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UV filtration needed (for large natural pond)? 7/16/05 Hi there. We just dug a pond, approx. 35 X 60 feet, 8 feet deep max, with one corner to be a wetland. We are beginning to plant it with local vegetation today. The pond is not lined, but has had rubble (3 to 4 inch diameter) added inside to stabilize the banks. <... and percolation? Oh, see you've addressed this below> There is a small sandy beach. Dug the test hole last year and it holds water. The pond is actually dug along the path of a natural drainage channel, at the base of a 20 ft rock wall. (pics to follow) Anyway, we have raised the natural water level about 2 feet. Approx 50% Clay soils, so retention will be OK. However, the source of the added water is a stream. I know coliform and other critters are naturally occurring in any surface water system. <Yes> The stream is thick with aquatic vegetation, a sure sign of nutrients I would imagine. We are drawing water from further upstream to get the cleanest water possible. But once it hits the pond, it's wide open, sunny, and I would imagine bacterial growth will take off. A few questions: 1) Should we use UV filtering. Won't this kill all bacteria including beneficials? <Mmm, I would not use ultraviolet here... but would definitely look into ozonation directly> 2) How much area should be wetland or vegetation? <At least ten percent> 3) How do I stabilize the sandy beach which right now is like quicksand? <Mmm, depends on composition... would have a soils engineer, firm... depending on the make-up, you may be able to just add a bit of silicate, carbonaceous material to make this area more "solid"... at the very worst, a berm might need to be emplaced and the area back-filled with a suitable substrate> We will be running two waterfalls, one a height of 20 ft. <Wowzah! Do be careful re pump selection, operational cost here> and the other just a 2 foot rise over 6 inch slabs (kind of like steps) with gravel and sand. Pump rated for 5000 gph, but will probably get about 3000 after friction loss/head. We were also thinking about making a type of sand filter out of a couple of apple juice barrels! <... likely not worth doing... will clog very quickly... and w/o a very easy backwashing mechanism will be ignored, abandoned in short order> I have to say I am excited about discovering this site. So far, my biggest problem seems to be the lack of consistent info. Example, the pump manufacturers said I need 10 pumps running in tandem!!! <Heeee! Geez!> (I think not) It's hard to know what to do. Any help would be appreciated. Noreen <Glad to share. Please make it known if this/these communication/s aren't clear. Bob Fenner>
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