I've got this "pond" in the back that previous owners of the property used
to throw their junk into. It is about 40-45 feet in diameter and some 5
feet deep in the center. I've got some guy who's going to clean out the
junk and run a bulldozer over the hole to clean out the weeds and small
trees (willows and stuff). I noticed the "pond" was filling up again with
water, it's having rained after being pretty dry. Not wanting this guy to
have to drive his equipment in deep water, I got me a pump. It looks
pretty much like your standard household basement sump pump on steroids.
The manufacturer claims some 59 gal/min, but figuring those claims to be a
tad optimistic, I guess it might do about 50 gal/min, or 3,000 gal/hr. It
has a 2 in exhaust that I've got running into a 100 ft hose so that the
water I pump out doesn't run right back in. The land here is classic
"poorly drained," and the area I pumped the water into you could grow rice
in, it's got water a couple inches deep in places. Luckily it is mostly
swampy woodland anyway, so it will be able to deal with the water. Not so
these huge tadpoles that weren't at all pleased with the results of my
pumping. It took me a few false starts and a few days, but now I have most
of the water out of the "pond." (The pump sucks water from it's base, and
can only suck down so far before it starts sucking air.) Anyway, I was
feeling pretty impressed by my (I thought pretty big) pump. Then I started
reading some of the postings here a bit more closely. Seems that 3,000 gal
ponds aren't all that uncommon, and neither are pumps that can easily move
that much water in an hour. I'd need a whole fleet of pumps to try to
cycle my pond's water in a day, let alone an hour, not to mention some
really heavy duty electric service. What do people do with these pumps,
and can I do a much slower job with the pump I have? Is there a better
group to inflict my questions upon? I've been told where to go and what to
do before, but this time could it have something to do with water?

Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA
We are the CroMagnon of the future

YOu already figured out whats not really feasible on most folks
budgets. Its gonna be a big time chore to try and cycle a natural
pond. Your best bet is to just provide sufficient aeration and let the
natural ponds bottom handle the bulk of the need. A floating type
pump/fountain should be more than suffiicient for this purpose. They
are eaily constructe dout of a plastic ring bouy or outside patio
umbrella stand (hollow plastic type filled with expanding foam (Great
Stuff)) and some simple PVC pipe and fittings to hold a suspended pump
below it, Anchor it in place with two poly type ski rope lines with
sufficieint slack to allow for fluctuatiing water levels. DO NOT use a
typical sump type pump for this purpose as it wil not last, as most
sump pumps draw tons of electricity and are not made for continuous
use. Mine is a replacement pump from a floating fountain, that puts
out lots of water through home made fountain nozzles of various
designs, and aerates and causes water movement on a 1+ acre natural
pond very efficieintly and only required 115vac power source so
running a power line is not that excessive in price as it only needs
to carry 15 or 20 amps at the most. IIRC my pump pulls 6.5 amps and
is made for continuous duty. I do not remember the pumps name as its
been in use non stop for close to two years now.......IIRC its
something like Linzee or Linzea, made specifically for floating
fountains, that sell in the $800 to 1000 dollar range. I assembled my
fountain for less than $160 including the price of the pump, float,
PVC, wire and underwater splice kit needed to lengthen the 18 foot
lead on the pump to 100 feet... Took about a day to assemble and set
in place properly. I also added low voltage lights I adapted to
it........Look for KASCO fountains for an idea on what I am trying to
say. A pond of your size is more than doable with just aeration with
a floating fountain, and obtaining decent water quality.

On Sun, 01 Jan 2006 21:24:04 -0500, Galen Hekhuis
wrote:
I've got this "pond" in the back that previous owners of the property used
to throw their junk into. It is about 40-45 feet in diameter and some 5
feet deep in the center. I've got some guy who's going to clean out the
junk and run a bulldozer over the hole to clean out the weeds and small
trees (willows and stuff). I noticed the "pond" was filling up again with
water, it's having rained after being pretty dry. Not wanting this guy to
have to drive his equipment in deep water, I got me a pump. It looks
pretty much like your standard household basement sump pump on steroids.
The manufacturer claims some 59 gal/min, but figuring those claims to be a
tad optimistic, I guess it might do about 50 gal/min, or 3,000 gal/hr. It
has a 2 in exhaust that I've got running into a 100 ft hose so that the
water I pump out doesn't run right back in. The land here is classic
"poorly drained," and the area I pumped the water into you could grow rice
in, it's got water a couple inches deep in places. Luckily it is mostly
swampy woodland anyway, so it will be able to deal with the water. Not so
these huge tadpoles that weren't at all pleased with the results of my
pumping. It took me a few false starts and a few days, but now I have most
of the water out of the "pond." (The pump sucks water from it's base, and
can only suck down so far before it starts sucking air.) Anyway, I was
feeling pretty impressed by my (I thought pretty big) pump. Then I started
reading some of the postings here a bit more closely. Seems that 3,000 gal
ponds aren't all that uncommon, and neither are pumps that can easily move
that much water in an hour. I'd need a whole fleet of pumps to try to
cycle my pond's water in a day, let alone an hour, not to mention some
really heavy duty electric service. What do people do with these pumps,
and can I do a much slower job with the pump I have? Is there a better
group to inflict my questions upon? I've been told where to go and what to
do before, but this time could it have something to do with water?

Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA
We are the CroMagnon of the future

--
\\\|///
( @ @ )
-----------oOOo(_)oOOo---------------


oooO
---------( )----Oooo----------------
\ ( ( )
\_) ) /
(_/
The original frugal ponder! Koi-ahoi mates....

I want a pond that big !!!!!

"Galen Hekhuis" wrote in message
...
I've got this "pond" in the back that previous owners of the property used
to throw their junk into. It is about 40-45 feet in diameter and some 5
feet deep in the center. I've got some guy who's going to clean out the
junk and run a bulldozer over the hole to clean out the weeds and small
trees (willows and stuff). I noticed the "pond" was filling up again with
water, it's having rained after being pretty dry. Not wanting this guy to
have to drive his equipment in deep water, I got me a pump. It looks
pretty much like your standard household basement sump pump on steroids.
The manufacturer claims some 59 gal/min, but figuring those claims to be a
tad optimistic, I guess it might do about 50 gal/min, or 3,000 gal/hr. It
has a 2 in exhaust that I've got running into a 100 ft hose so that the
water I pump out doesn't run right back in. The land here is classic
"poorly drained," and the area I pumped the water into you could grow rice
in, it's got water a couple inches deep in places. Luckily it is mostly
swampy woodland anyway, so it will be able to deal with the water. Not so
these huge tadpoles that weren't at all pleased with the results of my
pumping. It took me a few false starts and a few days, but now I have
most
of the water out of the "pond." (The pump sucks water from it's base, and
can only suck down so far before it starts sucking air.) Anyway, I was
feeling pretty impressed by my (I thought pretty big) pump. Then I
started
reading some of the postings here a bit more closely. Seems that 3,000
gal
ponds aren't all that uncommon, and neither are pumps that can easily move
that much water in an hour. I'd need a whole fleet of pumps to try to
cycle my pond's water in a day, let alone an hour, not to mention some
really heavy duty electric service. What do people do with these pumps,
and can I do a much slower job with the pump I have? Is there a better
group to inflict my questions upon? I've been told where to go and what
to
do before, but this time could it have something to do with water?

Galen Hekhuis NpD, JFR, GWA
We are the CroMagnon of the future

"David Sim" wrote in message
...
I want a pond that big !!!!!

=======================
Start digging. The longest journey starts with the first step...... :-)
--

Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
NEW PAGE: Aquariums:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastada...ium-Page4.html
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
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