Do I need a filter???

[dutchman]

This might sound dumb, but I don't know if I should have a filter or not. There is so much info out there, it gets confusing.
My pond is a small 150 gal. The Laguna powerjet600 pump is feeding a waterfall and a fountain. This has been running for app 2 months and I have 10 small goldfish. There are several different plants.
The water is clear and I have no issues with algae.
As for water changes, it does evaporate so I either add water or it rains enough to keep the level up.
So do I have to add filtration???
Also we have winter up here, so the pond will have to be shut down in a few more months. Not sure if the water would get too contaminated with fish waste.

 

[DrDave]

That small of a pond will surely freeze solid in the winter unless you do something to protect it. Also, without filtration, it will sooner or later go south on you. I would consider being proactive rather than reactive. Get something in place now while it is clear.

 

[dutchman]

Sorry DrDave. To make it more clear, the pond will be drained before it freezes. What i meant was if the water could get contaminated with only 10-12 weeks left in my pond season..

 

[DrDave]

I'm surprised it is clear with no filtration. Just the same, I would build something so at least you have it next year. Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.

 

[Otter]

Test the water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. If the first two don't show up at all, and the last is low, your fish should be okay. Otherwise, you need a filter, though with such a small pond you might get by with water changes for the rest of the season. I'm with Dave, though. Better to get your filter going before your fish start showing signs of stress. Besides the round tuit shortage, you need to allow for the time it takes bacteria to fully populate the filter media. And when those fish grow up, you'll need serious filtration to keep them healthy. The rule of thumb is 30-50 gallons for each adult goldfish. As you'll only have half that, you'll need aggressive filtration and/or a larger pond.

 

[dutchman]

Update.........the water was tested and no signs of Ammonia, nitrite or nitrate. I was going to build some kind of filter but came across one that someone was pratically giving away. It's a Laguna Powerflo 1000, external Bio filter. It's been rigged up now for a week. The water looked clean before, but looking inside the box, the filter is getting dirty so it's obviously working.

 

[Otter]

That should do it.:biggrin: Congrats on the great find.

 

[DrDave]

Another nice thing about this find is the manual is available on their website.