Pond pumps

Calculate the number of cubic metres and multiply the result by 1,000.

How you calculate the number of cubic metres will depend on the shape of the pond. If it was totally rectangular you'd be looking at 12,000 - 18,000 litres.
 
Thanks Check out how it looks here

znu3o2.jpg


Bit dirty at the moment
 
I have a koi pond about 5000 litres.

Selecting a pump you need to know the size of pond, the fish (amount and type), and what filtration you have.

I have an 8000 sized pump with a 9000 sized container filter with a veggie filter.

Koi need 2x the filtration and pump flow rate.

If the pump is attached to the filtration then you need it 24/7 to maintain the filter bacteria (good bacteria). Switching off will starve the filter of oxygen and you will end up with a foul smelling filter that doesn’t convert the fish waste.
In winter when the fish enter torpor and don’t eat then you can switch off to allow the warm water to sit at the bottom and the cold reduces the bacteria anyway. I leave mine on and even in -17 I’ve not had a problem. In fact the filter is ready for spring and the run on in winter results in the filter using up the remaining waste in the water. Better pond health in my view.
 
so in theory running pump not only keeps the water clean but it helps provide oxygen for the fish?

as you can see the pond is a mess right now, there are no fish in there, I want to get the pump sorted out and then buy some pond plants before I put fish in there
 
psd99 said:
so in theory running pump not only keeps the water clean but it helps provide oxygen for the fish?

as you can see the pond is a mess right now, there are no fish in there, I want to get the pump sorted out and then buy some pond plants before I put fish in there
Click to expand...

Both fish and the bacteria that convert the fish waste to non toxic substances (nitrogen cycle) need oxygen.

I have a air pump and two stones that provide additional oxygen plus the small water fall from the veggie filter.

Oxygen also occurs at the pond surface but the water needs to move to make it more efficient. The stones also move water.

Any dead veggie matter at the bottom will also consume oxygen as the bacteria work on it. Some matter ok but a thick layer of rotting (eggy smell) is no good.

My pond flow cycles from the waterfall to the pump at the other side. The stones then help the left to right cycling.

I also have plants to soak up the converted waste.
 
If the pond has been sat there neglected - clean the filter, the pump and the bottom of the pond.

My filter has a UV tube too- this kills the pea soup algae but leaves the string algae. If the pond isn’t in a lot of sun you should find that less of a problem.

There may be fish and wildlife in there too.

Edit: auto-typo
 
Last edited:
NickK said:
If the pond has been sat there neglected - clean the filter, the pump and the bottom of the pond.

My filter has a UV tube too- this kills the pea soup algae but the the string algae. If the pond isn’t in a lot of sun you should find that less of a problem.

There may be fish and wildlife in there too.
Click to expand...

I cleaned the pond out last year there was horrible muck at the bottom. one of the worse jobs ever! no fish in there now, but there were lots of newts ewww lol

I never filled it up again, it ended up being rain water that got it up to where it is today.

you can see that it actually needs more water, but I'm reading that it takes week or months to set a pond up so that fish can feel comfortable in there with the right bacteria levels.
 
Yup it takes time for the bacteria to get in there and the filter. Does the pond have a filter or is it just a waterfall + pump?

You can get “fresh start” filter gel which has bacterial in and will kick start the pond but once that’s in just add a couple of hardly goldfish to start the nitrogen lifecycle.
 
NickK said:
Yup it takes time for the bacteria to get in there and the filter. Does the pond have a filter or is it just a waterfall + pump?

You can get “fresh start” filter gel which has bacterial in and will kick start the pond but once that’s in just add a couple of hardly goldfish to start the nitrogen lifecycle.
Click to expand...


It has a filter on top of the pond, someone spent a lot of time and effort making this pond and it must have been expensive.

the filter is on higher ground with two outlets I think, and the water trickles down into the pond from two points running over some type of welsh stones.
it is beautiful to see and listen to

maybe i will take a picture of the filter, do u think I need to replace the insides? its quite a big filter. with brushes inside of it full of big spiders too.
 
Picture of the inside of the filter/type would be good.

It sounds like the pump water flows through the chambers (non pressurised) How it’s set up will give more pointers.
 
NickK said:
Picture of the inside of the filter/type would be good.

It sounds like the pump water flows through the chambers (non pressurised) How it’s set up will give more pointers.
Click to expand...

I will get them on here

just keen to see what pump model I have at the moment
looks quite old and a bit rusty to me, looks a bit like a cylinder
 
Edit found one pic just about

It looks like this from the outside

zmiouq.jpg


Brushes in one side of the compartment
The other side has I think small bits of plastic pipe in that compartment. Bit strange when I saw that!

Why would there be two pipes coming out of it though?

Never understood the system
 
Ok so the brushes are a form of detritus filtering and plastic pieces are there to give bacteria more surface area.

My filtration goes pump -> canister (UV -> plastic bits -> foam blocks) -> veggie filter -> waterfall -> pond

The idea is to make as much surface area for the bacteria to worksithout clogging up.

If those systems block they usually overflow over the top of the media chambers and bypass them. The two pipes are to prevent one blocking and causing the system to overflow completely.

The pipes then allow a drop to agitate water.

Once we know the details we can get you some reading to explain the system.

It looks like you have quite a head of water (height above the pond) so that would been checking for the pump too.
 
Step 1 trace the components
Step 2 photo them
Step 3 explain what it going on (in theory)
Step 4 look at what needs fixing
Step 5 what needs maintainable on a regular basis
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom