Raised Duck Pond and Pond Filter Thoughts

[BReeder!]

I just thought of this and Idk if it would work but you might could drain it with a fish tank gravel vacuum! It sounds silly but drains my tank fairly quickly! I may try it!

My pond is in the ground and 4ft deep. A gravel vacuum works by means of gravity siphon. I would need a lower elevation to drain to, which I don't have. I pump the water out.

 

[Percheron chick]

I use a fatigue mat under my kiddie pool. The mud is under the mat and it helps keep their feathers clean when they exit. You can still put litter under it to absorb the water but they won't tract the muck into the freshly cleaned pool. You can pick them up at Costco, restaurant supply stores and hardware stores.
They make great door mats too.

 

[Boynextdoor]

I would put a swirl filter as the first stage of your filter, and enough flow to turn over you volume 10 times an hour is standard. Might be able to get away with less if you only have a few ducks.

I think that it's hard to realize. And it depends on number of ducks of course

 

[Pekin duck mom]

My pond is in the ground and 4ft deep. A gravel vacuum works by means of gravity siphon. I would need a lower elevation to drain to, which I don't have. I pump the water out.

I didn't think about that....hmmm you could put the bucket underground!

 

[Ratchnick]

I didn't think about that....hmmm you could put the bucket underground!

You dont need gravity to create suction you can use a pump.

 

[BReeder!]

You dont need gravity to create suction you can use a pump.

In trying to place the pump at the end of the filtration system. This way the pump is not breaking up poop and getting clogged with feathers. A pre-filter could be used of course, but that just keeps bio mass in the pond rather than filtering it out.

 

[aart]

In trying to place the pump at the end of the filtration system. This way the pump is not breaking up poop and getting clogged with feathers. A pre-filter could be used of course, but that just keeps bio mass in the pond rather than filtering it out.

You've got the right idea.
First vessel is a vortex, intake pipe at an angle, to settle out the heaviest detritus.
All vessels should have a drain to remove said detritus without the least amount of water loss.
Basic gravity fed filtration for fish pond:

 

[Suprasoup]

Any updates? With a pond of this size I would seriously consider adding a proper bottom drain like what koi ponds use. They are waaaay less hassle than the siphon method.

I have a raised pond roughly 2000ish gallons and I use a 3” bottom drain. It has worked well for me. My filter system is probably double if not triple your volume however. Pump is 3000gph but derated to 2000ish due to head pressure. I have 7 ducks for reference.

 

[rjmyooper]

Then I want to run PVC from the bond of the pond into the trough. The PVC will allow water to siphon from the bottom of the pond into the trough. I'll place my 1600 GPH submersible pump into the trough and pump water back into the pond. I could pump to a waterfall feature or some other spillway/fountain setup, but that's getting fancy and can wait for another future project. Within the trough I plan to use lava rock and open-cell foam as filter media to filter the water before it gets to the pump.

This is almost exactly what I'm planning for my pond. I've bought the pump and filter already. Recently I started thinking about using galvanized stock tanks from TSC. They're expensive as hell, but I can build the drainage pit (septic drain) with the pump, then buy one tank at a time at a time.
I expect this plan to change as I go along.