Need some input before I start building my DIY Filter

[Clint]

My pond is about 1100-1400gal. Located on Pennsylvania

Situation: I will be making my filter box out of a heavy duty tote/container. The filter will be located in my garage which is 2ft from my pond. ¾ pvc will run from the pond to the filter. I have a new 1100gph pump to feed the filter. In my pond now I just have a small 220gph submersed filter box and a UV sterilizer with built-in pump.

My question is, when I build my filter, should I somehow put this UV into the filter tote/container?

The pump on the UV is only 265gph so it’s too small to use it has the pump to feed the filter box or I would do that.

Currently the UV just sits in the pond and cycles the water and not running into any filters.

My UV

 

[mgmine]

Something to consider is whether the tote is big enough to handle 1100 gallons an hour that the pump will put out. I assume that you are building a skippy filter so the tote will be full of bio material taking up a lot of the available space that the water would normally take up. As far as the UV light I would put it in the filter tote to keep it lout of sight.

 

[Clint]

I had a sting algae spike and had to treat the water, so now I currently have my pump feeding water into cat liter bucket full of sponges and pillow stuffing sitting on a lawn chair in the water lol, trying to filter out the big stuff first. I have a with a 1-1/2" hole in the bucket and it keeps up with the flow.

So on the new filter i figured 3/4" in and either 1-1/2 or 2"out. but where would i put the UV in the mix? Keep in mind 1100gph coming in and uv runs at 265gph. I have 55gal plastic drum but don't want to by 55gal worth of media lol. So i wont go that big

Here is picture of the layout i was using for reference. If something is better, by all means let me know.

 

[Marshall]

I have two uv filters one in-line and one submerged with built in pump. If possible I would recommend you try and get an in-line uv filter to put on the outgoing supply from the filter before it leaves the garage. Also most uv filters can only treat a certain flow rate of water so if you put a larger/faster pump in the flow may be too fast and the uv light will not be able to thoroughly treat the water as it passes through.

 

[sissy]

You could buy a small stock tank tractor supple has those tuff tanks and I have been using one for over 3 years now for my filter and they come in a lot of sizes .I have a 60 gallon one and a 100 gallon one .I put my filter stock tank outside above my waterfall pond .I used the bigger one last year when i had to rebuild my pond and the one that i use for my filter .I got 1 at tractor supply and the filter one i got from a house aution here .They are a heavy rubber recycled product

 

[Marshall]

You could buy a small stock tank tractor supple has those tuff tanks and I have been using one for over 3 years now for my filter and they come in a lot of sizes .I have a 60 gallon one and a 100 gallon one .I put my filter stock tank outside above my waterfall pond .I used the bigger one last year when i had to rebuild my pond and the one that i use for my filter .I got 1 at tractor supply and the filter one i got from a house aution here .They are a heavy rubber recycled product

That is a pretty nifty idea. I like to invent and build all of my stuff on my own too. Makes things more interesting and you learn a thing or two while you're at it.

 

[Clint]

I just have a small corner of the garage to put this in..Which would work better?

#1 17.5gal http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/pr...city-plastic-bucket-17-1-2-gal-capacity-black
#2 15gal http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tuff-stuff-products-heavy-duty-oval-tank-15-gal
#3 25gal http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tuff-stuff-products-tuff-round-tub-25-gal
#4 40gal http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/tuff-stuff-products-heavy-duty-oval-tank-40-gal
#5 http://www.lowes.com/pd_136852-1097-1836781_1z13eb3__
#6 http://www.lowes.com/pd_135881-1097..._?productId=4462425&Ns=p_product_price|1&pl=1

 

[sissy]

Me also, as you notice putI a liner around the filter if it leaks it runs right back into the pond .Both filters are done like that .Had a filter over flow and almost emptied the pond back in 2007 and after that was never going to let that happen again.I used sump pump hose for my pumps and it is also all run inside the pond .One of these days I will have time to hide the hoses against the side of the pond .If you look at my pond rebuild you will see how I did the inside of the filter .My old puter died and took it to my repair guy and he is trying to put all the pics I had on a hard drive .I had put some on one but puter died before I had a chance to finish .Clint you would need to measure your area ,but if I remember correctly the 15 and 25 gallon were not that deep .I know tuff stuff makes a triangular tank also but i have never found it around here .

 

[mgmine]

The barrel you have is 55 gallons so that would probably be better than a 40 gallon. For my filter I use snow fence as the bio material and it works fine plus it's cheap and doesn't clog like lava rock. As far as your UV light if it is big enough for your pond then you could simply leave it in the pond and let the water circulate through it. The idea is to get the algae to go past the lamp so it doesn't matter if the water gets pumped through the filter or just recirculated back into the pond.

 

[Clint]

Does anyone have pictures of the inside of their filters? I'm curious how you guys have them laid out and the stuff in them

 

[sissy]

I use lava rock in dollar store bags .Lost pics when puter died

 

[Clint]

I use lava rock in dollar store bags .Lost pics when puter died

What do you mean Lava rock in dollar store bags? Plastic bags?

 

[Marshall]

Does anyone have pictures of the inside of their filters? I'm curious how you guys have them laid out and the stuff in them

This guy has some really neat ideas and he show step by step in this video how to make one yourself and how it is supposed to work. Worth watching because even if you don't use his plans you will learn a few things about how they are supposed to work in general:

 

[Marshall]

Does anyone have pictures of the inside of their filters? I'm curious how you guys have them laid out and the stuff in them

By the way, if you ever want or need to build a really good DIY UV filter let me know because I built the one in my pond and it works much better than the one I had bought that was a uv with a pump all in one unit. I have pictures and schematics with step by step instructions for it. My water has remained almost crystal clear after building and installing the custom filter about 8 months ago.

 

[sissy]

No i buy dollar store laundry bags and buy lava rock at lowes .They sell mesh bags there 3 for a dollar and I fill them with the lava rock so they are easier to manage if I have to do anything with the filter .Just pull each bag out .Easier to clean or replace lava rock if I have too .