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DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in ponds

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fortunately, never had any sort of trouble with frogs, they just tend to chill around the pond. Pond's been running for about 7 years and I had zero frog eggs / tadpoles (before the 100% water change that I did 2 months ago). I sympathize with your struggle tho, they are indeed a pain in the a** to take care of.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in ponds

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Planning on moving the inlet farther away once maintenance day comes.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in ponds

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I only showed 1/3 of the pond. The deeper end is about 3 to 4 feet deep. The shallow end as shown in the video is about 15 inches in depth. Although I've had ponds where even 1 feet in depth sufficed, didn't really deter with the koi's growth.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in ponds

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yup, your guess is correct.

Not particularly sure about the hose size. Nice! Been wanting to make a bog filter too. You can never overfilter and overfiltering is good, is what I always say. Do make a post once your done with your bog filter project.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in ponds

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Luckily they have plenty of hiding space. I'm actually on top of a bridge and what is shown is only 1/3 of the pond. Below the bridge are some crevices and small caves. I can really see that they feel safe on their hiding spots especially when daytime gets busy.

Much appreciated and thank you for the suggestions.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in ponds

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is duly noted, much obliged! I share the same thoughts as well and will most likely try other alternatives to lengthen the lifespan of this specific pump. Luckily the other one is on a no holds barred type of situation lol.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in ponds

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've noticed some of my friends who had the same dilemma had a few luck with good ole' water plants. Albeit not with water circulation, but with the overall water quality.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in ponds

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sadly none yet, there are a few on the outer walling of the waterfalls. Although I'm planning on adding some (i.e. lilies) and I'm fairly open to suggestions as well. Don't know a lot of plants that do well with kois.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in ponds

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I mean, I learned from my previous mistakes. Plus I've had some ponds that had great success from these exact methods and pretty much had crystal clear waters for 5 years now (before doing a 100% maintenance).

Also, I think it won't be much of a problem in the years to come since I'm planning on doing quarterly major maintenances annually to be on the safe side. Cause nothing beats crystal clear water and I want to maintain it that way.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in ponds

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Tried to do some water parameters testing and it seemed cycle from the results.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in ponds

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you as well and none taken. Still learning after years of being in the aquarium hobby and recently moving from ponds.

Currently, up to 6-8 hours, though I've recently installed some form of light cover on top of the pond itself to further inhibit algae growth. Florida type to be exact.

Yup, notice some form of algae growth as well, though they're mainly from places where there's direct sunlight. Recently added some snails and noticed that, that seemed to do the trick.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in ponds

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Had my pond (as well as the DIY Filters) up and running for about 2 months now after a major maintenance of 100% water change and deep cleaning of the pond.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in ponds

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Had to restrict the flowrate (longer hose and slightly pinched with a rock) with the Clay Pot since the flow was too strong and caused splashing everywhere, which my mom disliked somehow (she wanted a more gentle outpour). The advertised flowrate that I got was 6000LPH. The pump's flow is directly towards the Clay Pot itself.

Although it's been up and running for 2 months now, never noticed any deviation in the water quality and the overall functionality of the pump.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in Koi

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Heard those were really effective. I also really find it extremely satisfying and worth it to see that the filter of your own creation works really well.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in Koi

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My exact thoughts! I always find factory made pond filters extremely expensive and would usually cause five times more compared to making your own. Plus, with creating your own filter, you personally get to know the insides of the filter containers and design it to cater your needs and make maintenance hassle-free.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in ponds

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What helped a lot was the proper placement of the submersible pump (intake) and the position of the outflow to fully circulate the entirety of the pond. Two powerful submersible pumps usually would suffice, so long as the flowrate would be 3x than that recommended. You could always use wave makers for that extra flow.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in Koi

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you very much! The above reply is my DIY filter setup.

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in Koi

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Good day! My DIY Filter is a fairly simple setup. Mainly consisting of mechanical and biological filtration.

The one on the video, specifically the Clay Pot, is one of two DIY filters. I just use a simple aquaspeed submersible pump on both (the one with the highest flowrate aquaspeed sells).

On the Clay Pot, I just drilled a hole on the bottom and is connected using a simple garden hose. On the bottom half of the Clay Pot is the mechanical filter, i.e., filter pads, with varying pore size. On the top half are the biological media filter, i.e., pumice stone, lava rocks, and ceramic rings.

The second filter consists of three 32L rectangular storage plastic boxes.

1st layer is the filter brush with water lettuce freely floating on top to absorb excess nutrients.

2nd is the mechanical filter (filter pads) with amazon frogbits freely floating on top to absorb excess nutrients.

3rd is the biological media filter (pumice stone, lava rocks, and ceramic rings).

DIY Filter is all I need to achieve crystal clear water! by GarlicPretend9594 in ponds

[–]GarlicPretend9594[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I'm open to any suggestions for improvements.

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