Pond Filters

Homemade pond filters turns old panty hose into economical and invisible filter for garden pond pumps. Stuff wadded up panty hose into the foot of a sock or the foot of more panty hose. Secure it with a rubber band over the pump hose. The pond filters primary purpose is to trap suspended matters floating in the garden pond. This includes fish water, decaying organic matter, floating algae and left over fish food.

It can also filter other minute particles that cause cloudy water. Mechanical filters are use as a corrugated polyester filter medium looking like an automobile oil filter working exactly in the same way. Some fitters have provision for adding activated charcoal or zeolite to remove ammonia. This will also help remove other chemical impurities. Pond filter effectiveness depends on the surface area of filter media and amount of water pump.

So filter media has no specific advantage over the other. These filters for a fact increases water clarity. For crystal clear water and a good view of the large fishes, a good Koi pond filter will certainly help. Large filters require a large pump and extensive plumbing. It also relies on a high flow rate. It is always advisable to select a filter that exceeds the minimum requirements of the pond. Larger filters require less frequency cleaning. Cleaning usually involves removing the filter pad, cartridge or screen. Then wash it with a garden hose.

Biological filters contain two or more layers of gravel. The nitrifiers’ bacteria break down fish wastes and other organic matter. Although biological filters do not require high flow rate, it need to run constantly. Biological filters need to turn over a total water volume once every four to six hours. The greatest disadvantage is that they start working efficiently only after several weeks from installation. The choice is the cost of maintenance like power or electricity.

Otherwise you save much on power because it does run low on electricity. Other consideration is the initial cost which is quite expensive. The designer may opt to build a pond filter that can serve a separate small pond densely planted with water hyacinths or water lettuce. It is placed between the filter outlet and the main garden pond. But then natural plant filters removing excess nutrients is a low tech inexpensive option with limited capacity for filtering.

Large Koi fish pond pressurized sand filters removes suspended articles easily. The process utilizes fine sand, is purely mechanical, and performs little biological filtration. But they do require routine maintenance check up and backwashed on a regular schedule. You may want to buy the unit that has a built in setting of automatic backwash made easy on a preset schedule. Always choose a filter that will suit your time availability and cost budget maintenance.