Take the 20 minutes or so to calculate this information for your plan, and save thousands of dollars over the life of your pond by selecting suitable components  & the appropriate pump to minimize maintenance & energy  cost.

We offer here an example of how  to determine the correct pump, biofilter & ultraviolet filter as  well as adjusting the flow rates for the given components. This is a  hypothetical pond based on a basic plumbing schematic.

• Total volume of the  pond is 2600 gallons.

• Approximately 50 linear feet of pipe in the system.

• Waterfall height is  4 ft.

• Majority of plumbing is 2" pipe.

• P950 “Big Sister Filter”.

• Pond will be moderately populated with koi.

• Pond will be in full sun in Southwest USA.

We generally recommend the complete volume of water in the pond cycle through the filter system  between once per hour and once every three hours. Since this pond  will be a fish pond, we will calculate for a turnover rate in the filter of once every two hours or approximately 1500 GPH. As is often the case, the biofilter flow rate requirements & the waterfall flow rate requirements don't always coincide. (In this size pond, an esthetically pleasing flow rate is between 2000 &  2500 GPH).