New to ponds in Southeastern Ohio

[natbla]

Well, I can't help myself.

I put in a 2000 gph smartpond pump (needed it for once the new pond is built) to replace my 700 gph tetra pump. I had to shut the valve by 30% to keep it from overwhelming my filter system. But I like the falls better now. I"m concerned about the impact on the pump having the flow regulated like that. Will it do ok over time? Once the new pond goes in, it will be lifting the water almost 12 feet to the upper pond so I don't think the pump will need to be throttled back . BUt for the next month it should be ok right?

 

[addy1]

I have read you can throttle the out of the pump flow back, just don't throttle the flow coming into the pump. You could also put a t in, direct some of the water elsewhere

 

[natbla]

I have read you can throttle the out of the pump flow back, just don't throttle the flow coming into the pump. You could also put a t in, direct some of the water elsewhere

Thant's what I'm doing at this point, I turned my ball valve almost 1/2 way closed.

 

[addy1]

You should be ok, think how many dirty filters are out there, the flow of water slows as the filter gets dirty. You are doing the same, just slowing down with a ball valve instead of a dirty filter.

 

[taherrmann4]

Well, I can't help myself.

I put in a 2000 gph smartpond pump (needed it for once the new pond is built) to replace my 700 gph tetra pump. I had to shut the valve by 30% to keep it from overwhelming my filter system. But I like the falls better now. I"m concerned about the impact on the pump having the flow regulated like that. Will it do ok over time? Once the new pond goes in, it will be lifting the water almost 12 feet to the upper pond so I don't think the pump will need to be throttled back . BUt for the next month it should be ok right?

You could always put a "Y" in your pipe that goes from the pump to the filter and divert it to your waterfalls or just back into the pond. This would allow you to keep it open all the way and not overwhelm your filter.

 

[natbla]

I've got the thing toggled back to probably 1500 gph and it creating a good bit of flow in the pond to the point that there is now a figure "8" surface flow. The water goes from the falls across the 6 ft center to the wall where it splits and around the wall, back under the falls, rides the jet again, and then spins the other way to the pump. The fish seem to be enjoy the challenge of the current, and there are 1 or 2 quiet places in a couple places (the water hyacinths are floating there).

My algae bloom is gone, but there is more particle matter suspended in the water now.

I'm going to pick up a "y" or a "T" that has a 3/4 inch branch off the 1 3/4" and just let the water circulate on the lower levels of the pond.

 

[natbla]

Well I solved the overflow problem:

First I installed a a sink/washing machine drain "T" (really more of a "Y" internally) backwards so that 1/2 of the flow from the pump was going out the side and creating circulation in the lower foot of the pond (will be point this down soon to help keep sediment of the bottom). This didn't stop the overflow at all. So I took out out part of the mechanical filter that is at the top of my settling tank. This delayed the overflow for an hour but then it happened again. Next I tried cleaning out the mechanical filter, no luck. Finally, I had one of those "Ah ha!" moments while stairing into the settling tank. The filter was floating up around the drain pipe until it was higher than the outflow pipe itself, and slowing the outflow. So I looked around and found some longer rigid plastic and used it to pin the filter down so that there is a trough that allows the water to gather speed and leave the outflow pipe faster.

AS far as I can tell what happened is this:

The new pump had more force so the water pressure up through the mechanical filter was lifting it up to the top of the water. At the same time the pump was pulling more waste in to the system, and that was also plugging the mechanical filter faster making it harder for water to go through (a good thing). So by pinning the filter down, the pressure forces water through instead of lifting the filter up, and the intake pipe (3" pipe) can handle the right amount of flow needed to prevent the overflow.

As a result of all this I was able to turn the valve 100% open again, and with the diverted water at the pump, the waterfall is now at the volume of flow that works well for the backyard,appearances, and water circulation. The algae continues to get less, and the string algae on the waterfall is starting to go away again.