"~ jan" wrote in message
...
http://www.aquaart.com/StrBsk.html

For $35? Wow...I guess building one is a useless idea.

Did I miss something? SrBsk are usually used on out-of-the-water pumps and
it appears to me that BV is going to use a submersible.....

Yes, it is my intent to use a submersible pump. You are correct.

That said, BV, here's what you're missing in going with small settling
tanks, they may be easy to clean due to size, but you will be cleaning
them
often, and IME I do mean often. I originally started with a 10 gallon
filter on my koi ponds which worked the first year with tiny fish and lots
of plants, (basically the ponds were veggie filters). 10 gallons was a
snap
to clean (15 minutes) but it had to be done EVERY day. If you make your
pond system an every day or even every few day maintenance chore, I hope
you have no plans of ever being sick or on vacation, cause no one can keep
up the pond better than the pond master builder (that's you).....

This may be the most important paragraph that I have read since I started my
pond design. This was exactly my intent; a small easy to clean pre-filter.
Daily sounds awful. My hole goal behind a VF is to reduce maintenance.

Take a little extra time now and dig a hole for a 40 gallon Rough Tote
Trough at the very least*, use window screening and up flow. In the ground
with water hyacinths growing in the top and it will soon be invisible.
Depending on the inhabitants in your pond, you'll only clean this every
3-6
weeks.

Everyone is right though, that said your veggie filter can also be your
mechanical filter** you've just got your pump placement wrong, imo. It
needs to go after the veggie filter, preferable in a container large
enough
that it can't suck it dry faster than it can fill.***

Damn, just when I thought I had my design perfect. I intended to have a
bottom drain and skimmer run to my VF. In the VF, we plan to have a
decorative pot or urn sitting, raises a bit out of the water. I intend to
have the feed from the pond come in thru the bottom of this urn. The urn
will be seperated into two sections by some screening with the pump above
the screen. The water would then overflow the urn, and spill into the VF,
which would feed the main pond via 4'' pipe. I figured every now and then I
could shut the pump down, close a valve and overflow the urn and it's
collected gunk into the VF. I figured it would be easy to clean, would not
be a maintenance nightmare, and would also look nice.

I haven't figured out if this pond will be above the main pond or on the
same level yet. I am guessing slightly above, maybe even raised about a
foot, with a nice retaining wall/place to sit.

* I'd used a 55 gallon barrel as you get more vertical space to keep the
screen off the bottom but also away from the hyacinth roots.

If buried, how do you easily clean it?


** A mechanical chamber is still easier than removing all your plants and
cleaning the veggie filter if you have to do it more than once/year. If
you
are in an area with winter, the veggie filter should be cleaned in winter
or before spring start up, imo.

I don't mind emptying the VF once or twice a year. I plan to make it
shallow, so that should not be a big deal.

***For pump protection you need enough vertical space to use a float
switch
so if something clogs the system the pump will shut off rather than burn
up
or suck the pond dry.

The switch is a neccesity. I have a 5 year old and a 2.5 year old. 'Nuff
said?

Just out of curiosity have you looked at my website? ~ jan )

I have but not in awhile...time to revisit.

BV.