Pond Filter Facts

If you love aquariums, you’ll love pond fish also. Placing fish in a pond let’s them live and thrive in an atmosphere more closely to the way nature intended them to live. In addition, you still have the pleasure of enjoying their presence every day. The most popular fish for ponds are the koi and goldfish species, but other species can thrive also.

If you do decide to stock a pond in your yard or garden, you’ll need a pond filter. A pond filter is essential in helping to keep it’s ecosystem clear for the fish that inhabit it. Without a good filter, you simply can’t maintain good water quality. Water filters will remove debris, waste, ammonia, odors, and many other impurities from the water.

Pond filters are also important for aesthetics. Especially if you don’t want to eventually see your pond populated by ugly algae floating on the top and around the sides of your pond.

There are a few essential features to look for when choosing a filter. Of them all, size and capacity is the most important. You want to be sure that the pond filter you buy is powerful enough to handle your sized pond without strain. For mechanical filters, you’ll also want one where it’s easy to replace the filter medium. If the filter is in a difficult place to access, it’s likely that you will neglect changing it as much as you should. Luckily, nowadays, most filters are designed with the homeowner’s convenience in mind. The focus on most modern pond filters is to make sure that the filters are as maintenance free as possible.

Size Matters

Unless you have a gigantic pond, a pond filter should normally be able to completely filter the area in two hours or less. If it can’t, your filter is either too small or too inefficient and you should replace it.

Pond filters come in 2 basic types, submersible and external models. If your pond is of any size whatsoever you’ll probably opt for the external model. But don’t leave all of the work of cleaning the pond to your filter. Periodically, you should skim fallen leaves, branches, and so on from the surface. You can also populate your pond with a few plants that will naturally consume fish waste. This will help to put less strain on your filter as well.

Pond filter maintenance is important. Having a written schedule that shows when you last maintained it, when you last replaced a filter, and so on will not only help to keep your pond filter functioning in top shape, it will also make sure that your warranty remains valid.

There is no one most effective pond filter that will do everything as far as keeping your pond water clear and pristine. The most effective cleaners you can have for your pond is a combination of different types of filters. Mechanical filters to filter out the debris and toxins and a biological pond filter to get control some of the chemicals produced by the fish.