Presurized and non-pressurized filter system

[Tommy]

Will someone explain to me what the difference between a presurized and non-pressurized filter system? What's the advantage of the pressurize pond filter system? Will someone recommend a pond filter system that has a built-in UV for killing off algae?

 

[sissy]

pressurized is fine for a small pond with no fish or hardly any fish .You will still be back flushing it a lot .I have 2 of them in the basement from my small pond i used to have and they never worked right .They stunk and no matter how many times I back flushed a day the water was dirty .Sometimes I would back flush them 6 or 7 times a day .Maybe to small but since it was a small pond only 200 gallons I figure 2 would do it ,well i was wrong .I built a bigger pond with 2 bio filters 2 waterfalls and 13 fish and 2 koi that are now over 2 feet long and the rest being shubbies ,goldfish and fantails .

 

[koiguy1969]

pressure filters are just that, pressurized. they are a sealed water tight container that the water is pushed thru. non pressurized filters are gravity fed or gravity returned. . the only advantage to a pressure filter is you can locate them absolutely anywhere. you can bury them up to the lid.so theyre very easy to hide. other than that some come with a built in U.V clarifier. but they tend to be better at mechanical filtration than biological. if thats the route you wish to take. i would reccomend buying one with a higher pond volume rating than your pond is. and use a prefilter before your pump. the prefilter will do a lot of mechanical filtering so the filter itself will remain much cleaner. there by doing a much better job at bilogical filtration. it will make it more efficient and need far less backflushing. the downside is you'll need to clean the prefilter instead. but if you use a biological filter after the pressure filter it can do the mechanical work and send cleaner water to the bio filter,, making it more efficient. most people here wont likely reccomend a pressure filter... as a general rule, myself, i wouldnt use one. but thats me. i have a freind who uses one as a mechanical only filter, supplying his biofalls and his setup works fantastic. he uses a fishmate rated for, i believe... around 5 or 6000 gals on a 2200 gal pond and it feeds a 100 gal skippy style bio filter like mine as his waterfall filter (bio-falls).

 

[sissy]

mine was a fishmate also and guess if i had known what koiguy said they may have worked but that was over 8 years ago .Oh well live and learn then learn a little more