"Destroyallx" wrote in message
...
hey everyone. i have been constantly researching and working on my new
outdoor pond. its 13x13 round and about 16-18 inches deep. There is no
natural shade to my pond, so im adding lots of lilly pads and other plants
to help that.
ok, as of right now... the pond is a green/brown color and doesnt seem to
be clearing what so ever. Whats the best way to fiter a pond.
right now i have 2 pretty strong pumps pushing water up into a large
container lined with filter material with a large hole in the side to allow
the filtered water to exit the container into my river/waterfall.
is there a better way, without buying a system, to filer my water? or is
this just a matter of time?
thanx!!


No need to buy a system. It won't be any better than what you can build
youself, if you are inventive. The filter pads are ok for mechanical filtration
(I assume that you are having to clean them all the time, because they likely
get clogged before the nitobacter bacteria can get established and eat the
gunk), but you also need biological filtration. See my responses to Lemmonie
(New to pond life), and G&K Meyer (mess in pond). They are recent posts, so you
shouldn't have trouble finding them. They should provide you with the
information you need to clear the water up. If you have more questions, I'd be
happy to answer them.

By the way, you must life pretty far south, because that is a fairly shallow
pond. If it freezes in the winter where you live, you will have trouble. I
live in Kentucky, and mine is 18" above ground (the 18" aboveground consists of
18" of 4x4 treated lumber stack one on top of the other and bolted together),
and 27" inches below ground, for a total depth of 45 inches. It is lined. You
should make your pond at least 6 inches below the local frost line or deeper to
prevent it from freezing completely. You also should make sure that it never
freezes over completely at the surface if you have animals like fish, etc. They
rely on the oxygen in the water to survive. If the pond completely freezes over
at the surface, there will be no oxygen exchange at the water/air interface, and
your animals will suffocate. On the other hand, with such a shallow pond, if it
is not below the frost line, could well freeze all the way to the bottom,
turning your valuable fish into popcycles. You can buy a de-icer, as I have to
prevent the surface from freezing. But if it gets very cold, it will likely not
prevent it from freezing all the way to the bottom. If that happens, and you
have fish and plants in the pond, you are screwed.