newbie with pump question.

[cudamank]

We put in a pond last year. It is one of the large hard plastic ones. Dropped in four small store bought koi, and after 6 months we now have 4 large koi and about 8-12 babies. well the babies are about 3-4 inches long. hard to tell how many due to pea soup of a bond. All I had was one of those small in water pumps in a pump box with some filter pads on top. I know I needed better pump and filteration, so in an attempt to save money(I can see your eyes rolling already), I bought a used hayward pump and filter setup. After plumbing it in the pump wont stay primed, (because the pump is about 1' higher than the pond?) and some reading on hear it appears the DE filter would not be very good for my pond.

So after all that, now what? Any way I can use the pump? Or am I better re listing it on Craigslist and using the money for a different pump and filter.

 

[koidaddy]

Is it a pool pump? Not the best for a pond. Build your self a "Skippy" filter or close to it and buy a pondmaster magdrive pump to power it. You can build the filter any size you can fit then.
Good luck.

 

[koikeepr]

Hi there. You've got a problem on your hands, and unfortunately, your purchase didn't help.

Pool equipment belongs on a pool. Would you use pond equipment on a pool? No.

You need gravity in place to prime your pump (if it's external). If your pump is above water level, it can't receive water. External pumps are designed to push water, not pull it.

If you want to keep your existing set up, you'll need to find a way to put the pump under water level (like digging a pump pit under the ground next your pond and then pop a hole in the side of the pond so that it can receive water.

A better solution would be for you to just get rid of all that, and then buy a submersible pump attached to a good quality filter (or DIY one).

You have an even bigger problem on your hands beside that issue. It's that those plastic tub ponds are not meant for koi. As you can see, your fish are growing, and they are likely already too big for that pond. You should think about either re-homing those fish or building a bigger pond. A pond such as yours is not made for anything more than a handful of feeder goldfish and not koi.

Sorry to be the bearer of tough news, but I just want to be straight up with you--as you need to make some decisions very quickly.

 

[cudamank]

Thanks for the quick replies. The news is grim, but after reading some posts here, not entirely unexpected. Since I have the green light from the boss to build a bigger pond, that will be okay, the trick will be how and where. Probably will be an above ground pond as we have hard pan about 18" under the topsoil.

For the pond I have now, what should i be looking for in a pump. I like the DIY barrel filters you guys have any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.