Please HELP with basic filter question (with pics I hope)

[erand122]

Ok, below is the pond i just inherited with my new home. Its under 500 gallons with a 3 tier waterfall about 4.5 feet high.

Two hoses supply the waterfall. One to the top level of the fall, and another to the wider bottom level. Here is the pump which as you can see is metal and its real heavy.

My newbie questions: I assume I can get a mechanical and bio filter that will connect to the open end of the pump and this one pump will run the waterfall as well as the filter...? OR, should I just let this pump run the waterfall and get a separate mechanical + bio filter combo that just sits on the bottom of the pond and filters the water. I would rather not use a high pressure filter system which sits outside the pond (but I will if thats what you recommend). Im ok with spending the money necessary to get a good filter and deal with as few water problems as possible. Not sure which is the top brand in filters, or which is the best site to order from but let me know if this plan is ok. Meaning, leave this pump (pictured) to power the falls and get a separate combo filter to handle mechanical, bio and possibly even some UV light filtering. If this wont work, let me know. Really appreciate the help!

 

[fishin4cars]

I would clean out the pond then hook that pump up as it was set-up. see how much water is being pumped. If it's a good bit the you possibly could use a tee off and run a small filter. I think that pump though is just going to be enough for the waterfall. That appears to be a pretty small pond. Are you planning on keeping fish? If so probably will need a filter and a outside filter will probably be the easiest to hide. If your not planning on fish or plants and just using it as a water feature then that pump should be fine and just use some algae inhibator. It turns the water blue but will appear clear over the water fall.

 

[Waterbug]

Your current waterfall is a better bio filter than you can buy. Bio filters convert ammonia produced by fish. No fish, no need for a bio filter.

Mechanical filter removes suspended particles in water. For such a small pond suspended particles aren't generally a problem. When looking thru 3', 6' of water suspended particles can make water look cloudy. Less water, less it looks cloudy. Way easier to just to a water change in that small a pond than clean a filter.

As Larkin said, if no fish you have options. I wouldn't use copper based chemical and would instead just use chlorine.

You can keep the falls cleaner by turning off at night.

Filters are pretty much only going to remove suspended tiny stuff things. Without a skimmer or bottom drain the large stuff stays in the pond. Use a minnow net from the pet store to scoop out the bottom once a week and it'll stay very clean. Way easier than cleaning a filter imo.

If you plan to have fish that would be a whole other ball game and serious filters would be needed.

 

[erand122]

I plan to have some fish. Not going to overcrowd the thing but Id like to get maybe 3 fish to add some life to the pond. Soo... 450 gallons, a waterfall and a small hand full of fish. Now what would your filter recommendation be? And yes, I plan to skim regularly and also change out some water once a week. Just need that filter recommendation so I can start out on the right foot. Thanks.

 

[Waterbug]

450 gals, that's a lot more than I would have guessed. If you're sure of that amount then lets talk filters.

The best overall filter imo for 450 gal pond is installing a trickle water changer. Here's a video describing it and benefits.

Here's a high end Koi keeper saying the same thing starting at 7:24.

So if you added a 1 to 2 GPH drip to the top of your waterfall you will have solved most issues.

Get yourself an aquarium vacuum to clean the bottom and remove the extra water. You wouldn't need to scoop with the minnow net in this case. Might have to be done daily, or you could let your pond overflow.

With those 2 things you'd should have excellent water quality.

Bio filter
Your waterfall is already your best bio filter. You could add some golf ball size rocks into the pools for even more and get the hoses to run over the rocks. This is called a Trickle Tower and is 10-30 times better at converting ammonia and nitrites than the static submerged media filters you can buy.

Mechanical filter
None of the mechanical filters you can buy are very good. I think they're pretty much worthless. Mechanical filtering isn't as easy at it sounds. If you do the trickle water change and vacuuming you really don't a mechanical filter. You pond acts as a settling tank and you vacuum the bottom. So really you already have a mechanical filter.

UV
UV is 100% effective in stopping green water. But again, shouldn't be needed with a trickle change system.

Test kit
A water test kit, the kind with drops, not strips, is the only way to tell if your water is good or bad. Without it you're blind. So test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, KH, GH, pH and in your case I'd test for chlorine just to make sure. If you have good KH and GH in your source water, something like 150+ ppm KH and maybe 50+ GH, you'd be good. If KH is very low you might have to add baking soda in an on going basis because the bacteria that convert ammonia use carbon in the conversion. Low KH means low carbon source and they can't work as well. Testing water tells you everything.

The strips are OK for quick tests to see if you're in the ballpark.

Expansion
The split hose deal is strange. If you could convert that to a single hose going to the top of the falls it would be better, more bio filtering. They may have split it because the falls was over flowing and leaking which is a problem with these types of ponds.

Here's a bit of a wild idea...you could build a pond under this structure. For example, some wood to make 4 walls, maybe 12" tall or higher. You can do the same thing with concrete blocks or bricks just dry stacked. Then line it with EPDM liner. Fill with pea gravel or rock. Set the pond on top of the stone. Now any leaks from the falls would be no problem and the pond could overflow. You could put the pump down at the bottom of the gravel, inside a cage, and pump the water from there rather than the pond. This idea is only if you wanted to expand a bit or you had leaking issues. You could grow plants in the gravel.

Learning
If you watch the videos at Koi Beginner you'll know more than 99% of pond keepers. Some of the that info will save you a lot of stress and hassle later. Even though the videos focus on Koi almost all the info conveys to Goldfish. And basically you have a mini Koi pond. Even with just a couple of fish you would have a high fish load.

Be very careful about the info you choose to believe. Pet stores have a solution to every problem and most of these solutions can make things worst. People like to give advice based on their experience with their own pond and/or things they've heard. That can be deadly unless you double and triple check. "I did this and it worked" is almost always bad advice for your pond. Might be great for their pond.

 

[consan]

I used artemisia and lambs ear nice and soft white silver color and come back every year .I just like the feel of them

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Sac A Main Longchamp