose going to the top of the waterfall? or maybe just take another pump then hook it up the uv then get a Y pipe and join it into the main line? or is both of those idea wrong and you can help me on a better lead or idea? More pumps add electric

second, i know they say take the gallons and x10 to find a good pump equal to your gallons but 10,000 gph pump seems crazy! he does not know what he has right now, the guy who did the pond just hooked it up for him and never told him the brand or gph. he said its a pool pump though he believes because its big. i dont know. what pump do you think he should go with? gph? brand? would just a big mag drive do the job like a mag24? the pipe going to the top of the waterfall is 2 inch pipe. what do you think he should get?

is the pump internal or external??

 

[ryangrieder]

i believe internal seeing its in the skimmer box

 

[DrHarryLopez]

While higher flow rates may be acceptable for killing algae and some bacteria, you will usually need a much slower flow rate to kill parasites. For example, a 15 watt bulb will usually kill algae and bacteria with a 120 gph flow, but you will need to lower the flow rate to around 75 gph for it to effectively kill parasites. Read the manufacturers recommendations for flow rate.

As far as a pump is concerned I'd try to find the most energy efficiency pump. I have 2 Dolphin AMP master 3000's. Each only pulls 1.8 amp!

 

[ryangrieder]

well he did not get the uv for parisites, mainly to clear his water up and algae.

and i know about those pumps, they have like max 3600 gph with 1.5 inch piping. but how many gallons is your pond? thats what im trying to figure out what gph i need for a 900g pond because 9,000 gph sounds crazy large and wrong if you do the whole x10 thing.

 

[DrHarryLopez]

Hmmm, well I have a ~2ooo gal pond. With two pumps running in tandem.

I have a bunch of elbows, unions, gate valves, and lenghts of 1 1/2 flexible and pipe pvc. I forgot the formula but basically for each elbow twist turn height and feet of pipe that the water needs to pass before it gets released into the waterfall, you should add 1 foot of head to the pump,

Your pump needs to push water 8' with 2" piping. Thats a lot of pessure a pump needs to fight.

Found this;
[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"To determine the pump required for your pond, estimate the vertical height from the top of your pump to the top of your waterfall or stream. Add another foot of height or lift for every 10 feet of hosing you will be using. This will allow for loss of volume from resistance within the hose[/FONT]."

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]"It is recommended that the water in a basic pond be turned between ? to 1 times per hour. A 500-galon pond should have at least a 500 Gallon Per Hour pump.[/FONT]'

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Recommended Tubing Diameter For Pumps To Waterfalls. [/FONT]​

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] 1/2-inch diameter for flows up to 120gph
3/4-inch diameter for flows up to 350gph
1-inch diameter for flows up to 1000gph
1 1/4 inch for flows up to 1500 gph
1 1/2 inch for flows up to 3000 gph [/FONT]​

Clearly 2" can carry much more water but also requires a stronger pump

Mag 24
Head Height (in feet) Gallons per Hour 0'2175 1'1910 3'1710 5'1630 7'1345 10'1100

Finally The Mag 24 in my opinion may not be strong enough for that pond. At 1100 gph and thats just in head height may only trickle down the water fall.

Maybe consider Pondmaster WFP4800 Magnetic Drive Waterfall Pump, 4800 GPH $279

Hope this helps
Harry

 

[ryangrieder]

Thanks a lot that does help. I'm going to show him that pump tonight.

Do u have a uv? How is yours set up? Would you think he could hook it up right to the main line or would the way I said before be more efficent?

 

[gnorts]

ryan he would want a 3000 gph pump it internal look at this on tsrumi 3pl you can find it on allaquascape.com

 

[ryangrieder]

that is a nice pump as well, thank u for that option, ill show him tonight.

i still need some opinions on this uv and where it should be placed.

 

[UnknownWaters]

ryan he would want a 3000 gph pump it internal look at this on tsrumi 3pl you can find it on allaquascape.com

WOW the pond god showed his face? nice to see you.

 

[KathyC]

The Turbo Twist 36W requires 400-1200 gph to run effectively. He could use a Mag 7 as a feed pump if he keeps the unit within a few feet of the pump. My UV is at the opposite end of my waterfall so there is additional 'flow' at that end of the pond.

Best to nestle the pump in between 2 pond plant baskets (tied together with cable ties) to keep any pond debris away from the pump intake. I find the foam sleeves clog too quickly.

Waterfalls are built in so many different ways and if he doesn't have a huge amount of water flowing from it, he may not need that large a pump for the pond itself. My pond is about 2,000 gallons and I only run a Mag 18 on it, but my waterfall is on the small side.

Can you post a pic of the pond?

 

[ryangrieder]

yes i can. thanks alot kathy! will post in a few moments.

 

[ryangrieder]

here are a few pics and a video. hopefully in the video you can see the distance between the skimmer box and the top of the water fall, and the angle of the fall....

and yes i know, a little overkill on plants, its time for a cutting this weekend on some so you can actually see it lol...but he likes all the plants because the fish have a large section of shade...

Click the first image for video!!!

 

[DrHarryLopez]

very very nice, i like the natural look!

 

[ryangrieder]

thanks, and yeah so does he. he does not want to cut the plants apparently that much because in pictures its hard to see the pond, but when your in front of it, it is more open. but he loves how it looks like it could be is a forrest of something with all the plants going down the waterfall and over half the pond. next month he wants to shut up down and extend the water fall 2-3 more levels. yay another fun project lol.

 

[KathyC]

thanks, and yeah so does he. he does not want to cut the plants apparently that much because in pictures its hard to see the pond, but when your in front of it, it is more open. but he loves how it looks like it could be is a forrest of something with all the plants going down the waterfall and over half the pond. next month he wants to shut up down and extend the water fall 2-3 more levels. yay another fun project lol.

Is that why he wants to change the pump? IMO the current pump looks to be doing a fine job. He will need to remember that by increasing the height, he is going to have even more evaporation.

He could add the UV at the bottom where the skimmer box is (as I mentioned earlier) and build something to hide it down there & protect it somewhat from the elements, he certainly doesn't need more flow! lol It could be run with an Maxi Jet per the requirements from Turbo Twist.

Nice spread btw - when's the next party?

 

[JARRETT SHARK]

I like the pond!!
man if i had the property i would build a "lake"

 

[ryangrieder]

Nice spread btw - when's the next party?

haha trust me id love to throw a big mr party here! problem is...i live too far away from everyone:irked:. if people from here would be willing to travel id have a big fun party here. pool, hot tub, horse shoe pit, pool table, darts, a big grill, smoker, and a deep frier. it would be a blast

. but id feel bad for everyone to travel all the way to sussex...

but im going to take ur advice kathy. on that uv and put it in the skimmer box and hide it. thanks again!

man if i had the property i would build a "lake"

haha dude you will need to build a mini ocean instead of a lake to house those sharks of yours in lol. but i agree. a nice mini lake in the back would be nice. id throw a boat in it too and hangout out there all day long drinking some beers and fish for my own fish lol.

 

[DrHarryLopez]

I like the pond!!
man if i had the property i would build a "lake"

Man your mantra is "Go big or go bust!"

 

[gnorts]

uv should be set with a different pump with about 500gph going through it or use a "manifold and ballvalve on the same pump