Pond Filtration

Keep your water crystal clear and free of toxins with the right pond filters for your pond. Since filters are one of the most important parts of any backyard water garden, we supply only the best products from the best brands. Not sure where to start? Read below to learn more about choosing the right filter for your backyard pond.

What Do Pond Filters Do?

Pond filters are essential for keeping the water in your backyard pond healthy and crystal clear. When waste from fish breaks down, it releases harmful chemicals like ammonia and nitrites. Not only is a fish’s waste harmful; but decomposing leaves, dirt, and debris that fall into your pond also introduce dangers. By removing all the harmful chemicals from the water, filters can improve your fish’s living conditions.

Which Pond Filter is Right For You?

There are two main types of pond filters that can be used in your backyard water garden. They are biological filters and mechanical filters. Let’s break down the differences between the two and see how they work.

Bio-Filter

Bio-filters work by culturing beneficial, natural bacteria in your pond with biological filter media. Biological filtration provides a home for your beneficial bacteria to live. This bacteria is responsible for getting rid of excess nutrients that cause algae blooms. Since these colonies of bacteria occur naturally, this is an appealing choice for anyone who wants an organic alternative.

It is important to understand that the bacteria growing in your bio-filter need a constant supply of water to survive. This means that you can expect to run your filter pump year-round. You should also expect to clean the biological media once or twice per year. However, cleaning it any more than that is harmful to the beneficial bacteria that live in the filter.

Mechanical Filter

Mechanical filters work by trapping dirt and debris to make your water clear. The general idea is to remove organic materials before they can break down and decompose. Water gets pushed in one end of the filter and flows through stacks of mechanical filter media. This filter media is usually arranged from coarse to fine thickness. Along the way, the media catches larger debris first and the smallest particles last.

A benefit of mechanical filters is that they are relatively easy to clean, but they do need to be cleaned frequently to rinse out debris. Mechanical filter pads can be cleaned every 1-2 weeks or when there is a reduced flow since they are filtering out larger debris. We also recommend replacing your media once a year for the best results.

Choosing The Best Pond Filter

The first step when choosing the best pond filter is to determine the size of your pond. It is important to choose an appropriate filter that is rated for however many gallons of water your pond holds. Next, you need to determine how densely populated your pond is. If you have a balanced pond with at least 50% plant coverage, then you can buy a filter without a UV sterilizer, since the plants also help clean the water.

Using a filter that is too small for the pond will not keep the water healthy or clean. Pond filters are engineered for a certain flow rate and it is important to make sure your pond pump is close to this figure. It does not hurt if a pond is over-filtered, but it is dangerous to your fish if it is under filtered.

Choosing between a mechanical and biofilter is down to personal preference, however, we do recommend purchasing a mechanical filter if your pond has a lot of debris. Still need help choosing the right filter? Take a peek at our Knowledge Base for more information.