sharn Posted September 23, 2006 Report Share Posted September 23, 2006 hey guys after cleaning out my pond today (found one baby fish too!) i have decided that i must get them a filter after seeing what was in there (i am most ashamed). i have absolutley no idea what i want other than it needs to have a filter part in it to try and get the water a bit cleaner. it seems alot of these pond pumps have no filter, just the powerhead with some fancy attatchments for fountains. my pond is roughly 500L. if i got this filter part- http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 236713.htm would i be able to hook it up to this- http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 358220.htm i think the powercord would be too short cause its about 6m to the nearest powerpoint (just inside the door). would this be better (and can i hook it up to the prefilter above?)- http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 138092.htm that seems to be more of a fountain maker (i dont want a fountain)? but it has the right length cord :-? so basically i have no idea what i want :lol: any suggestions and help would be most appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted September 23, 2006 Report Share Posted September 23, 2006 You can buy mains rated power cord for about $2 a meter, and a new plug for about $5 from Dick Smith, or just buy an extension lead Honestly I wouldn't worry about plug length, as the biggest danger to the cord will be rodents or a spade (an RCD is recommended in case of the latter happening). Either pump will be fine, if the pipes don't match you can get adaptors, its just rubber hose. What you want to look for is the litres per hour, and also for ponds UV-C filters are recommended a lot to keep algae out. Filtering out dirt that may fall in may well be an impossible task unfortunately. Not sure what is actually making your pond unclear? My parents used to overflow theirs, basically a water change for a pond, but I don't think thats the eco-friendly way of doing business. They had a pump and basically put it in a terracota pot with heaps of filter wool around it, then a slate on top. This worked great and the filter wool clogged VERY quickly with muck, but in the end we gave up with the filter wool as there was just too much getting in there Its a great excuse to install a waterfall too btw. Making little rivers is neato. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted September 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 23, 2006 so buying a plain old extension cord wont go boom when it rains and the plugs get wet? being a house of females we dont dig much so no worries on that front :lol: would i be best to get that fountain maker thingamabob and get a UV-C attatchment thing like this one instead of getting a pre filter? http://www.trademe.co.nz/Home-living/Pe ... 834972.htm i suppose if the UV steriliser makes the water clean (the pond has your plain old green water from too much light) it will be easier for me to see the gunk and remove it with my siphon :lol: how many watts would it need to be and are those bulbs readily available? the pond isnt that large and that 5W is rated up to 3000L wish i could just chuck a canister on the thing! :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted September 23, 2006 Report Share Posted September 23, 2006 Buy a pump, a UV (if you don't want green water). Get a bucket or container and drill 2 hole(1 on bottom, 1 on top) for inlet and outlet. fill the bucket with filter wool to trape dirt and dead algea . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted September 23, 2006 Report Share Posted September 23, 2006 haha ok, a permanent outdoor extension cord probably isnt the safest option, I'd at least silicon it up, but seriously the way it should be done (besides an electrician) is with bright orange thin PVC pipe underground with 10A mains rated cable inside it. Keeps it protected from the weather, and makes it safe (in regards to spades, or diggers, etc). But anywho, my point was getting the standard cord extended wont be too expensive and you should be able to find someone nearby who is willing to do it for you. I can't really give any more advice on filters though, because I've only ever used my parents, and that was basically a pump'n pot. I do beleive water movement and the UV-C would clear up the water a lot though. A terracotta pot and some filter wool does make a cheap pre-filter though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted September 23, 2006 Report Share Posted September 23, 2006 You can get 12volt pumps for ponds this would be a far safer and maybe cheaper option, plant shops usually have them. I saw some plans for a 'spider' filter for a pond, basically it was a bunch of pvc pipes connected together in a star shape, all with lots of holes drilled, pump sucks out the centre of the star, the pvc is covered with gravel. The idea is that it works the same as an under gravel fiilter like you would have in a fish tank. This gives you a huge biofilter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted September 23, 2006 Report Share Posted September 23, 2006 Water and electricty do not mix. You cannot just plug it all into an extension cord! I believe it is illegal to do so as well. We put in a proper ouside rated outlet for our electrical pond equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted September 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2006 well sadly i dont have the funds to pay for an electrician to come around and do it for me that fountain maker has a 10m cable so can i just dig a trench for the cable and run it inside? we never dig around there at all so disturbance to the cable wouldnt be a problem. i think i might get one of those little water fall makers and set it up with the fountain maker pump (look at UV later on) and then if i want i can just load the waterfall part with floss to trap some of the particles (im not too good at explaining this but its the same as a pond we used to have). that way i wont have to worry about extension cords or filters for now and if i feel the need can add a UV on it at a later stage. does this sound ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted September 24, 2006 Report Share Posted September 24, 2006 It is illegal and dangerous to run a cable from outside to inside in that manner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted September 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 24, 2006 guess our fishies arent getting a pump then, i have to pay for anything done to that pond even though its not 'mine' and i dont think i can afford to pay someone to come out and set it up for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted September 24, 2006 Report Share Posted September 24, 2006 It is illegal and dangerous to run a cable from outside to inside in that manner. Why is it dangerous?? If the cable is dug under ground, run into the house in a good way, and plugged into an rcd. how is it dangerous?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilknieval69 Posted September 24, 2006 Report Share Posted September 24, 2006 Would this be allright???... The idea is to have the cord, inside some pvc pipe, completely sealed, running from the pond to the house where it comes back out of the pipe, so it can then go inside and be plugged into an rcd.... The red line is the cord from the pump, the blue lines are the top and bottom of the pvc pipe... the rest is self-explanatory... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimTam22 Posted September 24, 2006 Report Share Posted September 24, 2006 I really like that drawing hehe all this talk of ponds makes me want one so bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted September 24, 2006 Report Share Posted September 24, 2006 There must be a building standard for how this should be done. Your local councial should be able to tell you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted September 24, 2006 Report Share Posted September 24, 2006 There must be a building standard for how this should be done. Your local councial should be able to tell you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted September 24, 2006 Report Share Posted September 24, 2006 I think the code when I did it was 600mm deep 150 mm above cable a warning plastic strip, then 150 above that I had concrete pieces. The plastic and concrete may have been reversed. mmmm!! Might be overkill, but when you are in a position that you may sell or die and the next owners have no idea what is below the surface. Better to be safe than sorry. Hate to meet a person in the after-life and have them go crook at me forever for not warning correctly of the buried cable. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seth Posted September 24, 2006 Report Share Posted September 24, 2006 Run a pipe and run a cord from under the house my garage is supplyed with power this way. just make sure if you sell the house you cut the ends of the cord so your not liable for any thing. I did this at the advice of a electricion mate of my fathers lol. your actually supposed to get a certified electricion to do it by law and get it certified/registerd with the concill thats why ill be cutting mine when i leave this place lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishman Posted September 25, 2006 Report Share Posted September 25, 2006 Make sure to unplug it first before you cut the cord.. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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