Bill, I use a modified Skippy filter. My pond stays clear. I do not have a
fish overload, though. I clean it once a year.
JD
http://www.nrgy.com/pond.htm

"PlainBill" wrote in message
...
OK, I hope someone is prepared to deal with another newbie, because I
don't have a clue. The trouble started when my wife decided we should
sell our 4-2 with pool in Florida and move to Arizona. Foolishly
thinking we would be moving into a smaller, easier to care for home, I
agreed. The new home is bigger, older, also has a pool, and two
'ponds' - holes in the ground, lined with concrete, containing plants
and fish. The better built of the two has about a dozen very fat
goldfish; the other has five koi ranging from about 15" to two feet.
Each pond has it's own 'filter' - a 55 gallon drum.

I had the opportunity to discuss the care of the ponds with the
previous owner. He said the plants were in the ponds to "clean the
water". He also said it was a good idea to remove the alge (stringy
stuff) before it choked the ponds.

He also suggested each filter be cleaned every couple of weeks, so
when I noticed a froth on the surface of the koi pond, I decided to
tackle that one. Per his instructions, I turned off the water, pulled
the top off the drum, and disassembled it. The 'filter media'
consists of two 2" thick disks of foam rubber - one looks suspiciously
like something you would put on top of a matress for more cushion.
The other has several 4" diameter holes hacked in it. Again,
following his directions, I hosed the 'filters' clean, and cleaned out
the drum. After reassembling it, turning on the pump, etc. I decided
to figure out if there was a better way. (When I checked the next day
the koi were doing well, there is slightly less froth, and the water
seems to be clearer).

I grew up on a farm and have cleaned out both cattle barns and pig
pens; I've changed my share of diapers, as well as unplugged a toilet
or two. I'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty, but don't look
forward to it. I'm not afraid to spend money, but don't want to waste
it.

A little research on the internet left me more confused. The first
thing I discovered is there are quite a few companies selling "Koi
pond filters", and every one of them claim their filter is the best,
and all others are junk. Some even claim to offer some scientific
basis for their claims. Most of the claims contradict one another,
some contradict themselves. Some defy common sense.

I've concluded that the majority of the cleanup is done by the
plants, and the filter is there only to remove the heavier material.
I'm not sure why the foam rubber was in the filter - most of the water
will bypass it, and rinsing it with city water will kill and bacteria
(according to some opinions). The filter certainly is removing
something - I got quite a lot of crud out of it.

Some more information - the koi pond is about 5' x 14' x 18" - about
700 gallons. The pump moves about 20 gallons per minute. I don't
recognise the plants that are growing in the pond, but hope to have
pictures up on a website once I figure out how to do that on my new
ISP.

One of the things I came across in my research was "The Skippy
Filter", which looks like it might actually do a better job of
cleaning the water at a reasonable price. Does it work as well as he
claims? I'm not afraid to spend money, but don't want to try anything
that might result in some dead koi!!

Also, the previous owner had placed a bag of barley? in each pond to
control the alge. (He described that as 'experimental'). Does it
actually work? There is a lot of string alge growing in the ponds,
some of it on the bag of barley.

Thanks,

PlainBill