When it comes to filters, the liner will be home to a large population of
the good bacteria, the inside of the piping will also house large
populations. A veggie filter is both beautiful and effective, at least for
ponds that are not over crowded, and will fit nicely in the head pool for
the waterfall or stream. There are many other filters that will work, but
the ones with lava rock, gravel and other heavy media are a pain to clean,
and clean you must, and if they are in the pond they are hard to lift out.
To mechanically clean the water of floaties, then having some media like
quilt batting will help to remove that trash, but must be removed and
cleaned or replaced periodically. I would plan for the first filter on the
pond, while the fish are small and in small numbers to have a veggie filter,
and if the ammonia and nitrites start to climb over the years, then look at
adding some strapping tape, screen or other media.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
"Rob" wrote in message
om...

3) I want to install a do-it-myself filter. It sounds like (from
reading around here at rec.ponds) that the waterfall will provide a fair
amount of filtering, since I plan for plants along the length. I would like
the waterfall to be quiet and barely trickle; will that provide enough gpm
for the filtering process, or do I need it to move faster? Will I need a
canister filled with gravel or filter material as well. Roughly what volume
canister should I use? Should the canister be in the pond, or at the top of
the waterfall, or can I put it somewhere in between, at say, 2' height above
the pond? If it were in between, can I put the pump midway between the pond
and the canister, thus forcing the water through it, then up to the top of
the waterfall?
--rgesh