Biofilter in a drum or in a stream?

Hi folks,

I need some help with planning for a new pond.
I am building a 6 x 15 kidney shaped fish pond and was going to fabricate a
biofilter in a large drum.
This would follow the many DIY plans available ...
I was going to hide it inside a 1.25 meter waterfall....complete with access
from the back and plumbing to reverse flush clean the filter....

However, a friend of mine who has had a pond for many years has suggested a
stream with a few deep pools separated by two waterfalls.
He tells me these are capable biofilters, I believe that is what he has, and
it's a new option for me as you can't do that in aquariums...

I am a seasoned aquarist with both Salt and Fresh water aquariums.
So the usual idea of mechanical, chemical and then biological filtration is
standard operating procedure for me.
For the pond I had chosen a skimmer and pail with a net plus a filter in
front of the pump as mechanical filtration.
I was planning on following it with a UV lamp, and then the drum biofilter /
waterfall....

My questions are these:
Is a stream, which I have room for, as good as a crushed gravel 40-gal drum
for a biofilter?
Will the stream require draining and flushing periodically like I had
planned for my drum filter?
If so what is the typical interval and process?

Thanks for any help and suggestions you can provide !
Joe Ficalora

That was 6 feet by 15 feet in size - sorry for the omission !
Joe

" ..." wrote in message
...
Hi folks,

I need some help with planning for a new pond.
I am building a 6 x 15 kidney shaped fish pond and was going to fabricate
a biofilter in a large drum.
This would follow the many DIY plans available ...
I was going to hide it inside a 1.25 meter waterfall....complete with
access from the back and plumbing to reverse flush clean the filter....

However, a friend of mine who has had a pond for many years has suggested
a stream with a few deep pools separated by two waterfalls.
He tells me these are capable biofilters, I believe that is what he has,
and it's a new option for me as you can't do that in aquariums...

I am a seasoned aquarist with both Salt and Fresh water aquariums.
So the usual idea of mechanical, chemical and then biological filtration
is standard operating procedure for me.
For the pond I had chosen a skimmer and pail with a net plus a filter in
front of the pump as mechanical filtration.
I was planning on following it with a UV lamp, and then the drum biofilter
/ waterfall....

My questions are these:
Is a stream, which I have room for, as good as a crushed gravel 40-gal
drum for a biofilter?
Will the stream require draining and flushing periodically like I had
planned for my drum filter?
If so what is the typical interval and process?

Thanks for any help and suggestions you can provide !
Joe Ficalora

Hi Joe,

Just saw your post. Veggie filters are easy and effective, especially
if you can put in a bottom drain. The gravel or lava rock operations
are a collosal pain to clean.

Our pondsite shows the configuration of our pond. A quick Google search
would give you loads of info on veggie filters.

Good luck.

See our pond at: home.bellsouth.net\p\pwp jameshurley, Ask me about Jog
A Thon fundraiser (clears $120+ per child) at: jogathon.net

... wrote:
Hi folks,

I need some help with planning for a new pond.
I am building a 6 x 15 kidney shaped fish pond and was going to fabricate a
biofilter in a large drum.
This would follow the many DIY plans available ...
I was going to hide it inside a 1.25 meter waterfall....complete with access
from the back and plumbing to reverse flush clean the filter....

However, a friend of mine who has had a pond for many years has suggested a
stream with a few deep pools separated by two waterfalls.
He tells me these are capable biofilters, I believe that is what he has, and
it's a new option for me as you can't do that in aquariums...

I am a seasoned aquarist with both Salt and Fresh water aquariums.
So the usual idea of mechanical, chemical and then biological filtration is
standard operating procedure for me.
For the pond I had chosen a skimmer and pail with a net plus a filter in
front of the pump as mechanical filtration.
I was planning on following it with a UV lamp, and then the drum biofilter /
waterfall....

My questions are these:
Is a stream, which I have room for, as good as a crushed gravel 40-gal drum
for a biofilter?
Will the stream require draining and flushing periodically like I had
planned for my drum filter?
If so what is the typical interval and process?

Thanks for any help and suggestions you can provide !
Joe Ficalora

" ..." wrote in message
...
Hi folks,

I need some help with planning for a new pond.
I am building a 6 x 15 kidney shaped fish pond and was going to fabricate
a biofilter in a large drum.
This would follow the many DIY plans available ...
I was going to hide it inside a 1.25 meter waterfall....complete with
access from the back and plumbing to reverse flush clean the filter....

However, a friend of mine who has had a pond for many years has suggested
a stream with a few deep pools separated by two waterfalls.
He tells me these are capable biofilters, I believe that is what he has,
and it's a new option for me as you can't do that in aquariums...

I am a seasoned aquarist with both Salt and Fresh water aquariums.
So the usual idea of mechanical, chemical and then biological filtration
is standard operating procedure for me.
For the pond I had chosen a skimmer and pail with a net plus a filter in
front of the pump as mechanical filtration.
I was planning on following it with a UV lamp, and then the drum biofilter
/ waterfall....

My questions are these:
Is a stream, which I have room for, as good as a crushed gravel 40-gal
drum for a biofilter?
Will the stream require draining and flushing periodically like I had
planned for my drum filter?
If so what is the typical interval and process?

Thanks for any help and suggestions you can provide !
Joe Ficalora


Joe

Everyplace in the system that can collect debris and sediment will. Do
yourself a huge favor and put in bottom drains where applicable. Pond,
Streams, waterfall pools, all filter components. You'll be ever so much
happier you did in the long run. Better still to draw water from pond via
bottom drain into multiple stage filter via gravity with pump housed in
final stage of filtration ( cleanest ) then pump the (clean) water back up
to the falls.

This last arrangement prevents buildup in the pond itself and keeps the pump
from clogging as well as long as the prior filtration stages are designed
well. Don't forget to put a drain in any place where water pools, unless you
like the idea of dredging and vacuuming sludge.. lol

Thank you all for the suggestions !
I wound up doing both a handmade filter and a waterfall plus an upper pool.
Using water hyacinth at the top of the filter and also in the upper pool.
So far the critters all seem happy ...
Joe Ficalora
--------------------
"JoeT" noway@today wrote in message
...

" ..." wrote in message
...
Hi folks,

I need some help with planning for a new pond.
I am building a 6 x 15 kidney shaped fish pond and was going to fabricate
a biofilter in a large drum.
This would follow the many DIY plans available ...
I was going to hide it inside a 1.25 meter waterfall....complete with
access from the back and plumbing to reverse flush clean the filter....

However, a friend of mine who has had a pond for many years has suggested
a stream with a few deep pools separated by two waterfalls.
He tells me these are capable biofilters, I believe that is what he has,
and it's a new option for me as you can't do that in aquariums...

I am a seasoned aquarist with both Salt and Fresh water aquariums.
So the usual idea of mechanical, chemical and then biological filtration
is standard operating procedure for me.
For the pond I had chosen a skimmer and pail with a net plus a filter in
front of the pump as mechanical filtration.
I was planning on following it with a UV lamp, and then the drum
biofilter / waterfall....

My questions are these:
Is a stream, which I have room for, as good as a crushed gravel 40-gal
drum for a biofilter?
Will the stream require draining and flushing periodically like I had
planned for my drum filter?
If so what is the typical interval and process?

Thanks for any help and suggestions you can provide !
Joe Ficalora


Joe

Everyplace in the system that can collect debris and sediment will. Do
yourself a huge favor and put in bottom drains where applicable. Pond,
Streams, waterfall pools, all filter components. You'll be ever so much
happier you did in the long run. Better still to draw water from pond via
bottom drain into multiple stage filter via gravity with pump housed in
final stage of filtration ( cleanest ) then pump the (clean) water back up
to the falls.

This last arrangement prevents buildup in the pond itself and keeps the
pump from clogging as well as long as the prior filtration stages are
designed well. Don't forget to put a drain in any place where water pools,
unless you like the idea of dredging and vacuuming sludge.. lol

" ..." wrote in message
...

My questions are these:
Is a stream, which I have room for, as good as a crushed gravel 40-gal
drum for a biofilter?
Will the stream require draining and flushing periodically like I had
planned for my drum filter?
If so what is the typical interval and process?

I put a bio filter (made from a Rubbermaid stock tank) at the top of my
cascading series of falls only to find that it was probably not necessary. I
temporarily bypassed the tank and found that the stream/falls served the
purpose nicely.

As for flushing the stream, I clean mine annually in the fall. In the last
pool before the water topples into my pond I placed a bottom drain with a
screw-top cover. All I have to do is shut off my pump, open the stream drain
and wash the stream down with a hose just as you would a driveway. It works
great!

Good Luck!
~ Gary

Everyplace in the arrangement that can aggregate bits and debris will. Do yourself a huge favor and put in basal drains area applicable. Pond, Streams, avalanche pools, all clarify components. You'll be anytime so much happier you did in the continued run.

I clean mine annually in the fall.
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