Filterless Pond ?

[Chris Kostuk]

Hello fellow ponders. Is it possible to have a healthy fish pond using only plants for filtering. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Jhn]

Yes, what do you mean by no filter?
Many, myself included use plants to keep our ponds in balance, I have a skimmer in my pond, but only a matala mat and debris net in front of the pump. Half the time only a debris net is in there. Also, have a bog attached to the pond to help as do many others on here. My pumps turn my pond 8000 gallons over about 1.5x an hour, but also have an aerator in there as well.

If you don't have much in the way of water circulation ie pumps, aerators, etc.( Only see what looks like a pump/aerator in the middle of the pond. ) If that is the only means of water circulation I would be concerned with oxygen depletion in warm summer months, especially as your fish grow larger and reproduce. Also with not much circulation silt accumulation overtime will be a problem.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Hello fellow ponders. Is it possible to have a healthy fish pond using only plants for filtering. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.View attachment 104408

Yes, but you would need to observe very stringent stocking levels.

 

[Jhn]

Yes, but you would need to observe very stringent stocking levels.

Hahaha...Was thinking that too, but my Inner squirrel kicks in sometimes when I am replying.

 

[MitchM]

I would suggest having a proper substrate with submerged plants.
By a proper substrate, I'm talking about an organic potting or garden soil.

 

[Chris Kostuk]

Hello fellow ponders. Is it possible to have a healthy fish pond using only plants for filtering. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.View attachment 104408

The pond is about 1800 gallons it has a waterfall fed with a Shinmaywa 7000 ph / 1hp, 48" lift pump at one end and a small aerator at the other end.There are water irises, water clover,lilies,papyrus,water hyacinths, parrot feather, horns wart, mares tail, red root floaterandva bit of duck weed. The pond is 30" deep.

 

[MitchM]

It's not possible to add a soil substrate to a pond that is filled.
You'll need to drain it first.

What is the present fish population?

 

[Usman]

u can without man made filter ,with few fishes thats why we use filter to increase surface area and raise more fishes. water will circulate and plants will filter it for u . try to keep pump at one end and its outlet at other end so water travels thru . have test kit to see if its working, i think ur plants will flourish and do its job in a better way if they are planted without pots in rocks
very beautiful pond , u made it ?

 

[IPA]

View attachment 104410 View attachment 104410

The pond is about 1800 gallons it has a waterfall fed with a Shinmaywa 7000 ph / 1hp, 48" lift pump at one end and a small aerator at the other end.There are water irises, water clover,lilies,papyrus,water hyacinths, parrot feather, horns wart, mares tail, red root floaterandva bit of duck weed. The pond is 30" deep.

I am not clear if you are asking if what you have is sufficient or if you are changing it. A biological filter simply moves water over a surface colonized with nitrifying bacteria, water oxygen levels are important . You can purchase very advanced filters with media designed to maximize surface area but something as simple as gravel works too.
So if you are moving water, using a pump, over and through a surface or surface media then you have some form of biological filtration. A key point is how much surface is exposed to well oxengated water moving through or past it that the bacteria can grow on. The plants, and algae, will remove nitrates and other substances and act as a filter as well. The roots need to able to pull those nutrients from the water and how efficiently nutrients (the stuff you want removed from the water) are supplied to them also matters.
The "filterless" design you have is more difficult to quantify as to the amount of filtration being provided but with a light stocking load I don't think you'd have any issues. However a problem you may run into is having such a nice environment for you fish to enjoy, they may do a lot of spawning overloading the capabilities of the system.

 

[addy1]

Beautiful pond!
I filter with only plants, but my plant filter is huge, water is pumped through it which then waterfalls back into the pond.

 

[Lisak1]

The short answer is yes - as @addy1 mentioned you can have a pond with only plants to filter, if you have enough plants. We use a "bog" filter on our pond, too. I've also seen a number of manmade ponds that have no waterfall, no filter, no moving water at all. So yes, it's possible. But there is a balance between how much water, how many fish, and how many plants - too many fish or too little water/too few plants and you'll struggle. The pond may be fine - but you may not like the way it looks.

Your pond is really pretty!

 

[Chris Kostuk]

It's not possible to add a soil substrate to a pond that is filled.
You'll need to drain it first.

What is the present fish population?

Hey Mitch , the present fish population is 30, half inch to one inch minnows and goldies and

u can without man made filter ,with few fishes thats why we use filter to increase surface area and raise more fishes. water will circulate and plants will filter it for u . try to keep pump at one end and its outlet at other end so water travels thru . have test kit to see if its working, i think ur plants will flourish and do its job in a better way if they are planted without pots in rocks
very beautiful pond , u made it ?

Thanks Mitch. Yes, I made the pond. Just me and a shovel! Thanks for the advice. Will the plants grow through my pond liner if they are removed from their pots and will they become invasive?

 

[Chris Kostuk]

I am not clear if you are asking if what you have is sufficient or if you are changing it. A biological filter simply moves water over a surface colonized with nitrifying bacteria, water oxygen levels are important . You can purchase very advanced filters with media designed to maximize surface area but something as simple as gravel works too.
So if you are moving water, using a pump, over and through a surface or surface media then you have some form of biological filtration. A key point is how much surface is exposed to well oxengated water moving through or past it that the bacteria can grow on. The plants, and algae, will remove nitrates and other substances and act as a filter as well. The roots need to able to pull those nutrients from the water and how efficiently nutrients (the stuff you want removed from the water) are supplied to them also matters.
The "filterless" design you have is more difficult to quantify as to the amount of filtration being provided but with a light stocking load I don't think you'd have any issues. However a problem you may run into is having such a nice environment for you fish to enjoy, they may do a lot of spawning overloading the capabilities of the system.

Thanks for all the information IPA.

 

[Chris Kostuk]

The short answer is yes - as @addy1 mentioned you can have a pond with only plants to filter, if you have enough plants. We use a "bog" filter on our pond, too. I've also seen a number of manmade ponds that have no waterfall, no filter, no moving water at all. So yes, it's possible. But there is a balance between how much water, how many fish, and how many plants - too many fish or too little water/too few plants and you'll struggle. The pond may be fine - but you may not like the way it looks.

Your pond is really pretty!

The short answer is yes - as @addy1 mentioned you can have a pond with only plants to filter, if you have enough plants. We use a "bog" filter on our pond, too. I've also seen a number of manmade ponds that have no waterfall, no filter, no moving water at all. So yes, it's possible. But there is a balance between how much water, how many fish, and how many plants - too many fish or too little water/too few plants and you'll struggle. The pond may be fine - but you may not like the way it looks.

Your pond is really pretty!

 

[Chris Kostuk]

Hi Lisak 1 ,
Wow 4000g's that's a big pond. Sounds awesome. Thanks.