Joined to ask for HELP!!

[aka-Kathy]

I built my pond in 1999. My son and I started digging and I thought we would never get done. Over the years it has been so much fun to watch Mother nature at work in my back yard.

Of course in the first year you are met with many challenges. From OVER producing fish to MEGA multiplying frogs.

My latest challenge is trying to get my water flow consistent. I have about 500 gallons of water in the pond and my pump is a "Cal Pump 900 " series. With a Laguna Power Flo Max, bio underwater filter.

I have to clean the filter EVERY week since the water flow becomes so slow I am afraid it will burn out my pump. When I clean it out it is full of pond muck or sludge. Then the flow is at full rate for almost a week, then I have to clean it out again. UGH!!!

I am now sitting in the yard with thoughts of filling it in and planting daisies.

I use to have two water features and removed one leaving only my waterfall, thinking that would help the flow. NO not so much. This week I only got 4 days before cleaning out the filter.
I am thinking if I get an outside the pond system maybe that would help. I look forward to hearing from anyone with a solution to my problem. Thanks!!

 

[Tula]

How many fish do you have in your 500 gallon pond? Are they koi, other types or a mix?

 

[LarryM]

I built my pond in 1999. My son and I started digging and I thought we would never get done. Over the years it has been so much fun to watch Mother nature at work in my back yard.

Of course in the first year you are met with many challenges. From OVER producing fish to MEGA multiplying frogs.

My latest challenge is trying to get my water flow consistent. I have about 500 gallons of water in the pond and my pump is a "Cal Pump 900 " series. With a Laguna Power Flo Max, bio underwater filter.

I have to clean the filter EVERY week since the water flow becomes so slow I am afraid it will burn out my pump. When I clean it out it is full of pond muck or sludge. Then the flow is at full rate for almost a week, then I have to clean it out again. UGH!!!

I am now sitting in the yard with thoughts of filling it in and planting daisies.

I use to have two water features and removed one leaving only my waterfall, thinking that would help the flow. NO not so much. This week I only got 4 days before cleaning out the filter.
I am thinking if I get an outside the pond system maybe that would help. I look forward to hearing from anyone with a solution to my problem. Thanks!!

Sounds like your filter is too small. Not familiar with the filter you have but in my first small pond several years ago I had a submerged filter and it was a pain. I would suggest looking into a pressurized outside bio-filter for ease of cleaning and a UV sustem to take care of the green water. Cleaning my filter takes only a few minutes each week or so depending on the dirt load and I don't even get my hands wet. The companies tend to overrate their filter capacities so as a rule of thumb get one twice the size you need. For 500 gal I would go even larger, say one rated for 2000 gallon pond. Of course you'll probably need to get a new larger pump as well to properly backwash the filter but if you want trouble free maintenance for years to come you need to decide if you want to make the investment. I really like AquaUltraviolet products but there are many other good brands out there as well. Also there are many folks here who might disagree and they can steer you to a cheaper home-made system. Either way will do you but if you want to enjoy the pond without the constant cleaning, it's time to upgrade your filtration system.
Hope this helps.

 

[aka-Kathy]

Greetings Tula! I have 6 goldfish 1 frog and a few plants.

 

[JohnHuff]

The simplest solution is for your to add this on to your underwater filter:

It's an add on mechanical filter chamber to what you already have. You need to buy the pad that goes inside as well.

Each chamber you add will increase the time between cleanings. If you bought two of these, it would double your mechanical filtration capacity and theoretically double the time before you need to clean them as explained here:
http://www.amazon.com/Laguna-PowerFlo-Biological-Underwater-Chamber/dp/B0002AQWU0

What was the water feature that you removed?

 

[dieselplower]

How about netting out the pond muck and sludge?

 

[aka-Kathy]

Thank You LarryM for your input. I was ready to purchase an outside the pond system and my son said to do more research prior to buying. The company I spoke to told me to get a filter that would do 800 gals and the pump would handle 500 gals. Does that sound about right? I think I will up the filter to 2000 just so I don't have to redo again.

 

[aka-Kathy]

Thanks John Huff, I am seriously leaning to an outside the pond system so I don't have to get into the pond any longer.

 

[aka-Kathy]

As for netting debris out. I do have 2 types of nets. 1 for large pieces and a butterfly tight weave for cleaning out the bottom muck. Which I do a few times during the summer. Plus I have my filter sitting on top of a brick so it doesn't sit in the muck.

 

[LarryM]

Thank You LarryM for your input. I was ready to purchase an outside the pond system and my son said to do more research prior to buying. The company I spoke to told me to get a filter that would do 800 gals and the pump would handle 500 gals. Does that sound about right? I think I will up the filter to 2000 just so I don't have to redo again.

The size you get ultimately depends a lot on your budget. The bigger the better. More than 2000 might be getting into overkill territory. Most filter companies will recommend the pump size needed to properly operate your filter, and 500 is probably way too small. Wait a few days and I'll bet you get lot more different options and opinions from other folks here so that whatever your final decision you'll be more confident that it will be the right one for you.

 

[CometKeith]

Welcome aka-Kathy! Hope you have a lot of fun on gpd and learn a lot. I know I'm always learning here. I have a similar size pond... about 600 gallons and my pond is a circle 9 ft in diameter. It has 28 goldfish average size 3 inches and a few frogs if they ever come back! I use a Laguna external pressurized filter 700 series with uv and it work very well. About every two weeks I clean it by using the two handles that scrubs the filter and don't have to open it. It takes about 5-10 minutes to do it. I bought it at azponds as they had about the best price I could find. Another suggestion for you is to raise up your pump. Even though it is on a brick it is pulling up too much sludge from the bottom. If you raise it a little more you will be cleaning the water instead of the muck on the bottom. I hope this helps!

 

[JohnHuff]

About every two weeks I clean it by using the two handles that scrubs the filter and don't have to open it. It takes about 5-10 minutes to do it.

How well do those blades clean the filters? Having seen my own foam filters, I can't imagine how they can be cleaned by running blades over them.

Cleaning my filter takes only a few minutes each week or so depending on the dirt load and I don't even get my hands wet.

How well does the Ultima work in mechanical filtration? From reading the AquaUltraviolet website, I guess those filters don't use foam to mechanically filter the solids.

 

[LarryM]

How well do those blades clean the filters? Having seen my own foam filters, I can't imagine how they can be cleaned by running blades over them.


How well does the Ultima work in mechanical filtration? From reading the AquaUltraviolet website, I guess those filters don't use foam to mechanically filter the solids.

I think it does a fine job. The filter media itself consists of very small plastic tubes with three pronged sections inside. My water goes thru skimmer baskets at the pool and then thru a second basket at the pump so the large debris never enters the filter itself. When I backflush the water coming out is super dirty, so I know it's doing something right. They're one of the more expensive filters on the market, but I feel they're worth every penny. The main reason I bought one was because the other manufacturers just don't make them big enough for my 15,000 gallons.

 

[Becky]

Hello and welcome!

 

[JohnHuff]

The filter media itself consists of very small plastic tubes with three pronged sections inside. My water goes thru skimmer baskets at the pool and then thru a second basket at the pump so the large debris never enters the filter itself.

- So it looks like there's got to be some prefiltration first.
- The mechanical filtration is a nice concept, the gunk gets trapped on the outside of the filter media and gets washed away periodically but the bacteria stays in the inside of the media. Just to confirm, does the media move or stays static during regular filtration mode?
- Is there a minimum gph requirement for the pump in order for the backflush to work?