My garden pond is roughly 1,000 gallons. I custom-built it, so I can't be e
xact, but it's a little over 3' deep. I originally added 2 koi, 3 goldfish
(which have since turned in to 26), a water lily, an arrowhead, a potted bu
lrush, and a bunch of floating irises and water lettuce. It has a waterfall
built from boulders and river rock, and I'm using this waterfall pump:

http://www.lowes.com/pd_24482-60084-...?productId5100
02&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL =%3FNs%3Dp_product_
qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo
If you can't follow the link, it's a Smartpond 1300gph submersible, with UV
light. I have it zip-tied to a tupperware container, so that it doesn't si
t directly on the floor but about 6" above. It flows in to a separate filte
r; I couldn't find it online, but it's about the size of a 2G container, an
d has several pads in it.

Here's my question. I have to take the pump out about every other day, remo
ve the rough pad on the intake side, squeeze out all of the gunk, then put
it back in. After 2 days, the water flow slows to a crawl.

To clean it, I keep a container behind the pond that I fill with pond water
, then I just hold the pad in the water, squeeze it 9 or 10 times, then put
it back.

This hasn't a big deal during the summer, since I just have a morning ritua
l where I feed the fish and clean the pump, but as it gets colder and winte
r comes, that's going to REALLY suck!

Can you guys suggest what I might do to not have to clean this pad so often
?