A Backyard pond filter is an essential piece of pond equipment

Why Are Fish Pond Filters Essential To Successful Pond Keeping?

A pond filter system, essentially purifies the pond water, removing toxic chemicals produced by you koi, goldfish and other species as part of their metabolism. Failure to control the build up of these harmful chemicals can cause your fish to become stressed, ill and in the worst circumstances die. As a child did you ever win a goldfish at a fair?. If so I'm willing to bet that you took it home and placed it in a nice new goldfish bowl, only to find that the poor thing died after a few weeks/months? Without realizing it you caused it to live in it's own toilet, where the build up of harmful ammonia and nitrites eventually caused its death. A biological pond filter also carries out other essential requirements needed for successful pond keeping, as discussed further on in this article ...

Which Pond Filter To Choose

If you have a small to medium sized garden pond and wish to keep inexpensive fish, such as goldfish then you really don't need to spend a fortune on a biological pond filter. Industry proven, modern biofilters from market leading companies such as Beckett, Fishmate, Hozelock, Little Giant,  Heissner, Blagdon and Oase will do an excellent job. Remember that it isn't the price of the pond filter system that determines how good it is at it's job it's the pond filter media used. For the average pond keeper you need to make a choice between a gravity discharge filter (box filter) or a pressurized bio filter system.

In order to specify the correct pond filter for your fish pond it is important to know the pond volume to within 20%. Biofilters are specified in terms of the pond volume they can handle, given normal stocking of fish. Selecting the correct filter size is important and bear in mind that fish, given good living conditions will grow. As koi and goldfish grow they produce more waste, creating more work for your pond filter ... Adding more fish to the pond also increases the bio filter workload ... always go for a bio-filter that is bigger than needed, for better performance ... Unless you are serious koi keeper with a large koi pond then a combined UV + pond filter is a better option for you in terms of cost saving.

A combined UV + pond filter serves three purposes

  • Toxin removal - An ultra violet pond filter removes the toxins (ammonia and nitrites) produced by your koi, goldfish and from decaying algae and plant life at the bottom of the pond. It is designed specifically for the purpose of removing waste and toxins from your backyard pond using the principles of the Nitrogen Cycle. Think of it this way... How would you feel if you had to eat and live in your own toilet for long periods of time with no means of opening the door and no way of flushing the toilet. This is exactly what happens to the koi and gold fish living in your pond.

  • Waste solids removal - It is designed to remove solids from the bottom of  the pond, such as dead algae, vegetation etc. The filter traps them in a series of filter sponges or brushes using mechanical separation.

  • Green water control - The integrated UV sterilizer controls the levels of algae bloom (green water), parasites and bacteria in your backyard pond. Algae bloom also known as floating algae or suspended algae produces the dreaded "pea soup" effect in your backyard pond if it's growth isn't controlled. green water spreads rapidly and will eventually cover the entire backyard pond. As it spreads it depletes your pond's oxygen levels, eventually causing koi and fish deaths (thru suffocation.)

Pond filter Basics

  • Simple Nitrogen Cycle | Biofilter Media & the Nitrification Process - As fish eat they produce metabolic waste products, containing ammonia (NH3). Ammonia in high enough concentrations is potentially lethal to your koi and other fish, unless it is removed by a process known as the Nitrogen Cycle or Nitrification process. This process is carried out by Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter ammonia oxidizing bacteria, that occur naturally  in nature. These beneficial bacteria colonize the pond filter media, housed in your pond biofilter. In order to convert ammonia through the Nitrite stage to Nitrate a lot of oxygenated water is required.

  • Water Purification Using Kaldness K1 + Supra Pond Filter Media - Kaldnes K1 has a high Specific Surface Area per volume and has been engineered to remain buoyant in water so as to make this biomedia easy to agitate with large amounts of air. SUPRA (SSA 45) has 45 times more surface area than standard plastic coils ... this has space saving and cost saving implications. Supra is a porous, cheap, reliable and efficient pond filter biomedia.

  • A Veggie Filter (Bog Filter) Is A Natural Pond Filter System  - A veggie filter or bog filter can be used as a natural biological filtration system and as a way of controlling algae bloom. A veggie filter is about 1 to 1 1/2 feet deep and contains lots of pond plants that are deliberately starved of nutrients. In order to survive they absorb the nutrients directly from the pond water.

  • In Pond Filter Or Submersible Pond Filter are used in smaller ponds that normally house goldfish or small koi and where pond volumes rarely exceed 1000 gallons. They are an "In pond" filter and are usually fit on the pump intake or around the pump unit itself. The filter can use the pump's discharge as a way to power water to the top of a waterfall or a fountain head.

  • Biological Bead filters Are Best For Large Koi & Goldfish Ponds  - these pond bio filters have been specifically designed to handle the high levels of solid & liquid metabolic products encountered in large koi and goldfish ponds where the pond water contains high levels of ammonia, nitrites and where there are large fish loads. In this environment it is essential to be able to quickly convert toxic ammonia to nitrite and then to nitrate.