My pond build thread

[PoppaRyno]

P.S. Im jealous of that pond. Looks great. All that work has paid off. I cant wait to put one in-ground. I just container pond in 300gl and smaller linked systems. I use them for plants and grow out tanks for spawns spring-fall. Then pull it all into the garage in the off season here.

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[Fresh2o]

I initially used expanded shale because it was lighter than gravel (barely) then moved onto lava rock. Still quite heavy. I then ordered 5 cubic feet of pall rings. Buoyant and easy to clean/manipulate.

Pot scrubbers. Cheap, lots of surface area for trapping waste and biological activity.
Look up Matala filter mats. Designed for aquaculture and comes in a variety of grades. Easy to cut to shape.

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[enrgizerbunny]

Thanks for the suggestions, but I'm going to be using the bio balls and maybe some gravel still on the bottom. I want to still be able to just flush with air and drain every couple weeks for cleaning.

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[Fresh2o]

Cool. Do the bio balls float? If so, that would make cleaning much easier; pop the top, stir with a stick, drain, fill, repeat.
Is there a bottom drain on the filter?


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[enrgizerbunny]

Cool. Do the bio balls float? If so, that would make cleaning much easier; pop the top, stir with a stick, drain, fill, repeat.
Is there a bottom drain on the filter?


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No bottom drain but I have an air injection manifold and a T off for draining waste water, so that I don't have to pop the top, which is what my intentions have been from the beginning. I don't know if they float but they're not nearly as dense as stone.

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[fish wrangler]

Bioballs float

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[Fresh2o]

The bio balls should be "self cleaning" with enough agitation. As for the bottom drain, not difficult to add on later. You would need a bulkhead fitting, 90 degree elbow, and ball valve. Hole drilled into the bottom obviously. The filter would need to be resting on a stand (bricks would work) to allow clearance for the plumbing.


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[enrgizerbunny]

The bio balls should be "self cleaning" with enough agitation. As for the bottom drain, not difficult to add on later. You would need a bulkhead fitting, 90 degree elbow, and ball valve. Hole drilled into the bottom obviously. The filter would need to be resting on a stand (bricks would work) to allow clearance for the plumbing.


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I could always put in valves to reverse the flow of the filter so that a bottom drain would be unnecessary. I'm counting on getting enough agitation from the air to float wastes to the top where they can be drained though. I'll probably be purchasing put scrubbers for now and getting bioballs in the spring. I'll need about 1.5 cubic ft. Worth or ~1000 1.25" balls for that volume.

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[Autumnsky]

Check with some SW people for unneeded bioballs. Many people had them and decided they trap too much gunk causing nitrate to rise so they ditched them and have them sitting around unneeded. I got a 5G & 2.5G bucket of them and it was for about $5, maybe $7. Lotsa people hate them now because of the cleaning issue, even for planted tanks.

Before I had them, I used chunked up 2-4 inch bulk filter pads with a few scrubbies for stiffness/ to add to circulation, assure holding up old filter pad chunks, in the ole garbage can filter.

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Filter repaired. Replaced media with aquarium gravel, I'll be adding bioballs to top up the filter space and add surface area. Also added a screen on the input pipe to prevent gravel from being forced into it. That's what caused the problem to begin with.

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[enrgizerbunny]

Ordered 300 1.25" bioballs today

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[enrgizerbunny]

Bio balls came in today. Received 379 on an order of 300!

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[Fresh2o]

Lottery question: How many bio balls will fit into the filter? ?
Real question: What kind of prefilter is on the pump? Strainer? Prefilter box? Or is the pump in a mesh bag or other type of "filter bag"? I found that using those kept debris from clogging or restricting the pump impeller.


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[enrgizerbunny]

It has a cage around it and it is designed to pump solids that can get inside the cage. The bioballs almost fill a 5 gallon bucket. I'll add them to the filter and a "bag" of crushed coral made from a pair of women's tights and I'll call it complete. I'll add fish very shortly afterwards too.

This spring I'll purchase my UV clarifier/fountain pump.

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[enrgizerbunny]

Well good news and bad news. I added the bioballs to my filter. Bad news: it's leaking around the seal again. I'm going to pull the foam weather stripping out and replace it with surgical tubing and the problem should be fixed. Worst case scenario I silicone it down.

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[Nils]

I've been silently following this thread since the beginning and you have made it awesome! Too bad your experiencing troubles with the filter, I'm sure you'll get it fixed in no time. Keep it up!

 

[EOGoldfish]

I've been silently following this thread since the beginning and you have made it awesome! Too bad your experiencing troubles with the filter, I'm sure you'll get it fixed in no time. Keep it up!

Same here!


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[Autumnsky]

Had many issues and a big learning curve with my trash can filter as well. I feel your frustraton. Get the silicone tube out!!!

 

[enrgizerbunny]

Finally got my bioballs in yesterday and replaced the seal on the barrel. Filter is up and running again. I removed all of the gravel and added a bag of crushed coral to buffer the pond. No leaks as of last night after running a few hours!

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[Autumnsky]

Excellent to hear of the success. I can't see the pics, and reported it to tech.