A question occurred to me about cleaning the biofilter. By the time I need to shut off my waterfall pump and with it the biofilter, I will have already turned off my outside water. I'm pretty close to that point already. How does one clean the biofilter (i.e., bags of lava rocks and filter pad) without a hose? I imagine you all must do this every year. Also, are there other times when the biofilter should be cleaned (and how)? I've only dealt with the mechanical filter in my skimmer box so far.
As Cas, I clean everything out before shutting the water. I clean everything right down to the backflow valves. One all cleaned, I reassemble. In March to April, usually March, I basically flip the switch and when needed, put the UV's back. During the winter, I make sure my garden hose is drained. Even though the water is shut, if I need to top the pond, I do it on a day that is warmer in the 40's. With the hose having no frozen ice blocking the line, I can top it.
btw - though my bio and uv's are stopped, my waterfall runs all winter through the Savio skimmer. I've never shut it down. Should I have a pump failure, there's a brand new one always on the shelf with a back flow assembly always in place. The change, even in 10F, takes under 5 minutes. Maybe 5 ...lol
