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I have two needs that are currently unmet in my new pond design.
But what if you could achieve both with a single, extremely efficient air lift pump? Air lift pumps can move a lot of water with very little energy, but they can't achieve any head height at all, so they're really only good for circulation or to push to a gravity filter.
Here's a drawing I made that would explain how this idea would work:
The intake for the air lift pump would be a gravel suction grid at the bottom of the pond, covered in pond gravel, which would colonize bacteria that would break down waste as water is pulled through the grid.
The output would be plumbed just below water level in the dead zone to create surface agitation and push any debris there back into the path of the natural current to the skimmer.
I can't find a lot of into on designing air lift pumps, but they seem relatively simple. I have no idea if this will actually work or not, but it seems like it ought to.
Can anyone provide guidance on this design?
- Some way to keep the bottom clean.
- A return jet in an anticipated dead spot.
But what if you could achieve both with a single, extremely efficient air lift pump? Air lift pumps can move a lot of water with very little energy, but they can't achieve any head height at all, so they're really only good for circulation or to push to a gravity filter.
Here's a drawing I made that would explain how this idea would work:
The intake for the air lift pump would be a gravel suction grid at the bottom of the pond, covered in pond gravel, which would colonize bacteria that would break down waste as water is pulled through the grid.
The output would be plumbed just below water level in the dead zone to create surface agitation and push any debris there back into the path of the natural current to the skimmer.
I can't find a lot of into on designing air lift pumps, but they seem relatively simple. I have no idea if this will actually work or not, but it seems like it ought to.
Can anyone provide guidance on this design?