Newbie Filter Questions

[CPT_CRUNCH]

HI ALL!
looking for some insight. wife and i are building a new pond. it will be an outside, above ground pond. similar to a design (see jameskoi's basement pond thread) i've seen here on GP. i'm active duty army and move A LOT! so we want something that will be able to travel w/ us.

anyways the pond will be about 1200 gallons and will house our 6 koi, ranging in size from 4-10 inches. i'm looking for thoughts on the best pressurized bead filter. i've seen some ones that sound good. but just want to know if anyone here has any experience w/ them. i've considered building a DITY w/ the 55 gallon drums. but am leaning more towards the bead filter.

we plan to build an in-ground pond, eventually. but w/ 5 moves in 8 years (and possibly another move next dec) we want to enjoy our koi as simply as possible.

 

[koiguy1969]

lean torwards the drums or stocktank filters again and take a better look...you will like what you see...they are easy to buiild .. cheaper(alot) .. easy to maintain . and more efficient that a store bought 3 times the cost.

 

[koikeepr]

bead filters are fabulous and I eventually want one as well. The great thing about them is that they are pressurized and can be used anywhere. You don't have to worry about gravity flow like with a 55gal drum. You can also partially bury bead filters if you have to in order to hide them. But essentially they can be put far from the pond (above or below water level) and they work great.

My recommendation would be for the Advantage Bead filter. It is the one that most ponders use. It has a clear top so you can see what's going on inside, especially during the backwash process. Best of all, it has a killer manufacturers warranty where if you don't like it you can return it up to ONE YEAR later.

If you can afford the price of one of these filters, by all means get one. They are incredible.

Of course, 55 gallon drums do a bang up job as well and are far cheaper. It's just your choice as to how sophisticated you want to get with your filtration.

 

[koiguy1969]

well i personally dont know MOST ponders,so far be it for me to say i know what they use. but i'll bet 75% or more on this forum use homemade filters.

 

[koikeepr]

Koiguy, my statement was meant that most ponders WHO CHOOSE bead filters go with the Advantage--and not that most ponders use bead filters in general.

I agree that many ponders go with DIY variations wherever possible. I use a mix of both with my pressure filter and a 55 gal barrel. In my ultimate pond situation, I would replace my pressure filter with a bead filter and still keep my 55 gal drum as a pre-filter. As we like to say, there can never enough filtration.

I don't poo-poo anyone for buying a filter versus DIY'ing one. There are folks who don't have the inclination, nor the handy skills (even tho most of the DIY stuff is pretty easy to make) for a DIY filter or other piece of equipment and just want to yank something out of the box and plug it in. Similarly, I also won't poo-poo someone who wants a skimmer or a bottom drain (retro or real) or other mechanical doodad that they might feel enhances their ponding experience or their fishes lives. I think all our pond situations are different and filtration is not a cookie-cutter, one-size fits all thing. That's the beauty of keeping a pond...lots of ways to do things. And it's also the great thing about this site, we allow for the variety and opinions of others when it comes to their ponds.

That being said, I have seen this bead filter in action and the results it has had on a pond personally. As I get older (and my back gets worse), I appreciate the added simplicity and ease some of this newer equipment brings in conjunction with my DIY efforts already in place. So, some day, I would like to take advantage of a filter such as this one because it would suit my situation. For one, my pond is in an open area where I can't hide a DIY filter. So the fact that I could hide that bead filter 20 feet away from the pond and keep it under my deck would be a benefit that I could not get out of a DIY barrel. Right now my barrel is in a filter pit under the ground. At some point, reaching 3 feet down to turn my waste ball valve on my barrel is gonna catch up with me and my lousy back. If I want to keep ponding for years to come, I'm going to have to use equipment that will allow me to continue and keep things simple.

I know an older couple in my neighborhood who are both handicapped and in wheelchairs. Tinkering with DIY barrels is not possible for them, so they use the Advantage bead filter and it is a breeze for them to operate and maintain their pond--and their water is pristine, Their fish are gorgeous and it all works perfectly for them.

Like I said, DIY'ing is not for everyone--depends on the person, the pond and the situation.

Off the soap box now. LOL!

 

[CPT_CRUNCH]

thanks for the inputs. thought about the DIY barrel filter. however, in our situation we want something more "plug and play". also wife doesnt like the visual aesthetics of the 55 gal drum. i believe the bead filter will be easier to hide as we are building the pond on a patio and am limited on space. i figured many people here are into more of the DIY options here but really dont want to deal w/ it at this point.

koikeeper... heard anything about the aqua ultima II filters? liking what i've read on-line and heard some good thoughts from my local pond contacts.

 

[koikeepr]

yes, it is a very good bead filter as well. Most of these bead filters work on the same principles. What I like about the Advantage is not only the 1 year free return warantee, but as I mentioned it has a clear top where you can actually see what's inside and what condition it's in without having to open the whole darned thing up, including the backwash process. So you can really tell that your media is clean or not by physically seeing it. I'm not aware of any other bead filter that has this clear top like this.

Of course, you might be figuring that the Ultima II is cheaper...I've not compared the pricing on both. But I totally respect someone trying to save a penny. I don't think you'd be unhappy either way.

 

[D&RW]

Hi there,

I have an Ultima II and love it. It is extremely efficient and well made. We're expanding our pond and I plan to buy a 4000 gallon model to replace the 2000 we bought this summer. The main thing I wanted was to remove the "fines" and it does a superb job.