koiguy1969
GIGGETY-GIGGETY!!
eBAY.....lots to cloose from from Laguna under $200...some under $150
First time ponder- feedback and suggestions welcome!
- Thread starter lauraleellbp
- Start date
For some reason I always forget to look there. My local aquarium store sells them for alot more than that!! Even Foster & Smith is alot higher.
Yup, Ebay!
I really like the MaxFlo 2000 model, but I can't find the dimensions on that one posted anywhere and am not sure it will fit inside the filter? Anyone know how big they are?
If it won't fit I'll probably get the Laguna Powerjet 2150. It only has a 3 year warranty vs the MaxFlo's 4 year warranty, though.
I really like the MaxFlo 2000 model, but I can't find the dimensions on that one posted anywhere and am not sure it will fit inside the filter? Anyone know how big they are?
If it won't fit I'll probably get the Laguna Powerjet 2150. It only has a 3 year warranty vs the MaxFlo's 4 year warranty, though.
10-1/2" x 11" x 5-3/4" high.....You can also remove it from the cage...
10.5" x 11" yikes that's a big pump!
Do you know how big it is if you remove the cage, or if removing the cage voids the warranty? (I could probably look up that last part myself...)
Do you know how big it is if you remove the cage, or if removing the cage voids the warranty? (I could probably look up that last part myself...)
The cage should be able to be removed without damage to it, then it could just be put back on for warranty. My Harbor Freight pump looks just like this, there are three clips that hold it together. Just don't tell them you removed it..
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=12824
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=12824
I was looking at the MaxFlo 900. How big is that?
shakaho said:
8-3/4" x 10" x 5-3/4" high
Just a little more progress!
I just got home from finishing up some landscaping around my parents' house, and they surprised me after the project wad done by giving me the $$ for my pond filter!!
I'm also probably going to change the design a little on my pond. I've been reading how plant ledges encourage predators like racoons and herons, and since those are a problem year- round here I think I'm going to skip the built-in plant ledges and use plastic crate plant stands instead.
That should also raise the volume on my pond to around 600gal, and I certainly don't mind gaining more room for livestock!
I just got home from finishing up some landscaping around my parents' house, and they surprised me after the project wad done by giving me the $$ for my pond filter!!
I'm also probably going to change the design a little on my pond. I've been reading how plant ledges encourage predators like racoons and herons, and since those are a problem year- round here I think I'm going to skip the built-in plant ledges and use plastic crate plant stands instead.
That should also raise the volume on my pond to around 600gal, and I certainly don't mind gaining more room for livestock!
Well my filter arrived early- it was on the front porch when I got hometoday, and OMO this thing is a BEAST! Very heavy duty plastic, the filter lid is really heavy duty so I can literally stand on it with no problem at ALL (they weren't kidding that it's rated for 400lbs!), and the entire thing is huge!
I don't think the skimmer door is going to work the way it's advertized (it's supposed to float and adjust itself to the pond water level, but it tends to stick on the faceplate screws) and it doesn't have a weir door, so those are a few drawbacks, but I'll be able to work with that.
I really DO like the interior basket setup. I'm already planning some media upgrades, though. The first basket is the skimmer basket and that's huge. There's room for several coarse mechanical mats in there. The next basket has room for at least one or two more pads so I'm probably going to add some medium and finer grade matala pads in there. The third basket is full of bioballs, and I'm going to remove those and put them in the waterfall and put some more matala in that basket instead to really boost the pre-filter mechanical filtration. I may also sandwich in some disposable bonded pond media in the final basket for some water polishing, since I already have a roll that I cut to size and use for my canister filters. I say matala, but I'm going to price out matala versus the Laguna brand pre-cut pads and get whichever is cheapest, really. I know they make pads for this filter in the different grades.
My basic plan is to maximize the mechanical filtration in the Skimmer Filter(though of course those plastic pads are also excellent biofiltration) and use the FilterFalls mostly for biological filtration.
I won't have room for the Laguna MaxFlow 2000 in the back of the filter, so I'm going to go with the 2150 instead.
The biggest drawback for my own application is that there's no good way for me to plumb my bottom drain into the skimmer basket. The way the baskets are set up, a lot of the water coming in from the bottom drain may actually be able to bypass the media inside all the baskets, so I'm thinking I'll either put the filter pump inside a bag to protect it from debris coming in from the bottom drain, or perhaps sandwich a piece of matala outside of the baskets somewhere to block potential bypass to the back pump area.
I don't think the skimmer door is going to work the way it's advertized (it's supposed to float and adjust itself to the pond water level, but it tends to stick on the faceplate screws) and it doesn't have a weir door, so those are a few drawbacks, but I'll be able to work with that.
I really DO like the interior basket setup. I'm already planning some media upgrades, though. The first basket is the skimmer basket and that's huge. There's room for several coarse mechanical mats in there. The next basket has room for at least one or two more pads so I'm probably going to add some medium and finer grade matala pads in there. The third basket is full of bioballs, and I'm going to remove those and put them in the waterfall and put some more matala in that basket instead to really boost the pre-filter mechanical filtration. I may also sandwich in some disposable bonded pond media in the final basket for some water polishing, since I already have a roll that I cut to size and use for my canister filters. I say matala, but I'm going to price out matala versus the Laguna brand pre-cut pads and get whichever is cheapest, really. I know they make pads for this filter in the different grades.
My basic plan is to maximize the mechanical filtration in the Skimmer Filter(though of course those plastic pads are also excellent biofiltration) and use the FilterFalls mostly for biological filtration.
I won't have room for the Laguna MaxFlow 2000 in the back of the filter, so I'm going to go with the 2150 instead.
The biggest drawback for my own application is that there's no good way for me to plumb my bottom drain into the skimmer basket. The way the baskets are set up, a lot of the water coming in from the bottom drain may actually be able to bypass the media inside all the baskets, so I'm thinking I'll either put the filter pump inside a bag to protect it from debris coming in from the bottom drain, or perhaps sandwich a piece of matala outside of the baskets somewhere to block potential bypass to the back pump area.
A picture is worth a thousand words, so here's some pics, a few design revisions, and some new questions:
(Please ignore all the planters... they're all just temporary plant holders LOL)
I tweaked the hose outline today and re-measured, and this layout is actually 8.5' x 5' x3'. I plugged that back into a pond calculator and came up with just shy of 1000 gallons, and the calculator told me I need a 15x20 liner now rather than a 15x15. So that will be a bit more expense there.
So here's a pictoral layout of the filtration design:
Water will enter The Beast (as I'm now calling the Laguna Skimmer Filter) both through the skimmer opening (the filter will be buried, pond walls built up with dirt about 6" or so over ground level, and I'm anticipating the pond water level to be around where ground level is now) and through a bottom drain.
The bottom drain will probably be placed just to the left of where the big planter is sitting now.
I know a bottom drain technically isn't necessary on a pond this small, but I'm actually considering it another safety measure to make sure to keep water in the filter just in case my pond levels ever drop; evaporation in this part of the world is killer (I have to top off my 90gal tank inside the house about 20 gallons a WEEK this time of year...)
I'm planning on using 1.5' flex tubing to plumb the bottom drain into the front side of the filter, with a ball valve up against the filter to shut off the bottom drain when needed.
**Questions:
1. I'm looking at the 4" Koi Toilet II bottom drain since it's the only one I can find with a grate over the top to help keep small fish out. For some reason, the 4" is the only one I can find with the grate top option; is this the case, or do the smaller versions also come with grates? Or would there be a better BD for me to use rather than the Koi Toilet?
2. Is there any reason not to use 1.5" flex tubing to connect to the bottom drain (with pvc size adapters, obviously...)? Should I use rigid PVC at least part of the way to ensure stablity, or should it be OK as long as I still use a cement collar for the BD and follow Birdman's How To install thread?
3. I'll have to figure out some logistics with keeping the ball valve operational since it will be below ground level. Would I be better off with a knife valve?
(Please ignore all the planters... they're all just temporary plant holders LOL)
I tweaked the hose outline today and re-measured, and this layout is actually 8.5' x 5' x3'. I plugged that back into a pond calculator and came up with just shy of 1000 gallons, and the calculator told me I need a 15x20 liner now rather than a 15x15. So that will be a bit more expense there.
So here's a pictoral layout of the filtration design:
Water will enter The Beast (as I'm now calling the Laguna Skimmer Filter) both through the skimmer opening (the filter will be buried, pond walls built up with dirt about 6" or so over ground level, and I'm anticipating the pond water level to be around where ground level is now) and through a bottom drain.
The bottom drain will probably be placed just to the left of where the big planter is sitting now.
I know a bottom drain technically isn't necessary on a pond this small, but I'm actually considering it another safety measure to make sure to keep water in the filter just in case my pond levels ever drop; evaporation in this part of the world is killer (I have to top off my 90gal tank inside the house about 20 gallons a WEEK this time of year...)
I'm planning on using 1.5' flex tubing to plumb the bottom drain into the front side of the filter, with a ball valve up against the filter to shut off the bottom drain when needed.
**Questions:
1. I'm looking at the 4" Koi Toilet II bottom drain since it's the only one I can find with a grate over the top to help keep small fish out. For some reason, the 4" is the only one I can find with the grate top option; is this the case, or do the smaller versions also come with grates? Or would there be a better BD for me to use rather than the Koi Toilet?
2. Is there any reason not to use 1.5" flex tubing to connect to the bottom drain (with pvc size adapters, obviously...)? Should I use rigid PVC at least part of the way to ensure stablity, or should it be OK as long as I still use a cement collar for the BD and follow Birdman's How To install thread?
3. I'll have to figure out some logistics with keeping the ball valve operational since it will be below ground level. Would I be better off with a knife valve?
Here's the filtration setup inside. I love the basket design with the handles- those will really help in maintenance, and is one of the biggest reasons I went with this filter. I know from keeping planted tanks that I'm going to have to be hosing off the coarse media on a regular basis to keep plant leaves from clogging the filter up. I'm planning on moving the bioballs over to the waterfall (inside a bag) and probably cutting some blue and grey matala sheets down to add into the middle and rear baskets, respectively. The front basket is a coarse Laguna pad.
A Laguna PowerFlo 2150gph submersible filter will go in the rear of the filter with 1.5" flex tubing running out the side hole (this filter is nice as it allows these holes for intakes and outputs and also has several small notches for running cords, too.)
The 1.5" tubing will be buried and run across this wall over to the Filterfalls.
I'll play around with the height on the falls some, and I'm planning on surrounding the falls with rockwork, but I think there's a good chance the filter is going to sit right at the height it is now. A bag of bioballs is going to go on top of the Laguna mat sitting in there now. (I'm not a huge fan of bioballs actually, I like ceramic media much better, but they came with the filter so I'll use em...)
A Laguna PowerFlo 2150gph submersible filter will go in the rear of the filter with 1.5" flex tubing running out the side hole (this filter is nice as it allows these holes for intakes and outputs and also has several small notches for running cords, too.)
The 1.5" tubing will be buried and run across this wall over to the Filterfalls.
I'll play around with the height on the falls some, and I'm planning on surrounding the falls with rockwork, but I think there's a good chance the filter is going to sit right at the height it is now. A bag of bioballs is going to go on top of the Laguna mat sitting in there now. (I'm not a huge fan of bioballs actually, I like ceramic media much better, but they came with the filter so I'll use em...)
OK so now onto my current design challenge... the logistics of plumbing a bottom drain into this filter.
First of all, due to the basket design inside the filter there's not a lot of room in there, and if I don't put the bottom drain as close to the front of the filter as possible then the incoming water won't get filtered well before hitting my pump- something I really want to avoid.
I'm overall really happy with the design of this filter, but have actually become rather skeptical of the "floating weir door." First of all, I'm not sure that it actually serves any purpose since there's no flap on it (someone please correct me on this if I'm wrong?), and second, it tends to get stuck on the faceplate screws so I'm pretty sure it won't float up and down with the water level like the instructions say it's supposed to.
So unless someone has a better idea or thinks I'd be better off leaving the floating "door" in place, I'm thinking of removing it to give me more room to bring in the bottom drain at the very front (this picture has both the floating door removed and the skimmer basket so you can see how little space there is to work with...)
And this picture is with both in place
Any feedback or suggestions?
First of all, due to the basket design inside the filter there's not a lot of room in there, and if I don't put the bottom drain as close to the front of the filter as possible then the incoming water won't get filtered well before hitting my pump- something I really want to avoid.
I'm overall really happy with the design of this filter, but have actually become rather skeptical of the "floating weir door." First of all, I'm not sure that it actually serves any purpose since there's no flap on it (someone please correct me on this if I'm wrong?), and second, it tends to get stuck on the faceplate screws so I'm pretty sure it won't float up and down with the water level like the instructions say it's supposed to.
So unless someone has a better idea or thinks I'd be better off leaving the floating "door" in place, I'm thinking of removing it to give me more room to bring in the bottom drain at the very front (this picture has both the floating door removed and the skimmer basket so you can see how little space there is to work with...)
And this picture is with both in place
Any feedback or suggestions?
Laura,
I can't make suggestions on plumbing. :regular_waving_emot
When I look at your planned pond boundary, the first thing that comes to mind is, "What if they want to wash the windows?" Maybe the picture doesn't show distances right, but it looks like you'd wind up with detergent in the pond -- if you could find a place to walk. I'm sensitive to this because I inherited a "water garden" from the previous owners that came too close to the house. Also the plants in the ground were right up to the house and to the pond. As a result, maintaining it was too much work for me to do it right. When I decided to redo it all (about when I came to this area when I painted the house), right at the top of my list was to give myself work space all the way around.
You know best what you can handle, but if it was my pond, I would put it right out to the sidewalk and leave a generous border between the pond and the house. Even with the borders I left around my pond, when I'm out there vacuuming it, I wish they were wider. I think it would also look great in that location if you raised the top of the pond a foot or two above ground level, but thats just a matter of personal taste.
You are going to have a wonderful pond. I look forward to seeing the final product.
Sharon
I can't make suggestions on plumbing. :regular_waving_emot
When I look at your planned pond boundary, the first thing that comes to mind is, "What if they want to wash the windows?" Maybe the picture doesn't show distances right, but it looks like you'd wind up with detergent in the pond -- if you could find a place to walk. I'm sensitive to this because I inherited a "water garden" from the previous owners that came too close to the house. Also the plants in the ground were right up to the house and to the pond. As a result, maintaining it was too much work for me to do it right. When I decided to redo it all (about when I came to this area when I painted the house), right at the top of my list was to give myself work space all the way around.
You know best what you can handle, but if it was my pond, I would put it right out to the sidewalk and leave a generous border between the pond and the house. Even with the borders I left around my pond, when I'm out there vacuuming it, I wish they were wider. I think it would also look great in that location if you raised the top of the pond a foot or two above ground level, but thats just a matter of personal taste.
You are going to have a wonderful pond. I look forward to seeing the final product.
Sharon
Thanks for the suggestions, Sharon!
There's going to be about 2' between the pond and the bay window there, so yes, it's going to be tight. I'm probably just going to use a window box-style planter there though, so that should be easy enough to move and work around.
I'm leaving just enough space at the front of the pond to lay down some of those concrete pavers. I may do what you're suggesting and try moving the pond a bit more forward, though... that's a good consideration.
I know a more formal pond with raised walls would look really nice here, but that's really not what I want. I haven't gone rock-hunting yet, but I'd love for this pond to look something like a natural Florida sinkhole that's partially overgrown with native plants... so I don't want it raised up high, and if I can find cheap pieces of limerock that will work to hold the liner around the edges, that's what I'm going to use.
There's going to be about 2' between the pond and the bay window there, so yes, it's going to be tight. I'm probably just going to use a window box-style planter there though, so that should be easy enough to move and work around.
I'm leaving just enough space at the front of the pond to lay down some of those concrete pavers. I may do what you're suggesting and try moving the pond a bit more forward, though... that's a good consideration.
I know a more formal pond with raised walls would look really nice here, but that's really not what I want. I haven't gone rock-hunting yet, but I'd love for this pond to look something like a natural Florida sinkhole that's partially overgrown with native plants... so I don't want it raised up high, and if I can find cheap pieces of limerock that will work to hold the liner around the edges, that's what I'm going to use.