Filter media

[Challie]

Hi, I've got a rather large pond (30,000 gallons) and plan on about 6 fish. Its currently set up with a 2hp pump (Jacuzzi) and a 30 inch Heywood sand filter. I haven't put any media in the filter yet. What would be a good suggestion for media, or should I stay with sand?

 

[sissy]

sand is for pools and algae and other stuff from a pond will clog it fast

 

[Smaug]

30000 gallons! Pictures please? !

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Converted Swimming pool?

 

[Challie]

Here's some under construction photos from last year. Its come a long way since then. The waterwheel is 6 ft in diameter.



I'll snap some new photos tomorrow and post 'em.

 

[sissy]

My dad had a waterwheel on the house in PA that was fed by a creek that ran down to the house for our water .Can't wait to see the finished product

 

[Dave 54]

I would suggest buying a filter that is man enough to handle this amount of water may I suggest looking into some of the filters we use in the koi world , you will also need UV/C's etc as well as a number of the larger koi airpumps you can buy .
The pond looks fantastic why spoil it by only doing half the job start looking at filters man enough to do the job your going to need them for ......

Dave

 

[Challie]

Here's part of my problem.... There's a hellalot of "pond experts" and little solid information. I've scoured the info available and it mostly all conflicts. I'll post later what I came up with ( I'm sure its a stab in the dark, but it is a researched stab in the dark) I'm not gonna have some goofy filter made of plastic totes and wood slats. Swimming pool technology is light years ahead of what I find on most pond sites, and the filters that seem most logical to me are variations of the basic sand pool filter. Media being the difference. For example:
http://www.123ponds.com/a50300.html
I'll post pictures later today of the setup I have and how I intend to use it. I really am curious as to what filter media you folks suggest . I'm not entirely sure what the best choices are.

 

[sissy]

I have used lava rock just like my dad did 50+ years ago old fashioned but cheap and it works .A lot of people here get satisfaction from building there own filters and are successful so I would not put them down so easily .We are not pro.s and never will be but what counts for us is clear water and healthy fish .I was raised with a pond and after retiring in 2004 I decided I wanted one again now that I had the time .But now hubbies health takes first place in my life .Down to 14 fish now as I gave 3 away yesterday and that is in 5000 gallons

 

[Challie]

Here's some more recent shots of the progress..

Please don't get me wrong Sissy, I'm not putting down homemade filters. They're just not for me. I understand that homemade filters may outperform any other. I just don't have the time or patience to spend messing with one. I need an adequate system that is fairly easily maintained, fits in my pumphouse and isn't overly messy. That's what is appealing to me about the sandfilter configuration. I'm probably in the wrong place as I really don't want to raise koi and don't want my life consumed by pond tinkering. I think that ponds are immensely breathtaking and the sounds of running water are incomparable. That is why I'm drawn to them.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Here's part of my problem.... There's a hellalot of "pond experts" and little solid information. I've scoured the info available and it mostly all conflicts. I'll post later what I came up with ( I'm sure its a stab in the dark, but it is a researched stab in the dark) I'm not gonna have some goofy filter made of plastic totes and wood slats. Swimming pool technology is light years ahead of what I find on most pond sites, and the filters that seem most logical to me are variations of the basic sand pool filter. Media being the difference. For example:
http://www.123ponds.com/a50300.html
I'll post pictures later today of the setup I have and how I intend to use it. I really am curious as to what filter media you folks suggest . I'm not entirely sure what the best choices are.

If you really want to get into the 'nuts and bolts' of bioconversion and what is required for your pond, you need to know a couple of things. First, you will need to know as accurately as possible what your current total fish biomass is. You need to know what your expected future total fish biomass will be. You need to know the maximum available space that can be utilized for bioconversion (filter size). You will need to calculate what the total daily Ammonia production is and will be. Once this is determined you can arrive at the total SSA (Specific Surface Area) required to oxidize this Daily Ammonia. From the total SSA required you can then determine exactly what sub-strate to use for filter media based on the SSA of each substrate and the space available for bioconversion (size of biofilter).

 

[cas]

I just want to add to Meyer's post (because he provided this link in another thread and it was very helpful to me).
To determine the amount of ammonia created by the size of the fish, you can go here:
http://www.russellwatergardens.com/koi-weight/

And I love your pump house!

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I just want to add to Meyer's post (because he provided this link in another thread and it was very helpful to me).
To determine the amount of ammonia created by the size of the fish, you can go here:
http://www.russellwatergardens.com/koi-weight/

And I love your pump house!

And I would like to add to cas's post. While on the above linked site, read everything that John Russell has to say about filtration. Lots of good info.

 

[Challie]

Looks like about 20mg per 24 hours (6 goldfish 4" in length) That's prolly about as big as they'll get before one of the predators around here takes 'em out.

 

[sissy]

I can understand that ease of taking care of a pond and the joy of it .I have not had the time for mine and today was the first day in at least a month I have even gotten to doing anything with it .I was busy with other projects and my hobby .I had to get the 2 planter wheelbarrows built for my sisters and they came over today to the surprise .They did not know i was making them .