My diy filter

[Shrek]

I used a bucket from Home Depot not 5 gallon but the next size down
Use creek stone 620 gph pump
Right now I have 3 comet goldfish i have water hyacinth lillys blue pickerel moss and ferns from local brook creeping jenny

 

[mrsclem]

So you have the pump in the filter? More of a prefilter then. I think you will find with that its going to need for the batting to be cleaned alot. I would reverse it - put your pump in the pond and run your pipe into the filter. Put a T on the end of pipe and put it in bottom of bucket and just let water flow out top.

 

[poconojoe]

All good suggestions by MRSCLEM.
I think your existing setup would be fine if your pond were bigger and deeper.

I have done something similar with the added feature of a fountain, but my pond is 3 feet deep. A bucket submerged directly in the pond. The small 550gph pump sits on the bottom of the bucket. A 1/2" PVC pipe is screwed into the pump's outlet. The pipe rises up and ends just below the surface of the water creating a nice stream of water shooting up into the air. The pump is covered with lava rock. The handle of the bucket is tied up to the vertical pipe. When I want to remove the bucket, I use a long pole through the handle to lift it out. I have tried adding quilt batting, but it always clogged too fast.
I now have a bog filter, so this bucket filter is not neccessary, but I like the fountain effect.

 

[Shrek]

So you have the pump in the filter? More of a prefilter then. I think you will find with that its going to need for the batting to be cleaned alot. I would reverse it - put your pump in the pond and run your pipe into the filter. Put a T on the end of pipe and put it in bottom of bucket and just let water flow out top.

The pump also run the waterfall at top

All good suggestions by MRSCLEM.
I think your existing setup would be fine if your pond were bigger and deeper.

I have done something similar with the added feature of a fountain, but my pond is 3 feet deep. A bucket submerged directly in the pond. The small 550gph pump sits on the bottom of the bucket. A 1/2" PVC pipe is screwed into the pump's outlet. The pipe rises up and ends just below the surface of the water creating a nice stream of water shooting up into the air. The pump is covered with lava rock. The handle of the bucket is tied up to the vertical pipe. When I want to remove the bucket, I use a long pole through the handle to lift it out. I have tried adding quilt batting, but it always clogged too fast.
I now have a bog filter, so this bucket filter is not neccessary, but I like the fountain effect.

the pond part is preformed maybe 18 inches deep not sure what to do water chem is fine

 

[poconojoe]

As long as your water is healthy, just keep doing what you are doing. Leave well enough alone, as they say. You are doing great.
Your pond is not deep enough for my type of bucket filter.

 

[Shrek]

As long as your water is healthy, just keep doing what you are doing. Leave well enough alone, as they say. You are doing great.
Your pond is not deep enough for my type of bucket filter.

Always next year

 

[Nevermore44]

Nice DIY... I might have to borrow the idea for my small pond in the front that uses the smaller store bought "shoebox" version of this type of filter. The only alterations I could think of to make it more hidden is to cut to circle on the side for the output hose vs the top lid. You can use a soldering iron to melt the circle if you have one laying around too. Also you can ruff up the plastic with a bit of sandpaper and then spray paint it black.