Tootfinder

This is the manifold typt thing that I am currently roughing together for the 2nd pump from the main pond.
The through pipe will go to the filter and the two offshoots will go to the bottom returns and side sorayers which are both meant to keep the water in the pond moving toward the pump bay and discourage settling on the bottom
#poolpond #diy #backyardproject

Had an amazing experience at a windmill in the #Netherlands. It was spinning so I asked if I‘m allowed to look inside. The miller was very eager and happy to explain everything and his trainee stopped and started the massive mechanism while we were inside the top. That particular mill had an Archimedes screw to pump water.

It was raining the whole night, so I dreamt of checking if the utility building didn't get flooded. I didn't want to get soaked in the rain, so I considering jumping there by pure thought. I succeeded. And indeed, water was already seeping in the corner, so I've started wondering where the drainage pump were. "Probably in the garage", I thought. The garage is locked. The are inside the house. The house is also locked, from inside. I didn't prepare well for this teleportation, and I didn't feel like I can jump back the same way…
#dream

Hmmmm… here is a problem I did not anticipate.
Every time I empty the main pond hole of water, (the actual hole under the liner) water returns within an hour or two. I’ve done it 4 times now, and it keeps filling back up with water.
Obviously there is water underground infiltrating into the pond hole, and/or the water table itself is above the bottom of the hole. It is not coming from either of the other holes because they both have the same amount of water in them as they did this morning.
I have “watered” the blueberry patch and hazelnut tree a lot with the water that I have been cleaning the filter with… and we also had lots of water flying around outside the liners yesterday as I tested the pump. So it is quite possible that the ground around the pond is simply well saturated.
I think I am going to have to just keep removing the water (and putting it into the sewer) until it does not refill. We have a week of hot weather coming. Surely that will be enough time for everything to dry out completely.
Otherwise I might run into some issues if the rains return before I can anchor down the pond liner with gravel and get the plumbing in!
How is time already running short!?
Never underestimate the ability of water to find a place where it is not wanted. 😆
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy

#poolpond #backyardProject #diy
I spent the morning cleaning out the big pond. Lots of dirt and gunk and water had accumulated in the bottom over the past months. A combination of the little sump pump and a shop vac cleaned that all out.
But more concerning was the fact that when I walked down into the pond, it was mushy. There was obviously water underneath the liner.
I just pulled back the liner to reveal the water that had gotten under. It is likely that this water is from the overflow when I was testing the filter. It could be from a little bit of rainfall, but I doubt it.
There was a lot of water washing around the yard yesterday as I was figuring out the filter and the stream and overflowing areas so I am sure it got in that way.
Not a big problem. Just some more water to move with the little pump.
I am more concerned about the fact that a horsefly landed on me twice in the past hour. Devils they are.

The main pond is basically full now. I have been gradually increased the power of the pump. Now 100% at 160W. I won't normally have it at full power but this is good for testing.
I am basically patrolling the edge of the ponds looking for low points. Have shored up a few but nothing serious. The first round of tests with the filter addressed most of them.
When the holes filled over the winter I actually shored up the edges of the main pond then, so there isn't much to do there.
Just waiting for the pump bay to fill up completely now. It'll probably be about an hour. (the water hose has not been on full blast this whole time, only about 1/4)
Then we will see the full level of the entire system.
The Finger of water closest to me in this picture is the overflow that goes into the storm/sewer system. That is the final arbiter of the fill point of the pond.
#poolpond #diy #portalberni #backyardproject

ASHP: Domestic Air-Source Heat Pumps - Ensure that your ASHP installation is greener than mains natural gas for central heating and hot water (CH/DHW) in the UK. #ASHP #heatpump -

ASHP: Domestic Air-Source Heat Pumps
Ensure that your ASHP installation is greener than mains natural gas for central heating and hot water (CH/DHW) in the UK. #ASHP #heatpump

i've also drained both the filter and the pump bay. The blueberries are getting a very good drink today. 🫐
I probably won't circulate water through the stream again until I get the main pond weighed down with rock on the bottom. I wanted to try to start building the rock lining around the wall of the main pond to see if it would hold and be sufficient.
But I might just let the bottom of the pond dry out completely. It's going to be nice and warm again the next couple days so it is best for it to let it dry out and harden up.
#poolpond #backyardProject #diy

"Dutch heating specialist offers residential heat pump for flat roofs"
#Netherlands #HeatPumps #Energy

Dutch heating specialist offers residential heat pump for flat roofs
WeHeat said its monoblock air-to-water heat pump features a seasonal coefficient of performance of 4.7 and propane as the refrigerant. The system is available in four versions with output ranging from 8 kW to 11 kW.

A Robust Predictive Control Method for Pump Scheduling in Water Distribution Networks
Mirhan \"Urkmez, Carsten Kalles{\o}e, Jan Dimon Bendtsen, Eric C. Kerrigan, John Leth
https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.18492

A Robust Predictive Control Method for Pump Scheduling in Water Distribution Networks
Water utilities aim to reduce the high electrical costs of Water Distribution Networks (WDNs), primarily driven by pumping. However, pump scheduling is challenging due to model uncertainties and water demand forecast errors. This paper presents a Robust Model Predictive Control (RMPC) method for optimal and reliable pump scheduling, extending a previous efficient robust control method tailored to our model. A linear model with bounded additive disturbances is used to represent tank water level …

and then there is the backyard... lol. The hazelnut tree is doing surprisingly well considering the chaos literally at its feet. The far flower garden with the blueberries and the only rose bush we like is also doing OK especially now that I have battled back against the encroaching blackberry vines.
I didnt capture the new plum, or the rhubarb-amazon, but they're ok too.
We are starting to make real progress on the pond/pool now. The inlets for the wetland filter are in the hole and we started placing the large rocks on the bottom... the first layer.
Many yards of rock and pebble to go! Oh, and I have had to peel back some of the liner
in the pool. I've decided I need to make a landing spot for one pump to live in the back corner of the pool so it can circulate water from the bottom.
Uncovered an anthill in the process! 🐜
#portalberni #yard #diy #poolPond

The first trickle from filter to pool pond.
The main pond is not quite 3/4 full, but I thought it was important to make sure the filter was completely full and ready to start filtering. So I have shored up the low edges of the filter, taken away the temporary stream, and now the water is starting to flow from filter to pond. In time it will connect with the pump bay. Then I can turn on the pump and start circulating for real.
😆
The reason this is happening now is not the best reason. Our view to the southeast is not encouraging.
😔 🔥
#poolpond #oops #fire #diy

initial pump testing has been successful!
Filled the filter and pump bay to an approriate level via garden hose. ✅
turned pump on for the first time and fixed any overflows in the system on low flow ✅
turned the garden hose off and allowed pump to circulate for awhile ✅
I brought the pump up to 100% power (180W) and confirmed inlet standpipe did not overflow indicating good distribution flow on the bottom of the filter. ✅
identified/fixed more overflowing low points with pump at high flow. ✅
tested the breather pipe by turning off the pump and making sure the water was not siphoned from the filter the pump bay ✅
I let the top water from the filter drain into the bay until the bay was full (starting to overflow into the main pond) ✅
Used the small pump to empty the pump bay of some of the dirty water... watering the blueberries and flowers in the process. ✅
tiny red bum friend? ✅ 🕷️
A successful day!!
#poolpond #backyardProject #DIY #electronics

Good Morning #Canada
Yesterday, we upgraded our water filtration and, to ease the pain in my wallet, I thought I would share some facts on well water for those who care.
- approximately 11% of Canadians rely on non-municipal water sources.
- the vast majority of wells are drilled wells because they are safer, provide higher volume, and generally last longer.
- dug wells (like ours) are less common and are usually placed where there is a high water table. They are more susceptible to surface runoff.
- well water, although free, is not necessarily cheaper than municipal supply. There is a large upfront cost, which can vary greatly depending on soil conditions, but $25K for drilled and $10K for dug is not uncommon.
- a pump and filtration equipment can cost another $10K, depending on water treatment needed. We needed an additional Iron Filter due to high concentration. Sediment filters and UV treatment require annual maintenance, typically $400 .
#CanadaIsAwesome #Water #GlassHalfFull

It’s already 25°C and I am dripping with sweat… but a slight modification had to be completed! Made a shelf in the main #poolpond area to hold a milk crate, which will hold one of the pumps.
I decided it was critical to have circulation from the bottom of the pool including taking water from the bottom to send to the filter. But since the main pump area is in the intake bay/skimmer I would have had to bring a pipe up and over the wall and down into pool. (The pumps must be submerged in at least 6” of water at all times)
This would be inefficient and potentially have air lock problems… so I pulled back the three layers of liner and cloth and excavated a little nook in the already semi hidden back corner.
This will have to do. :) the sun was already coming over the house. The rubber liner gets very hot 🥵. Glad it didn’t take too long.
There will be a rock or some sort of wall below and in front of the crate to further support and hide it.
Oh, and now that the liner and stuff is all back, the 🐜 ants can go back to their regularly scheduled ant-ing.
#diy #backyardpond #hot #ants #gardening #homeimprovement #portalberni

we are now on Stage 3 water restrictions! No fill *or* topping up of ponds or pools! So that definitely captures the #poolpond ;)
I'm going to go get an adapter for my little pond pump hose so it can hook up to a regular garden hose and we'll use all the #pool water for watering the gardens over the next few weeks until the rains truly return.
#Fire #PortAlberni #UnderwoodFire #Water #ClimateChange #Drought #DIY #BackyardProject
https://socialbc.ca/@alberniweather/115036554816818531

A #pandemicpond post.
The bog-barrels that I added last summer have done an absolutely incredible job at keeping the water crystal clear and almost completely algae free this summer.
Only the much warmer stream between the ponds has more algae than I really like.
I also added the bigger pump at the same time which likely helped a little but the added flow also raised the level of the top pond just above the liner in some spots. So yesterday when I topped it up, I took away the flat border stones to inspect where it was leaking. It turns out, almost everywhere!
So I added some handfuls of pebble taken from the #poolpond filter since I know there is extra there..: and stuck it under the liner to raise it an inch or two all the way around.
Here is a before and after. The first pic with the purple lilly
pads is last year with the algae that was common in the summer before the big filters. The second pic is a few weeks ago when the pond was full, clear, but overflowing, notice the water overtop the flat stones. The last two pics are today after raising the liner a little under the stones.
And a pic of the happy dual-barrel bogs (which are just small versions of the giant filter I just finished in the backyard). The marsh marigolds have not bloomed in the bog barrels. Not sure if they will this year. It is quite shady for them.
Oh and a lilly is about to bloom!The fish are also very active and happy.
#backyardproject #diy #ponds #gardening #watergarden #bloomscrolling #goldfish

Water off. Level is not 100% full but close enough that the pump can just run. We are expecting rain tonight that might be enough to completely fill it.
No leaks detected.
I’ll leave the pump at 100%/180W for a couple hours just to give it a good run. Then I will turn down to minimum tonight.
#poolpond #diy #portalberni #backyardproject

Now that we have had our brief bit of fun with the #poolpond, it’s time to drain it so work on completing it can continue! It took just over 12 hours for my little spare pond pump to empty the main pond of about 80% of its water.
It will be empty by morning. I will empty the filter and intake bay as well just to clean everything out. The movement of the past couple weeks through the system will have loosened up a bunch of the gunk still on the various rocks in the filter so a full pump out should remove all that.
I will then concentrate on finishing the piping in the bottom of the main pond for the intake for the second pond and the “periscope” for the bottom returns.
Then I can work on building the rock wall to line the inside of the pond. Or at least experimenting to see if it will work at all!
If it *does* work and I have enough rock to at least start on the bottom layers of the inside wall, then I’ll be able to achieve another milestone: placing the final pebble on the bottom. Important, because that will prevent any groundwater from infiltrating and causing the rubber liner to bubble out.
Really really want to get past that mark before the autumn rains come! For obvious reasons! ☔️
Other jobs that need to be done before winter:
- finish the manifold for the second pump to distribute water to the sprayers and filter and figure out how and where to house and conceal it.
- Dig the electrical trench from the house all the way around the long side of the pond to the back tool shed so we can start wiring it in.
- Clipping the wires on the pumps and adding extension wire to them so they can reach said electrical supplies.
- permanently shore up/modify the borders of the ponds where they were found to be low.
- make a few other minor terraforming modifications for the stream and some of the edges so the water goes a little more where I want it to and a little less where I don’t.
#poolpond #backyardProject #portalberni #ponds #watergarden

2/2 Then it was time to decide exactly how to create the manifold to direct the return water back into the pond or into the filter. I decided that I wanted the manifold to be well within the pond liner in case anything was leaking so I cut the black tube and extended the PVC to meet it into the main area of the pond.
One valve goes to the bottom return sprayers. One valve goes to what will be sprayers along the long edge of the pond. And the last valve allows water to go into the filter.
Note to self: at least one of these valves must be open at all times if I don't want to blow up the pump :-)
#poolpond #diy #backyardProject #watergarden #pond #pondlife

alright. emptied the pump bay (watering the hazelnut tree as I go) so I could get down into the box and loosely fit the hose onto the pump.
Now we'll turn the water back on in the filter and let the bay fill back up again from the little diversion stream.
I need to go get a couple big hoseclamps to properly secure it to the pump. But loose is fine for testing.
#poolpond #backyardProject #DIY #electronics

escape! escape!!
This is what happens when you introduce a big pump (even only running at 30-50%!)
You find out REALLY fast where the low points are. I had suspicions. They have been confirmed, and temporarily rectified!
the pump is now running, hooked into the pipe to the bottom of the filter (I will cut more of it off in time so the pipe is running along the ground), plus the garden hose is continuing to add more water to the system.
No spillage! Ill fill the intake bay and then turn the garden hose off to just let it circulate.
#poolpond #backyardProject #DIY #electronics

Looks like up to two pumps will fit nicely in the bin... this is good. Ill make holes in the bin for the pipes to exit one end.
The bin will be installed in the intake bay of the pond to draw/skim water from the surface.
These are skookum pumps. 💪
At full power (180W each) together they will move 40,000L/hr (666L or 175gal/min). That's almost twice the pool volume of 21,000L.
But I should not need to move that much through the bog. One pump will be dedicated to the bog filter while the other will go to both the bog and/or the sprayers in the pool.
That said, if I do need a third pump there will be room in the bin for three.
I may put one pump in the far corner of the pool itself with an inlet hose to reach the bottom of the pool to really ensure there is good circulation of the water. We'll see.
#poolpond #diy #pondProject #Backyard #unbox

Time for the first fill and empty cycle. Not sure how many times I'll do this probably a bunch lol. We will see how long it takes to fill it. The hazelnut tree will get lots of water today.
While, it's doing that, I will keep working on the rock liner of the intake pump bay. If I can get that done today, then I can try to direct the overflow from the filter into the pump and set up a circulation.
#poolpond #BackyardProject #diy #portalberni #watergarden

Pond plumbing dilemna. Any plumbers out there?
The pond will have two strong pumps moving water through the bog filter and around the pool.
One pump will be dedicated to the filter (long black pipe).
The 2nd pump will split duty between the filter and providing water for 3 to 5 emitters in the bottom of the pool and around the edges.
The main piping is black 2” flexible pipe plus some PVC Sched40.
Plumbing Question: Should I reduce diameter once (as pictured badly lol) when branching from the mainline and then have valves for each and long runs of smaller 3/4 or 1/2" line to each sprayer.
Or keep it to 2" throughout and reduce at the outlets?
I would rather have the valve controls centralized than have them spread about where the sprayers are (obv not an option for the bottom ones anyway)
#Pond #DIY #Plumbing #PoolPond #PortAlberni #Home #BackyardPond

managed to convince the little pump I am using to empty the ponds to get water all the way over to the 1000 L water tank to use for watering everything while we are on restrictions
Turned the big pump on low. It's now at 23 W at 35%. Stream still flows nicely.
#pondlife #poolPond #BackyardProject #water

#PondLife #PoolPond #Backyard #DIY #PortAlberni #Home
$CAD1100 is a lot to spend on just a couple items, but I guess in the grand scheme of making a pond/pool that will completely transform our backyard, it's not crazy. This about equals the amount spent ($1200 iirc) to rent the digger last Labour Day weekend. The liner and underlay fabric was another $3000. So we're looking at about $5500 so far for the project as a whole. Still better (including for the ecosystem!) than your average $50,000 in-ground pool install. ;=D
I realized last night that I bought the wrong pumps (DCT vs DCP argh). One of those “oh that's cheaper than I thought it would be” moments... followed by... “oh crap.”
I'll send the previous pumps back immediately upon arrival.
It's ok though, these will be two 20,000L/h variable pumps. The entire pond/pool system should be no more than 23,000L. My biggest rookie mistake with the #pandemicpond in the front yard was too small a pump. I rectified that when I added the bog filters there.
So I'm overbuilding this time. I should be able to run them at low-speed/power for the same amount of flow. Which will be better for pump longevity and power over time.
Also got main piping for the system: 50ft of 2" flexible PVC (Schedule 40). This will move water from the intake bay (behind the tree) to the bog filter (in front of the tree) and connect to smaller diameter piping/valves/fittings for sprayers in the pool.
This should be the end of the big-ticket items. The rest will be a LOT of little stuff: electrical, piping, and a lot of rock. Probably another $1000-$1500 to go, all should be local, and some of it can be put off until next year if needed.
It took a few tries on the Bezos Site, but I managed to find a supplier within Canada to avoid tariffs on any of it because Tariff-flation is definitely a thing! (American .com store essentially doubled the cost!)
So ya, you can hashtag this #tariffs #TariffLife #TheAmericanFascist and #TrumpTariffs