Newbie with filter question.

[Pondrookie06093]

Hi I am new to ponds and also forum posting so please go easy on me . I had a idea to build a pond and just started digging and researching as I went . While I'm sure many mistakes have been made I am hoping for some advice on my main issue . My water is murky and I can't see the fish . Some back round ... My bottom pond is about 1700 gallons with a pool liner ( I know it will be needing replacement ) it is virgin vinyl Chemical free and thick . I have a underliner under it as well . I have a superior 1:3 hp pump with 1/4 inch tubing going up about maybe 10 ft of head . Which acording to specs is pumping plenty of water . It leads up to a upper preformed pond I have fabricated into a waterfall . The hose goes directly into your pond threw adapter. I also have a 600 gph fountain pump I run in back of lower pond just to stir water up so no mosquitos come . My big thing is I know I don't have any filtration and funds are limited . I am wondering if I can use material and lava rocks to make my upper pond a filter system as well????

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome! There are lots of ways to make decent filters on a budget. I'm not sure I'm the one to help, but others will chime in.

How long has your pond been up and running? And how many/what kind of fish do you have?

 

[Pondrookie06093]

My thought was to maybe make a filter system where the water goes into the upper pond ?

 

[Pondrookie06093]

Hello and welcome! There are lots of ways to make decent filters on a budget. I'm not sure I'm the one to help, but others will chime in.

How long has your pond been up and running? And how many/what kind of fish do you have?

Hello and thanks for the warm welcome
It has been running for about two weeks . Some dirt and stuff got in while doing final touches . I had s big 4th of July party so started rushing prior to . I have about 12 small to large gold fish .

 

[CometKeith]

Welcome. You can make the upper pond a bog pretty easily by putting in a lot of plants. Floating plants like water hyacinths or water lettuces work well. I have seen a number of ponds filtered this way without other types of filtration. Hmmmm..... I wouldn't have put that many fish in right away. You may run into trouble when it hits 3 or 4 weeks old. It takes a while for beneficial bacteria to build up that will break down ammonia and nitrite to less harmful components. You need to buy a test kit right away and check the water daily for elevated readings. Even a small amount of ammonia can cause disease in your fish. Once disease breaks out it can spread pretty easily so it's best to avoid it.

 

[Pondrookie06093]

Welcome. You can make the upper pond a bog pretty easily by putting in a lot of plants. Floating plants like water hyacinths or water lettuces work well. I have seen a number of ponds filtered this way without other types of filtration. Hmmmm..... I wouldn't have put that many fish in right away. You may run into trouble when it hits 3 or 4 weeks old. It takes a while for beneficial bacteria to build up that will break down ammonia and nitrite to less harmful components. You need to buy a test kit right away and check the water daily for elevated readings. Even a small amount of ammonia can cause disease in your fish. Once disease breaks out it can spread pretty easily so it's best to avoid it.

I will order a water test kit . Also there has been moving water a little over a month . So I guess I meant it's been complete for a few weeks .

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Did I read your initial post correctly? 1/4" tubing on a 1/3 Horsepower pump?

 

[Pondrookie06093]

Did I read your initial post correctly? 1/4" tubing on a 1/3 Horsepower pump?

1 and 1/4 sorry

 

[ashirley]

Welcome! Don't worry, we have all been newbies once and have made mistakes. I have had my pond for years and I am still learning. You will find some very helpful advice here.

 

[bagsmom]

If you go to the main forums page, there is a whole section for making homemade filters and other equipment. I'm sure you will find great info there! I've been looking at it myself!

 

[budgenator]

My bottom pond is about 1700 gallons with a pool liner ( I know it will be needing replacement ) it is virgin vinyl Chemical free and thick . I have a underliner under it as well . I have a superior 1:3 hp pump with 1/4 inch tubing going up about maybe 10 ft of head . Which acording to specs is pumping plenty of water . It leads up to a upper preformed pond I have fabricated into a waterfall . The hose goes directly into your pond threw adapter. I also have a 600 gph fountain pump I run in back of lower pond just to stir water up so no mosquitos come .

I'd build an in pond filter out a plastic tote, and use your fountain pump to run it. the fountain at 600gph is just a bit less than ideal flow rate for a 1700 gal pond (850gph is ideal). You can usually find a piece of filter mat to fit at your Home Depot or Lowes to provide mechanical filtering. I cut odds of PVC pipe to an inch or two to provide biological filtering. Take the tote and poke a 1/4 inch hole in the bottom and put in a flatish rock so it'll sink. Cut holes in the top for the pipe and electrical cord to go through and water to enter. Set the pump in the tote, fill with the cut up pipe, leaving enough room and then put in the filter mat and put the top on. Tie a rope around the tote; 550 or para cord works well, tie the top down. Run more para cord along the length of the electrical cord to the tote to use the para cord to pull the tote filter not the electrical cord.

This filter will clog about in a week or two, just pull it out and clean, don't use chlorinated tap water and don't clean it too clean, just enough to unclog. Most of the muck is beneficial bacteria and you should see worms that are eating the gunk before long. You want these bacteria to clean the water.

This will get you by until you can put together a more proper system, or it might be all you need.

 

[moby]

Sorry for my ignorance, but what is a 'plastic tote' please? It's obviously an 'Americanism' of some kind

 

[Mmathis]

Sorry for my ignorance, but what is a 'plastic tote' please? It's obviously an 'Americanism' of some kind

Something like this....

 

[moby]

Ah! That's what they are, I had no idea whatsoever, we just call them lidded storage bins, well I do anyway, I've never heard of that term before, thanks for the explanation We do have tote bags here, oblong box shaped shopping bags with handles on the top, you know like the ones from posh dress shops! Couldn't really visualise how to make a filter out of one of them for the life of me!

 

[cas]

@moby I am glad you asked.... I didn't know what a tote was either. We call them plastic storage bins.