Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Water from Geothermal system?

I am considering building a technical pond for retriever training also to be stocked with a few fish. I am considering pumping water into the pond from the heating/cooling system. Any problems with this idea?

What is the source of the water flowing into your geothermal system - a Well? Does your system have a heat recovery unit on it? I would say the main consideration would be to splash the water across rip rap or filter media (like a 5 gallon bucket filled with wiffle balls) to oxygenate the water. When I looked at oxygenating well water (which contains no oxygen) into our ponds last year, I explored venturis, but settled on rip rap.

On a much grander scale, I have Trout fished the waters flowing out of Lake Taupo in New Zealand where they are big into geothermal energy production. The temperature of the river is raised by approximately 15 degrees F from the discharge. Needless to say the Trout are plentiful in the confluences of the colder tributaries.

I, too, am building a pond in central Oregon, where I now live, and doing a closed loop (in ground) Geothermal system. As I gather more information, I will post pictures and tales of my experience.

Water source is indeed from a well, and there is a heat recovery unit on the system. The water coming out of the system is in the low 60 degrees F range.

I didn't realize that well water was not oxygenated. Thanks for your input.

Then use it and follow Andy's instructions. I spray my water from the well into the air using a fountain I built out of a showerhead and an old crab pot float. Works out great.

Bob

I have a one acre pond that I dump all my geothermal water to. I've had it for 4 years and I have never oxygenated the water, its a straight dump. With the surface area of this pond, I have plenty on oxygen, and when ever I test it, it's always saturated. I'd be more concern with the quality of the well water that you're using. I live in a farming area, and even though I draw my water from 200 ft down, it's still rich in phorphorus, which creats a host of algae problems. So, from my standpoint, the oxygen level of the well water in minor, the quality of the water should be your greater concern.

I am also planning on installing a geothermal unit but it will be a closed system with a slim jim which does not take up much area. If I do not use the slim Jim it will be a coiled loop which still does not take up much area about 10 foot by 12 foot as I remember. I have narrowed it down to about two manufactures because of problems some have had with the other manufactures. On the closed system I have talked with others that have it and the water temperature increase is very slight near the coils in the pond.

Quickdaddy,

My geothermal system discharges into my 3/4 acre warmwater pond with no problems. I suppose I could get it to splash (true ground water is void in oxygen), but when I consider the small amount of intermittent discharge vs. the pond volume itself (about 1 million gallons) it's inconsequential. If there is any area around the discharge of low D.O. before it gets mixed with the water that is high in D.O. the fish would avoid it anyway.

I really would not worry about it (as far as D.O.) and adding some water to make up for evaporation is a plus with no real negatives.

BTW you're probably talking 10 gpm's max if that at all and it doesn't run constantly although it can get close to that in really hot or cold weather.

I would appreciate more information from each of you on the brand and type of geothermal that you installed. I have read quite a few bad reports on certain brands where they would not back up the problems such as electrical boards. Some had to pay the entire amount which ran higher because it was not something they could buy off the shelf. Let me hear it all-please.

Quacker/ Deaner
I also have an open loop geothermal system that is 11 years old and I have not had any problems. I have very hard water an I have never even needed to clean the coils. The brand I have is Waterfurnace - they have a good website if you need more info.
I discharge about 6 gpm when the unit is running. I use to splash it into the pond, but it would freeze up during the winter, so I expended the PVC discharge pipe under my dock, to a 7' depth and put a venturi aspirator on it. I only get about 1 sfcm of air bubbles - but thats better than nothing. I keep caged bass next to the discharge and have never had problems - no bass have died in the cage.
There are a few other geothermal threads if you do a search.

Mine's a Water Furnace too. They are made just up the road from me and have a good reputation.

I've had a few problems recently (freon leak) after about 10 years but overall it still runs pretty good. The repairman did say the compressors can go bad after about 10 years and it's about $1400.00 to replace them. However mine is still going strong.

One neat feature is if you have any problems the circuit board has different lights lit up depending on what the problem is. I had a problem one day and called up a representative. She asked me what lights were lit up and sure enough she told me what the problem was and I was able to retify it right away. It was a small clog in a drain tube from iron bacteria.

I believe geothermal is the most efficient heating and cooling there is.

My system is made by Hydron of Millbrook Industries. Built like a rock, all stainless steel construction with acoustic internal dampening and standard compressor parts with over size condensor coil for high effiency. Water furnace effeciency is a bit higher than mine because they use 2-stage compressors. Great effeciency, but very expensive to replace. When you search for a system, make sure you check the decibels of noise when in operation. A good geo unit shouldn't be any louder than a refrigerator when running. The noisiest part of the machine should be the air circulation fan feeding your ductwork. Some systems have good specs but are noisy as hell when they operate, so beware. sorry for the mispelling.

Country Boy is right on the money, noise from the geo system is a big factor. I have a two year old 4-ton hydro-delta Mega tek closed loop system coiled in the bottom of my pond. The only problem I have encounterd was a bad board which was turning on my emergency heat instead of using the geo when it was first installed, after the tech discoverd the problem it worked great.It takes a little time understanding all the noises that are going on in the begining, and these noises do get amplified through your metal ductwork IF you have a forced air system and a large open basement. I took quite a few photos of them installing the coils in the pond, if anyone is interested I will post a few pics, I saved about four thousand bucks looping 900 feet in my pond, and I dont think my Bass are any the wiser.

YES! Pictures please. I have been looking at these systems for my planned pond, and haven't seen anything about the advantages of open vs closed loop systems. Why are they noisier than any other system? How much did you pay more than a convetional system? What length, diameter, and kind of tubing did you use? Does it save money?

OK, your turn...

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To answer your questions I would need to know how far from the home your pond is. With a pond loop the real savings is in the trenching.My pond sits 100ft from the house so the digging was not so expensive. For my home with out the pond loop I would have needed 400ft of trench 6ft deep(ouch!)A second advantage of the pond loop is better transference of heat and cold than through a earth buried ground loop.(A pond is a better conduit) If I remember correctly you would need 1/2ac pond at 8ft min for a 4 ton unit.(in southern iowa) In Georgia I would guess you could get away with less dept but I would not recommend it. Does it save money?.. Yes. Several ways, The utilities company may cut you a break on your electric if a majority of your home is running on electric, my rates are cheeper by 50% for 6 months of the year. second- Most systems are tied into your water heater or replace the water heater completly. heat drawn from the home in the summer will heat your tank,hot tub or whatever.I bought a closed looped system based on more of a northern location (freezing)and I belive less maintanace. There are a lot of smart folks here who can tell you all you need to know about open systems. In Georgia heat pumps are used quite a bit. A geo system is very simular, a heat pump extracts the heat from the air at outside temps(dont work too well up here) the geo does the same thing except through the earth or water where the temps are 50 to 70 degrees at all times plus the unit is located in your home- less outdoor wear and tear . Remember A geo does not creat heat or cold it simply moves it, and thats where the true savings over the long term are. Hope this helps you out.

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........OOOPS! This should be correct.

Many thanks to all who contributed on their type of unit and problems on their geothermal. It seems that most of you have less problems than some that I read in the past. You will always hear the bad but not the good which could lead you in a different direction. Thanks