I have a 500 gallon preform. I want a external mechanical/biological
(maybe with UV) filter. Is there any really good ones? I have seen so
many types I dont know which to get. Also is the UV worth adding? And
also there is a pressure one with backflow.. I just want one that works
outside of pond and easy to maintain since I have a metal fence over the
pond. (need the filter outside. Size it not a problem.. If it cost
500.00 Fine... Im just tired of buying junk. I have 4 turtles 28 fish
and some frogs. So it needs to clean well... I have no plants, I may put
in a few but the turtles eat them and I want my turtles. LOL Thank you

You've got some serious filtering to do!
Lots of fish, four turtles and frogs.
I have experience with all three of them.
Turtle poo is, well, amazing...

If it was me I'd go online to http://www.aqua-mart.com/
and get the phone number and talk to Jeff.
He's very helpful over the phone. I'm sure there are other
vendors just as helpful (pond people usually are ;-)

The other thing I would do is cut the fish population
in half. If you plan to do this make sure you mention
it to anyone you talk to.

And hopefully others will chime in here.
(They must all be off looking for those last few
easter eggs...)

kathy :-)

"kathy" wrote in message
ups.com...
And hopefully others will chime in here.
(They must all be off looking for those last few
easter eggs...)
======================
Or too stuffed from dinner to waddle to their computers..... ;-)
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

On Sun, 27 Mar 2005 18:12:58 -0600, (DD DDD) wrote:

I have a 500 gallon preform. I want a external mechanical/biological
(maybe with UV) filter. Is there any really good ones? I have seen so
many types I dont know which to get. Also is the UV worth adding? And
also there is a pressure one with backflow.. I just want one that works
outside of pond and easy to maintain since I have a metal fence over the
pond. (need the filter outside. Size it not a problem.. If it cost
500.00 Fine... Im just tired of buying junk. I have 4 turtles 28 fish
and some frogs. So it needs to clean well... I have no plants, I may put
in a few but the turtles eat them and I want my turtles. LOL Thank you

Are you in to DIY at all? Even though the pond is small, go with a large
filter so you won't have to do constant maintenance due to the critters you
keep. Perhaps a version of mine (pictures and diagram on website) would
work for you? Click on *My Filter* and if interested there are parts listed
under *Demon Pond Filter*. ~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

check out this filter...
http://www.enkoi.com/filtration/ultima2.html

DD DDD wrote:

I have a 500 gallon preform. I want a external mechanical/biological
(maybe with UV) filter. Is there any really good ones? I have seen so
many types I dont know which to get. Also is the UV worth adding? And
also there is a pressure one with backflow.. I just want one that works
outside of pond and easy to maintain since I have a metal fence over the
pond. (need the filter outside. Size it not a problem.. If it cost
500.00 Fine... Im just tired of buying junk. I have 4 turtles 28 fish
and some frogs. So it needs to clean well... I have no plants, I may put
in a few but the turtles eat them and I want my turtles. LOL Thank you

Thank you, I am using 2 350 magnum filters now. They work just ok but I
have to replace the filters every few days. Its jus to much money for
me. I put them under a rainproof hut. Any other thoughts

We belong to the lazy school of ponders.
When we were running our stock tank as a mechanical/bio
filter we cleaned it once a year. 150 gallon stock tank, 50 yards
of vinyl screening. All the muck in it smelled river water sweet.

With our reduced stock we run the stock tank as a veggie filter
with water hyacinth, then the water goes over a waterfall
planted with watercress.

kathy :-)

There are only 2 choices for pond filters. Either buy a
fancy one or build a low tech one yourself. With either
routes, you still need to buy a water pump to run it.

There are 2 low tech out of pond filters. One is submerged,
whereas all the filter media are submerged, in a tank
outside the pond. This type has pretty good mechanical
filtration as well as biological filtration. A lot of people
here have this type. Perhaps they could post a few links for
you.

The other one is a trickle tower, whereas water drip over
the media. This type has no mechanical filtration. You need
to build a prefilter stage. I prefer this type because it
aerate as well as removes nitrate.

http://la.znet.com/~seannydinh/Filter.html click on Pond
Filtration

My TT is running at only 87 gallons per hour at the moment.
I do NOT recommend running at this rate for your pond, since
you have no water plants. When I get a replacement pump that
could handle 600 gallons per hour at 3' height, I'll stack a
5 gallon bucket on top to increase aeration and degassing
capability. The reason I need a better pump is because I
need faster water changes to filter out the suspended
particles in the water better. At current rate, it's not
doing much for mechanical filtration.

As for UV, I don't use it. I have clear water for a month
since I set up a better TT.

If you decide to build one, google 'trickle tower' and go to
this site
http://www.skippysstuff.com/biofiltr.htm for further info.

DD DDD wrote:

Thank you, I am using 2 350 magnum filters now. They work just ok but I
have to replace the filters every few days. Its jus to much money for
me. I put them under a rainproof hut. Any other thoughts

I came across this
http://store.watergardenweb.com/bioclear5pon.html while
looking for a skimmer. You need to get a pump to use that
filter.

DD DDD wrote:

Thank you, I am using 2 350 magnum filters now. They work just ok but I
have to replace the filters every few days. Its jus to much money for
me. I put them under a rainproof hut. Any other thoughts

Well so far I think I will try the 1250 gph pump with 1/2 going to a
bell fountain for air and 1/2 for the bio/mech. filter. what you all
think. ? with the diverter I can also keep the pond moving. I could go
1/3 each also. water movement and filter and bell fountain for air.
Yes? no? let me know. With the raccoons eating everything I now have
green metal mesh over the pond to keep everthing safe. so I have some
limits on plants ect. Well the fish and turtles feel safe now but I
need a good system this year. I really like the black box with bio/mech
internal filter with pump inside the box but I have to take the raccoon
barrier off to clean it. so I was hoping for a good external filter that
i could have a divertter with a bell fountain and pond movement.any
ideas? pond is 300 gallons. I want a 1000gallon filter system because of
the fish/turtle poop . I did have 2 350 magnum filters that worked but
that cause I bought them at 20.00 and the micron filters at 24 for 30.00
from a pet store out of buisness. But I had to replace the filters every
4-5 days. Thank you

On Sat, 2 Apr 2005 22:21:48 -0600, (d t) wrote:

Well so far I think I will try the 1250 gph pump with 1/2 going to a
bell fountain for air and 1/2 for the bio/mech. filter. what you all
think. ? with the diverter I can also keep the pond moving. I could go
1/3 each also. water movement and filter and bell fountain for air.
Yes? no? let me know. With the raccoons eating everything I now have
green metal mesh over the pond to keep everthing safe. so I have some
limits on plants ect. Well the fish and turtles feel safe now but I
need a good system this year. I really like the black box with bio/mech
internal filter with pump inside the box but I have to take the raccoon
barrier off to clean it. so I was hoping for a good external filter that
i could have a divertter with a bell fountain and pond movement.any
ideas? pond is 300 gallons. I want a 1000gallon filter system because of
the fish/turtle poop . I did have 2 350 magnum filters that worked but
that cause I bought them at 20.00 and the micron filters at 24 for 30.00
from a pet store out of buisness. But I had to replace the filters every
4-5 days. Thank you

I may have posted this already, but one club member did a 2 barrel combo of
my filter for his 350 gallon OVERLY stocked koi pond. www.jjspond.us Click
on *My Filter* ~ jan

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~