The rule of thumb is that you should have a filter that is rated for about 1.5 times the number of gallons in your pond. So if you calculated your pond contains 400 gallons, 1.5 x 400 would mean a filter rated at 600 gallons per hour (gph). All pond filters will have a flow rate measured in gph.
How to determine what size pond filter to get?
You will need to filter this total volume of water every 3 to 4 hours. So, divide 3,000 gallons by 3 and you get 1,000 gallons every hour. This would be part of the information you need to determine what size of pond filter to get.
What are the different types of pond filtration systems?
All types of pond filtration systems consist of a pond filter, filter media, a pond pump and pump tubing. Some koi pond filters have a built in UV clarifier. You will need electricity near the pond to run the pump and the optional UV (ultraviolet clarifier or sterilizer). The first kind of pond filter is a submersible filter.
How many gallons of water does a pond hold?
This will be the number of gallons your garden pond holds. Say that you calculated that your pond holds 3,000 gallons of water. You will need to filter this total volume of water every 3 to 4 hours. So, divide 3,000 gallons by 3 and you get 1,000 gallons every hour.
How many fish can you put in a 25mm filter?
If the total of fish in your pond is greater than the 25mm rule you will need to increase the capacity of the filter, for example if you had 31.25mm of fish per 50 litres of water, that would increase the amount of fish by 25%, now you would need a 12,500 filter for goldfish and a 25,000 filter for koi.
Can a pond filter be too big?
Bigger is always better in pond filtration. You can't have too big a filter for your pond, larger filters have more surface area and they don't have to be cleaned as often (which means less work for you).
How much filtration does a pond need?
If there are 100 or fewer fish per 1,000 gallons of water, no additional filtration is necessary. For example, if you have 125 fish per 1,000 gallons, you need to increase your filter capacity by 25 percent, or multiply the effective volume by 1.25 to get the total filtration you need.
What size filter do I need for my koi pond?
As a general rule of thumb, you should get a filtration system that offers two to four times as much filtration capacity as the volume of your pond. So, if you have a koi pond that is 1,000 gallons, you should get a filter that is rated for at least 2,000 gallons.
How do I choose a fish pond filter?
Say that you calculated that your pond holds 3,000 gallons of water. You will need to filter this total volume of water every 3 to 4 hours. So, divide 3,000 gallons by 3 and you get 1,000 gallons every hour. This would be part of the information you need to determine what size of pond filter to get.
Can fish live in pond without filter?
Small fish can often survive in a filter-less pond, but large fish, such as koi, would require a dedicated filter system.
Can I keep fish in a pond without a pump?
Without a pump, not only is the water not being filtered, but the healthy bacteria in your pond can deplete. If your pump is faulty during the winter, it is likely that your fish will survive for a while because they are hibernating. They will produce less waste; use less oxygen and they will have a lower metabolism.
How do I keep my pond water crystal clear?
For starters, follow our 7 tips below to help keep your pond water clean!Maintain a healthy fish population. ... Don't over-feed your fish. ... Create a proper balance of plants. ... Choose the right size pump for your pond. ... Clean debris from pond before it has a chance to decay. ... Choose proper filtration for your pond.More items...•
What is the best filter for a pond?
Top-rated pond filters listOASE BioSmart Pond Filter. ... Laguna Pressure Flo Filter. ... Pond Boss Filter Kit with Pump. ... Pondmaster 190 Pump and Filter with Fountain Head. ... Goplus Pressure Bio Filter. ... TotalPond Complete Pond Filter with UV Clarifier. ... TetraPond Bio-Active Pressure Filter with UV Clarifier.
Do small ponds need a filter?
If you are planning on habiting fish in your small pond, it could be crucial that you install a pump and suitable filter system. The pump and filter not only help filter their excrement from the water but also helps keep the pond oxygenated at the correct levels for them to survive.
What is the best filter for a large pond?
The 5 Best Pond FiltersOASE BioSmart 5000 Pond Filter.TetraPond Water Garden Pump.POND BOSS Filter Kit with Pump (Our Top Pick)Waterscapes International BF1250 Pond Filter & Waterfall Spillway.Goplus Pressure Bio Filter for Pond.
How do you filter sediment from pond water?
0:535:09Sediment filter for pond dredge - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd a regular sponge with a little green scratch pad on top so i'm going to use that as my sedimentMoreAnd a regular sponge with a little green scratch pad on top so i'm going to use that as my sediment filter media and the rest of this here i'm getting ready to just put it together.
Are pressure filters OK for koi ponds?
Standard box and pressure filters can be used for koi, but most experienced koi owners, with large fish and large ponds, choose gravity fed koi filtration systems. Koi filters can also be pump fed in the standard way, with a pump in the pond, and hose connecting pump to filter.
Does a backyard pond need a filter?
You can keep your pond water clear and clean without using a filter. Filters can be expensive and cause problems depending on the climate and weather they encounter. This means you will have to find alternative ways of cleaning it in an effective manner so waster does not build up.
Should a wildlife pond have a filter?
A wildlife pond does not need a filter but you may still wish to keep the pump to run a cascade or fountain, for instance.
How long does it take for a pond filter to work?
This can take about 6-8 weeks and is the process whereby the filter is colonised by the beneficial bacteria that keep the water healthy.
How do you naturally filter a pond?
1:2315:42Building a Natural Filter For My Pond (D.I.Y.) - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipAnd then we have different piping systems to form a pump and filter system and then lava rocks andMoreAnd then we have different piping systems to form a pump and filter system and then lava rocks and so how this works instead of your plants being buried and soil. They're buried in hard substrate.
How to choose the right size filter for a pond?
Here are the steps for choosing the right-sized filter for your pond: Measure the dimensions of your pond. Measure the width, length and depth of your pond in metres. If it is circular, measure the diameter and radius. For odd-shaped ponds, just take as many measurements as you can.
How to determine the size of a pond filter?
Here are the steps for choosing the right-sized filter for your pond: 1 Measure the dimensions of your pond.#N#Measure the width, length and depth of your pond in metres. If it is circular, measure the diameter and radius. For odd-shaped ponds, just take as many measurements as you can. It helps to draw a diagram in this case. 2 Determine the pond’s volume.#N#For a square or rectangular pond, all you would need to do is multiply the length, width and depth of the pond, taking these measurements in metres. Multiply this figure by 1,000 to determine how many litres of water your pond holds.#N#For a circular pond, use 3.14, multiply that figure by radius x radius by the depth. For odd-shaped ponds (as most are), you are best breaking it up into different sections that are easier to work with. Simply add the respective volumes of each section together at the end. 3 Compensate for various factors.#N#Once you have the actual volume of the pond, it is time to make adjustments for various other factors. To begin with, if your pond is less than 750 cm deep, the filter will need to work harder. Multiply the volume by 1.25 to compensate. If the pond is in the open sunlight, multiply the figure by 1.25 again. Climate also needs to be taken into account. For more temperate climates, multiply the effective volume again by 1.15.
What is the role of a pond filter?
Your pump and pond filter play a vital role in keeping your pond healthy and attractive. They serve to maintain your pond’s ecological balance, and when combined with a surface skimmer, they help to remove leaves and other debris that have fallen into the water. Your filter will also keep algae growth under control.
What is UV filter?
When a product is advertised as a ‘UV filter’, what this really means is that the biological filter works in conjunction with a UV clarifier to clean the water and remove living algae.
How deep should a pond be for a filter?
Once you have the actual volume of the pond, it is time to make adjustments for various other factors. To begin with, if your pond is less than 750 cm deep, the filter will need to work harder. Multiply the volume by 1.25 to compensate. If the pond is in the open sunlight, multiply the figure by 1.25 again.
How to measure a pond?
For a square or rectangular pond, all you would need to do is multiply the length, width and depth of the pond, taking these measurements in metres. Multiply this figure by 1,000 to determine how many litres of water your pond holds. For a circular pond, use 3.14, multiply that figure by radius x radius by the depth.
What are the factors that affect the size of a pond filter?
There are several factors that affect the size of filter that is going to be best-suited to your pond: Shape of the pond. Volume of water in the pond. Physical location of the pond on your property. Number of fish in the pond. Number of plants in the pond. As a general rule, the minimum requirement for a pond would be a filter ...
How to determine the size of a pond filter?
When calculating the size of filter for your pond you need to take into account a few things such as, the volume of water in your pond, how many fish are in your pond, what type of fish you want to keep, the location of your pond and to a degree the shape and depth of your pond.
What is the role of a pond filter?
Your pond filter and pump are at the heart of your garden pond, their role is to keep your pond healthy and looking good.
How many litres of water should I use for koi?
If the total of fish in your pond is greater than the 25mm rule you will need to increase the capacity of the filter, for example if you had 31.25mm of fish per 50 litres of water, ...
How many fish per 50 litres?
The more fish per 50 litres of water the bigger the filtration needs to be, lets say you have a 5,000 litre pond, if you took the 25mm of fish per 50 litres we suggest you would be able to have 2500mm worth of fish, but let’s say the total length of fish is 3125mm, this is 25% more fish which would need 25% more filtration.
How long should a fish be per litre of water?
You need to look at the total length of all your fish per litre of water, you measure your fish from its nose to just before their tail (you don’t include their tail in your calculations) we would suggest 25mm of total fish length per 50 litres of water for the average pond keeper.
How to find the volume of a pond?
First you need to find the volume of water in your pond. Measure the width, length and depth of your pond, If you have a rectangular or square pond you simply multiply it’s length x width x depth x 1000, this will give you the volume in litres. If you have different depths or an irregular shape to your pond may you need to take several measurements ...
Can you overfilter a pond?
The one thing we would say is that there is no such thing as over filtration of your pond, we would always advise to over filter your pond to future proof it, remember, fish will grow and reproduce adding to the total length of fish in your pond as years go by.
How to determine the size of a fish pond filter?
To determine the size of your fish pond filter you will need to know how many gallons of water your pond holds. For those with preformed ponds, this can be easy as it will state right on the unit. For those who have created their pond with a pond liner, you will have to do a little math.
What is a pond filter?
Pond Filter. A pond filter is one of the most important components of any garden pond whether it be a fish pond or simply a water garden feature. Getting the correct size of fish pond filter is one of the pond owner's most common mistake. Allow us to help you choose the correct one. Below, you will find some information regarding various types ...
What is a bead filter for a koi pond?
Lastly, there is one other type of fish pond filter or koi pond filter and that is a bead or bio-tube filter. These are used predominantly for large koi ponds or fish holding tanks where a large volume of fish are held. These filters can offer superior filtering performance and are super easy to use.
What is the discharge side of a water pond pump?
On one end of it (or even within the filtering unit) is the pump with a tubing connected to its discharge side. This discharge side usually has a pipe threaded or barbed threaded nipple where the tubing can be attached to. You'll attach the tubing to the intake area of the water pond filter.
How does a koi pond filter work?
A gravity fed koi pond filter is an external filter that sits on the shore somewhere. The water that comes from the pond pump enters in this filter near the top and flows through filtering media products to the bottom of the unit. The water that gets discharged from this filter will need to flow down to the pond. The water cannot flow uphill (or against gravity) to any type of water feature. If you have a waterfall, you can locate this filter near the waterfall and let the water coming from the filter to go into the waterfall unit or waterfall area.
How does a VSF filter work?
How it works: Incoming water enters the VSF at a slight downward angle. The heavier solids are pushed to the outside and directed towards the bottom by the grooves in the outer wall. A drain port makes for easy cleaning of the solids that accumulate in the cone shaped sediment area at the bottom of the filter.
What is a fish load pond filter?
A fish load basically means, how many fish you have and what size they are.
What is the most important filter for a pond with fish?
The bacteria that form the backbone of the nitrogen cycle are the most important filter for a pond with fish. Because living bacteria are the main filtering component this filter is called a biological filter. All fish ponds must have a well functioning biological filter for the safety of the fish. The bacteria live on all wet surfaces in the pond.
Why do fish ponds need filters?
Filter options for a fish pond. A fish pond needs a filter because fish produce ammonia. Ammonia is toxic to fish. Bacteria is needed to process ammonia into nitrite and finally nitrate. This is a process called the nitrogen cycle.
What is a moving bed filter?
Moving bed filters usually comprise of 3 or more barrels or drums that contain different media to seperate solids and grow beneficial bacteria. The water is usually pumped into the first barrel where the water is swirled around. This creates a sort of vortex.
What is the purpose of a bottom drain for a koi pond?
This is a mechanical filter. Its main purpose is to remove the fish waste, uneaten food or other debris that settles in the bottom of the pond. A skimmer can still be incorporated if desired.
Why is a waterfall filter better than a canister filter?
The waterfall filter also has a filter sponge to help trap fine sediments.
How much nitrogen can a bog filter remove?
Some interesting facts about wetlands and bogs: 1 acre of healthy wetland is able to purify 27,633,506 Litres of polluted dirty water! A healthy wetland can remove 96% of all nitrogen in the water! A healthy wetland can remove 97% of the phosphorus within the water.
What is the media in a water filter?
The media within the filter is normally bio balls or ceramic noodles. They are there because they provides lots of surface area for the bacteria in a small area. Ceramic noodles. Bio balls. So as the water is pushed through the filter the bacteria can process the ammonia and the nitrite into nitrate.
How many gallons per hour should a pond filter be?
Now that you've calculated the number of gallons, sizing the filter is easy. The rule of thumb is that you should have a filter that is rated for about 1.5 times the number of gallons in your pond. So if you calculated your pond contains 400 gallons, 1.5 x 400 would mean a filter rated at 600 gallons per hour (gph). All pond filters will have a flow rate measured in gph.
Why is a pond filter important?
Your pond filter is crucial to maintaining a healthy ecosystem in your pond. A properly sized filter keeps your water clear and makes for happy fish, plants and beneficial bacteria.
What is the recommended filter size for a swim pond?
For a swim or recreation pond the bog filter should be 25% or more.
Why do ponds need different filters?
Ponds require different sized filters for different reasons. A Fish pond requires a filter that will process the ammonia the fish produce to keep the water fish safe. This is known as the nitrogen cycle (click the link to read my article on the nitrogen cycle). A wildlife pond doesn’t have many fish in it if any.
What is the most effective pond filter?
A bog or wetland filter is the most effective pond filter there is.
What is more important, a shallow bog filter or a large bog filter?
What is more important is getting the water dispersed evenly through the entire bog. So if you have a large shallow bog filter you need to create a system of pipes to disperse the water evenly throughout.
How long does it take for water to pass through a bog filter?
For me i want the water to take anywhere from 5-10 minutes to pass through the bog filter. The closer to 10 the better. You need to keep in mind that a bog is replicating a wetland. In wetlands the water passes through very slowly.
How much water does a wine barrel pond hold?
So as an example this is one of my wine barrel ponds. The pond itself is a half wine barrel. This holds about 100 litres (26 Gal) of water.
What rock do I use for small filters?
On the small filters i tend to use 20mm pebble. Im in Australia and we have a rock called scoria which is my go to in my small filters.
Step 1 - Establish your pond volume
Circular Ponds Diameter x Diameter X Depth (meters) X 785 = Volume in litres
Step 2 - Pick your correct flow
Please make a note of your pond volume now. Now apply the pond volume to the chart below, using the fish stocking and sun situation of your pond to determine the approximate water flow required to maintain a healthy environment for your pond and it's inhabitants.
Step 3 - Choose your filter
You now have the ideal flow through the filter in litres per hour for a healthy pond.
How we established these figures
The above quick reference calculator represent the approximate circulation required for a pond in Australia using average calculations.
Why is a bigger filter better for ponds?
Remember: the more fish in a pond, the more waste generated, and the more helpful bacteria needed to break it down - therefore the bigger the filter the better.
How do fish pond filters work?
These helpful bacteria break down invisible toxins produced directly from the fish and the decaying of physical waste such as fish faeces, excess food or organic material at the bottom of the pond. This is done by the helpful bacteria breaking down the initial toxin Ammonia into Nitrite. A different type of helpful bacteria then breaks this dangerous Nitrite down to Nitrate which then can be absorbed by plants as they grow and is harmless to fish except in high concentrations. The bigger the pond or the more fish the larger the filter will need to be. Hence it is vital to purchase a filter which can easily cope with your pond volume and anticipated fish stocking level.
What is the difference between a biological and ultra violet filter?
There are two main types of successful pond filtration. An Ultra Violet Clarifier filter kills green water to keep the water clear, while a Biological Filter looks after the water quality to keep the fish healthy and happy. Most modern filters combine these methods into one unit for convenience and ease of installation.
How long does it take for a biological filter to work?
It is important to know when first starting a biological filter it can take up to six weeks for helpful bacteria to colonise the filter. During this period care should be taken to keep feeding down and to monitor your water quality regularly with a test kit.
How long does it take for a pond to be balanced?
These plants, along with naturally occurring helpful bacteria in the pond, will then use and digest any toxins left by fish and rotting organic waste, hopefully providing a good natural balance and a clear pond. It is important to remember that the plants should be well established before gradually introducing fish, and it could take at least eighteen months to create a naturally balanced pond.
How many types of filters are there?
There are three common types of filter, mostly available with combined Ultra Violet Clarifiers. It is important to bear in mind installation options before purchasing.
Can a filter be biologically broken down?
Some advanced filter systems can strain out more solids from the water, but it has to be remembered that these still have to be biologically broken down unless physically removed by flushing or draining.
