Helix Pump that Doesn't Say Helix. Am I Getting Scammed?

[DavidWH]

Though I've had a Koi pond before, this is the first time I have built one. The last one was there when I moved in and my first experience with Koi.

After buying a new home and after many hours of research (some digging through posts on this forum), some months ago I purchased most of the components for a pond that keeps getting more expensive by the day. One of those purchases - I ordered a Helix 5800 on Amazon.

A little about my pond in progress - The pond has a split waterfall return. One is going through an Aquascape 2500 rated at 5,000 gph. The other smaller falls will run through a diy sieve filter and a 55 gallon drum moving bio filter. The two falls are split by a broken tree that fell out of a truck at my local nursery. For pre filtration I also have a split line. One is going through an Aquascape 1000 skimmer that includes a pre-filter. The other is gravity fed from the bottom drain into a 230 gallon animal trough that will function as a floating garden in the summer and a place to move the fish for annual pond cleaning, then through a filter in the middle and joining the other line before they enter the basket skimmer and pump. The pump is below the water level, but I remember that sometimes things got through the pre-filter in my old pond and I want it before the pump to protect my expensive pump from any objects that could damage it.

The main pond is built and I'm working on the waterfalls, plumbing and electrical. I finally opened the pump box tonight and I was shocked that it did not have a Helix label anywhere on it. Instead, it said Marathon. It looks identical to the Helix pump from what I can tell and it feels solid, but I don't see a gpm rating anywhere on it. I did some searches online and I didn't find any helpful information. Is this a legit pump or am I being scammed?

Also, I'll include some pics of the pond and post the a video montage of the entire project when it's complete. My 14 year old son who has never dug a large hole in his life insisted that we could dig through concrete clay by hand. It was quite a project. I dug many holes to pay for college and I thought it would be a good lesson for my son to appreciate the work of those who dig holes for a living and the importance of getting the right tool for the job. He does want to be an engineer after all.

Back to my question. Am I being scammed or is the pump legit?

Thanks in advance for the advice.

 

[DavidWH]

Here is a picture of the pond. I wanted the visual of a stack stone wall so the liner is behind the wall. The wall is permeable. I haven't seen anyone else do this online so it's a bit of an experiment. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

You can see that the waterfall is still under construction. I used clay in sandbags for the main structure because I already owned the clay. Liner and rocks will go on top. I planned to order the liner in one piece, but somehow to wrong size got ordered. I was after the biggest one I could find, but between my text and the wife's Prime account, that didn't happen. It's Firestone EPDM. The pond has a concrete bottom slopping to a bottom drain. We did the concrete ourselves with a $200 Harbor Freight mixer. The smoke bush around the falls grows like crazy and I have to trim it way back annually. The idea is to let it grow around the origin of the falls so it looks like the stream is appearing trough the bushes while hiding the truth that the whole thing is just a pile of sandbags.

The pond is larger than it looks in the picture. The plan is to plant low perennial flowers in front and let the Japanese maples grow out over it.

 

[combatwombat]

Looks awesome. Love the idea behind disguising the origin of the falls. The best ponds, I think, are the ones where plants make it hard to tell where the land ends and the water begins.

I don't know much about Helix or Marathon pumps, but I wouldn't be surprised if Helix is just a Marathon pump with a Helix sticker on it. Pretty common in the pump world and many other pieces of household equipment. I would probably call up Helix and ask. Or just return to Amazon and try again if you're still within the return window.

I always open boxes immediately to make sure I got what I ordered even if I don't plan to use it right away. My neighbor bought a TV from Walmart a few months ago and, when he got home, found the box was filled with rocks! He took it back and Walmart called the cops on HIM.

I've seen retaining wall blocks done inside the liner lots of times, so I think you'll be fine. I have it in a portion of my own pond under construction right now:

One complication might be leaching from the blocks, so I would just be sure to test your ph and fill/drain until you have it in check.

Looks like a very fun project for you and your son. Can't wait to see the build photos and videos.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome, but I have no idea about the pump.

 

[brokensword]

Here is a picture of the pond. I wanted the visual of a stack stone wall so the liner is behind the wall. The wall is permeable. I haven't seen anyone else do this online so it's a bit of an experiment. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

You can see that the waterfall is still under construction. I used clay in sandbags for the main structure because I already owned the clay. Liner and rocks will go on top. I planned to order the liner in one piece, but somehow to wrong size got ordered. I was after the biggest one I could find, but between my text and the wife's Prime account, that didn't happen. It's Firestone EPDM. The pond has a concrete bottom slopping to a bottom drain. We did the concrete ourselves with a $200 Harbor Freight mixer. The smoke bush around the falls grows like crazy and I have to trim it way back annually. The idea is to let it grow around the origin of the falls so it looks like the stream is appearing trough the bushes while hiding the truth that the whole thing is just a pile of sandbags.

The pond is larger than it looks in the picture. The plan is to plant low perennial flowers in front and let the Japanese maples grow out over it. View attachment 143428

not really trying to burst your bubble, but all that nice brickwork is going to be covered in algae soon enough (you want this coverage), so anything below the waterline won't be as your original vision had it. I built a stacked stone facia for my bog wall/return and it is proving that reality in spades as I routinely now have to hose it down just to see there's some stacking involved!

Also, realize those sandbags full of clay are going to be very hard to shift/move if you ever need to; I'd at least built the main frame of your waterfall (the under-pinnings that any rock work will sit on) using cement slabs and blocks, simply because you CAN move them around if you need to (I've redone my waterfall a few times; it happens because as you live with what you created, you no doubt will see a way to improve it, esp if you're new at this!). Just an FYI.

Your pond looks very nice, though!

 

[DavidWH]

Looks awesome. Love the idea behind disguising the origin of the falls. The best ponds, I think, are the ones where plants make it hard to tell where the land ends and the water begins.

I don't know much about Helix or Marathon pumps, but I wouldn't be surprised if Helix is just a Marathon pump with a Helix sticker on it. Pretty common in the pump world and many other pieces of household equipment. I would probably call up Helix and ask. Or just return to Amazon and try again if you're still within the return window.

I always open boxes immediately to make sure I got what I ordered even if I don't plan to use it right away. My neighbor bought a TV from Walmart a few months ago and, when he got home, found the box was filled with rocks! He took it back and Walmart called the cops on HIM.

I've seen retaining wall blocks done inside the liner lots of times, so I think you'll be fine. I have it in a portion of my own pond under construction right now:


View attachment 143429

One complication might be leaching from the blocks, so I would just be sure to test your ph and fill/drain until you have it in check.

Looks like a very fun project for you and your son. Can't wait to see the build photos and videos.

Glad to hear others have done the behind the wall thing with the liner and it worked out.

I suspected that might be the case with the pump, but I wasn't sure. I'm well past the return window. I'll check with Helix and the seller. After more research, I suspect the specs on the pump might be 8,200gph. I don't know yet if that's going to be a problem. I might build a bypass back to the pond where I can divert some of the flow just incase. I do want a reasonably high-flow waterfall, but I don't want a raging torrent. I should have checked right away.

I've heard about the rock thing with electronics before. Hopefully it worked out.

I do plan to do the fill/drain thing several times over the winter and let it run as soon as the waterfall is built. Fish to be added in the spring. I'll be sure to check the ph.

Thanks for the info and advice. Your pond project looks great.

 

[DavidWH]

Looks awesome. Love the idea behind disguising the origin of the falls. The best ponds, I think, are the ones where plants make it hard to tell where the land ends and the water begins.

I don't know much about Helix or Marathon pumps, but I wouldn't be surprised if Helix is just a Marathon pump with a Helix sticker on it. Pretty common in the pump world and many other pieces of household equipment. I would probably call up Helix and ask. Or just return to Amazon and try again if you're still within the return window.

I always open boxes immediately to make sure I got what I ordered even if I don't plan to use it right away. My neighbor bought a TV from Walmart a few months ago and, when he got home, found the box was filled with rocks! He took it back and Walmart called the cops on HIM.

I've seen retaining wall blocks done inside the liner lots of times, so I think you'll be fine. I have it in a portion of my own pond under construction right now:


View attachment 143429

One complication might be leaching from the blocks, so I would just be sure to test your ph and fill/drain until you have it in check.

Looks like a very fun project for you and your son. Can't wait to see the build photos and videos.

Glad to hear others have done the behind the wall thing with the liner and it worked out.

I suspected that might be the case with the pump, but I wasn't sure. I'm well past the return window. I'll check with Helix and the seller. After more research, I suspect the specs on the pump might be 8,200gph. I don't know yet if that's going to be a problem. I might build a bypass back to the pond where I can divert some of the flow just incase. I do want a reasonably high-flow waterfall, but I don't want a raging torrent. I should have checked right away.

I've heard about the rock thing with electronics before. Hopefully it worked out.

I do plan to do the fill/drain thing several times over the winter and let it run as soon as the waterfall is built. Fish to be added in the spring. I'll be sure to check the ph.

Thanks for the info and advice. Your pond project looks great.

 

[DavidWH]

not really trying to burst your bubble, but all that nice brickwork is going to be covered in algae soon enough (you want this coverage), so anything below the waterline won't be as your original vision had it. I built a stacked stone facia for my bog wall/return and it is proving that reality in spades as I routinely now have to hose it down just to see there's some stacking involved!

Also, realize those sandbags full of clay are going to be very hard to shift/move if you ever need to; I'd at least built the main frame of your waterfall (the under-pinnings that any rock work will sit on) using cement slabs and blocks, simply because you CAN move them around if you need to (I've redone my waterfall a few times; it happens because as you live with what you created, you no doubt will see a way to improve it, esp if you're new at this!). Just an FYI.

Your pond looks very nice, though!

I expected it to be covered in algae, but I hoped to see come of the outline of the stacked blocks. Sounds like that might not be the case.

Through this whole project I've been making changes and improvements so I know what you mean.