Anyone have suggestions for an inexpensive (perhaps fifty dollars or so?) hand held water vacuum DIY project (hundred dollars maximum)?
The major constraints are: a. It has to be cheap b. It has to work c. It should be man portable
The secondary constraints might be: a. It should use standard hoses (for example, 2" pool vacuum hoses) b. It should use standard filters (maybe small cleanable pool filters?) c. It should work off of 120VAC (or a 12VDC car battery)
The design goal is for the water vacuum to be hand held to manually vacuum water out of an artificial cement-floored irregular stepped pond with a head lift of at least ten to fifteen feet (which necessitates power).
The inlet will collect bottom leaves and bottom debris and it will return the water back to the pond without those bottom leaves and bottom debris.
Parts I already have are: a. Outdoor 120VAC graywater pump with 2" outlet (originally about $75) b. 50 feet Home Depot 2" collapsible drainage hose (originally about $50) c. 35 feet Lowes 2" pool corrugated vacuum hose d. 200 feet of three-wire extension cord (and extra 12VDC car battery)
Biggest problem is I do NOT have a filter basket of any sort yet.
Unfortunately the powerful graywater pump has a six inch impeller opening on the bottom which isn't easy to move around as it's rather heavy so it might not be used.
Best, I think, is an idea using an inexpensive filter pump of some sort with BOTH ends being vacuum hoses (or at least the inlet end being one).
Cost is a paramount constraint. Lift of ten to fifteen feet is also. Everything else, I think, is flexible.