I'm looking to replace my current Tetra pond filter on a 1000 gallon Koi
pond with something people are having good luck with....

The problem is my current filter needs to be cleaned at least once per
week. I have a fair amount of algae remnants which need to be hosed off
of the Prefilter pads once per week minimum. The filter itself also
drains slowly and can back up where the water level will slowly reach
the top. My pump may be a little strong for the filter and the filter is
also only rated at 1000 gal per hr max.
I'm looking for something low maintenance and of course clear water.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated....
John

I'm looking to replace my current Tetra pond filter on a 1000 gallon Koi
pond with something people are having good luck with....

The problem is my current filter needs to be cleaned at least once per
week. I have a fair amount of algae remnants which need to be hosed off
of the Prefilter pads once per week minimum. The filter itself also
drains slowly and can back up where the water level will slowly reach
the top. My pump may be a little strong for the filter and the filter is
also only rated at 1000 gal per hr max.
I'm looking for something low maintenance and of course clear water.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.... John

Hi John,

Check out "My Filter" & the "Demo Pond Filter" on my website. If you're a
DIYer maybe you can figure out a smaller configuration that will work for
you. I'm planning to put a 2 barrel set-up on my 1,000 gallon lily pond.
~ jan www.jjspond.us

-----------------

Also ponding troll free at:
http://groups.google.com/group/The-Freshwater-Aquarium

John,

I started with a similar sized pond back in 1998. I upgraded to a Biofalls
filter after experiencing the same problems you've described. It worked just
fine. I also installed a Biofalls filter on my newer 3,000 gallon pond. The
filter that Jan describes will work just fine. If you're not much of a do it
yourselfer then you may want to consider the Biofalls. Just Google "Biofalls
filter" and you'll get several dealers. You'll get by just fine with their
Mini filter. You'll still experience a period of green water in the spring
but this will clear. Throw a bunch of pennywort, mint or other stuff in it
to help with the filtering. I only had to clean the filter once a year, in
the spring. I did use a "pre-filter" on the supply side to cut down on the
amount of gunk sent to the filter. I did have to do weekly cleaning of that.

John

"John Arruda" wrote in message
news:GC9Bg.8516$ok5.5362@dukeread01...
I'm looking to replace my current Tetra pond filter on a 1000 gallon Koi
pond with something people are having good luck with....

The problem is my current filter needs to be cleaned at least once per
week. I have a fair amount of algae remnants which need to be hosed off of
the Prefilter pads once per week minimum. The filter itself also drains
slowly and can back up where the water level will slowly reach the top. My
pump may be a little strong for the filter and the filter is also only
rated at 1000 gal per hr max.
I'm looking for something low maintenance and of course clear water.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated....
John

John Arruda wrote, On 06/08/2006 00:13:
I'm looking to replace my current Tetra pond filter on a 1000 gallon Koi
pond with something people are having good luck with....

The problem is my current filter needs to be cleaned at least once per
week. I have a fair amount of algae remnants which need to be hosed off
of the Prefilter pads once per week minimum. The filter itself also
drains slowly and can back up where the water level will slowly reach
the top. My pump may be a little strong for the filter and the filter is
also only rated at 1000 gal per hr max.
I'm looking for something low maintenance and of course clear water.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated....
John

My pond is also ~1000 gallons, and the OASE filter that I used to have
would also need weekly cleans in the summer. It is a real pain and takes
the fun out of running a small pond. The basic design of the OASE
biofilter was pretty clever, it would clog and provide little or no
filtration, but could not overflow due to a central cascading water exit.
I used the OASE tank for the new Skippy filter. Here are the
instructions for building one;
http://www.skippysstuff.com/biofiltr.htm

I'm really pleased with it and can recommend it as an upgrade. Lots of
benefits;
Bottom water entry, and top water exit. Therefore it cannot overflow and
empty the pond.
Only needs cleaning twice a year. Fully digested waste settles to the
bottom as a very fine silt.
Very large surface area for bacteria. The whole tank is full of cut up
industrial cleaning pads.

Things to remember;
UV clarifiers only make the algae clump and filter out, they don't
prevent algae growth. UV sterilisers need a very powerful light to kill
every living thing in the water, only for serious ponds.
Algae will always grow until the balance of plants/light/nutrients is
perfect. Disturbing these factors will cause lots of algae in a small pond.
If clarity is a problem you can try a big water change. Diluting the
problems usually helps get things into balance as well. You'll have
little luck taking out fine suspended material without something fancy
like a vortex filter.

Hopes these random thoughts are of some use to you.
David

Sounds like a great filter idea. When I upgrade, I think I'll check
this one out.

Slightly off-topic but regarding the UV clarifier, I'm under the
impression (and fairly certain since we use UV sterilization at work)
that UV clarifiers work by damaging the DNA of single-celled algae (and
bacteria for that matter) and stopping them from replicating.
Essentially killing them or at least preventing them from replicating.
This might also cause them indirectly to clump and end up in your
filter but clumping is not the clarifier's primary mode of action. The
beauty of the UV clarifier is that it allows one to have clear water
without really balancing out the nutrient equation. To cheat if you
will. At least that's been my clarifier experience with my relatively
small pond.

But I could be misinformed. I have been before.

For those of you who weighed in on the fish die-off over the weekend,
I'm happy to report that no more deaths have been noted. I'm guessing
it was the 100 degree days and the torrential rains that lead to
hypoxia and nutrient overload and nothing infectious that I introduced.

Kevin in Chicago

DavidM wrote:
John Arruda wrote, On 06/08/2006 00:13:
I'm looking to replace my current Tetra pond filter on a 1000 gallon Koi
pond with something people are having good luck with....

The problem is my current filter needs to be cleaned at least once per
week. I have a fair amount of algae remnants which need to be hosed off
of the Prefilter pads once per week minimum. The filter itself also
drains slowly and can back up where the water level will slowly reach
the top. My pump may be a little strong for the filter and the filter is
also only rated at 1000 gal per hr max.
I'm looking for something low maintenance and of course clear water.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated....
John

My pond is also ~1000 gallons, and the OASE filter that I used to have
would also need weekly cleans in the summer. It is a real pain and takes
the fun out of running a small pond. The basic design of the OASE
biofilter was pretty clever, it would clog and provide little or no
filtration, but could not overflow due to a central cascading water exit.
I used the OASE tank for the new Skippy filter. Here are the
instructions for building one;
http://www.skippysstuff.com/biofiltr.htm

I'm really pleased with it and can recommend it as an upgrade. Lots of
benefits;
Bottom water entry, and top water exit. Therefore it cannot overflow and
empty the pond.
Only needs cleaning twice a year. Fully digested waste settles to the
bottom as a very fine silt.
Very large surface area for bacteria. The whole tank is full of cut up
industrial cleaning pads.

Things to remember;
UV clarifiers only make the algae clump and filter out, they don't
prevent algae growth. UV sterilisers need a very powerful light to kill
every living thing in the water, only for serious ponds.
Algae will always grow until the balance of plants/light/nutrients is
perfect. Disturbing these factors will cause lots of algae in a small pond.
If clarity is a problem you can try a big water change. Diluting the
problems usually helps get things into balance as well. You'll have
little luck taking out fine suspended material without something fancy
like a vortex filter.

Hopes these random thoughts are of some use to you.
David

UV does kill by causing thymine dimers of the DNA. However, algae is a BIG cell and
UV more likely coags the proteins and causes clumping and removal by the filter.
you are entirely correct about clear water without balancing nutrients.
I am on Lake Michigan water and it is very soft. Rain is acidic from the dissolved
CO2, so the pH could have swung down pretty far. I had the hot days and rain about
the same, but my pond has extra calcium in it to buffer the pH after I found my fish
jumping. It is also north facing and the plants in the veggie filter shade the pond
as does the one big lily. the temp of the water doesnt get over 80oF.
Ingrid

"Kevin" wrote:
that UV clarifiers work by damaging the DNA of single-celled algae (and
bacteria for that matter) and stopping them from replicating.
beauty of the UV clarifier is that it allows one to have clear water
without really balancing out the nutrient equation.
For those of you who weighed in on the fish die-off over the weekend,
I'm happy to report that no more deaths have been noted. I'm guessing
it was the 100 degree days and the torrential rains that lead to
hypoxia and nutrient overload and nothing infectious that I introduced.



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Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

Kevin wrote:

The
beauty of the UV clarifier is that it allows one to have clear water
without really balancing out the nutrient equation. To cheat if you
will. At least that's been my clarifier experience with my relatively
small pond.

I'm afraid that's always been my argument _against_ using UV - it allows you
to clear the water without fixing the nutrient equation. I can't help
thinking that if you had limited the nutrients in the first place, you
wouldn't have had this problem.
--
derek