It will be a lot, as you face several issues. First issue: This is a very large pond you are looking at, in the range of 11,000 gallons (using the calculations you provided). It sounds as if someone had a very serious koi pond at one time. Although you state you are leaning toward not keeping fish, I would want bottom drains installed in a pond of this size, or you will end up with a mucky mess in a couple of years. If this was a properly designed koi pond, some of that plumbing may still be in place. So the first consideration is that you will need a pump that will filter something on the order of 5,500 to 10,000 gallons per hour, 24 hours a day. A Dolphin Ampmaster ES5500 external pump would perform this function relatively inexpensively, at about 286 watts per hour. I've seen that pump listed for around $400. The second issue is that a pump like the Dolphin will not push water to the heights you are considering for your waterfall. You need a pump that will push 40 feet or greater "well head" height -- the vertical distance that a pump will raise a column of water. For this, you will need a powerful unit like a Sequence Primer which draws around 1500 watts per hour. That is about the same as a large window air conditioner. Where I live in Virginia, the math works out like this: 1500 watts = 1.5 kWh x 7 cents = $1.05 per hour. (I think the national average cost is more like 10 cents per kWh.) Therefore, since you must run filtration 24 hours a day, you are probably looking at two pump systems. The filtration could be accomplished with a low-cost unit like the Dolphin. Your waterfall would be fed by a second very powerful pump that you'd run only for those hours each day when you want to operate the waterfall. You could reduce your cost somewhat by lowering the height of the waterfall. If you are serious about this project, I would recommend first reading up on koi pond design and construction. (There are several websites which specialize in this subject.) Also, some of the experts around here will hopefully chime in. This is not a "garden-variety" pond project that you are considering!

Hi Mike, OK, Im glad I understood its the red one. Something right! Whoo To Mike, buyorsell888, and calamity_j, The kitties are totally stressed out right now, but I think they'll be OK. The one black cat seen in the pix above, had some teeth pulled, but he seemed almost fine the next day. His brother on the other hand - totally freaked out. The anesthesia didn't wear off, he was scared, and probably in pain all night, so I stayed up with him. Ever since, he's been sleeping in kitchen nightly, which is unusual for him. (The outside boys aren't allowed in any further than the kitchen - long story). The girls indoors - well the one with recurring cancer is acting very needy and wanted to be close *all the time* *every minute of the day*. I cant blame her, shes stressed. Shes had a several surgeries and doesnt like the vet much at all As you can imagine. The other girl had to have some tests, but after a few days, we found they all turned out all right. Shes still feeling a bit crabby with us about having been taken to, The Awful Place. (She holds a grudge, as many of you with kitties will probably know what I mean!) Thanks for asking and well wishing. :) Even though the girls are in their senior years now, theyre like my babies and I stop everything when they are ill. Its so hard that they are getting old! As to the pond, our plan is like something out of a slapstick movie, though we are hoping it might work anyway. Were going to hook up the hose, as Mike suggests, and weve got a tarp weve put a slit in and will place the fountain through, then duct tape, so that any runoff from inside the pipes and fountain gets funneled over the tarp and out to the trees not into the somewhat clean pond water. Its about 105-110 degrees out there today and neither of us are looking forward to working on it!

The Kohler Magnum Op twin is great engine. My guess is it wouldn't exactly be plug and play , but could be a doable transplant. Old Sears tractors had these as well as the Briggs OT . If you feel that the issue is internal, a good running used engine could be an affordable option. You simply need to start at the beginning and set realistic goals for the steps along the way. A shop that currently is in a less busy time of their year that you could trust would be a great asset to you. You will find that shops do not rebuild engines much anymore due to costs involved. If you find a shop that will have a look and has experience with these- maybe they can give a better idea cost wise. Cleaning her up refreshing the rings, resealing it etc. maybe in budget vs machine shops , oversized pistons, new valve guides and I shudder to think. That is IF parts are available. You may post your engines proper model, type and code from the shroud and I can certainly look up parts limitations in these regards. It would be great thing in my estimation to also prepare for the unexpected. Bolts that break, clutches that don't want to come off etc. I broke 3 mounting bolts off an OT which I carefully extracted as a replacement sump was NLA as an example.

By the way, if one goes to the Lawn & Garden Tractors Forum on the website, the Kohler discussion thread comes up. So (1) posting on an old discussion DOES NOT allocate it to the string ball of threads, (2) in fact it reinserts that thread onto the active file and (3) cpmsequently it appears on the current list of âÂÂOn topicâ discussions. (Curious category, one wonders if we still belong). Therefore, with the GardenWeb way of doing things, my posting (a) made it easy for everyone to locate the earlier discussions. It also (b) enhanced retention and retrieval of earlier useful comments, (c) retains the name of the original poster and creator of the thread, and (d) consequently it may bring others with experiences to offer into the discussion. Not bad for an eveningâÂÂs work. For guys like me, "Newbies" seems to be the operative term, which does seem unnecessarily condescending and not overly complementary. For example, I may be the oldest one on the thread, and certainly my mower is among the oldest. The first, but probably not the second, also applies to using (and fighting with, and yes trying to mind read the designers of) lawnmowers. Must I really be thought of as a âÂÂnewbieâÂÂ, canâÂÂt I just be âÂÂone of the guysâÂÂ?