I talked with Marty at his open house some about his pond filter, he gave me some good info, so I came home and made one like his. Hooked it up yesterday and it’s working great.
It consists of a 28 gal plastic tub from the Walmart auto section(has to be one that will stand up to outdoors). Inside I put a container that holds about a bag and a half of lava rock-Marty used one of the black plastic flower pots, mine is a tin tub I got at the farm store.
Before I put in the gravel, I cut a 4" plastic pipe a half inch taller than the tub and drilled a bunch of holes in the bottom 4", the idea is the water comes in the top pipe from the pump and goes through the holes and up through the lava rock, but Marty says it is not necessary to do that, I think his pipe has holes all the way up and down.
The drain back to the pond was two toilet flanges bolted through the plastic side with a gasket on each side made from excess pond liner material, sealed up real good, surprised me. I only cut out the top half of the knock out plug to keep the water level in the tub a bit higher.
I’m using my smaller pump right now, afraid the big waterfall pump may be too big, but will try it, if it ever stops raining! I read on line that you can get plastic stock tank tubs with a drain already installed(mine does nt have a drain yet), but they are pretty big and pricey.
We are redoing our waterfall and the single lane tunnel under it to a double track tunnel and bridge. Not quite sure of how the tub will work out up there, so waiting on the drain thing till everything is installed, which could be spring, fall is winding down here in Nebraska. Water is clearing up after 24 hours. Marty said I may have to clean it after about 4 days but after that he only sprays his out some with his hose/nozzle every two weeks or so, be nice to have a clear pond!
Jerry:
Thanks for the new thread!
Barbara & I are really tired of lifting the submerged filter and pump out of the pond to clean it. We are looking for a solution that can be cleaned without disturbing the pond, so this is is a very interesting subject.
Does your new system have the water pumped up into the filter, then gravity back down into the pond? Our pond is only a few hundred gallons, so not certain how that arrangement would work.
Any possibility of a couple of pix to show your actual arrangement?
Thanks & Happy RRing,
Jerry Bowrs
Hi Jerry(good name!),
Yes, the pump in the pond pumps the water up to the top of the filter box, overflows the container holding the lava rock down to the water level below the rim of the container some, then flow out, via gravity, through the 4" drain. You could make one from a small container, using the same idea, about a 10 gal size would probably work fine. If it stops raining, I’ll take some pix, barely got it started before the rain began.
Best/simplest thing I’ve seen. Looked on the internet some, many used some of Marty’s ideas, but seemed too complicated/labor intensive.
Jerry, Here’s some pix:
(http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/jerrybarnes/Pond%20pix/filter1.JPG)
over all view:
(http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/jerrybarnes/Pond%20pix/filter2.JPG)
Fish found!
(http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/jerrybarnes/Pond%20pix/filter3.JPG)
About 15 years ago when I was a single guy with a townhouse, I made a similar one using a 5 gallon bucket and some fittings. It worked very well for my little pond -
(http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n214/altterrain/alt%20terrain%20pix/germpond.jpg)
Put a few water hyacinth in the top and your water will be crystal clear. -Brian
Jerry:
Many thanks for the information & pix. All very clear now. That really looks like a possible solution for our pond. I plan to completely redo ours by next spring.
Brian:
Is the filter hidden away on the left side with the (bamboo?) pipe being the water return?
Thanks to All & Happy RRing,
Jerry Bowers
Jerry Bowers said:
Brian: Is the filter hidden away on the left side with the (bamboo?) pipe being the water return?Thanks to All & Happy RRing,
Jerry Bowers
Yes. Its just behind the little jap maple. I used a black bucket and covered the input pipe and return tube with bamboo. I don’t have any better pictures of it but it was set up the same as Jerry’s just a bit smaller.
-Brian
I tried the larger waterfall pump on the filter and that did not work well at all. I guess it being stronger/faster the stuff did not settle and the outlet was as green as the inlet. Hooked the small pump back up and the outlet was clear water again and the pond starting clearing up. So, some tinkering has to be done, I guess. Jerry
Jerry Barnes said:Jerry,
I tried the larger waterfall pump on the filter and that did not work well at all. I guess it being stronger/faster the stuff did not settle and the outlet was as green as the inlet. Hooked the small pump back up and the outlet was clear water again and the pond starting clearing up. So, some tinkering has to be done, I guess. Jerry
The problem is with the single inlet hose. Get some PVC of appropriate size to mate with the hose, then T it off at the bottom of the rocks. From the T, have three or four outlets. This will slow the velocity of the water into the rocks, allowing the filtration to work it’s magic.
Might do that Steve, when I get some more time. Thanks for the suggestion, had read about that some. Tearing out the old waterfall/tunnel right now. Filter will sit up above with that. JErry
Still real happy with the pond filter, nice and clear. Part of that may be due to the cooling of the weather though. Nice to see the fish, instead of pea soup! Just hope the Herons don’t spot them now-they may be gone for the winter though.