Tips on keeping your garden fish ponds clean

For crystal clear water and healthy fish in your garden pond project, you'll need a good quality biofilter

In order to ensure that your Koi and goldfish live happy, healthy lives, you'll need to install a good quality biofilter in your garden pond. Combined with a UV light, a biofilter will guarantee that your pond has crystal clear water and healthy fish. The trick is to choose the right filter and pump combination for your unique application (see below).

Whether you buy a filter, or make one yourself, don't think you can have healthy fish in your pond without a biofilter. See other articles about the important theory and practice of using biofilters in your pond system. This is critical to the ecosystem of your pond, so don't think you can get by without a filter. But you don't need to spend a lot of money to have a good quality biofilter. In fact, you can make one yourself.

Some additional facts about pond filters:

A filter allows your fish to breath easier and live longer, protecting your valuable investment. Remember you need a pump to supply life-giving oxygen to pond filter

A homemade fish pond filter can be just as good--or even better--than a store-bought unit, and they are not that hard to make.

Fish pond filters remove harmful ammonia and nitrate impurities from your pond water. This is the most important function of a filter, and even if your water is green or murky, it will be a healthy environment for your Koi or goldfish.

The nitrogen cycle occurring within a fish pond filter eliminates these harmful impurities, along with suspended matter, making your pond water cleaner and clearer.

With all the benefits of a good quality biofilter, you should never begin a water gardening project without one. If you're strapped for cash, consider making your own filter from parts purchased at your local home improvement center or hardware store. This is fairly easy to do once you understand the principles and use good pond filter biomedia.

In this article we mean clean water as judged by your fish. For crystal clear water that looks good to the human eye, follow the ultraviolet links. Clear garden pond water is more of a concern for your enjoyment. And keep in mind of you plan on keeping Koi in your pond, you'll need more than just a basic small pond filter.

Garden pond filters and pond pumps

After you've decided on a pump for your pond, the next consideration is how to keep your pond water clean and free of ammonia and nitrate impurities. These elements can be very harmful to your fish, and by applying the principles of biofiltration, you can buy or build the proper filter system and ensure that your pond is a safe and healthy environment for your fish.

Now keep in mind that biofilters are different from basic swimming pool filters, and they serve an entirely different purpose. You need to understand the differences between the two.

• With a swimming pool filter, water is normally pumped through a sand filter that removes solids and particles that remain suspended in the water. This makes the water look clean to the eye, but doesn't address the problem of ammonia and nitrates.  In swimming pools, chlorine is used to kill bacteria and make the water safe to swim in, but of course this is not an option when building a garden pond for fish.

• In garden ponds, no chlorine can be used, and so a biofliter has to be used to remove harmful elements. And by biofilters I don't mean UV pond filters, which are used primarily to kill algae and make the water look crystal clear. 

Think for a moment about the process that's occurring in your garden pond, especially when populated with fish. The fish eat food (or most of it, the remainder is left behind) and then the fish excrete solid and liquid waste into the water. The fish also pass impurities into the water through their gills. This becomes a perfect breeding ground for pathogenic bacteria and other toxic chemicals, and if not removed quickly, your beloved fish basically poison themselves in a very short time.

That's where a biofilter comes into play. Pond systems are small and don't have the purifying advantages of larger ecosystems found in nature.  Modern biofilter units like the Cyprio bioforce filters or Tetra Pond Pressure filters work using the pressure, and they are often combined with UV pond filters to add clear water as well. Another excellent choice is the Oase pond filter. These units are made in Germany, and are of very good quality.

For more information on algae in koi fish ponds, and koi pond algae control. Also review our web pages concerning ultra violet light.

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