Equipment final choice assistance please

[D&RW]

I am a newbie everyone, but I've done some research before coming and asking questions. Thanks in advance for your ideas and advice.
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new pond, nearly excavated, figure 8 with different width ends= 16 X 8-6 X variable depth 26"-38".

Aquafalls Medium Waterfall/Filter on order for 8 ft X 26" end--will install at 36-48" head. (Skimmer, bottom drain and pump to go at 6 ft X 38" )

Pondliner 45mil EDPM liner with underlayment on order.

Plan for plants, fish (probably just goldfish) & a frog or two. Looking forward to waterfall sounds.

Decisions are

1) Pump: between Pondmaster Hy-Drive 4800 in skimmer vs. Sequence 750/4200 external pump.
2) Skimmer: Atlantic PS4900 vs Pondmaster 5000 vs. Easypro Small.
3) Bottom Drain: under or over liner
4) UV light: Sentry 40W vs Aquatwist UV 57 vs Tetra UV3.

Questions:

1) Can bottom drain physically be routed into any of the above skimmers via bulkhead fitting?
2) Will either pump pull enough to bring water in through the skimmer AND the bottom drain using any of the skimmers?
3) can UV light be installed inline between bottom drain and skimmer if bottom drain above liner or is it better in line in line to the falls?

thanks again. I hope I haven't tread old paths that I could have found answers to by sorting through the threads. If so forgive me.

Rick

 

[roscogruen]

Rick,
did you ever hear back on this? i'm suprised to see zero replies to this post. hmm?
i'm digging a pond about the size of your pond. 12'x12'x2.5' (22" to 38"). I'm looking for a cheap pump that will be efficient. i found a Cal 5500gph pump for $165 but it used 580W. i saw one on a diagram on of the other garden pond forum posts and they used a 180W 5000gph pump. i'd like to find that pump.
rosco

 

[koiguy1969]

probably a Laguna pump they are very energy efficient.

 

[DrCase]

Laguna 4200 - 180 watts :icon_smile:

 

[D&RW]

Wow, what a blast from the recent, but seems like forever, past!!

Lotta water under the bridge at this point. Went with EasyPro 4700s. 280 watts per and reliable.

those laguna are sure energy efficient. way less energy usage.

Looking to expand my pond size; please see latest post. I think currently I have too many fish even though on paper I'm ok.

Rick

 

[roscogruen]

cool.

i'm not able to find a dealer selling Laguna 4200. petsmart can't find it in system and local fish store doesn't have it in stock (they are pricey anyhow).

i've sent in an email for Hagen Laguna pump company. first i need to know if it will pump around 4,000 gallons at 6' pulling through a skimmer.

it is too late to call tonight and i'm busy tomorrow.

thanks for everyone suggestion laguna. hopefully it can do the job required. if not, i'll get an evolution ES that is an external pump which isn't what i'm looking for but it doesn't suck energy.

 

[koikeepr]

Go with the Sequence 750 hands down. The laguna pump everyone is mentioning is very good, but it's a submersible. If you can swing the Sequence, go for it. I just upgraded from a Laguna to Sequence. It is MILES easier to maintain it. You don't have to get in the water to retrieve it, you'll get more power for lower power consumption, etc. That pondmaster pump you mention is excellent, but a complete wattage hog. Watch out on your electric bill with that one!

If you are building from scratch, it will always be better to have an underliner BD versus an over the liner one. An over the liner one is a retro BD for folks that either forgot or didn't put one in. I'm in that boat. The person who built my pond 12 years ago, did not put in a BD, so now I use an AquaArt Retro BD. It works well, but no where near as good as a real BD.

You can route your BD into a skimmer if you want, but I have mine set up so that my BD and my skimmer independently go directly into my 55 gal barrel and then go into the pump and finally enter an old laguna pressure filter I had.

Usually, the UV light is put inline at the end of your system at the point where the water is cleaned.

Hope some of this helps.

 

[D&RW]

Haven't tried or heard the sequence pumps. But I did try a Little Giant out of pond pump advertised to be quiet--it was not quiet. Could have been defective, but it was definitely not quiet.

I too have the AquaArt BD. Works pretty well. When I increase the size of the pond this winter i'll put in a regular under bottom drain.

Be sure on the head calculations you're doing. It's amazing how fast pipe, fittings and such add up. Some pond accessories have flow limitations, e.g. UV lights or bead filters. Otherwise, I'd suggest counting on going bigger than you think you'll need. For example, my EasyPro 4700s drop from 4700 to 3780 @ 6ft of head. So if you want 4000 you may have to go with something in the 5000gph range.

Here's a link for head calculations based on pipe size, length and fittings. Free Pond Calculators ... Save Money ... Make Informed Choices

cheers,

 

[roscogruen]

D&RW,
Thanks for the link. i've bookmarked it and will use it.

i posted on another thread that we are going with Untitled Document "evolution ES 4500 pump." the dude there, steve came recommended from someone on this site.

Huge Thanks! to everyone for sharing so much information. i'm not sure if there is a right pump, or perfect pump, but this one fit the desired tasks best.

My next thread, maybe in a day or two will be where to dig the pit for the pump.

 

[roscogruen]

....The person who built my pond 12 years ago, did not put in a BD, so now I use an AquaArt Retro BD. It works well, but no where near as good as a real BD.
You can route your BD into a skimmer if you want, but I have mine set up so that my BD and my skimmer independently go directly into my 55 gal barrel and then go into the pump and finally enter an old laguna pressure filter I had.

Usually, the UV light is put inline at the end of your system at the point where the water is cleaned.

Hope some of this helps.

? - Yes, it does help and it is pointing me towards best designing this nightmare into a dream. --> How do you get the water from the pond BD & skimmer to the 55 gal barrel? is your barrel below the level of your BD? could you or someone save me the time of going through each thread to find a good simple design of using an external pump to pull from skimmer, push through a single or double Skippy filter system and then up to a waterfall?

 

[koikeepr]

? - Yes, it does help and it is pointing me towards best designing this nightmare into a dream. --> How do you get the water from the pond BD & skimmer to the 55 gal barrel? is your barrel below the level of your BD? could you or someone save me the time of going through each thread to find a good simple design of using an external pump to pull from skimmer, push through a single or double Skippy filter system and then up to a waterfall?

Yes, your barrel must be just a few inches above water line as barrel filters work on gravity. In my case, I had to dig a 8 foot x 3 foot pit in the ground. And then I made a top out of decking to cover all the equipment.

Here's how mine is set up:

I have my skimmer and BD that come into my upflow barrel through a Y (wye) pvc fitting, then it goes to my sequence 750 pump that has a leaf trap/primer pot on it.. Then the clean water travels through my pressure filter, which I happened to have and didn't want to abandon (but this isn't necessary, I'm just using it as extra filtration), and then the water flows back into my upper pond which waterfalls into my lower pond. And the whole cycle starts all over again.

So, its basically the simple design you are mentioning.

Now, if you are unable to get a gravity situation, then a pressure filter is a way to do it--since you can put one of those anywhere--up, down, or upside down.

Some folks still have their barrels above water line, but this is not the most efficient way to to it. Doesn't work well in terms of the pump either, as they are meant to "push" water and not "pull" it.

Not sure if I have clarified anything for you?