Koi Pond

I think the best invention around as far as filters is the biofilter. This is a filter that has some kind of media on which two types of usefull bacteria can grow. The bacteria that grow on these media break down the harmfull chemicals in the pond.

The basic idea is that the fish have to relieve themselves just like we do. This waste, along with other waste (for example if you overfeed your fish) breaks down into amonia. The bacteria process this and release nitrites, which are less harmful than amonia, but still harmful to the fish. Then the other type of bacteria breaks down the nitrites into nitrates. This is even less harmful to the fish than nitrites. Also, any plants in your pond will utilize this chemical as food.

I recommend that you get a water testing kit that at least tests for amonia, nitrites, and PH.

I have a Beckett biofilter and it works great. The general idea is to get a filter with a pump that will pump at least half of the volume of your pond in and hour. So,if you have a pond with 1,000 gallons of water, you will need a pump that provides 500 gallons per hour of circulation.

I also have a waterfall. The pump used for that provides 500 gallons per hour which is pumped through a UV filter and to the waterfall. The UV filter is used to kill the algae in the water and prevent or reduce the greeness of the water.

The waterfall adds a good amount of asthetics to the pond. The thing to keep in mind for the waterfall is that the higher above water level that the pump has to push the water, the less it will be able to pump. In other words my 500 gallon per hour pump is not providing 500 gallons per hour at the top of the waterfall.

Jason's Koi Pond