Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Muddy water Solar powered UV and filter for pond?

Assume you could filter the inflow into your pond and wanted to have the clearest water possible. Do solar powered UV/filter setups exist that could clear up suspended clay particles in a large pond.

Anyone have a setup like this?

Neo, you could theoretically filter out suspended clay, but UV lights are used to kill algae and other living organisms.

Alum and some polymers are available for floculating the inflow of water. The "Floc Log by Applied Polymer Systems has had some good reviews.

How big is the pond you want to clear?

If you have suspended clay in your water, you can filter it out, but more clay will go into suspension to take its place. Treating or removing clay is temporary, treating the water is more permanent.

1 acre lined pond. Rain is fairly sufficient to recharge the water and if not thought about having a inflow pipe that can be opened as needed to add additional water to recharge the water level. The floc log looks like a good choice to add inside the inflow pipe.

I'm looking at what options would be available for slowly filtering the water via solar along with using UV to help clear the water. Feeding the fish is not a problem.

Looking for the best option to keep the water basically as crystal clear as possible.

Seems like you could combine the floc log along with a filter system to floc the suspended clay in the water, run it through a filter to catch the larger chain particles and then back flush the filter as needed to a waste gate. Seems like that would be cheaper than trying to maintain < 3 micron filters (I'm sure they aren't cheap).

Adding in a UV filter would tone down the living stuff.

A lined pond won't take a lot of effort to keep clear.

SolarKey has cheap, submersible solar fountain pumps that can lift water 4-5 feet efficiently. The SBL1502 can easily move 1000 gallons per day, and could slowly circulate the water to a sand/gravel/bio filter, where nutrients, plankton, and other particulate matter would be removed. The right bio filter could just about make it drinkable. If 1K gallons per day isn't enough (and probably isn't), you can always add more pumps.

I use a smaller pump from SolarKey to move water to and from my bait pond. It chugs along relentlessly. The pump motor is brushless, and should last for years.

You could build and maintain a large swimming pool for far less than you could filter and sterilize a 1 acre pond.

Neo, what are you wanting to accomplish here? Where is your pond?

Other than the upfront equipment costs, I don't see how the on-going costs would be that high. Kansas City, MO

neo, no doubt it could be done. As Bobad said, making it a lined pond would certainly be easier to keep pristine. Keeping organic debris from entering would be needed

With a lined pond, you will essentially have a very basic swimming pool since you wouldn't have the soil problems. Put in a big grass buffer in the inflow and keep the soil open with aerator spikes occasionally. Add a bog area to take up nutrients (i'd keep a few fish there to eat insect larvae), and about 4000 watts worth of UV with pump intakes in several areas and you might knock the filter maintenance down to 1-2 hours per day. Add a chlorine injector and you could knock it down to 1-2 hours per week, but then you're back to a swimming pool.

What is your goal that requires such clear, filtered, and sterile water?

With the filters and UV, you are describing a 1 acre aquarium. If it averages 3 feet deep then you're talking about maintaining a 1 MILLION gallon aquarium and trust me, that won't be cheap to clear! It may not even be possible with a soil bottom and without chlorine.

Maybe I should clarify something. I have a 1 acre pond that is lined. Approx 16ft deep and around 700ft around. I'd say the average depth is approx 8-9ft due to a steep slope on the inside.

I'm looking for something that is cheap maintenance. Chlorine would be on-going costs which I'm sure would be more expensive than the alum I've been adding every year (700 pounds) plus time it takes to spray it out.

I figure the solar units will be the most expensive part, while the pumps and filters would be somewhat cheap. Once the clay is removed from the water, I would really be more of a UV filter setup.

neo, try to come to the conference. Matt Rayl of Aquatic Eco Systems will be on hand. If ANYONE has the technology to maintain excellent clarity in nearly 900,000 gallons of water inexpensively it will be him.

Rainman,

What conference?

This one: http://www.pondboss.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=179627&gonew=1#UNREAD

Sorry, can't make that. I'll give Matt a call next week after it's over.