WOULD THIS MAKE A GOOD PUMP PREFILTER?

[Mmathis]

This product looked interesting, though a little pricey. According to the info, you can replace the media inside to suit your needs, so instead of using bio-media, you could make it be 100% pre-filter. Supposedly it connencts to any pump, and I like the handle.


PENTAIR TRIO SUBMERSIBLE FILTER

http://www.123ponds.com/r440013.html

 

[koiguy1969]

you can make a bigger / better one for $10.00 or less....easy! heres an easy build ive used in the past and use now in my fry pond. these pics are the snmall verrsion i use in the fry pond... just use a full size milk crate for yours! the filter is available for about $5.00 at Lowes, Home Depot, etc.. milk crates are at dollar stores walmart etc.. or behind any party store or gas station! lol. this one cost about $6.00..heres some pics.

* note... the outuput hose adapter screws into the pump outlet thru the hole drilled in crate...this mounts the pump to ther crate as well.

 

[sissy]

My neighbor bought that pentair thing and it needed cleaned at least 2 times a week as it got clogged up fast .Better off with koi guys set up same thing.Not cheap to replace the filter stuff either and hard to find also .

 

[JohnHuff]

All pre-filters need to be cleaned periodically. If they don't need to be cleaned, then they're not sucking up dirt, and therefore not working. Looking at koiguy's pre-filter, what's stopped the blue filter from being sucked from the sides? There's nothing behind it, the force of the water is from outside to inside, not the other way around.

That Pentair does look expensive. Try this one instead:
http://www.123ponds.com/tp26579.html?gclid=CN2k64fPmbECFQY0QgodSAdshA
I have a couple of them joined together. They're only $13.

 

[Mmathis]

KOIGUY -- That's sorta what I have now, but yours looks way better. I just have the power cord & tubing coming out the top, so there's not much on top to keep crud (or babies) from getting in. So, did you just drill a hole in the crate for the tubing? How do you have that all fixed? It's the simple things like the way you have the filter media cut that can turn a chore into a blessing. I cut my pieces individually, which was a pain, but also a jigsaw puzzle to reassemble!

 

[koiguy1969]

that one there is a 256 gph pump...not enough power to pull in the sides...and the filters used are rigid. used one like this for a few years never had one suck the filter media in. you gotta realize that the suction is dispersed over 5 sides of the crate. and a regular milk may have an "open" bottom as well dipersing the suction of the pump over 6 sides...a regular milk crate can be 6 square feet of media surface,,i ran a 1200 gph pump in one..cleaned it 2 maybe 3 times in a summer...the idea of a prefilter is to keep yor pump from clogging, and its amazing how much one of these will hold before clogging!
**and not shown in pics because not neccessary on this one.you can easily fill the void inside the prefilter with more filter pieces.before tucking in last side of media, i even left the little foam in the pumps input cover.
Mmathis... i explained the hole already put your hose adapter thru the hole and screw it into the pump outlet. this mounts the pump to the crate.
on the tetra ones i also have 2 of them (the larger of the 2 they make like that)... the crate setups go much longer between cleanings.

 

[JohnHuff]

...the idea of a prefilter is to keep yor pump from clogging,

OK, so your pump is low powered enough that it won't suck the filter pads in. That makes sense, but that's an awful big piece of equipment for such a small pump. What I did for my small (140gph) pump was to get a plastic drinking bottle, drill a lot of holes in it and zip tie a filter over it and attach it to the inlet of my pump. For some reason, when the filter gets clogged, the water bottle rises to the surface and I spray it off. It's very small and almost unnoticeable.

Pre-filters are basically mechanical filters. The idea of these filters is to rid the pond of suspended material.

 

[koiguy1969]

heres tetra ponds description of a prefilters function.... to basically avoid the pump from clogging and /or aquire undo stress and damage, in order to lengthen pump life. naturally this collects debris in order to perform this task. but their intent is to save the pump.
http://www.drsfoster...fm?pcatid=23511

 

[JohnHuff]

heres tetra ponds description of a prefilters function.... to basically avoid the pump from clogging and /or aquire undo stress and damage, in order to lengthen pump life. naturally this collects debris in order to perform this task. but their intent is to save the pump.
http://www.drsfoster...fm?pcatid=23511

Let me ask you this question. Would it do any good if the pump was free from clogging but the pond was full of suspended material? Just basic common sense. Therefore, mechanical filtration has to be one of it's basic functions.

Of course it wouldn't do it any good either if the pump was clogged up, that's why it's called a pre-filter and put in front of the pump.

 

[multifasited]

Some where in the middle,I want to stop anything that will clog or jam the pump stopped and the rest to travel thru the pump and go to the real filters ,so I guess you are both right ,too much filteration there ,can be a problem Too little likewise.

 

[koinoob]

you can make a bigger / better one for $10.00 or less....easy! heres an easy build ive used in the past and use now in my fry pond. these pics are the snmall verrsion i use in the fry pond... just use a full size milk crate for yours! the filter is available for about $5.00 at Lowes, Home Depot, etc.. milk crates are at dollar stores walmart etc.. or behind any party store or gas station! lol. this one cost about $6.00..heres some pics.

* note... the outuput hose adapter screws into the pump outlet thru the hole drilled in crate...this mounts the pump to ther crate as well.

What is the filter material called that you bought at Lowes? I've been searching online and can't seem to find any type of filter material for $5.00.

 

[Nepen]

I just made a very similar pre filter and it working good. I actually have a little fence around the pump so there is space between the filter media and the pump so the filter won't get suck into the pump. It's been running for a week and I still don't see any different in the flow and the water is super clear

I think I might have gotten the idea from your post actually

 

[sissy]

I just get a cheap dollar store bucket drill holes in it and put pump in with bags of lava rock on top .Bags from the dollar store also .