Filter

[Tetra1]

I am curious what I can do for filtration for my 85 gallon pond. I have a total pond all in one with aerator, filter, and led lights. It works great, but I'm having to clean it out every other day. What are some suggestions as to where I'm not doing that all of the time. Its a real pain in the butt. Thoughts?

 

[Meyer Jordan]

You must have fish! How many?

 

[Lisak1]

To add on to @Meyer Jordan 's question - what are you cleaning every other day? The pond or the filter?

 

[Tetra1]

I have 2 ryukins and a fantail goldfish. The filter is what I'm cleaning every other day. I had a huge algae bloom last year in my pond even with pond blue and a clarifier added to it and it killed my fish. I went 4 summers without any problems prior to last year. So, I had to start over. Now I'm back at square one.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

How often and how much are you feeding your fish?

 

[Tetra1]

I only feed my fish once a day and I give them what they can eat in a brief period, and then I scoop the excess out.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

In regards to your filter cleaning problem, the filter is doing exactly what it is supposed to do....filter. What you need to determine (and only you can do this) is where the extraneous organic matter is coming from.

 

[CometKeith]

Is your filter on the bottom of your pond? If it is it should be slightly raised up on a rock or something similar, This way it won't pull up sludge from the bottom and if a hose ever breaks it won't drain all the water out. If it is pulling out sludge from the bottom that would explain the constant cleaning. 85 gallons is not very large for an outdoor pond. It's possible your fish outgrew your pond and your system couldn't keep up with it.