pond update and pond vac idea

koiguy1969

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O.k ..i made a pond vac with my old tetrapond bio trickle filter and my basement pond vac parts...this works well! anyways im using the tetrapond as an underwater fines and start off filter till my fish come outside.so when im done i'll take fotos and post them in a thread showing the vaccuums construction, but for now the sloppy drawing gives the general idea...those cheap $25 wayne biofilters https://www.gardenpondforum.com/wayne-pond-bio-filter-t4184.html would serve well!!
anyways my lillies are slow to get going but my iris' in a floating planter ring is off to the races already!! you can see the difference in the pond in these pix theres 15 fish in the pond all about 2" or so.(they fought to stay outside last fall) our weather has been screwwy to say the least,30s and 40s at night and in the 50s for days..
the first 2 pics are the pond today...the last 2 are before i vaccumed ... the middle is obviously a schmatic of the vasccuum design...this unit sits underwater
 

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Great idea! I've got an extra canister filter and pump laying around, i might have to try this. I'm looking forward to your post showing the vac construction.
 

koiguy1969

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if you have one of these type filters theres other things you can do too..i might order one from ebay..for $25.00 (the wayne)....they make great fines filters as shown here
they make a decent vaccuum canister as i show in this thread
and i might this one as an underwater solids pre pump mechanical filter to catch larger solids and fish waste before hitting the pumps impeller and getting whipped into a "poop soup" pull it up and rinse once a month or so(as needed)
 

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koiguy, you've made a vacuum bottom drain!!!

Now, you can stop telling me how bad bd's are! LOL! You can see the marvel they work on a pond floor. What you've made functions exactly like the aqua art BD. Hook that sucker up to your filter and leave it there. Pop an aeration disc on top, and you're set!

Now get busy and start manufacturing dozens to go with your weir business!
 

koiguy1969

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no i made a vaccuum with the canister before the pump...works exactly like my basement pond vac but with a large debris canister... my pump was hooked up to the bottom port pulling the water thru the canister. (the lid was on) and my vaccuum assembly was connected to the upper port via 15' of 1&1/4" hose... i vaccuumed just like with the basement pond assembly or the mucvac... as of now its pulling fine particulants out of the water from the top, not the underside ..this current assembly had nothing to do with the bottom getting clean, i just set this up a couple days ago..i vaccuumed 2 weeks ago.*********checkout my drawing**********
 
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and what i'm saying is if you hook this up to a pump and filter, you've got a bottom drain. You can use this as your intake for water, and your bottom will remain lovely as it is now. This is exactly what a retro BD looks like and functions like.
 

koiguy1969

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o.k so your saying your retro bottom drain drew water down from15" above the bottom ..cause thats what this is doing. drawing water that high off the bottom does little to keep the bottom clean now if i put the lid on to seal it and draw from the top with my pump and pull the water in from the bottom then we can begin to make B.D comparisons...cause this is just a large prefilter like this
 
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no. what i'm saying is put your thingee on the bottom, on little PVC legs that are 1/2" off bottom and you will have a BD. You've got a very attractive product there that can be on your bottom all the time and keeping it nifty clean.

Hey do what you wish, but you've actually built something with some merit! Think past the box!
 

koiguy1969

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if i put it on legs it will just draw water that much higher than 15" from the bottom...i would have to plumb it wth the pump drawing from the top port and the water coming into it from the bottom... right now the water is entering thru the 17" top opening (the lids off) its being drawn down thru the media and out the bottom port to the pump and to the falls. my bio media is still in the basement with my other filter in use... beleive me ,i have a plan..and as always, my plans have plenty of merit..
 
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the legs should be no higher than one inch off the floor. You need to refashioon this thing to be a BD. You are headed in the right direction and have lots of potential with this. If you saw a retro BD up close you'd know what i meant. I'll leave it at that....
 

koiguy1969

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i have seen retro BDs . they are plumbed from the top and "draw in" from the bottom... this is exactly opposite and nothing but a large prefilter as it is...
 

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