in the future i want to somehow create a running creek in the ground that has creek fish in it like smallmouth or hogsuckers or like chain pickerel. is that possible if it went downhill and had a strong pump?
in ground creek....
- Thread starter mudskipper10
- Start date
I suppose it is possible, but it would be a pretty big project to keep it going and stuff. My friends dad has two koi ponds that have a stream thing between them. That isnt so hard of a project.
Getting a flow with good water depth would require a massive water pump and would probably be energy cost prohibitive. If your creek was 2' wide and 6" deep and you wanted it to flow at 1 cubic foot/sec (a fairly slow flow rate for a creek) you would need a pump that can pump at least 27,000 gph. And that is at whatever head pressure the discharge would be pumping up to.
And that is for a very small creek. Making it deeper or wider enough to provide habitat for fish would greatly increase the required water flow.
Streams can be done but they are generally very shallow (1/2-1" in depth) and are just there for decorative purposes when run at lower water flows.
Andy
And that is for a very small creek. Making it deeper or wider enough to provide habitat for fish would greatly increase the required water flow.
Streams can be done but they are generally very shallow (1/2-1" in depth) and are just there for decorative purposes when run at lower water flows.
Andy
You are going to be looking at a fairly signifanct pump to move "creek" sized volumes of water back up to your original holding pond.
http://www.groundtradesxchange.com/content/images/PICT3518.MOV
That is two 10,000 gph pumps moving water up and over that waterfall.
http://www.groundtradesxchange.com/content/images/PICT3518.MOV
That is two 10,000 gph pumps moving water up and over that waterfall.
ok thanks
so i would need like 4 10,000 gallon pumps for like a foot deep water thats like 2'6 wide?
so i would need like 4 10,000 gallon pumps for like a foot deep water thats like 2'6 wide?Nowhere near enough info to make that kind of decision. You need to know depth, length, and width of your stream. You need to know the head pressure you are going to be pumping against, which will be a factor of linear as well as verticle distance from the pumps to where your water return is.
You are also going to have to have some general idea on gps. For example, right now in Colorado where I am located, the reports are saying about 1 gallon per second out on the eastern plains in the Arkansas and something like 28 gps on something like the Fryingpan which is an mountain river. However, those numbers are up to 75 to 100% lower this year due to the drought. Your gps is going to be dependant on what fishes you are wanting.
I would say with smallmouth and pickeral, you aren't going to need a stream flow at all. A good pond with somekind of self circualtion pump would all that would be needed, and even that water flow probably isn't necessary.
Then you will need to know what your electrical supply is like. Maybe that 4-10,000s won't work, you might need some other combination.
Stream water flows are tough to accomplish, especially on a landscape scale. You are moving huge quantiies of water to maintain a steady flow and that is going to cause the electric meter to spin wildly.
I've seen a few indoor ones that were done well. In EPA Region 8's main entrance there is a nice stream effect...I think it is about 2 ft wide by 1 ft deep by about 20 linear feet. It is fed by an upper catch basin that runs down about 6 feet long by 3 feet wide of rock wall. I believe, other than the astetic purposes, it helps keep the main area hydrated in the dry climate. All I know is when I see it and all the rock work in the stream portion I want to fill it with africans.
I've seen some other indoor stream effects, but none that could hold fish. The ponds at the beginning or end did, but the streams were really just long, lower sloped waterfalls. Would have been good for hillstream loaches.
What I think you are looking, between proper landscaping, liners, rock, pumps, etc. is easily a 5 figure job, and that doesn't count annual maintenance costs. Put in large bodied fish and you need to factor in filtration as well.
You are also going to have to have some general idea on gps. For example, right now in Colorado where I am located, the reports are saying about 1 gallon per second out on the eastern plains in the Arkansas and something like 28 gps on something like the Fryingpan which is an mountain river. However, those numbers are up to 75 to 100% lower this year due to the drought. Your gps is going to be dependant on what fishes you are wanting.
I would say with smallmouth and pickeral, you aren't going to need a stream flow at all. A good pond with somekind of self circualtion pump would all that would be needed, and even that water flow probably isn't necessary.
Then you will need to know what your electrical supply is like. Maybe that 4-10,000s won't work, you might need some other combination.
Stream water flows are tough to accomplish, especially on a landscape scale. You are moving huge quantiies of water to maintain a steady flow and that is going to cause the electric meter to spin wildly.
I've seen a few indoor ones that were done well. In EPA Region 8's main entrance there is a nice stream effect...I think it is about 2 ft wide by 1 ft deep by about 20 linear feet. It is fed by an upper catch basin that runs down about 6 feet long by 3 feet wide of rock wall. I believe, other than the astetic purposes, it helps keep the main area hydrated in the dry climate. All I know is when I see it and all the rock work in the stream portion I want to fill it with africans.
I've seen some other indoor stream effects, but none that could hold fish. The ponds at the beginning or end did, but the streams were really just long, lower sloped waterfalls. Would have been good for hillstream loaches.
What I think you are looking, between proper landscaping, liners, rock, pumps, etc. is easily a 5 figure job, and that doesn't count annual maintenance costs. Put in large bodied fish and you need to factor in filtration as well.
To get the same water velocity as the 6" deep x 2' wide stream example I gave you would require 67,500 gph. Pumps with that kind of volume are only going to be commercial (Big Buck$) and not generally available to the hobbyist and will require hardwiring to a 220V source at the minimum.
You will be able to really watch your electric meter spin too!
Andy
You will be able to really watch your electric meter spin too!
Andy
