water flow for biological filtration

[sickbugs]

Would it be more effective to have a slower water speed for bio filtration or is faster better?? My grandfather had 4 1200 gallon (average) cement ponds back to back, used to raise tilapia in them, they have been sitting in disrepair for the past 10 years so im thinking about making one big pond out of them.
I would end up with a 40 foot long x 6 foot wide x 3 foot deep pond in which i can start raising something or the other, my dad/grandad who also will be sharing in the project want to do koi, im not too fussy about koi but i do want to keep some catfish etc.

now on to the filtration. I am thinking about building a seperate bog type filter for it, which will also allow me to grow a wide selection of aquarium plants for my planted tanks at home, and also a 480 gallon container (its there on the property already) completely full of scrubbies or some other similar type of bio filtration. for maximum effective bio filtration, what sort of water flow should i be looking at? both will be above the height of the pond btw, allowing water to cascade back in. right now he has 8 1200 gph pumps that are sitting around doing nothing, but im really out of my depth in figuring out an effective filter setup for a project of this size, or how much water i should be moving.. my main focus is having totally clean water, so ive also got to think about proper mechanical filtration. any help would be appreciated

 

[dirtbikerider]

Wow that's a big project. I am far from an expert on filtration but I do think you are asking the right place and the experts will be chiming in soon. Good luck on your project and post pics. This has potential, subscribed.

 

[sickbugs]

i'll get some pics of the setup as is, with a big mulberry tree covering half of it.. its not much to look at right now, but it should be a fun project.

 

[epond83]

From what i've seen, it seems like with larger tanks a slower filtration rate is ok. If you use the pumps there you are looking at 2x turn over which doesn't seem bad to me (having never set up a huge pond).

If you are wanting clear water (mech. filtered) a sand filter of some sort might be a good way to go, one that has a back wash to get all the debri out. UV filters are good for keeping algea down depending on how much sun the ponds will get.

 

[sickbugs]

removing the mulberry tree is not an option, so chances are the pond will be almost fully covered by shadecloth to keep out falling leaves/branches/anything else that will just be a nuisance. i'm not sure if algae will be a huge issue yet. i wouldnt consider it a huge pond though, there is a cement tank on his property that holds probably about 16,000 gallons of water, he used to keep it 3/4 full back when i was a young boy, but he drained it about 15 years ago and it would cost more than i can afford to set back up

 

[tbonewarrior]

Jealous!

 

[Cookie*]

Cool to have a grandfather with such cool stuff, even if you have to work to get it back to it's glory. Very cool project. I would love to see pictures and follow the project!

 

[sickbugs]

messed up my ankle pretty bad spearing crayfish in a stream last night, will be a few days before i go for pics.