Linking tanks (ponds)

[Andyroo]

Wise folk,
We're building a pond for a private villa.
There's a water-feature with planted trickle-wall a few metres to one side that was initially to be chlorinated; however
the client is now asking it to have fish & plants... adn there's not much space for chlorination. The primary project contractor is asking if we can plumb it to & from the primary filter, but I'm thinking it'd be better to simply plumb to the side of the main pond/tank with a 2" line (separate in & out) with its own discrete little Jabeo to keep the water moving in&out from the small pond back&forth to the big one.
Thoughts? Pitfalls to linking-in the side pond to access the primary filter?

The trickle-wall will have its own pump.

 

[Andyroo]

 

[Andyroo]

so my question is what to look for and/or look out for in the linking lines between the trickle-wall & primary tanks.
a small jaebo will fill the smaller tank (from the smaller tank) and it'd drain back to the main via gravity.

Q2: can I set a water-loss replacement autofill float valve in the smaller tank & serve the total system? Folly? Pitfalls?

 

[jjohnwm]

Way beyond my experience level, so I'm no help. I would only ask one question: would it not be preferable for the pump feeding the new small pond to be located in the sump filter, so that it is clean filtered water being pumped to the new feature? You'd still have the outflow returning to the main pond.

 

[Andyroo]

I'd agree, jjohnwm , and will check the contractor for this option as there's a concrete slab/walkway.

 

[Andyroo]

...however, the way the filter's going to be configured (below) there's going to be a good deal of "suck" from the current 3x primary pumps, and when the filter matting is erring to mucky the littler side-pool pump might get overworked and/or side-pond might get emptied out. Thinking...

 

[kendragon]

A very ballsy design.
Those that run sump filters on their tank know the difficulties of water level and balancing flow. You're not just attempting a sump but multi-ponds plus a water feature. Wow what a night mare.

One needs to consider flooding when power goes out. Usually, multi-pond systems are at different levels to utilize gravity flow. The lower one some times over flows if not designed right.

Pond sumps that work are about 1/3 the size of the pond. This allows settling and large volume to prevent running dry. I personally prefer pressurized filters for ponds due to the large area of a sump and difficulty of hiding it. When gravity is utilized, hydraulic pressure is not something to be overlooked. Even if designed right on paper, the unpredictable blockage from garbage (leaves, trash, dead fish) always trips the ideas.

Just last week, I installed a waterfall feature linked to the koi pond. This week it is full of muck and algae growth already. Give the customer what they want and you create more work for all. Water features that are not chlorinated become algae farms. I hate being an Algae Farmer during the Summer.

Good luck!

 

[Andyroo]

Thanks kendragon and I don't disagree. We've got only ~1" of head above the waterfall between the upper & lower tanks of the main system, and ~6" of gunwale in the main tank to take any un-pumped overages (my schematic's not to scale). The cataract's total volume is less-than 100gal, and finally there's massive redundancy in the villa's power between public grid & gen-set, + we're looking to set at least these water-features to solar & battery... but let's see.

"Give the customer what they want and you create more work for all" couldn't be more correct, and part of why we're looking to start a sideline maintenance company. In this particular case we started with a nice single tank on a huge canister and the client loved it... until then the neighbour chimed-in and I found myself playing catchup for a proper "camel" (a horse as designed by committee). Most of my pond work is retrofitting chlorinated and/or civil engineer-designed systems, so I'm Ok with f@$%ing about & getting creative on the client's dime, 'cept for when billionaire privilege interferes with my real job - thus the maintenance company so my co-owners can babysit day-to-day.

Re. algae: we've had a lot of luck overdoing with flow, charcoal, planters & snails (etc) but clients who insist on adding koi and/or turtles (when I'm not looking) do tend to go green... and call irate at 4PM on December 23'd. New company will charge treble-rate

Re. blockage: it's in a garden overhung by ponciana & almond trees, thus will be a leafy mess at least twice/year. The charcoal bags have a gap beneath as a prelim holding & digester-habitat for shredders such as amphipods & snails (etc.), but the sponges will still need to be swapped more often. Yes, I rely a great deal (excessively?) on ecosystem function, but we've not got winter so they do tend to keep up.