How to purchase a pond filter

Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 2:11 pm

Basic Types of pond filter system

There are three types of useful pond filter.

Submersed pond filters are easy to hide, although they take up valuable

space inside the garden pond. They are usually attached to the intake side of the hose to trap particulates before they

reach the pond pump, thus protecting the pump as well as filtering the water. They come in different sizes and are usually fairly easy to

clean although the pond keeper will have to wade into the pond or in some other way retrieve the pond filter for cleaning, and waste may

spill back into the garden pond if not handled correctly.

In-line Pond Filters are usually self-contained canisters which are sealed and operated under pressure. They can be used submerged or above

ground.

External pond filters are the largest and best filters. They are located

above ground (or partially buried) somewhere near the garden pond. Water enters the filter from the pump and trickles

through several types of media to clean and de-toxify the water.

Although they need the least cleaning and provide the most ease of cleaning, the pond pump is not protected from floating debris because it

is placed before the pond filters. To protect the pump, it is best to attach a submerged pre-filter on the intake side

of the pump and an external filter on the output side.

There are new pond filters on the market now that are

“self-cleaning”. They have pressure chambers that can be squeezed out by turning a knob on the filter to compress the water out of the media

and flush the debris out the line. They are a great advance in pond-keeping.

Many of the pond filters today also contain internal UV sterilizers to help control algae.