jhays79

I came up with this idea I would like to put together. My idea is a three half barrels (sort of like whiskey barrels) stacked two on the bottom, one staggered on top with somekind of hidden support to hold it up.

crude drawering


My local Tractor Supply store has these barrels made of heavy duty plastic, that are made to look like wooden whisky barrels. I think they're about 20 gallons a piece. I would like to have a pump circulate the water from the bottom to the top, with some kinds of waterfall back into the bottom two. How would I calculate the gpm or pump size I would need, so that none of the barrels run dry or overflow?

I plan on planting it wiht a bunch of different aquattic plants, and maybe put a few fancy guppies in their.

Any thoughts? Thanks!

neilshieh

I'm not an expert, but a thought would be... just buy two pumps with the same gph and make the waterfall at the level you want to keep the water level at for the top barrel. i don't think there's much calculation for gph to do... i may be wrong.

kimcadmus

if you stagger all the barrels, meaning one is lowest then you only need one pump going to the top then each barrel waterfalls into the next. Aesthetically it would be pleasing to have all three at different levels.

Daniil

Connect two bottom together with 1" or 2" pipe and use one pump.


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vicky

If they are plumbed right, they will overflow, which is what you want, right? The overflow makes the waterfall. The gallons per hour determines whether you have a trickle or a Niagara Falls effect. Unless they leak, they cannot run dry. The problem would be if an overflow clogged, and the water ran out somewhere else - not into the tub below. I agree three levels will look and work best, but two levels would work if you plumb the bottom two together with as large a pipe through the sides as you can. Then, a submersible pump can return the water to the top tub. With a backflow preventer, when the pump is turned off, the water level in each tub remains the same. It seems to me the tricky part is keeping the plants (and fish) out of the overflow, perhaps with some type of screen or foam. Will you angle the tubs and let the water spill over the side or drill the side and insert a tube of some kind?

Sounds like a fun project! Can't wait for photos.

Michael

I do several of these things every year, and in practice the type of arrangement you have in mind will be difficult. The problem is preventing leaks, clogs, spills, too much splash, etc. It is really disappointing to walk out with your cup of coffee to look at the pond, only to find the plants dried out and the fish twitching in an inch of water on the bottom. I've been there!

If this is your first patio pond, try something simpler. Maybe one large container, with one small one completely surrounded by the big one. You can raise the small one above the rim of the large one by setting it on concrete blocks. Then pump water into the small one and let it run over the sides. This way no matter what accident may happen, you can't pump all the water out. And unless the large container leaks, you won't loose water that way.

But don't be discouraged! These things are lots of fun, the plants grow like crazy and the fish will breed like, well, guppies!

jhays79

Still going over the idea in my head, I might just start with one or two barrels and mess around with them for awhile. Michael, I like that idea of having a smaller container surrounded by a larger one. I will post pics if I commit to the project!

h4n

Thats looks like a cool idea!!!!

I always wanted a barrel pond!

iamivan90

Interesting idea, good luck!I'll be checking for pictures incase you go thru with it.

GOJIRADOR

this looks pretty simple to me, just make a divet on the sides for the water to trickle down. if its leaking then readjust it or add a lip so the water shoots out farther. you don't need to drill anything either just connect both hoses to a pump and put the return at the top- no calculations needed. you don't need our help just do it!