should have known!!!

[koiguy1969]

well ive been running my pump and waterfall just to keep the water moving a bit, until i can move the filter media and fish outdoors. just yesterday,i put 2 small koi, born last year in the pond. woke up this morning went outside at 4:30 and the pond was quiet...waterfall not working...one guess what the obstruction was to the waterflow?..........
***you guessed it i didnt put on a prefilter, and a 4" tancho sanke got himself sucked in head first...no idea how long he was there but he was wedged in so tight i had to take apart the inlet assembly and use a dowel rod to push him out....one of the couple i planned on keeping.

 

[stroppy]

rotten news koiguy ... im guessing he/she is no longer with us :fish:

 

[koiguy1969]

you guessed correctly ....funeral services were at about 4:45....he or she went to the big koi pond in the sky!!

 

[addy1]

Aww darn koiguy, sorry to hear

My bog waterfall showed a real slowdown. Went to check what the problem was and found a fry stuck in each hole of the inlet. So now put a large piece of drain pipe over the inlet, with multiple small holes with a net. Spreading out the pressure. The inlet was a piece of pvc 18 inches long with 1/4 inch holed drilled in it, but it was enough draw to suck in the fry. (We don't have our bottom drain set up yet)

 

[koiguy1969]

never would have thought!!...he must have been curious....he was 4" maybe 5" so it probably shouldnt have sucked him in as he swam by. its only a 1200 gph pump. maybe he was depressed, and it was his way out?.................. no, i dont think so either.
***********update...theres a prefilter on it now!!!**************

 

[fishin4cars]

Sorry to hear that! Been there done that too! I found a little trick for pre-filter that worked very good for me. I made up a piece of 1" pipe about 1' long that I was able to adapt down and screwed directly on the intake side of the pump. Drilled about 40-50 holes all in the pipe and I have a large box looking foam that I had to cut a slit through the middle and slide it over the pipe. It rarely cloggs, easy to take off and clean yet leaves the pipe in place to protect the intake while cleaning and does a great job at keeping larger gunk from getting in the filter.
My problem was I would get distracted and forget to put the pre-filter back on right away and that's when I would get a fish caught in it. This elimenated that problem completely as the pipe with the holes drilled in it keeps the fish out if I forget to put the foam back on right away. That's that CRS (Can't Remember S&%T) syndrome kicking in! LOL

 

[vertigo72]

I obviously see the need for some prefilter to keep fish out, but just curious, why would you want to keep that "larger gunk" out of your filter, but in your pond while also potentially blocking flow? If it gets in the mechanical filter, all you have to is open the drain, I can do that wearing a tie and while making a phonecall. Getting in the pond to get hold of that foam and clean it, is something else.

 

[fishin4cars]

300 gallon pond for me, the prefilter is maybe 1ft down and easy to get to, It's a pretty course sponge so really all it traps is leaves, pieces of lily stems, and iris seeds that fall in the pond and such. I may have to take it of three or four times a season. Not a biggy at all. Plus right now, I'm still getting used to the DYI filter and I had that in place long before I set it up. I really didn't want large stuff in the filter as I am still not comfortable with what I can get away with in it and what I can't. Biggest thing is there are fry, and small fish in this pond, protecting them from the filter is the bigger key factor for me in that pond

 

[koiguy1969]

i use prefilters attached to the end of 1&1/4" hose...3 of them located around the pond. i have black nylon string attached to them so i can easily pull them uo to the surface along ponds edge to remove for cleaning....no foam, matala type insert inside..i clean them every couple days, or daily if neccessary...it takes 5 minutes to clean all 3! ..i dont get in the pond. and i can move them around the pond as needed, if needed.
pic#1....all 3 parts of prefilter
pic#2....center perferated tube
pic#3....matala type insert...semi fine
pic#4....matala over perferated center tube
pic#5...assembled prefilter, minus hose adapter.
the hose goes on the adapter which hooks up to the center tube, drawing in water thru the matala insert via the slots in outer casing. outer casing slots stops but catches leaves, and larger debris, most other debris are caught by the matala. they work well... and no loss of flow unless all 3 are clogged!!
***** I removed this one from basement pond to take pics.
and Vertigo ..you answered your own question in another thread...why use them? to keep the crap out of my biofilter.... i keep a pristine pond with minimal effort...

 

[fishin4cars]

Basically the same thing I have only my pipe is rigid, But I like the idea of the flex tubing and may try that! Yours has a rigid cover over the matala mine is foam only. But still pretty much the same thing. I do have a question though. Where did you get the Matala like that? I like that better than the foam, The foam I blocks I use are good for throwing in a bucket and squeezing out several times. matala seems to grab more but for me in the big pond its easier to clean than foam.

 

[koiguy1969]

fishin'.... i use egg crate foam (like a matress pad) in this one in the basement pond ..the filter is just under the waters surface and the pump is under it and the outlet is venturied for aeration. but even in the gin clear water you'd be amazed at the micro paricles it catches...i wash it out every 4 or 5 days...get some brown water.
i bought these prefilters at Lowes..they made by Tetra pond. theres 2 sizes i got the large.
check them out:........ http://www.bigalsonline.com/product...7595777&source=ComparisonShopping_Shoppingcom
Kmart always has joe boxer pillows for like $2.50 i buy them for the egg crate pad and the fiberfill...they have a 10" x 15" peice inside, and of course fiberfill.

 

[koiguy1969]

OH...4 YEARS AND I HAVENT HAD TO REPLACE AN INSERT YET!..but if i need to i will use the furnace filters i use...i could cut probably 10 out of 1 filter.