New pond construction and no clue what to buy!!!!!!!!

[checksix]

Hi, I'm new and would like to ask for help.  We have a 8500 gal. (approx.) pond with 5' waterfall and stream and have no clue what equipment to buy.  I have been looking at "Laguna Power Flo Skimmer Filter,  LAGUNA POND WATERFALL FILTRATION SYSTEM, Laguna Max-Flo 4200 Waterfall & Filter Pump".  I'm not sure if these items are what I need, or are any good.  I am also looking at Savio systems, but there are so many products to choose from, it makes it difficult to pic the right items.  Are there pumps that have the capability to vary their outflow?  We will, in the future, have Koi in the pond, so I want to do this right the first time.  I will attempt to post pics on this thread.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks. 

[miguynmkoi]

Welcome!  Where are you ponding?  That sure is a great size pond for the first time.  I'm sure there are other ponders here that can help you better with this size pond.  Good luck!  Looking forward to seeing the finished product...

[checksix]

We are up in Washington state, on the Canadian border.

[jw]

  Another Washington Ponder..................soon we will be able to have our own pond partay  . Course everyone would be welcome  . Glad to meet you checksix, I am in Arlington, Wa. not too awful far from you  . You have a nice looking huge pond starting and I hope we will see more pics as you go along. I have a smaller pond around 2500 gals and I like the Pondmaster water pumps for my filter. I've been using the same one for 8 yrs now. I can't tell you anymore info on what's good to use but I'm sure some others will pop in here to give you some good advice.  and hope all goes well on your new pond  .

[Johns]

How certain are you as to your pond size?  From the pictures it looks closer to 12,000 gallons.   Can you give average length and width and depth measurements?  Check out my pool calculator at http://www.gardenendeavors.com/rack/pool10.html  .  At 8500 gallons (just put in length /width and depth to produce volume you want to calculate for), you would be looking at a pump volume flow of 4,377 GPH.  With a five foot waterfall height, you would have a "head" of probably 7 to 8 feet, so the pump you would want would need to provide around 4,500 gallons per hour at 7 feet of head.  The pump you mention has a maximum head of 14'9" but the flow rate for that head is not given in the company literature.  The best info on pumps is to be had at Aquatic eco systems.  Their website page on pumps is at http://www.aquaticeco.com/categories/Water-Pumps/127/0/  Be sure to send for one of their catalogs, as you will spend many many hours studying it as it is a treasure trove of info.  Once you have decided on a pump, they may not be the cheapest source, but the are definetely the most informative.

All pumps differ, but generally you can reduce output by valving the output, never the input.  Also, generally power usage is proportioal to throughput, but as noted, all pumps have different efficiency curves.  For your pond size, I suggest you build your own biofilter system as commercial systems the size you will need can be extremely expensive.  For filter containers, look at http://ntotank.com/cobota.html?gclid=CLaizMTNnZ0CFU1M5QodwCxe8w .

[finnpond]

Wow big pond!!!  You might want to look into an external pump for something that size...  Those large submersibles I hear can gobble up some power...  My pond is probably half the size of yours, 4500 gallons or so, and I use home-made up-flow filters, except for the Savio skimmer/filter... I use a 4200 GPH Sequence external pump...

Good Luck...  Dave

[Johns]

finnpond is correct as to the need for external pumps for ponds as big as yours.  Large in pond pumps are heavy and difficult to maintain.