Which filter system to buy for my 1000 gallon pond [Archive] (2024)

Rickyt69

10-09-2009, 10:16 AM

I have 1000 gallon pond with DIY filter containers ( 30g + 50g tanks),and have 14 small koi(5-7in). I usually clean the filter every 2 months such as removal of filter pads...so i spend a lot of time cleanning dirty pads..... Lately,i'm thinking about buying a good filter system. There are so many brands of filter on the market and i don't know which to buy. Any suggestion...:confused:

Here is picture of my pond in California,you can see barely 2 filter containers behind the plant :

Rudy

10-09-2009, 10:50 AM

In June you had 5 koi from 7" - 8".
Last week you had 10 koi 7" - 8".
Now there are 14 koi 5" - 7".
:confused:

You first need to settle on a number of koi you plan on keeping and in 1000 gallons I wouldn't do more than 3 unless it was only used as a temporary set up.
How deep is it and I assume no bottom drain.

Jim Smith

10-09-2009, 11:06 AM

koiaddict

10-09-2009, 11:07 AM

Dave

10-09-2009, 11:31 AM

Yup, and yup

I concur with both the above statements fully

Good filtration that can deal with the gallonage that you have coupled with the correct stocking density, full stop.

You need 1000 litres of water per Adult fish, in a well filtered pond.

(can somebody pop in the conversion to US gal for me please, i cant seem to remember right now)

You stock anymore densily than this, even if you have a million dollar filter system, you are going to have trouble. A given volume can only effectively handle so many fish and that is it.

graybird

10-09-2009, 11:37 AM

jeffcopeland

10-09-2009, 11:40 AM

Are you sure you have a 1000 gallons or is that just a rough estimate?

Did you meter?

Rickyt69

10-09-2009, 12:00 PM

JoesPonds.com

10-09-2009, 12:41 PM

Steve Nguyen

10-09-2009, 01:37 PM

unless you plan to re-home some of your fish as they grow bigger. you have a couple years though. since it's a small pond with lots of fish, I would suggest you overfilter the pond. I would do as follow:

settling tank => pump => bead (4k gal rating ) => biofilter chamber (100 gals min) with matala/jmats => return to pond/waterfall

this way, you can backwash the bead every week and clean the biofilter once or twice a year.

in future, if you decide to upgrade ur pond, you have equipment already bought for bigger pond.

Steve

Headache

10-09-2009, 01:44 PM

If that's Koi Pellets (in the rings & pond) in that last photo , you need a major filter upgrade and do a lot of reading about keeping koi . You may want to find the ER section of the board , your going to need it .

Was that a accident or are you really feeding your koi that much food ?

socalnick

10-09-2009, 02:59 PM

koiaddict

10-09-2009, 03:01 PM

a pool filter is NOT what I would suggest.

No one in their right mind would suggest that. It would channel within month. Please read more and learn more before making suggestions or giving advice. Ive been around a while, and if you read my posts, I dont open my mouth often, leaving the advice to those who know what they are talking about.

Its not my job to mislead someone.

koiaddict

10-09-2009, 03:02 PM

Dave

10-09-2009, 03:52 PM

Please NOOOOOOOO.

No Pool sand filters. please!!!!!!

Those are killers waiting to pounce if you dont usse them properly.

steven gave some stirling advice there.

Also, way too much food.

:)

there is a chart some where where you can use the total length of the fish to get a weight and then feed a percentage of the total weight, broken up into 2 to six feedings per day. IE if weight says half a cup a day, then feed 1/4 in the am and a 1/4 in the pm.

Then check with the local koi club on how to feed during winter, i have no idea what your winter conditions are like. For me i feed all year round, excepting a handfull of days when the temp drops below 10 deg C.

I would suggest that you feed just less than a 1/8 cup (use a baking cup measure) in the am and a 1/8 cup in the eve at this stage, then get an accurate as possible measure on your fish and calculate accordingly.

Ethan25

10-09-2009, 03:59 PM

If that's Koi Pellets (in the rings & pond) in that last photo , you need a major filter upgrade and do a lot of reading about keeping koi . You may want to find the ER section of the board , your going to need it .

Was that a accident or are you really feeding your koi that much food ?

I'd have to concur, here. For the number of fish you have, that is far too much food, probably too much for even splitting up over a day in 4-5 feedings.

Steve's suggestions for a filtrations system is solid.

rainblood

10-09-2009, 07:56 PM

Ps- I jabber a lot. I meant open my mouth to dispose of advice.

I concur with the the above statement :cool3:

socalnick

10-09-2009, 08:11 PM

birdman

10-09-2009, 08:29 PM

koiaddict

10-09-2009, 08:30 PM

Rudy

10-09-2009, 09:58 PM

Ps- I jabber a lot. I meant open my mouth to dispose of advice.

I liked it the other way better. :confused:.. .what ?... :noidea: :shrug: :no:

Steve Nguyen

10-10-2009, 12:20 AM

calm down. people don't think sand filter is effective for koi pond purpose as comparing to other type of media. they are not disliking you for using sand filter. :) two of my koi buddies use sand filters and they lost a few fish every year due to disease. this is not to say sand filter cause disease but as the regular maintenance goes with the setup can demand more time then they have which result lack of attention to care for the pond. I don't use sand filter either because there are other better option available on the market.

the pond is already built and I assume there is a settling tank. if not, gotta work with what he currently has.

for 1k gal pond, why even need 200 gals settling tank? I know the size of ST can lead to endless debate but hobbysts gotta use what he can afford more of the time. at the end of the day, the goal is to remove fish waste and remove it effectively and easily on daily basis.

Steve

if you dont use them properly backflush and there is no chance for channel he ask for options that is one and i dont believe he wants a bulky ugly filter we live in ca limited space not the booneys. how big of a settling chamber steve at least 200 300gal and a minimum of 100 gal for the bio and the bead say 25 gal he might as well destroy that one and build a new and from the pics it doesnt seem that he has much room behind the pond. so for me pool filter

socalnick

10-11-2009, 12:39 AM

Steve Nguyen

10-11-2009, 01:32 AM

hmm! I would definitely take some room from the 1200 gals bio and enlarge the 1000 gal pond for fish to swim in but that's just me. depends on his plumbing, 3k+ gals pump would be good. bigger is better so he re-use it when he upgrade his pond to bigger size.

Steve

Luck

10-11-2009, 01:44 AM

I would think a 55 gallon sc with a static prefilter > 55 gallon biofilter > 2500 gallon pump > uv > 55 gallon sand/gravel filter would be just about perfect for the pond:yes: 165 gallons of filters total

you could even throw a no niche skimmer in there somewhere with a 1500 gph pump for the works.

Pond would be crystal clear, maintenance low, and fish healthy and happy...providing you rehome some you don't like when they get bigger

Steve Nguyen

10-12-2009, 03:56 AM

I would think a 55 gallon sc with a static prefilter > 55 gallon biofilter > 2500 gallon pump > uv > 55 gallon sand/gravel filter would be just about perfect for the pond:yes: 165 gallons of filters total

you could even throw a no niche skimmer in there somewhere with a 1500 gph pump for the works.

Pond would be crystal clear, maintenance low, and fish healthy and happy...providing you rehome some you don't like when they get bigger

depends on definition of "filter", if filter is a process of converting old water into new, then only 55 gals bio does that job. The rest are mechanical to remove wastes. that's 5% of filtering water for a 1k gals pond. ratio should be at least 10% with more preferred.

Steve

Robert

10-12-2009, 09:54 AM

http://www.koiphen.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75381

Here's a filter that I have been really pleased with. It doesn't take up much space and will keep a pond clear and healthy. And if room or money is short it will work just fine without a settling chamber.

Don't want to start a pi _ _ing contest here so will say up front that a SC is aways a good thing, "BUT" these sand & gravel filters work very well at trapping and removing fines. Even after a grinding by the pump, and will not clog or channel with the proper maintenance (weekly back-flushing).

Robert

Luck

10-12-2009, 12:30 PM

depends on definition of "filter", if filter is a process of converting old water into new, then only 55 gals bio does that job. The rest are mechanical to remove wastes. that's 5% of filtering water for a 1k gals pond. ratio should be at least 10% with more preferred.

SteveSand/Gravel holds bio well also...55 gallons bio filter-55 gallons s/g (bio/fines)

100 gallons bio for a 1000 gallon pond.

I have a 55 gallon s/g on a 1000 gallon tank stocked heavy in the winter and it does just fine all by itself...

PrettyBoy

10-12-2009, 12:55 PM

Lots of good ideas people have posted, but sometimes people need to realize that not everyone is going to build a proper koi pond. They enjoy what they have and that makes them happy. Sometimes all the arguing is like beating a dead horse.

Personally, being that he seems happy with his pond and just wants to add a little bit of filters that isnt messy and it sounds like he has went the DIY route and wants to get away from it. I would spend the money and get an Eazy Pod. I have used these before and they work great. SC, Mechanical and Bio all built into a super small footprint. Super easy to clean with just the turn of an air knob. The filter can handle a decent bio load off the batt and there is room to put even more K1 bio media in it as well if you plan on expanding. I would recommend this if you can gravity feed, but I do not think you have a bottom drain. If not bottom drain I would recommend a cetus sieve before the Eazy Pod as this will further help filter things out since all solids are being chopped up by the pump. THis route however is on the expensive side as the Eazy Pod will run you around $550 and the Cetus being around $1100. But this would be a killer filtration setup for a small pond