My new pond filter.

[JohnHuff]

I've had my pond for a few decades. Over time I've tried to make cleaning my filters easier and easier as my body accumulates aches and pains. My body has lost about 50% of its functionality over this time.

When I inherited the pond, it had two mechanical sponge filters and no media. I needed to grab the pre-pump filter from the pond and one post-pump filter from behind the waterfall and it was a bit of a PITA to do it. I've changed the set-up many times, keeping in mind that I had no room or inclination to add bog filters or anything else to the tight space, making it easier to maintain each time.

My last previous pond filtration was 6 sponge pre-pump filters in series in the pond and two post-pump media filters containing all types of media material I had accumulated including bio-balls, nano-balls, ceramic rings, matrix, etc. It was okay except that I no longer wanted to reach into the pond to get the sponges. Slipping and drowning in a few feet of water was becoming a distinct possibility.

So my final iteration (maybe) is everything above the pond. I now have 4 layers of sponges (with overflow valve) over media, all after the pump. My biggest mind block prior to this was that I had to have the mechanical filters before the pump. But actually I don't. The detritus and algae that's sucked up and caught by the sponges are small enough that they don't affect the rotors. And the sponges are really easy to clean since I don't have to reach into the pond to get them. This was a big hassle during the summer here because the algae multiplies so quickly that I had to clean the filters every week and if I didn't the water flow would trickle down to almost nothing. That is all.

 

[j.w]

I've had my pond for a few decades. Over time I've tried to make cleaning my filters easier and easier as my body accumulates aches and pains. My body has lost about 50% of its functionality over this time.

When I inherited the pond, it had two mechanical sponge filters and no media. I needed to grab the pre-pump filter from the pond and one post-pump filter from behind the waterfall and it was a bit of a PITA to do it. I've changed the set-up many times, keeping in mind that I had no room or inclination to add bog filters or anything else to the tight space, making it easier to maintain each time.

My last previous pond filtration was 6 sponge pre-pump filters in series in the pond and two post-pump media filters containing all types of media material I had accumulated including bio-balls, nano-balls, ceramic rings, matrix, etc. It was okay except that I no longer wanted to reach into the pond to get the sponges. Slipping and drowning in a few feet of water was becoming a distinct possibility.

So my final iteration (maybe) is everything above the pond. I now have 4 layers of sponges (with overflow valve) over media, all after the pump. My biggest mind block prior to this was that I had to have the mechanical filters before the pump. But actually I don't. The detritus and algae that's sucked up and caught by the sponges are small enough that they don't affect the rotors. And the sponges are really easy to clean since I don't have to reach into the pond to get them. This was a big hassle during the summer here because the algae multiplies so quickly that I had to clean the filters every week and if I didn't the water flow would trickle down to almost nothing. That is all.

Hey good to see ya! I see you have moved to a new country

 

[Tula]

Good to hear from you . Your new filtration sounds much easier to clean and without the risk of falling into the pond. I love that you've made adaptions to your system that have allowed you to keep your pond.

We closed our pond almost two years ago. It wasn't designed to be adapted much and our koi had grown to be pretty large. Fortunately they went to a good home, but I still miss them and the pond.

 

[JohnHuff]

Hey good to see ya! I see you have moved to a new country

Good to see you again . My country flag has always been the Glorious People's Republic of Kyrgyzstan.

 

[JohnHuff]

Good to hear from you . Your new filtration sounds much easier to clean and without the risk of falling into the pond. I love that you've made adaptions to your system that have allowed you to keep your pond.

We closed our pond almost two years ago. It wasn't designed to be adapted much and our koi had grown to be pretty large. Fortunately they went to a good home, but I still miss them and the pond.

Good to see you too! I too am thinking of rehoming my single koi. Years ago I had many koi that were about 8 inches long but they were all eaten by a wild animal(s) that had managed to get under the net. Only one escaped and he grew to 15" long. He dwarves all the other fish and I'm always afraid he's bored in my 800g.

I've thought about filling in my pond as well but that's more work than remaking this filter . Actually if there are no fish in it, I would simply dismantle the filter and just put a few sponge pads under the waterfall to catch the algae.

 

[Tula]

The season after we rehomed our koi, we ran the pond and enjoyed water gardening. Man I was surprised how much algae these was in the pond without our fish! I'm not sure if the koi ate a lot of algae or the pond was just out of balance. The pond plants were gorgeous, I did fertilize them, so that may also have contributed to the algae.