I am putting together a plan for a 55 gallons barrel filter for my pond and need some advise/comments on my plan. Here are my facts:

Approximately 6’ round pond, 2 ½’ - 3’ deep
10 goldfish, 3-4” long
1258 GPH pump with fountain, 1” outlet
Pump will be 10’ from top of barrel
Top of barrel will be 3 ½’ above water surface
Outlet will fall into three tiered waterfall with
The bottom weir being 7” across.

Here is my drawing: (sorry I didn't know how to put it in the body of the message)
http://adobe.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=129waay5.w4ll19p&x=0&y=-k93tqm&localeid=en_US
The 1” hose from the pump will be hooked to a 2”x2”x1” PVC “T” (to act as a venture), flow down a 2” PVC pipe through a milk crate, wired to the crate 8” off the bottom of the barrel with the outlets (2” elbows) facing in opposite directions. The barrel will be filled with floor pads and scubbies with the water flowing out the barrel through a 1 ½” outlet. The barrel will have a drain as close to the bottom of the barrel as possible.

My questions: With the indentation of the barrel, will the 1 ½” outlet be okay at the top of the barrel in the 4” area as marked on the drawing?
(If not I will have to drop it approximately 6-7” from the top of the barrel.)
Would it be better to have the milk crate 12” tall (at 8” I have to cut it down)?

Any advise/comments etc would be greatly appreciated.

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