Gravity fed filter this time still need some help

[diplodicus]

Hi all on my second pond, this time I am going to use an external pump and gravity feed filter.
I have a water fall from my existing pond which I wish to keep.
What i was wandering was as my pump is only topping up the pond to keep the system filtering would i be able to use an equal tee and split the flow to my water fall or would this interfere with the GFF as i am still learning your help would be appreciated
also would i need some sort of valve in place if this is possible.
Thanks

 

[DrDave]

Welcome to the forum. Please go to the User CP and add your location.
You will find lots of help here.

 

[DrCase]

simple ball valves will let you do any thing you want with your pump water
i am not sure just what your asking
Welcome to the forum

 

[koikeepr]

You can split the water after the pump, yes. For example, in my pond I have the pump feeding my stock tank filter, and then the water exits and splits in 6 different directions: to my waterfall, to two wall spitters, and three underwater outlets.

 

[diplodicus]

Thanks for the reply's
koikeeper you split your system 6 ways how many GPH is your pump as your ponds 5000g just out of interest.

 

[koikeepr]

My pump is 7200gph.

 

[diplodicus]

My pond is a puddle in comparison too most of the guys and girls on here.
I have had to shrink it to a 1000g to allow for my double garage its a shame but need's must, I have 1750 uk gph pump so this will run my 4" BD And water fall ,would it be possible to add a skimmer to the equation on the same pump if so were in the line would I plumb this in as most of the skimmer set ups i have seen have there own pumps

 

[diplodicus]

Would it be possible to plumb a skimmer in to the 4"pipe on the upright section? I have seen a coupler with a 32mm input on it .

 

[koikeepr]

For a 4" BD and a waterfall, I think you will find that your 1750 gph pump might be a tad small. I know a 3" BD alone pulls in 1600 gph US (not sure what UK equiv is). A 4" will pull in way more. If I were you, I would do a bigger pump. There's no way you can add a skimmer to this scenario unless you go with a separate pump.

A 4" BD on a 1000g pond? Hmm....What are the dimension of your pond? I'm not sure if you want to neck that 4" BD down to 3"....

 

[diplodicus]

ok lesson learnt never trust a sales man half your age with less of a clue than yourself i would take it back but its buried under concrete and liner the good news is it dont leak,as for reducing pipe its a bit late for that now, I can still return my pump as thats still in the box unused . A min of 1250gph and max of 2000 through a 4"BD i now found out after some more reading, how big a pump was you thinking ? would it be acceptable
to turn over the pond more than twice a hour or just plane waste full?

 

[koikeepr]

ok. let's see how we can problem solve.

If your 4" BD is plumbed and covered. You would just need to make sure that the BD pipe isn't open full throttle (I do hop you installed a ball valve of some sort to be able to regulate flow).

In terms of the pump, are you still planning to add a skimmer or not?

 

[diplodicus]

the pipes are in as far as the upright haven't gone any further as waiting on tank connectors and valves as for the skimmer i will add one on its own pump the liners in and full to allow me to back fill part of the pit that collapsed on me

 

[koikeepr]

To confirm, it sounds like you are saying that you are adding a skimmer. Do you know what size it is? What size wier door opening? Let's say roughly a 8" opening will pull around 1500gph/US (you can vary this of course by turning your ball valve) and the 4" drain will pull 3500gph/US--which can also be turned down. You'll need to do the math on converting to UK gallons.

So, with those rough numbers in mind, you need to decide on a pump that will flow at least 1-1.5 times per hour.

 

[diplodicus]

Take the skimmer out of the equation for now because I haven't bought one yet anyway
your saying 3500gph/us ( 2916uk ) For the BD, If I am running drain to settlement tank to filter then to water fall would a 3000US gph pump work or would it have to be bigger still bearing in mind my puddle is only 1200US gallons

 

[koikeepr]

I'm just worried that a 4" BD will cause a lot of drawn down in a 1200 USg pond. 4" pipe is a lot of water moving. I can't imagine someone suggested a 4" DB in a 1200g/US pond! It makes no sense to me, and clearly the person had no idea what they were talking about. Your pump will need to keep up with the flow rate of the BD.

This set up will require very careful tweaking of your ball valves. I sure hope you put in a bunch of them to be able to regulate flow. Have you?