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  1. #1
    Member Rank = Tosai Jgw911's Avatar
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    Maintaining water level in gravity system

    Hi All

    Starting to feel a little worried now about moving from a pump fed to gravity fed filtration system for my new pond

    I understand all the advantages but at the same time I'm used to being able to drop my pond level by half when doing a big water change and the filtration system just keeps on working as normal. I think all that changes with a gravity system. But just how do you guys deal with keeping an accurate water level in your gravity fed pond systems? Especially when you run drums?

    Do you use auto top-ups? Googling these, there seem to be very few to buy in this country. More a USA thing.
    Do you instead use tap water reservoirs for your drum cleaning cycle?

    In this country I'd imagine overfilling from our great British weather is as much of a problem (or more) than evaporation, so do you have overflows built-in? I don't recall seeing any overflows in the pond build threads I've read.

    Any photos of how your system has been set up to deal with water level would be great!

    Thanks!



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  3. #2
    I run a trickle feed that causes the pond to overflow. The overflow runs into a drain.
    I switched from pump fed to gravity fed and it was the best change I ever made.
    If you run a trickle top up and keep on top of the chemistry you shouldn't really need big changes in my opinion.


    In theory, theory and practice are the same.
    In practice, they aren't.

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  5. #3
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Rokusai Chipmonk's Avatar
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    I run a trickle in and overflow out on my pond. Trickle in through big blue carbon filter and overflow pipe set for level in my skimmer. Takes care of drum cleaning and also over filling from rain.
    Chip


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  7. #4
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Kyusai Scamp's Avatar
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    yep trickle in too, overflow to waste. Draco uses mains water to clean. Don't worry about water changes/ levels that way.

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  9. #5
    Member Rank = Tosai Jgw911's Avatar
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    Thanks all. Trickle in sounds like a good idea but do you know what sort of flow rate you are using and is it expensive on water bills when metered?

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  11. #6
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Rokusai Chipmonk's Avatar
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    I currently run my trickle feed at 1,000 ltrs a day but I'm not on a meter so not sure on the coatings of that pond is 18,000 ltrs (4000 gallons) will slow it down further in winter.
    Chip


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  13. #7
    Member Rank = Tosai Jgw911's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Chipmonk View Post
    I currently run my trickle feed at 1,000 ltrs a day but I'm not on a meter so not sure on the coatings of that pond is 18,000 ltrs (4000 gallons) will slow it down further in winter.
    Chip


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    That sounds like a lot. Wonder if I can get away with less on a 10000 litre pond...

    I guess a great deal depends on how much the drum uses and I probably won't be able to work that out until it's been running for a while.

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  15. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Jgw911 View Post
    That sounds like a lot. Wonder if I can get away with less on a 10000 litre pond...

    I guess a great deal depends on how much the drum uses and I probably won't be able to work that out until it's been running for a while.
    I run between 0.5 and 1.0 litres per minute (720 to 1440 litres per day) on a 13,000 litre pond. I don't like going below 0.5. I'd say on 10,000 litres you should be ok at 500 litres per day unless you have huge stocking levels or feed loads or your filters are undersized or immature.


    In theory, theory and practice are the same.
    In practice, they aren't.

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  17. #9
    Running with a Draco on part of the pond in a Nexus, have it set in the Nexus if the water goes 5mm over the level the excess flows into the waste shute, also have a overflow fitted in the skimmer and the drum cleaning water is taken from the clean side of the Nexus. Level doesn't drop much daily about 5mm a day can go about a week before I need to top up.
    Running with a gravity set up I can only now with the Draco can let the water level drop no more than around nine inches else the Draco pump is starved of water, suppose if I wanted I could fit a longer pick up pipe but doesn't concern me, just have to watch it when flushing the bead on the other line.

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  19. #10

    Maintaining water level in gravity system

    Personally, I prefer the drum cleaning water to come from a tank topped up with tap water.
    I like the fact I'm cleaning the drum with chlorinated water as I believe it keeps the bio film from forming on the mesh.
    I also like that even if pond level drops I can keep cleaning without compounding the problem and getting into a constant cleaning cycle.
    I used to run pond water cleaning but switched over after a couple of bad experiences.


    In theory, theory and practice are the same.
    In practice, they aren't.

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  21. #11
    Member Rank = Tosai Jgw911's Avatar
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    Just got my most recent water bill out for prices and did some sums.

    500 litres a day trickle-in would cost about £540 per year, so more than doubling our current bill for all other water uses.

    Unless i I can prove the water isn't going back into the sewers in which case it would be less than half that.

    I thought running an RO unit for our previous reef tank used a lot of water! oh well.

    What happens when a hosepipe ban gets introduced? Do you just keep quiet and hope nobody notices?

  22. #12

    Maintaining water level in gravity system

    I don't think hosepipe bans apply when livestock needs water.
    I'm not certain though.
    Do you have to prove none of your run off water (guttering, surface water etc) goes to the mains sewer or can it just be part of it going to a soak away or similar? Again not sure but I think when I looked into it a few years ago it was all surface water. Maybe different in different regions though??


    In theory, theory and practice are the same.
    In practice, they aren't.

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  24. #13
    Member Rank = Tosai Jgw911's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnKitching View Post
    I don't think hosepipe bans apply when livestock needs water.
    I'm not certain though.
    Do you have to prove none of your run off water (guttering, surface water etc) goes to the mains sewer or can it just be part of it going to a soak away or similar? Again not sure but I think when I looked into it a few years ago it was all surface water. Maybe different in different regions though??


    In theory, theory and practice are the same.
    In practice, they aren't.
    Yeah just googled hosepipe bans and it mentioned the exemption for topping up fishponds - phew!

    Not sure about the run off water situation. Might need to investigate that one further with the water company...

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  26. #14
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Jussai RJW2012's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jgw911 View Post
    Just got my most recent water bill out for prices and did some sums.

    500 litres a day trickle-in would cost about £540 per year, so more than doubling our current bill for all other water uses.

    Unless i I can prove the water isn't going back into the sewers in which case it would be less than half that.

    I thought running an RO unit for our previous reef tank used a lot of water! oh well.

    What happens when a hosepipe ban gets introduced? Do you just keep quiet and hope nobody notices?
    Yeah, you OK filling your pond under a Hosepipe ban, not your swimming pool though!

    Rob.


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  28. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by RJW2012 View Post
    Yeah, you OK filling your pond under a Hosepipe ban, not your swimming pool though!

    Rob.


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    Unless there's a goldfish in your swimming pool Maintaining water level in gravity system


    In theory, theory and practice are the same.
    In practice, they aren't.

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  30. #16
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Grand Champion Andre Asagi's Avatar
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    Right. I don't have a drum so not sure if this is relevant.

    I converted to gravity from pump fed a few years ago and as far as filter cleaning goes, it's a pain in the rear because i dump anything from 500 to 1200 litres each time.

    Obviously if you have a drum then you won't need to be manually cleaning the filter every night.

    My levels are quite tight so, once everything is done, the pond cannot run until it's topped up again. To get round this i fill a 1000 litre vat with tap water each morning. ST or bottle dechlor is added. Then its left to stand all day to hopefully equalise the temperature with the pond. When i get home i add bicarb to raise the pH closer to that of the pond. Then i clean the filters and i can quickly top up from the vat.

    I regularly forget to fill the vat or don't have time. In this situation i have to stay up till 2am before everything is done. Not ideal.

    The slightest thing and the pump starts to struggle. It really gets me down sometimes. I can't wait to rip it all out and start from scratch.

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  32. #17
    Why not add a ball valve to your vat Andre?


    In theory, theory and practice are the same.
    In practice, they aren't.

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  34. #18
    Moderator Rank = Supreme Champion Feline's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JohnKitching View Post
    Why not add a ball valve to your vat Andre?


    In theory, theory and practice are the same.
    In practice, they aren't.
    Yeah, that would be a very good idea.

    I recently got my dog a horse trough to drink out of because I was sick of him getting into his water bowl. This thing mounts on the wall and autofills as he he drinks it from the mains with a little ball cock valve inside. Makes things incredibly easy, and something less to remember to do every day! I've now had to get one for the chickens too because the dog took to getting in their washing up bowl full of water when I took his ground level bowl away!
    This is the kind of thing you need https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plastic-Flo.../dp/B00Z9AYXZO
    Handily, a normal tap hose attachment fitted the thread on mine, so could just connect to a hosepipe, no fancy plumbing.
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hozelock-Th...hozelock&psc=1

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  36. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Feline View Post
    Yeah, that would be a very good idea.

    I recently got my dog a horse trough to drink out of because I was sick of him getting into his water bowl. This thing mounts on the wall and autofills as he he drinks it from the mains with a little ball cock valve inside. Makes things incredibly easy, and something less to remember to do every day! I've now had to get one for the chickens too because the dog took to getting in their washing up bowl full of water when I took his ground level bowl away!
    This is the kind of thing you need https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plastic-Flo.../dp/B00Z9AYXZO
    Handily, a normal tap hose attachment fitted the thread on mine, so could just connect to a hosepipe, no fancy plumbing.
    https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hozelock-Th...hozelock&psc=1

    I bought the the exact same thing, but I haven't installed mine yet. The beauty here is there's very little plumbing involved

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  38. #20
    Member Rank = Tosai Jgw911's Avatar
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    Was talking to Mike at Queni Koi today and he pointed me to the overflow and top up boxes at:
    Pond Construction Equipment

    Havent seen anything like these elsewhere so I'm going to seriously consider one of these.

    Andre - your cleaning routine does sound pretty painful! I do hope that the advantages of gravity fed will be worth it in end!

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