We are making a Bio-pool on our organic farm in Rajasthan where the soil is sandy but it can be compacted with a tractor. We plan to use a pond liner to retain water. We have excavated the earth and the volume is approximately 4500 cubic feet= 127426 litres. The purpose of the bio-pool is to create a water based eco-system with fish/aquatic plants and also to hold water for irrigating the nearby vegetable fields. We intend to also circulate the water back into the pond through a bio-filter, which will then flow down into the pool through biodynamic flow forms for aeration. Our inlet water source is a 4" pipe from the tubewell from which we get about 180lit/min. We can use this for 1 hour every day.

My questions are:

1. How much water can be drawn out with a 1.5 HP pump per minute using a 1" pipe to circulate it through the bio-filter?
2. Is that sufficient to circulate the water if we use this pump for 8 hours a day?
3. If not, then what is the ideal pipe width that should be used? We cannot increase the pump capacity as we get single phase electricity for 8 hrs and 3 phase only for 4 hrs a day. So this pump will run on the single phase connection.
4. How much surface evaporation can we expect per day. The surface area is approximately 800 sq feet and the pond is totally exposed to sunllight.
5. Is it sufficient if we pump in 10,860 lit of fresh water every day (presuming we are not draining any for irrigation?)
6. What kind/size of bio filter should we make for a pond of this size?
7. What is a good not too expensive pond liner to use and who are the suppliers in Delhi/Gurgaon?

Kakoli
kakoli@satya-jyoti.com
www.satya-jyoti.com