In What Order Should The Above Ground Pump, Filter Be For A Backyard Pond

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While there are commercial pond filter systems yous can purchase, many people cull to build their own to save money. You can put together a surprisingly capable pond filtration organisation using commonly found household tools and a few components purchased from your local aquarium supply or pet store.

1
Get a bucket or trash can with a sealable chapeau. Having a sealable chapeau volition help continue other droppings from falling into your filter cloth and preclude the filter from inundation if it starts to drain slowly.^[1]
- 5 gallons (19 L) buckets with sealable lids are bachelor at almost hardware and big retail stores and brand for neat filter housings.
- You can also use similarly sized trash cans or Tupperware containers as long as they have a sealable hat.
2
Purchase a water pump if yous don't already have ane. If yous accept a water pump in your pond for circulation, that pump should suffice. Otherwise, purchase a expert quality pump that's rated for the size of your pond. Most pumps are rated in terms of how many gallons your swimming can hold. If you are unsure, you can find swimming calculators online to aid you determine your swimming'south size in gallons based on its measurements.^[2]
- You don't need to buy a new pump if you have one for apportionment already.
- You can employ either a submersible pump or i that's meant to remain out of the water with a line that goes into the pond.
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3
Lay out where the pump and filter will exist located in relation to the pond. In order to determine how much hose you need to purchase, identify the plastic container that will hold your filter and the water pump where you intend them to exist one time you're finished. And so use a measuring tape to determine how much hose y'all'll need to run i line from the pump to the filter, and another from the filter back into the pond.^[three]
- It's best to position your filter and pump in a shady location. If you tin can identify them under some sort of shelter, that is optimal.
- A submersible pump is meant to be placed in the water, whereas a non-submersible pump should be placed side by side to the filter with the inlet hose placed in the h2o.
- Proceed the filter and pump as close to the water as possible to reduce the amount of hosing the h2o needs to run through under the pump's ability.
4
Buy rubber hose to connect the filter to the h2o pump. Mensurate the diameter of the outlet nozzle on your water pump, then have that measurement to your local hardware store. Purchase safety hose of that inside bore in enough length to run from where the pump will be placed to where yous want to position the filter itself. And so purchase another length of hose for the return line.^[4]
- Keep the measurement for the hose and then know what size hole to cut in the lid.
- Your pump may have come up with the necessary hosing already.
5
Cut a hole in the lid of the container that's only large enough for the hose. Utilise a drill with a hole-saw fleck of the same diameter as the hose to drill a hole through the lid for the hose. If you don't have a drill and the lid is a thin enough fabric, puncture it with a knife. Identify the chapeau on the bucket and printing the knife down through the lid where you intend to run the hose. Once the pocketknife punctures the plastic, utilise it to saw a hole in the lid of the gauge size and shape of the hose.^[5]
- If you don't have a drill, make certain to utilise a sturdy utility knife for cut the plastic, rather than a thin kitchen knife.
- A drill with a hole saw is the recommended mode to make the pigsty.
6
Drill a hole in the side of the container for the water outlet. Brand the hole the aforementioned approximate size the tiptop one, which should exist a snug fit for your hose. The water will flow in from the top, pass through filter media, and so return to the pond via an outlet hose. Choose a spot on the side of the container near 1 inch (2.v cm) from the bottom and use the hole-saw bit on your drill to create an outlet pigsty.^[6]
- Drill the hole most the base of the container, every bit far downwards it equally you tin can go.
- Remove any debris created by drilling from the inside of the container once you're washed.
7
Insert the hoses and seal them with a fish-friendly sealant. Insert the end of 1 hose into the lid and apply a sealant meant for use with aquatic wild animals around the top and lesser of the hole to create a waterproof seal. Then do the same with a length of hose for the hole about the bottom of the container.^[vii]
- You can purchase fish-friendly sealant at larger pet stores or on specialized websites.
- Read the instructions on the sealant yous cull to know how long it needs to cure before you tin move forward.
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one
Cascade a layer of reddish lava rocks into the lesser of the container. The lava rocks will serve as both a means of filtration and a way to hold your other filter media up away from water return nozzle at the bottom of the container. The layer of lava rocks should be just deep enough to comprehend the hole for the return hose.^[viii]
- Yous tin can purchase red lava rocks at most aquarium supply stores or big pet stores.
- Fill up the bottom of the container with lava rocks until the return hose is hidden beneath them.
2
Cut filter material to lucifer the shape of the container. Filter textile oftentimes comes in rolls and is made out of layers of fibroid and fine fabric. Unroll information technology and trace the general shape of the container onto the filter material. Cut the shape out and so repeat that procedure 3 more times until you lot have at least four layers of filter material to place in the container.^[9]
- You can purchase the water filter material at aquarium supply stores or on specialized websites.
- If you lot can't notice filter material, yous can also employ a mesh laundry purse filled with household sponges.
iii
Place the filter material over the lava rocks. Lower a layer of filter textile into the container and position information technology flat on acme of the red lava rocks. Then place each additional layer on top of the previous one so the water has to pass through multiple layers of it before reaching the lava rocks.^[10]
- If you lot have problem getting the filter material to stay on superlative of the rocks, you lot can add together a layer of the metal screening you used at the end of the inlet hose to make it stiffer.
- If yous used a laundry purse and sponges instead, make sure the bag and sponges completely cover the lava rocks.
iv
Seal the top of the container with the lid. The lid will prevent any debris from falling into the filter while also preventing overflow if the filter drains slowly. Once the lid is on the filter, move it to where you intend to set it upwards.^[11]
- Make sure to seal the lid once you put information technology on.
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1
Adhere a plastic screen to the end of the input hose on the pump. The h2o pump y'all put into your pond has an input hose that draws the h2o in. Use the same fish-friendly sealant you used to seal the hoses to the container to glue a metallic screen to the end of the input hose to stop information technology from sucking upwardly large debris. Wrap the screen around the stop of the hose and then apply the sealant to glue it in place.^[12]
- You can utilize whatsoever pliable screen material, including the screening commonly used for windows.
- Purchase the screen at your local hardware store.
2
Connect the pump to the filter inlet. Attach the hose running from the hat of the filter to the outlet on your water pump. Place a hose clench on the hose before you connect information technology, then utilize a Phillips head screwdriver to tighten the clamp over the hose and outlet nozzle to ensure it's secure. At this stage, the pump is non connected to power, so information technology won't function withal.^[13]
- Place both the pump and the filter at the pond's border once they're connected.
iii
Place the water pump in or near the pond and position the filter next to it. If the pump is not designed to be submerged, position it in a covered spot near the water's edge and just submerge the inlet hose. Place the filter nearby on the water's edge. When you turn on the pump, water will catamenia through information technology and into the filter.^[14]
- Submerge the screened cease of the inlet hose in the water.
- Read the packet your pump came in. It will clearly specify if your pump is meant to be submerged in water.
4
Run the filter return hose back into the pond. The lower hose on the filter will allow the filtered water to return back into the swimming. Simply orient the filter so the hole points toward the swimming and run the hose from the hole into the water.^[fifteen]
- This hose returns the clean h2o to the pond later on information technology's been filtered.
- Position this hose as far away from the pump's inlet hose every bit you can.
5
Connect the pump to ability and switch information technology on. Plug the pump into a power source similar an outdoor wall outlet. With the pump running, water volition move into the summit of the filter, pass through the filter material and lava rocks, and dorsum out the return hose.^[sixteen]
- It may take a few minutes for the water to fill the container enough to begin pouring out the return hose.
- If water completely fills the container and does not get out from the return hose, the outlet is blocked by the lava rocks. Disassemble the filter, clear the outlet, and try again.
vi
Clean the filter media every month. Open the lid of the filter and remove the filter material. Rinse information technology thoroughly and then remove the lava rocks. Use a hose to rinse them off completely and then put both filters back into the container.^[17]
- If the pond is very muddied, clean the filter every 2 weeks instead of every month.
- Replace the filter cloth if it becomes likewise muddied to allow water to pass through.
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Question

How can I get rid of algae in my pond?

Scott Johnson is the Possessor and Lead Design Consultant for Concrete Creations, Inc., an honor-winning landscape and pattern company based in the San Diego, California metro area. He has over 30 years of feel in the pool and landscape construction industry and specializes in big manor outdoor environment structure projects. His piece of work has been featured in San Diego Abode & Garden Magazine and on Pool Kings TV Show. He earned a BS caste in Construction Management with an accent in Compages and CAD design from Northern Arizona Academy.

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Expert Answer

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You can ever attribute algae in a pond to the lord's day. If yous desire to get rid of the algae only yous don't want to kill any fish or anything, become an algaecide that'due south safe for fish and information technology'll work just fine. In the bound and summertime, yous almost always get an algae flower, which is totally normal. Don't freak out about those blooms, only use a dose of the algaecide and you'll be fine.
Question

What (if anything) prevents the pump intake from clogging? Exercise I need to put in any kind of screen?

I put my submersible pump inside an upside-down plastic mesh waste handbasket (from the Dollar Store), then wrapped the outside of the basket with nylon window screen. Over the form of the summer I typically have to remove the screen twice and rinse information technology off with a garden hose. This keeps the pump intake from clogging and reduces the number of times the filter media has to be changed as well.
Question

What filtration material do I utilize for this system?

You lot can add Bio-Balls, Bio-Rings, carbon packs, rock and sponge pads, which y'all utilise in your aquarium filters. You lot must layer them on top of each other.
Question

Can fish survive on aquatic plants alone?

Yep, they can. But consider more plants than fish, every bit they volition eat some of the plants.
Question

How do I build an overflow in a pond?

Utilize 5-inch schedule xl PVC white piping, dig a trench on the side of the swimming to the top yous want the water, use five sections of ten feet long pipe and drain information technology off into a lower area.
Question

What size pump volition I demand to pump almost 300 gallons?

It depends on how fast you lot want to pump that 300 gallons and how high. Read dissimilar pump specifications to see their rated GPH (gallons per hour) and pumping heights.
Question

Can this filter arrangement go on the exterior of the pond?

Yes, that is the intention, this filer system is not recommended to be placed inside the pond itself. But the pump that pumps h2o into the filter must be kept in the pond at all times unless being cleaned (must exist turned off for this), to avert the pump called-for out.
Question

Where can I get connectors for intake?

Simply use a piece of screen door screen over the hose end, secure it to the hose with zip ties or picture show framing wire subsequently covering the screening with pantyhose from a dollar store.
Question

How exercise I make clean the filter?

You simply need to rinse the filtration media with pond water.
Question

What are bio assurance and bio rings? Can l make those also?

They tin't be made. They are usually bought and used to break downward fish waste.

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Things You'll Need

Water pump (if you lot don't already have ane)
Plastic container with a sealable lid
Rubber hose
Drill with hole-saw bit
Fish-friendly sealant
Carmine lava rocks
Filter material

About This Article

Article Summary X

To build a pond filter organization, buy a resealable, lidded garbage bin, a rubber hose, and a water pump. Then, position the bin and pump relatively shut to where they will exist in the pond, and cut a hole in the chapeau of that bin that's merely large plenty for the rubber hose to fit into. Next, drill a hole in the side of the container for a water outlet, and seal the hoses into the openings with an animal-safe sealant. Finally, fill the lesser of the container with a layer red lava rocks and a layer of filter cloth cutting to fit the bin over meridian of the rocks. For tips on installing the filter in the pond, read on!

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