Help adding a filter to our fish pond

[fiddleathome]

Hi,

We have a 3000L pond in our yard. We hadn't had fish in it for a long time but my son came home from a fair with a goldfish that he "won". I'm totally against supporting these "games" that basically sell you got a goldfish but he was with his mother and came home with it. We sent them back the next day to get another one, knowing that they don't do well alone. Soon afterwards we went and bought 2 more.

That was around 3 years ago and the fish are doing well. The two from the fair are still alive, which we're proud of because other friends reported theirs all died. One from the store diappeared so we replaced him. They're all doing well and have had babies and now we have maybe 25 fish total.

A friend told us we really need a filter. Up until now we haven't used one. We do partial water changes and have the water checked at a local store that sells fish. They said our water was great. But since we trimmed some trees the algae is worse and we'd like to see our fish more.

Our friend told us to get an aquarium filter that is 750 l/h and run it several hours a couple times/week, saying it's better than nothing. I did some reading and it seems the recommendation is 3000 l/h 24/7. That's a huge difference from no filter at all. do we really need 3000 l/h 24/7? Is an aqarium filter enough? I see some on amazon, are those decent? Any recommendations?

Thanks!

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

Personally, I wouldn’t use an aquarium filter in a pond. Not only is that filter too small to do any good, but the filter ideally should run 24/7. As your fish continue to multiply and grow, you are likely to start seeing water quality issues. Get your own water testing kit (like the API Master Freshwater) and start testing your water. That way you can monitor for changes. You need some kind of water movement, if not with a filter, maybe with a fountain pump, air stones, etc. Just MHO.

 

[Lisak1]

I agree with @Mmathis - water movement may be more critical than a filter right now.

 

[j.w]

@fiddleathome

 

[brokensword]

lots of plants will help with water clarity; aim for 60% coverage. They too will be filters for you.

 

[fiddleathome]

lots of plants will help with water clarity; aim for 60% coverage. They too will be filters for you.

Can you recommend a plant? I'd like to get some water lilly but I don't know if there are other kinds that are good.

 

[GBBUDD]

The worst thing you can do is get a filter a run it for only a couple times a week as your bacteria can live and die creating hydrogen sulfide. If you start to use a filter in a pond it should be use constantly

 

[fiddleathome]

The worst thing you can do is get a filter a run it for only a couple times a week as your bacteria can live and die creating hydrogen sulfide. If you start to use a filter in a pond it should be use constantly

Thanks for telling me this, I wasn't aware of that.

I think I will get a Eheim Loop 5000. This brand seems reputable and I'm in France not far from Germany.
I will need an electrician to install an electrical plug outside. Can I have the filter about 1.5m from the pond? If so that would be great because it'd be protected from the rain.

 

[GBBUDD]

Ehiem is very reputable when i had planted tanks and salt reefs its all i ran

 

[brokensword]

Can you recommend a plant? I'd like to get some water lilly but I don't know if there are other kinds that are good.

water lettuce and water hyacinth are aggressive and inexpensive; you'll be composting by late summer. Water lilies are not the best water column filters, though we sure do like the flowers!

 

[Chucker's 50]

A home made skippy filter is what i have on my pond and it works great.

approximate 2000 gal (7570 liter) pond, filtered with a 100 gal (378.5 liter) filter

 

[GBBUDD]

if it works don't fix whats not broke

 

[Chucker's 50]

if it works don't fix whats not broke

No intention of changing our Skippy Filter, was just giving fiddleathome some ideas and illustrating how well
how it works by posting the image.

 

[Lisak1]

No intention of changing our Skippy Filter, was just giving fiddleathome some ideas and illustrating how well
how it works by posting the image.

Pretty sure he was referring to the OP.

Folks who use skippy filters seem happy with them, but I'll take a bog filter any day.

 

[GBBUDD]

There certainly doesn't appear to be a over loaded pond with this skippy filter as i only see one fish. I Can't speak for skippy filters but i agree with lisa i too have a bog filter and i have a lot of fish . Water is crystal clear .