Pond Help!

[sr07g6]

I currently have a pond that is roughly 1500 gallons and has been running for about 2 years, and also has a few koi in it for about one year. I have recently stumbled upon this forum and have been lurking for about a week. I am looking to clean it up, and I have a few questions.

The current setup is two ponds the upper pond is a smaller preformed plastic pond and is currently is not connected to the larger pond that is about a foot lower which formed with a liner. There is a 1200 gph pump running with a small diy rubbermaid biofilter, i also have recently added an 18w UV clarifier. My plans are to remove the current filter and add a 55 gallon "Skippy" style filter to the pond. I need some help with what to do with this pond as i do not know very much about them..

1. What is the basic equipment for a pond? Are skimmers and aerators a necessity?

2. Would this skippy filter be enough to keep my water clean?

3. Is this UVC any good and has anyone used it? Its from - allpondpumps.com CUV-218

4. How do I connect the upper pond to the lower pond?? They are very close roughly 6 inches apart and have sort of a stack of rocks to look like a small waterfall between them, I would like it to look like it is overflowing into the lower pond. What would be the easiest way to accomplish this? A bulkhead are there any other options?

Thanks in advanced!!

 

[koikeepr]

If the pond is 1500 gallons, and you have a 55 gallon filter, you've just squeaked by with the filtration. The rule of thumb is 55g filter for every 1500g of water. You'd probably benefit from a second filter and see greater water quality.

Air is mandatory as far as I'm concerned. Good for the fish, good for the bacteria, good to break up stratified layers of water. Skimmers are not necessary, but totally nice to have if you live in an area with lots of trees and flying debris.

I can't speak for the UV, but these items are pretty simple and tend to all work the same. You need to change your bulb every spring, so if you haven't and you are noticing green water, that's why.

You can have the upper pond spill into the lower pond by adding a real falls. You could create one with liner and well placed stone. They also sell plastic waterfalls at your big box home improvement store right where they sell those preformed ponds. You would then use that in between your upper and lower ponds. These are good if you are worried about leaks with a DIY falls.

You could also pop a hole in the preformed pond and run a 2" pipe from it into the lower pond. You can use a bulkhead or a male and female conduit adapaters with one on each side (your find these gray ones in the electrical aisle). You can spray paint 'em black and get creative in disguising the pipe.