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| . . . I "inherited a ~1,300 gallon pond with a skimmer filter. Inside the box where the water passes I recently purchased a pondmaster 3700 or maybe its a 3200. . . in any event it's a submersible pump.
Water flowing through the flapping door passes through a wide mesh net suspended between two aluminum rods that are threaded through the long edges. The water then hits a filter mat. Nothing fancy just generic beige. The mat surrounds the pump (laid on its side). Water is pumped via pvc to a hole within 2 inches of the lid where it connects to flexible pvc. Flexible pvc travels approx 14 feet. and +12 inches up. to the bottom of a waterfall basin. The basin is at least 36" deep and maybe 24 by 30" along the rim. Water percolates up through another filter mat, several bags of lava and Amino rocks. When it reaches the top it spills out over the weir.
For whatever reason the skimmer door is too high and I have to fill the pond to near over flow to maintain a fall basin of water there. This is a problem because there are also some leaks. The leaks are primarily the result of running water over the falls. (trust me I diagnosed this systematically :). The plan this weekend is to solve the perimeter leakage definitively and make a solid attempt at the waterfall. I had previously recieved advice that 6" single sided adhesive tape for liner seams is a relatively easy, low impact method for extending the amount of liner. My first step is to earmark the three problem areas where the liner has slipped below the waterline. Drain the pond sufficiently. Then remove the perimeter flat stones. Wash and clear the dirt on it to prep it for the extension. At this point I want to level the perimeter of earth perhaps with pea gravel??). From here I will use the seam tape mentioned above to make necessary extensions. I understand that the flagstone perimeter is in reality two layers. The first serves to anchor the liner which is drawn up under it and wrapped over the top. The second traps the liner between the two stones using the weight of the top stone. Now Filtration as mentioned has been a challenge and I have sourced a Oase Bio Tec 10 passive filter for $50 (all filters included). My question is if I prefilter the submersible can I draw water through a pipe beneath the water line. I would then saw off the top of the skimmer and wall off the trap door. The rubber around which is also leaky. My quandry is how to integrate the Biotec with the waterfall skimmer. I understand its passive water essentially falls out of it. To I am thinking the top of the waterfall basin. Or retrofit the basin to seat the Oase. Any help thinking this through would be most appreciated. Thanks, Donald of DonaldandDanielle
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Follow-Up Postings:
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| Hi Donald, What you have is a classic Aquascape skimmer and I assume an Aquascape biofalls. Any idea how old the pond is? Aquascape used and still uses aluminum screws to seal the liner to both the skimmer and waterfall box. Both can and do dissolve and you loose your seal. Why they used Aluminum instead of stainless steel? The owner of the company has said they did it on purpose so that the contractor that installed would get called back to replace them every few years. Also the flap maybe able to be removed depending on the age. The old ones used two screws that went thru the face plate and screwed into the flap(weir) and served as hinges. The newer ones have two spring loaded pins that go thru two holes on the face plate that are the hinges. Mike |
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- Posted by donaldanddanielle (My Page) on Sat, Jun 12, 10 at 8:26
| Man.... You nailed it..... Thanks Mike So essentially need a new weir to the skimmer and then patch up any needless holes etc. thanks! |
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| I am not sure why you would need a new weir. If any of the screw heads on the skimmer is eaten away I would think that the seal around the skimmer may be leaking. The same thing is true about the waterfall box. If this is the case I will tell you how to reseal both or either. Mike |
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- Posted by donaldanddanielle 6 (My Page) on Sun, Jun 13, 10 at 0:19
| So I took a close look at the screws on the weir and they don't seem to be failing. I drained 20 " of water so i could take a closer look beneath the capstones. Much to my surprise I found the roots of a closely planted kousa on the wrong side of the rubber Still removing stones trying todiscover it's entry. Have you heard of a root piercing 45 mil liner? Regarding your offer to help. I have several large flatstones that I am considering swapping for the waterfall lip. My mom who commisioon ed this preferred the sound of a narrow chute falling on to a widerp on. I am more visual and think the uniform sheet of water hitting the pond will be preferable. Anything I should do to ensure a smpooth transition? Thanks again, |
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- Posted by donaldanddanielle 6 (My Page) on Sun, Jun 13, 10 at 17:15
| Hey Mike, On the oof-chance you recheck this I would really like that advice on resealing the weir after replacing the screws. I checked the back and two nuts were cpompletely disentegrated. I've purchased replacement brass fastenings, marine epoxy and black acryllic? (maybe) caulk. any help would be appreciaited. |
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| I prefer to stainless hardware but brass should work okay. You will need a tube of silicone caulk. I prefer GE silicone 1 caulk. It can be kitchen and bath or door and trim. I use clear. This caulk is safe for fish. First you will need to remove all the bolts from the unit. The face plate is then removed. The liner is pulled from the box. The old caulk needs to be removed from the back of the liner and the front of the box. Any of the factory installed threaded inserts that you can't easily screw a new bolt into it needs to be removed. Also check the face plate where the bolts go thru it. If any of the bolts were countersunk when first installed you will need to put a washer under the new bolt when you reinstall the face plate. If any of the factory threaded inserts were removed you will need a washer and nut for each. To reinstall you will put a large bead of caulk on the front of the box making sure to go around each bolt hole. This bead should be a continuous bead around the the hole attachment area. The liner needs to be placed back into position. The face plate needs to be put back into position. Then install the top bolt on the right and the left making sure that these bolts go thru the old bolt holes in the liner. Get the bolts started but do not tighten. Then install the new bolts starting on one side and going around the face plate. Make sure that the new bolts go thru the old bolt holes but do not tighten. Make sure that any washers and or nuts are installed. Once all the bolts are started go back and tighten every bolt.Once this is done everything can be started after it sits for 20 minutes. The caulk only goes between the back of the liner and the front of the box. Mike |
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- Posted by donaldanddanielle (My Page) on Mon, Jun 14, 10 at 1:02
| Thanks a bunch. |
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