ok im completely confused my pond is 500g and my filter pump is 500gph. now ive read on the internet that a ponds water should be turned over once every 2 hours, so that would mean i have a pretty good filter pump. but than at the lfs the guy told me i need to have a pump that will do 10x ponds gph so that would mean i need a 5000g pump. is that really necessary? why is it that ponds need sooooooo much filtration? pretty sure aquariums dont need that much filtration. somebody help me out here
confused about pump gph
- Thread starter shadowspar
- Start date
depending on the filter you have and the bio load from fish waste you are looking at 4-6x turnover rate needed.
I am working towards ten times volume per hour in my pond. In fishtanks with heavy bioloads, this is also suggested. Let your water parameters and bioload dictate whether you buy another pump, not the guy who's trying to sell you the pump! If you test, and find that you have ammonia and nitrite, then yes, you need more flow. If you test, and these are zero, then you're fine. If you add fish, and then you test, and you have ammonia and nitrite, then you need more flow, and etc. Keep testing until you are up to the amount of fish you ultimately want to have in the pond. If you're having problems with ammonia or nitrite, then yes, add another pump. If these levels are zero, then it's not necessary, but it's always nice to have extra pumps in case one goes out. Just an idea.
personally im not a fan of crowding fish, so i dont plan on having many fish in my pond, im thinking of maybe 3 koi and 3 comets, and they wont be a large size for a long time but by that time i will have upgraded to a larger pond. so i shouldnt have much of a bio load. but i will be doing some test to check everything out. thanks for that info
lol pond is on the smaller size but no pond I've yet come across needs 10x turnover and the larger ponds need less and less. my pond has a little over 1x an hour and it is very healthy. I'm sure overcrowding would benefit from the extra flow but surly you'd realize your fish can barely move and decide to sell some off at that point. at least I'd hope you would.
I strongly recommend reading the following lecture, it will help you get started and it boasts the advice of a long time show koi vet.
http://prairieland_pond.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles//lecture.pdf
10x turnover in an aquarium sure, even then though you're trying to deal with a bio load that is too much for your tank size 5-6x in an aquarium is more common and nothing beats a sump with dealing with large bio loads.
similarly with your pond filtration it's size of the filter that matters more than turnover. The most successful ponds I've seen have 1x turnover pump with several filtration chambers together totaling 1/4 the volume of the pond itself.
Now if you're refering to the really cool looking waterfalls, then yes you need a large pump to make those happen, but it's not a requirment for the pond's health.
I strongly recommend reading the following lecture, it will help you get started and it boasts the advice of a long time show koi vet.
http://prairieland_pond.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles//lecture.pdf
10x turnover in an aquarium sure, even then though you're trying to deal with a bio load that is too much for your tank size 5-6x in an aquarium is more common and nothing beats a sump with dealing with large bio loads.
similarly with your pond filtration it's size of the filter that matters more than turnover. The most successful ponds I've seen have 1x turnover pump with several filtration chambers together totaling 1/4 the volume of the pond itself.
Now if you're refering to the really cool looking waterfalls, then yes you need a large pump to make those happen, but it's not a requirment for the pond's health.
10x and your pond will only pump 500 gallons on a level surface, why not ebay it and get a 2000gph pump like i did for like 80 bucks?
10X, thats obnoxious...
I have never heard or read of anybody using that much flow. I think at least 2X for 3 Koi in 500 gals. If you are planning to go bigger soon, and don't want to throw down on a new pump. Increase areation with a couple of smaller pumps or air diffusers.
I have never heard or read of anybody using that much flow. I think at least 2X for 3 Koi in 500 gals. If you are planning to go bigger soon, and don't want to throw down on a new pump. Increase areation with a couple of smaller pumps or air diffusers.