Go Back   :::.Nissan 4x4 Owners Club.::: > General > The Clubs Virtual Pub

The Clubs Virtual Pub For general chat, so come on in and pull up a chair.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 13-05-2018, 12:59   #16
macabethiel
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Derby
Vehicle: Freelander & Jeep GC 3.0
Posts: 4,415
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by jims-terrano View Post
Now you have added an extra complication it was at back of my mind that I may add a filter system later and that green water is a given thing with ponds. Kept fish tanks for years but not for a long time now so I understand the mechanics of tank filtration but never really messed with ponds. I’ve seen these big ugly black boxes stuck above water level so assumed that is what it looks like.
So now I need more info and should I now be including a filter system.
My filtration System pumps around 2500 galls per hour that sounds a lot but its about right.
I have a gravity fed brush filter cabinet that is a big plastic water tank, its is the size of two standard square manhole covers. The outlet from the pond side is made from domestic underground toilet waste pipe and connects into the tank. The water tank is divided into two parts the part near the pond connection contains 9 brush filters they are about 18" long & about 8" in diameter. I have a big coarse screen over the pond outlet to prevent fish from being drawn into the filter. The screen is made up from plastic grid sheets cable tied together forming a box that is about a foot square.

The second half of the water tank contains plastic filter medium and the pond pump sits in the bottom like a sump arrangement. The pump outlet is 1.5" Bartol waste pipe mostly push fit. The outlet pipe then runs to the bottom of our garden ( buried underground) where behind our garage so it hidden between the rear boundary wall & the garage wall sits a Concrete Mini Skip that is around 4 ft x 2.5 ft x 2 ft the feed from the pump enters from the inline uV filter & is connected to the bottom of the |Mini Skip. The Mini Skip has a grid base with more filter medium in it. The side of the MIni Skip contains a gravity return to the pond all concealed underground up until it enters the far pond. The Mini Skip I found on an embankment off the A38 part full uf concrete it is made out of a strong Poly-Plastic material with a galvanised steel frame built around the top lip.

I have two diverter valves to restrict the flow so the skip does not overflow due to the slowish gravity return. The Mini Skip is about 4 ft above ground level. A second diverter valve is fitted to the water tank outlet so that the excess pump flow is returned back into the smaller pond. The greater flow is just back into the small pond, the gravity return section from the Mini Skip is a flow of only around 10 galls per minute this is my main Nitrate removal section. Being bottom fed by the pump it can never block up.

When I am back home I will post some pictures - we have a site meeting this Tuesday giving us a firm completion date probably early half of June.
macabethiel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-05-2018, 14:28   #17
jims-terrano
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 12,965
Default

That sounds a very complex setup you have, a lot to think about with a pond. Not just a hole in the ground with water in it.

Sounds like good news about your house
jims-terrano is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-05-2018, 18:00   #18
jims-terrano
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 12,965
Default

Have been having a look online at filters, a lot seem to pump from pond into filter and then gravity feed back into the pond. Been looking at a Hozelok 10,000 litre with UV integrated but not too sure if that would be enough.

Also what happens to the pump and filter in frosty winter conditions, do you have to keep it running all the time?
jims-terrano is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 13-05-2018, 18:30   #19
macabethiel
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Derby
Vehicle: Freelander & Jeep GC 3.0
Posts: 4,415
Default Best to leave some circulation running.

Quote:
Originally Posted by jims-terrano View Post
Have been having a look online at filters, a lot seem to pump from pond into filter and then gravity feed back into the pond. Been looking at a Hozelok 10,000 litre with UV integrated but not too sure if that would be enough.

Also what happens to the pump and filter in frosty winter conditions, do you have to keep it running all the time?
The Nitrifying Bacteria mostly die off in the winter as they have little in the way of Nitrites to convert into Nitrate so technically you do not need the filter to run in the winter.

However there are lots of reasons to keep some flow in the winter especially if you have leaves etc falling into the pond. Another advantage is it does reduce the chance of the pond freezing over except in the case of severe winter weather.

On the downside it can lead to colder water than normal as the circulation hampers the temperature inversion process as water approaches freezing point. When we have had really bad winters (2 in the last 20 years for us in Derby) when the ponds both froze over I simply dropped the water level by an inch or so. This left the Ice in place with a film of air between the ice & the moving lower water surface.

I am not a big fan of using Barley Straw or extract due to its altering the water pH pushing it towards the acidic side.
macabethiel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 14-05-2018, 18:07   #20
jims-terrano
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: UK
Posts: 12,965
Default

Have been watching a few videos on YouTube from a bloke in the north east. He seems to of built a few ponds out of concrete and a couple of coats of render with pond paint over the top.
He’s also spent time talking through filters. One idea he suggested is moving the pump on to a shelf so the deeper sections stay at a stable temperature for over wintering fish.
jims-terrano is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 14-05-2018, 22:42   #21
macabethiel
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Derby
Vehicle: Freelander & Jeep GC 3.0
Posts: 4,415
Default Concrete Sealers

Quote:
Originally Posted by jims-terrano View Post
Have been watching a few videos on YouTube from a bloke in the north east. He seems to of built a few ponds out of concrete and a couple of coats of render with pond paint over the top.
He’s also spent time talking through filters. One idea he suggested is moving the pump on to a shelf so the deeper sections stay at a stable temperature for over wintering fish.
I have tried concrete sealing paints about 25 years ago on a previous pond I found that it lost water generally, after a winter it would also leak on the waterline due to frost damage peeling off the paint. The water loss was not too bad in the summer due to algae growing on the sides but in the winter when it dies back it would leak about a gallon a day. Out of the 600 gallons of the above ground pond that might not seem much but new water raises the Nitrate levels and that feds the growth of green water.

Some of the newer flat roof repair sealants that contain glass fibre strands might be good as an undercoat sealant. TBH the game has moved on so new products might work they seem a cheaper and faster method.

The shelf idea is a good one, in my case it does not really apply as there is no outlet on my deep pond just a return inlet so the flow is by way of return water disturbance.
macabethiel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 15-05-2018, 07:28   #22
elty001
Senior Member
Click here to find out how to become a paid up member
 
elty001's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Aflreton,Derbyshire.
Vehicle: 2000se+ 2.7tdi terrano II
Posts: 6,813
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by jims-terrano View Post
Have been having a look online at filters, a lot seem to pump from pond into filter and then gravity feed back into the pond. Been looking at a Hozelok 10,000 litre with UV integrated but not too sure if that would be enough.

Also what happens to the pump and filter in frosty winter conditions, do you have to keep it running all the time?
During the winter i reduce the flow on my pump and lift it nearer the surface of the pond so the deeper water stays warmer.
elty001 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 07:05.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Images online photo albums