This Is Just Not Fair!

[Ludwig Venter]

To make a short story long, Way back in 1973, I overhauled my Volkswagon beetles' engine..... new bearings,.... new rings.... Took me all of 3 months to do, (because I had a full time job and a partime job as drive-in manager) so could only work on the engine during off time. Finally, when "job completed"... I took the car for a test drive & only got halfway round the block, before the engine seized..... (again) I forgot to put oil in....

Now back to the present.... For a very long time, I've been contemplating to circulate water through my ponds to a 200L filtering drum and then back to the ponds....

Yesterday, I got all the necessary requirements and materials and (being Sunday) got up early, because there was work "at hand"....

I started at 08h00, and completed the job at 16h00, with a lot of blisters on my hands and totally exhausted. When I switched on the power..... The first tank (in a series of 3) just overflowed despite using a 40mm connection between the ponds,,, Everything is reverted back to the original setup and I wasted 8 hours!!!

I am more disappointed with this "move" than I was with the engine overhaul!

 

[Bebobb]

Oh my! That is just plain a waste of time! Do you think that you will try to hook it up again, and see if you can get the pond running?

 

[BigC]

Can you explain a little more on your setup Ludwig. Lay of the land etc. Having such a centralized system my cause you some problems should disease strike.
ATB
C

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Can you explain a little more on your setup Ludwig. Lay of the land etc. Having such a centralized system my cause you some problems should disease strike.
ATB
C

I've got a camera handy & will quickly run outside.... a picture is worth a thousand words... (which I feel like ATM.... a thousand words in "French")!!!

 

[onebto]

Do not loose heart Ludwig many good ideas need work before they become truly a good idea

 

[Ludwig Venter]

This is a "downslope view of three ponds which I interconnected with a 40mm dia. connection.

Discharge side of the connections

Intake side of the connection

Upslope view of the 3 ponds....

Connection piece between the ponds

Setup back to normal.... only one pond (mollies) circulating to filtering drum.

 

[MOW4T]

Do not loose heart Ludwig many good ideas need work before they become truly a good idea

i agree, now that you have done it when you discover what the problem is, you wont make the same mistake twice.

good luck

 

[BigC]

I think you may have to use some Gate Valves somewhere along the line to reduce the flow rates. A person well versed in the pond section may be worth seeking out one of those guys. Contact/PM saph.st24 as this would be a good place to start.
ATB
C

 

[Tolak]

I would bet the screens on the intake are restricting the flow. Try popping them off, see if flow is increased. I have 3/4" bulkheads on my tanks for water changes, that ends up being about 20mm. They will take 4gpm with the strainers installed, the water piles up pretty good, and I'm pushing my luck with the screens. The ones with larger fish & no strainer handle 4gpm easily.

 

[GAB99]

this might seem rather dumb, but im guessing this is a massive breeding project?

 

[Ludwig Venter]

this might seem rather dumb, but im guessing this is a massive breeding project?

Yes mo... not massive, but it is the breeding ponds for my livebearers... the first one closest to the blue drum being Mollies and platies, the 2nd one contains red Swordtails and the last one Guppies. I have 2 more of these around the back corner with Convicts in the one and (Killifish) Gardneris in the other (breeding spontaneously).

The mesh over the intake side of the connections is so fine, as I'd hate it if any of the Platy fry got mixed up with the swords... (even as adults they'll be hard to separate again).