Fish pond filter

[Wongkitlo]

Am thinking  of buying a filter for my fishpond. It has a pump already and 2 outlets, 1 for wall fountain and the other an centre fountain that I have diverted to the side. The only one I can really find online is in the picture. I hoped somebody might kindly have some input. My wife thinks it is frivolous so I am on a budget.

[G Rex]

Hi.  I think that canister filters like the one pictured are better suited for indoor use. 

You are better to buy a dedicated outside pond unit ( or make one yourself - YouTube is your friend!)

I have a Boyu unit - okay , but not great. My pond is about 4x2x1.5m - and i need to clean filter elements monthly. I also had to fit a stronger pump, as the original did not last long. (about 6 mths). I use bore water - and it is Very hard!! Not salty , but heaps of Calcium.

[Yellowtail]

3 hours ago, G Rex said:

Hi.  I think that canister filters like the one pictured are better suited for indoor use. 

You are better to buy a dedicated outside pond unit ( or make one yourself - YouTube is your friend!)

I have a Boyu unit - okay , but not great. My pond is about 4x2x1.5m - and i need to clean filter elements monthly. I also had to fit a stronger pump, as the original did not last long. (about 6 mths). I use bore water - and it is Very hard!! Not salty , but heaps of Calcium.

What are you using for filter media? 

 

 

[johng]

Yeah make one out of an old (large) paint bucket with lid be sure to get all the paint out first  using standard plumping pvc fittings and some suitable flexible tubing with jubilee clips.

water is pumped into the top via lid, flows throw filter medium  out the bottom hole back into the pond

( I put an overflow pipe near the top  which indicates  when the filter is clogged and needs a clean)  works very well  filter media can be gravel ,stones and some of the fluffy stuff  from an old pillow or duvet  which will clog up quite quick    but just take it out wash it with some clean water with a hosepipe  every so often   stuff it back in  put the lid back on....you might also want to look at a cage/filter to stop the pump getting clogged up and burning out  if it runs for a long time with little or no water flow to cool it.

 

[Wongkitlo]

Thanks. I could buy a dedicated pump with the money I save and use the existing pump for the fountain. 

[Wongkitlo]

6 hours ago, G Rex said:

Hi.  I think that canister filters like the one pictured are better suited for indoor use. 

You are better to buy a dedicated outside pond unit ( or make one yourself - YouTube is your friend!)

I have a Boyu unit - okay , but not great. My pond is about 4x2x1.5m - and i need to clean filter elements monthly. I also had to fit a stronger pump, as the original did not last long. (about 6 mths). I use bore water - and it is Very hard!! Not salty , but heaps of Calcium.

Thanks . Will check Boyu. YouTube is good advice. 

[Yellowtail]

11 minutes ago, Wongkitlo said:

Thanks . Will check Boyu. YouTube is good advice. 

Study filtration and water processing a bit before you buy anything. 

[NativeBob]

1 hour ago, Yellowtail said:

Study filtration and water processing a bit before you buy anything. 

had 200 ltrs salt water fish tank and water treatment is the cornerstone indeed. 

 

[G Rex]

17 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

What are you using for filter media? 

 

The filter media are these foam cartridges. They work quite well - and there is certainly a lot of grunge in them when I clean them.

This unit keeps my water quite clear - my only ongoing battle is keeping the green algae growth down.

 

I acknowledge that this filter is not great, but it does the job - and does not require a lot of maintenance. Obviously other factors like the volume of the pond and the biological load (fish number and size) needs to be taken into consideration when selecting filtration methods - but I am attempting to keep my response relatively simple. 

 

My 1000l tank in my house has a full biological filter system with undertank sump and automated water change every day - the water is crystal clear - but filtration like this is not necessary for a pond (IMO). 

[Yellowtail]

11 minutes ago, G Rex said:

The filter media are these foam cartridges. They work quite well - and there is certainly a lot of grunge in them when I clean them.

This unit keeps my water quite clear - my only ongoing battle is keeping the green algae growth down.

 

I acknowledge that this filter is not great, but it does the job - and does not require a lot of maintenance. Obviously other factors like the volume of the pond and the biological load (fish number and size) needs to be taken into consideration when selecting filtration methods - but I am attempting to keep my response relatively simple. 

 

My 1000l tank in my house has a full biological filter system with undertank sump and automated water change every day - the water is crystal clear - but filtration like this is not necessary for a pond (IMO). 

You are probably over feeding your fish. 

 

 

[G Rex]

3 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

You are probably over feeding your fish. 

 

 

Thank you for your concern - I assume your suggestion is because I said I was battling algae. 

However I was not 'fishing' for advice. 

With 50 years experience in freshwater and marine aquaria I have a fair idea of what I am doing.

[Yellowtail]

4 minutes ago, G Rex said:

Thank you for your concern - I assume your suggestion is because I said I was battling algae. 

However I was not 'fishing' for advice. 

With 50 years experience in freshwater and marine aquaria I have a fair idea of what I am doing.

Sorry, I thought when you responded to my post that you were the OP.

[Wongkitlo]

Hi. I did press 'like' on many of the replies but things did get really busy and I had little chance to follow up. I bought a bucket filter from Lazada( thanks @johng which functioned ok- (instead of building one)but am currently looking at redoing the  fishpond a little. I did cut back on feeding the fish ( thank you @Yellowtail) and just recently have been on YouTube studying filtration systems ( thanks @G Rex)

From looking at YouTube I am thinking of rebuilding my filter(or adapting the one I have) so the water enters at the bottom and pushes through the filtration matter and exits at the top. In this case I get extra gravity output and also it seems easier to clean by backwashing the filter. I wondered if anyone had any input on what is better. 

I was also interested in filter media. Some people on YouTube seem to be using only porous rocks and depending on bacterial growth in the filter rocks to clean the water but the choice of rocks seem limited on Lazada. You can use bio balls and they don't seem too expensive. Last time I  bought a filter with media included - porous rocks, charcoal, white fabric/foam but am wondering what other people use in Thailand and how they get it.