Advice for pond filters and soft water

[Block01]

Hi everyone.
I am building a 7000 litre pond and have filled it with tap water and resting for a month before i take the next step. Going forward I was going to use harvested gutter water (soft non clorinated) to top the pond up. Is that a good idea?. Secondly I am building a water fall and was hoping to put a pump in the bottom of the pond and a filter at the top by the water fall. Any advice on the best filter to position at this point? or would I be better fitting a pond skimmer at the bottom?
Thanks in advance, looking forwart to next summer .

 

[GBBUDD]

There is two sides to taking water off the roof. Some say it has toxins from the asphalt roofing and is not advisable to use. I on the other hand say you can't get better water unless you have access to a spring. The rain is what the fish live in where ever they may come from. I have one down spout pouring from the drain to the pond as a refill. The pond has an overflow so the water level doesn't get to a point that the fish can easily get out. and if there's a lot of rain it's acts as a water change, I do hope to install a underground cistern down the road I have run out of time.

 

[j.w]

@Block01

 

[Stephen Noble]

I have used rainwater in my small garden pond for many years and have no problems. Two ways to do it: directly into a pond as long as you have an overflow or better yet, first into a rain barrel where you can let any debris settle before adding the water to the pond. You will be ‘golden’ if you have a tile roof since there will be very little debris. I like skimmers at the far end of the pond with the return, filtered water reentering at the other end via waterfall. By the way, welcome to the forum!
Stephen

 

[sissy]

I don't want roof water in my pond .The grit alone from the roof is enough to say no and then you add in water ever gets on your roof and in your gutters is enough to say no .I have seen gutters that smelled worse than an open sewer .My one sisters is like that every time they clean it out .I use 2 filters 1 on each end of my pond and what ever may blow in gets scooped out with the pool net

 

[Lisak1]

We run our sump pump to the pond. Never had an issue. I would have no issue with water off my roof either.

@sissy why in the world would a gutter smell like anything at all, let alone a sewer? Gutters shouldn't be holding water or have any standing water in them if they're installed correctly, which is the only way I can imagine anything starting to smell. And the only thing that should be in your gutters is leaves which would just smell like, well, rotting leaves.

If you're concerned about the grit off the roof you can install a filter that will strain it out. When our roof was newly installed we had a few hard rainfalls when we had a lot of shingle grit in the discharge. After that - nothing. If you're referring to plain old dirt that collects on the roof, well that's going in your pond anyway - that's the same dirt that's in the air and gets "washed out" of the air every time it rains. Where do you think that goes?

 

[Tara]

I collect rain water also, but if using it for a pond you need to be aware of its ph. Where I am located in the North East U.S., we have some of the worst acid rain, so the ph is around 5.5. So with my tap water been soft I run into ph problems fast without a good buffer. Now that I have a pond I need to figure out a system to correct it's ph before it goes in the pond. It's all well and good been told to use rain water and it should be fine, but that's not the case for everyone depending on location. Where I live volunteers collect water from local rivers, wetlands, ponds etc, it is then sent to a university here in Massachusetts that monitors the ph from rain, snowmelt and runoff , as it has negative impacts in the wild also. Look up your location online or test it your rain water, that way you can correct it if needs be without unplanned issues.

 

[sissy]

Have you ever cleaned a gutter with built up gunk .Then you would never know ..The other house I bought was liike that and man the smell was bad ..Ask anyone who bought a house that the gutters were not cleaned and the answer will be the sane ,it stunk .My first house and second house up in NJ were the same way ,the gutters were never cleaned

 

[Lisak1]

,the gutters were never cleaned

I have - we had one gutter that the leaves had actually turned to compost. I wouldn't call it a sewer smell though - actually it's a nice earthy smell. But in any case, if people maintain their gutters I don't think there's any concern with the water running into the pond. Just because something stinks doesn't mean it's dangerous.

 

[sissy]

Then why do leaves on the bottom of the pond cause a problem ,remember birds poop on your roof and bacteria can grow .The doctors even say you should never clean your gutters without protective gloves .

 

[Lisak1]

Not worth debating. If you're afraid to touch the leaves from your gutters with your bare hands, that's fine. I've never heard a doctor say not to clean your gutters with your bare hands, but I take everything doctors say with a grain of salt - they're people just like you and me with their own ideas. They would tell you not to walk outside with bare feet, too I'm sure. Birds poop in your pond, in your grass, on your patio - birds poop everywhere. I'm not afraid of the natural world.

What we should be afraid of is government making laws that tell us we can't catch and save rainwater, which is happening in some places already. And they use scare tactics like "bacteria will grow in the water". Water catchment has been going on since the beginning of time. To this day people use it to water their gardens and livestock without any issue. I bet more people have been hurt by water coming right out of their tap.

Again - do what makes you comfortable. Just wanted to add some balance to the conversation.

 

[sissy]

I go out in my bare feet and grew up on a farm but will never touch leaves in a gutter without gloves and will not get in my pond water .So have diseases and mosquito's that carry even worse diseases .Never heard of west nile when I was a child .It is a result of our pollution .People think electric cars save us ,well where does most electric come from ,fossil fuels .Reason dan river is adding a solar panels to help with this .They may not be pretty but useful.plus the older you get the more you watch these things as a child I never thought of these things being out there and maybe they were but not all over like now

 

[Lisak1]

How are gutter leaves different than any other leaves @sissy ? I'm no more afraid to get in my pond than I was to swim in creeks and ponds and quarries and lakes when we were growing up. Again - to each their own. But you might want to put your shoes on - you can get tetanus from dirt.

Well that drifted far from the original question - hope we didn't scare you off @Block01 ! Did you get the answers you were looking for?

 

[sissy]

That was not nice ,very rude .You will learn when you make it to my age of 65 .No reason to be rude stating a point that times have changed and more diseases than ever before

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our group!

I have used gutter water to add water to my pond for years now, no issues. I have three gutters feeding the pond. It gets a great water turn over when it rains hard.

Our water is very soft and acidic. I have buffered it up using crushed oyster shells, also once the bog established itself the pond has stayed stable.