Hello, am new to the forum and would like to ask for some advise please. Have a pond thats 11x10x3 ft approx, in sun after mid day, (when it shines) planted with several water lilies and areas of oxygenators...elodea and starwort. Fish are 2xghost koi, 3xgolden orfe all of which are approx 12-15 inch plus 21assorted comets, blue orfe and shubunkins which I guess are 6 inch or so on average. Current box filter and pump with 8watt UV system is old, Biozorb 1000 -and a matching pump, can't recall make etc, but it worked when fish were small and pond was smaller as we have dug it deeper and over time it has become greatly under powered. Need a more powerful set up as fish growing rapidly. Ideally need something that is really easy to set up, relatively inexpensive to run and can be cleaned without me smelling like a sewer for a week. No need for a fountain, would prefer a waterfall as that's what I have now, well, the water drops into the pond, not flowing along a watercourse. My husband sadly passed away in Feb so I am on my own so the new system needs to be female friendly. I can do most jobs, but I can't spend an age dealing with mechanical/ electrical stuff I don't really understand. Have been quoted so many different systems ranging from £200 to £500, box and pressurised, the need to filter half or even the full volume per hour, I am now really confused so am wondering if someone can help me get it sorted from a fish keepers view rather than a shopkeeper trying to sell their product to me! Thanks for looking in, I welcome any advice.
Newbie needed to upgrade filter, pump and UV
- Thread starter moby
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Welcome Moby
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Hello and welcome. So sorry to hear about your loss. I totally know where you're coming from, requesting help to be "female friendly." Some people might laugh, but it's a proven fact that men and women learn and process information in different ways. I'm afraid I can't help you, but will tag another GPF member who is also from the UK [which I assume based on the flag, and use of the £ symbol, but then you talk in "feet" and "inches," Are you trying to confuse us? Just kidding!]
@Dave 54, your assistance is required!
@Dave 54, your assistance is required!
Certainly Maggie and welcome to the forum moby sorry to hear of your predicament and the loss of your dear husband this past Feb Val my wife and I lost a very dear friend three years ago Sept 4th when our friend Carrie died of cancer four months after burrying her Mum to it Wendy to it Carrie I had know since she was 15 years old my wife met her in her 20's she was 45 when she passed.
As to a filter I'm afraid its how long is a piece of string really plus how much your willing to spend but a good system that ios Lady friendly to handle your size of pond would be in my view something like a cloverleaf multibay filter :-
http://www.cloverleaf.uk.net/cloverleaf-brochure.pdf
If you can shop around just Google in koi dealerships to see who stocks them and to see if you can get the price just right .
The other far cheaper way would be to find a secondhand pond equipment or even ask if they have an old display model a bit like another of our Britsh members Willo .
http://www.preloved.co.uk/adverts/list/3634/ponds-and-water-features.html?keyword=pond.filter
There is a multibay system on this site £200
Dave
As to a filter I'm afraid its how long is a piece of string really plus how much your willing to spend but a good system that ios Lady friendly to handle your size of pond would be in my view something like a cloverleaf multibay filter :-
http://www.cloverleaf.uk.net/cloverleaf-brochure.pdf
If you can shop around just Google in koi dealerships to see who stocks them and to see if you can get the price just right .
The other far cheaper way would be to find a secondhand pond equipment or even ask if they have an old display model a bit like another of our Britsh members Willo .
http://www.preloved.co.uk/adverts/list/3634/ponds-and-water-features.html?keyword=pond.filter
There is a multibay system on this site £200
Dave
Thanks for the welcome both of you. I'm not trying to confuse anyone, honest! I'm the wrong side of the big 60 now so was bought up in a feet and inches world. I do not work in metres so I rarely use them along with others of a similar age here in the UK. Here's hoping Dave will chime in and suggest something. Thanks folks 
Oops, messages crossed, I left the iPad for a moment and in the meantime you had replied Dave, sorry and all that! Thanks for responding. I will look into your ideas. Am willing to spend around the £400 mark, but just want it to do the job. Have an Oase pond vac which I find really good at clearing a lot of the gunk from the bottom levels, but the water needs to be a bit clearer preferably. The current box filter is totally inadequate and I am amazed at the rate of growth of my fish. Not lost Fish apart from the heron attract three yrs ago so have it netted permanently. The oldest fish, the two ghosts are now 20 yrs old I'm certain. Regards.
If its any consoltion moby I'm just this side of 60 and I'm nearer to 59 each passing day March marks that milestone so I'm a feet and inches person too as is my wife Val .
Koi can live if looked after correctly for 80+ years goldfish 40+ we have a koi who is 28 but my own filters are off the scale they are industrial sized 32"vortex style filters [our pond is a retro fitted former QT pond for a koi dealership], we need to downsize ourselves as I have majop health issues as does my good lady Val who had Muscular Dystrophy.
Do you have any litrature i;e books on the subject of fish keeping and fish health if not your in luck as we also collect those too with our koi come fish health library topping 100 books titles available to a few of them along with ISBN and Authors names where possible.
Let me know and I can recomend one or two too you if you wish many costing justa fraction of their true worth on Amazon UK
Dave
Koi can live if looked after correctly for 80+ years goldfish 40+ we have a koi who is 28 but my own filters are off the scale they are industrial sized 32"vortex style filters [our pond is a retro fitted former QT pond for a koi dealership], we need to downsize ourselves as I have majop health issues as does my good lady Val who had Muscular Dystrophy.
Do you have any litrature i;e books on the subject of fish keeping and fish health if not your in luck as we also collect those too with our koi come fish health library topping 100 books titles available to a few of them along with ISBN and Authors names where possible.
Let me know and I can recomend one or two too you if you wish many costing justa fraction of their true worth on Amazon UK
Dave
Welcome Moby I understand where you are coming from and was at that same point when I started a few years ago. The only good thing was that I could do the stuff myself. Don't be afraid to tackle the plumbing. Everything can be done with plastic pipe and glue and a simple hand saw and you can get all the information on making a filter on Youtube. I would avoid a pressure filter and would make a skippy filter. The size of your pond is about 2500 gallons Here is a site that will calculate the pump size.
http://watergarden.com/catalog/_pumps/how_to_choose.php
For a uv light I would highly recommend the Pro clear which is a European brand.
http://watergarden.com/catalog/_pumps/how_to_choose.php
For a uv light I would highly recommend the Pro clear which is a European brand.
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Welcome! Glad you joined.
I have not heard good things about pressurized filters, but also have never used one either.
You could probably build a Skippy type filter. Check the diy section
I have not heard good things about pressurized filters, but also have never used one either.
You could probably build a Skippy type filter. Check the diy section