Need help making a cleaner pond

[Mucky_Waters]

Don't mean to offend you, but I'm going to be brutally honest. Those filters you have are junk.
Admittedly, they're pretty typical of what stores sell for pond filters, but then again your problem is pretty typical of many other backyard ponders who have similar filters. The proper solution is to look into larger scale, home made, external mechanical filtration concepts that are easier to service and clean, and chuck those junky, tiny submerged filters in the garbage, or if you want to have the fountain, just remove the media and just run it as a fountain pump.
I know, you've already spent the money on those filter/pump thingys and you don't want to spend more money (and time) buying more pumps and filter making material. That's understandable, however if you don't you'll likely end up going down the same path many backyard ponders before you end up going, and that is returning to the same store where you bought those crappy filters and buying a bunch of pond "clearing" chemicals and gimics like barley straw.

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

Wow, 40-60 percent, i would have never thought that. I run a 2g and a 1250 and see no issues with the algae like the op just on my 2g pond. That plant growth sounds like alot of work to keep all the decay. I would think that if cleaning filters everyother day is alot of work cleaning that much plant volumn would be worse. 40-60 percent wow, for a 4 month growing period is completely not worth it imho. You are counting on a plant to absorb the nutrient for 12 months? Notheren area must rely on your waterflow and filtration. Most shut their filtration down during cold months b/c of the freeze that happens and the risk of livestockcicles that are there once the lines break. I would imagine that the op would live in these conditions and honestly think that the plants have little to no long term effect on their ecosystem.

 

[Litzi1964]

Also, how much direct sun does your pond get? Mine gets several hours of direct sun a day. I can really see a difference in algae bloom on sunny days vs cloudy days. If your pond gets a lot of sun you may consider a canopy or pergola

 

[JohnHuff]

Is biofiltration needed? it seems this pond, with its abundance of nutrients, would really benefit....

Hard to tell without water testing.
Algae can uptake ammonia as well as nitrates.
Also, don't know his fish load and how much he is feeding.
Normally, an abundance of nitrates would mean there is enough biofiltration already.
But that isn't his problem right now, his fish aren't getting poisoned, he has too much algae. It's mechanical filtration he needs.

 

[HTH]

@mariobrothersleeve

Going to a lot of plants make for a more natural pond. One only needs to clean the bottom in the fall. You have a clean bottom all winter and plants that reabsorb the nutrients from dead foliage that you don't manage to remove during the growing season.

 

[Litzi1964]

I suggest you go to drsfostersmith.com they have a variety of pressurized filters and high flow pumps. However be prepared to spend at least $200 on the filter and another $200 or so on the pump. The tetrapond debris handling pump and the tetrapond bioactive pressure filter look like good options.

 

[HTH]

Don't forget the electric bill high pressure pumps generate.

 

[Litzi1964]

He mentioned having a pressurized filter before his current setup.

 

[DEL 707]

Thanks for all the replies, sorry I've been so slow replying.

I try adding water hyacinths and other floating plants each year, except this 1, but the fish won't leave them alone, they're lucky if they last a month.

Sadly I don't have any water testing kits.

So it looks like my fears are true and that the 2 filters I have are crap.
I do like the sounds of a DIY mechanical filter, only real problem I can see is trying to hide it, or at least not making an eye sore.
Can you provide me any more information on them?

 

[HTH]

Back when I studied art one of the things they taught was that if you can't hide it accentuate it. Make it pop! But it takes a good imagination to pull it off. Still could be fun.

 

[DEL 707]

Just a thought, I still have my old pressurised canister filter, BioForce 12000UVC, doesn't have a working pump.
Could I change the media in it to act like a mechanical filter?

 

[JohnHuff]

Just a thought, I still have my old pressurised canister filter, BioForce 12000UVC, doesn't have a working pump.
Could I change the media in it to act like a mechanical filter?

Looks like it already has built in mechanical filtration. The way it is, I probably wouldn't change anything. And I think you should at least get some testing strips. You can buy them quick, easy and cheap at amazon.co.uk or your LFS if you live close to one.

 

[Shdwdrgn]

You can hide the barrel(s) using plants. You have those bushes around the waterfall... use them to your advantage. I painted my barrels flat-black with a quick coat of spray paint, then I have hyacinths floating on top, and have been growing vines and irises around the base of the barrels. You don't have to cover them up completely, you just have to obscure them enough that they don't stand out. If you have the time, you can even rebuild your waterfall so the filters become part of the structure.

 

[DEL 707]

I plan to hit a garden centre or 2 over the weekend, I'll grab some test kits.

With regards to the canister, I already have a hole in the ground (covered up with a slab of rock at the moment), so that's not a problem.
Only thing I wondering is if it's going to give me the clearer pond I want. When I used it in the past, it really wasn't much better then things currently are.

 

[sissy]

You can use totes for a filter tank cut the handles off one and put it inside the other
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