Technical Info

The pumps we recommend with our systems are energy efficient.  They are a little more expensive however they consume dramatically less electricity to run than other less expensive models.  Over the long run they will save you money.

Examples:
We are basing this example on the following:
Running the pump for 24 hours per day and for 30 days straight, and the cost of electricity at .12 cents per Kilowatt hour.  Replace the .12 cents with your actual cost of electricity per hour to get your savings with an energy efficient pump.

Not an Energy Efficient Pump:
Little Giant 1200gph (gallons per hour) pump:

Energy Efficient Pump:
Oase 1200gph (gallons per hour) pump:

Selecting the Correct pump:

Step 1:  Determine the volume of water of your pond.

Step 2:  Decide what water features you want. Waterfalls, statuary, fountain, sprays.  You need to know how high water will be pumped from the pump to the top of the waterfall.

Step 3:  Choosing a pump with enough GPH and lift Capacity.   Rule of thumb: select a pump that will circulate at least 50% of your pond volume in 1 hour at your desired pumping height.  This is required for good pond ecology.

- Water flow GPH decreases as you increase pumping heights
- Increasing the diameter of tubing or piping can increase water flow rates.
-  Information on GPH at different heights is available upon request.

Pump & Pipe Sizing for Streams & Waterfalls:

1/2" deep and 1" wide; 100 GPH is Required

Example:  If you want a 12" stream:
12" x 100 GPH/inch = 1200 GPH

If you want a waterfall to be 1" deep adjust the formula as follows:
If you want a 6" Waterfall with 1" depth:
6 x (100 x 2) = 1200 GPH

Pipe/Tubing gph

1/2' size: Up to 300gph
3/4" size:  Up to 500gph
1" size:  Up to 800gph
1 1/4" size: Up to 1500gph
1 1/2" size:  Up to 2300gph
2" size:  Up to 5000gph

Sizing a Pond Liner:
Width + (2 x depth) + 1 foot surplus = liner width.
Length + (2 x depth) + 1 foot surplus = liner length

Example:  For a 10' x 15' Pond average Depth 24":
Width:  10 + (2 x 2) +1 = 15
Length: 15 + (2 x 2) +1 = 20

Calculating the Volume of Water in your pond:
There are 7.5 Gallons of water per cubic foot.  You must determine cubic feet:

Square or Rectangle pond:
Length x Width x Depth x 7.5 = Volume in Gallons

Example:  For a 15' x 10' Pond with a 24" Depth:
15 x 10 x 2 x 7.5 = 2250 gallons.

Round Pond: 
Top diameter x bottom diameter x height (in feet) x .785 = Volume of pond
Example:  3' x 3' x 2' = A pond volume of 14.13 cubic feet.
14.13 x 7.5 = 105.98 gallons.

Note:  If you have fish you want to turn at least 1/2 the gallons of your pond in 1 hour.  In the example for a square or rectangle pond you would have to turn a minimum of 1125 gallons per hour.

Formula to calculate the approximate quantity of "Pond" rocks:

Example based on an 11' x 16' pond & 2' deep:

Boulders needed:

Stones (gravel) needed:
Take the tons number gotten above per your calculations and multiply times .45 for the stone tonnage needed:  Example per above 2.71 tons of boulders calculated above for 11' x 16' pond:

Formula to calculate the approximate quantity of "Stream" rocks:

Formula to calculate the approximate quantity of  stones or gravel needed:

You will need approximately 3/4 to 1 1/4 tons of 6" to 12" boulders to build around the face of your standard Biofalls.  Select same Flat stones for the steps in your stream.

Stone recommendations

Call your local quarry or garden center.  Nice stones used are: river stone, river rounds, pea gravel, smooth rounds stones.  For your stream you need 5-6 flat stones for steps per 20' of stream.

Tools needed for pond installations

Shovel, wheelbarrow, level, screwdriver, & a strong back.

Additional Purchases

3 bags of sand for leveling Biofalls and skimmer.
1 40lb bag of kitty litter, media for plants.
Topsoil
Mulch

Problems with Ducks, Herons or King Fishers:

Solution: String randomly placed fishing line across your pond and secure with rocks or landscape U staples at the edge of your pond.  The birds will have trouble getting in and out of the pond and will get discouraged and leave.  They will look for easier pickings in your neighbors pond :-)