Found a water Garden - Now What? And HI!

[GainesvillePond]

Hi Garden Pond forum! Recently bought a new home and found a pond that the previous owner filled in after a fall while cleaning. Turns out this water garden has a 16' "stream" that appears to have built in "cavities" to return water to the pond proper and act as a water level maintainer of sorts. Each end of the stream appears to have piping for waterfalls from main pond. The main "pond" is about 5.5' deep and widens to over 8' wide with a waterfall at the top (maybe 7.5') above the floor. Excavated (32) 30- gallon pots of muck and the whole thing is flagstone and limestone boulders over a liner. There are connections - but no pump. Power exists however choosing the right pump has be in analysis paralysis. With April showers on the way, need to get the water it has in it moving lest mosquitoes rule my yard. The concern is that all piping in the pond is 3/4" vinyl and my calculations (and research) suggest I need a 4000 gph pump. These all seem to have 1 1/2" outputs and only one at that. I have discovered a "little giant" dual discharge (which seems the right choice since I have piping up to the two stream waterfalls and a another pipe to the main waterfall) - my concern is the reduction from 1 1/2" to 3/4" - will I burn it up? Thanks!!! ( I may also buy two 1900 gph Little giants with dual discharge however they also have the larger output diameters.). Hi and HELP

 

[Gemma]

HI,

I don't know enough about piping and pumps,so I'll let someone else answer your question, but can you post some pics so we can see your pond and setup?

 

[snoozer]

Welcome! There are a lot of folks here that will be able to answer questions for you that know more than me. 3/4 inch hose seems awfully small for pumping to a waterfall and also feeding a stream that long. I am thinking that there was probably a larger pump feeding the falls and stream as well as a larger hose. A picture would be helpful in helping answer your questions.

 

[Becky]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

 

[JamieB]

Welcome. From what I’ve read of others, multiple pumps seems the way to go. You’ll want a flow rate 1 1/2-2x per hr of what your pond holds. So if it’s a 4000gal pond, you’d want 6000-8000 gph. Which may involve multiple pumps. I believe Addy, Brokensword, and a few others have DIY filter designs so you can keep it clean. I’m just a small timer, still learning and trying to find what I need, pump and filter wise. Read the various articles about pumps, filters, fish. And please, post pictures! They help so much in giving advice.