Pond-Free 102 Chapter 7
Determining Pump Vault Size
You’re not quite done yet – remember that Pump Vault? You’ll want the right size to accommodate not only the physical size of the pump or pumps, but also the volume of water to feed those pumps. As an example, let’s take a look at Atlantic Water Gardens’ compact, strong Oasis Pump Vault, designed to hold one or two pumps, handle up to 4000GPH and sized to sit at just the right height in single layer applications, with the bottom of the Vault 4” lower than the bottom of the adjacent EcoBlox. This slightly lower placement which places the Pump Vault at the lowest point in the reservoir serves two important functions. First, the deeper placement keeps the pump deeper in the water, with more water over the top of it, making it that much less likely to overheat if water levels drop. Second, the reservoir can be easily cleaned without disassembling anything, simply by flushing accumulated sediment in the reservoir into the Pump Vault with a strong stream of water, then pumping out the sludge with a solids-handling pump.
Larger flows and pumps can be accommodated by larger Pump Vaults like the PV1800 and PV2300, again a little taller than the water matrix blocks they pair up with so the bottoms can be set 6” lower than the rest of the reservoir. For reservoirs that are more than one layer of EcoBlox deep, Pump Vault Extensions add the height of exactly one water matrix to the Vault, for perfect vertical alignment every time.
You’re not quite done yet – remember that Pump Vault? You’ll want the right size to accommodate not only the physical size of the pump or pumps, but also the volume of water to feed those pumps. As an example, let’s take a look at Atlantic Water Gardens’ compact, strong Oasis Pump Vault, designed to hold one or two pumps, handle up to 4000GPH and sized to sit at just the right height in single layer applications, with the bottom of the Vault 4” lower than the bottom of the adjacent EcoBlox. This slightly lower placement which places the Pump Vault at the lowest point in the reservoir serves two important functions. First, the deeper placement keeps the pump deeper in the water, with more water over the top of it, making it that much less likely to overheat if water levels drop. Second, the reservoir can be easily cleaned without disassembling anything, simply by flushing accumulated sediment in the reservoir into the Pump Vault with a strong stream of water, then pumping out the sludge with a solids-handling pump.
Larger flows and pumps can be accommodated by larger Pump Vaults like the PV1800 and PV2300, again a little taller than the water matrix blocks they pair up with so the bottoms can be set 6” lower than the rest of the reservoir. For reservoirs that are more than one layer of EcoBlox deep, Pump Vault Extensions add the height of exactly one water matrix to the Vault, for perfect vertical alignment every time.
