Do I really need one? I have 2 Koi (so far) in a 3,000 gallon pond, I
plan on adding a veggie pond in the next couple weeks with a waterfall
and short stream.

You have a biofilter. The size of the biofilter may or may not be
sufficient for larger schools of fish. The liner has surface area and the
bacteria live on all surfaces. Your veggie filter will have surface area
also, and the roots of the plants are able to use some of the bio waste
directly, but also provide an area for the bio bugs. The stream will have
surface area.

Now, the amount of surface area determines how many bugs can live on your
filter. That is where the large bead filters, vortex filters full of foam
come in. All ponds end up being overcrowded. Test your water and as long
as the ammonia and nitrItes are zero then your filter is large enough. If
they go up and stay up, then it time to reduce the number of fish or add
additional filtration.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"Michael Shaffer" wrote in message
...
Do I really need one? I have 2 Koi (so far) in a 3,000 gallon pond, I
plan on adding a veggie pond in the next couple weeks with a waterfall
and short stream.