In Part 1 Pond Construction – Planning, Layout and Digging I talked about planning and beginning the digging process. In this post I’m going to talk about pond equipment planning and why I choose the equipment I did.
After reviewing my plans I was able to calculate that my pond was going to be about 2,000+ gallons. I always want to over compensate and have equipment that can handle a much larger volume of water but I also wanted this pond to be energy efficient.
After installing all this equipment and watt testing each device I found that running this pond will cost about $10-$15 a month or $120-$150 a year on Tallahassee Electric Rates. That is pretty energy efficient. This is calculated based on water pump and air pump running 24/7 and the water fountain running 12 hours a day. The lights for 4 hours a day.
Water Pump: Waveline DC12000 Internal/External Pump with Controller 27 Watts to 153 Watts
This is the workhorse of the pond and the most important piece of equipment you can purchase. This single item is also the most energy intensive. Here I thought long and hard as to what I wanted. I actually choose an aquarium DC water pump to do the job. This pump was incredibly energy efficient and the water flow is fully adjustable. There were several problems with this choice first it really is not made for a pond, it did not have a long enough power cable, the controller and power supply element could not be left outside in the elements. To overcome these issues I mounted the controller and power supply inside the garage. The power cable was cut and extended with cable purchased at Lowes and then waterproofed. I also put the wire in a sealed pvc tube that ran underground from the pond to the garage. My climate here in Tallahassee is pretty mild in the winter so the pump is never exposed to freezing conditions.
Water Pump Hose: Flexible PVC Pipe
In order to get the flow rate that my pump could push out I needed to use something with 1 1/2″ diameter. I didn’t really want to use rigid pvc because a lot of elbows can reduce flow rates. I decided to go with black flexible PVC.
Skimmer: Savio Skimmerfilter with 8.5″ faceplate
I chose the Savio Skimmerfilter because I liked its size and the thick plastic materials. It also had a nice big skimmer basket. I chose the 8.5″ faceplate because it can handle up to 5,000 gph. The largest faceplate required more flow than my pump would require. The skimmer is expensive but this thing is big and comes with a 5 year warranty. They also make a more compact version if you have a smaller pond. The Skimmerfilters are recommended for up to 10,000 gallon ponds if there is another filter in the pond as well.
Waterfall Filter: Savio Livingponds Waterfall Filter F100
I chose the Savio Livingponds Waterfilter Filter because I wanted it to complement my skimmer and have the two of them act as the total filtration system for the pond. Its made of the same durable plastic that the skimmer is used. I also installed the backflow kit which gives me an easy option to drain some of the pond if needed. It also came with a filter pad and a large amount of biomedia. I also add barley straw just under the filter pad and it works great.
Air Pump: KoiAir 1 Pond Aeration Kit 13 Watts
I chose the KoiAir 1 Pond Aeration Kit because it was rated for 4,000 gallons and appeared well build. It came with 25 feet of weighted airline tubing but I ended up buying 50 feet of weighted airline tubing instead.
Fountain Pump: Laguna PowerJet Fountain 960 32 Watts
I chose the Laguna Powejet Fountain because it was very energy efficient and was what I was looking for. It came with 3-Tierred and a waterbell fountain head. I like the look of the 3-Tierred the best but it appears to clog very easily with baby snails being the main culprut. The waterbell does not clog. Of all the equipment I purchased this is the only one I had any issue with. If the 3-Tierred fountain head did not clog I would love it.
Lighting: Color Change 6W RGB LED Landscape Spot Light 6 Watts each: Total 12 Watts
I chose the Color Changing 6W RGB LED Landscape Spot Light from superbrightleds.com. I purchased 2 of these and the appropriate accessories and the remote. At the time these were the best that I could find. I am very happy with them and I was able to easily connect them to the landscape lighting. I have one pointed at the waterfall and the other at the fountain. The fountain only really works right with the 3-Tierred fountain head. It is nice to be able to change the colors but the remote has maybe a 2-3 foot range so you have to be right on top of them. I have the waterfall set to yellow (it is the color that matches my other landscape lights the best) and the fountain to a light show of constantly changing to different colors. The fountain one is under water and the waterfall light is just above the water’s surface.
Next Post: Part 3 Pond Construction – Leveling and More Digging
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I would not recommend the Waveline pump listed in there. It did not last more than a year. Seems like it overheated. I am in the process of replacing it. I will post about that later but I wanted to provide the heads up.