Homemade Biological Pond Filter
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- Опубліковано 30 вер 2024
- A homemade biological pond filter based on a standard filter design using off the shelf products.
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I made this filter about 3-4 years ago and it's amazing!! I'm watching again now to refresh my memory as I'm about to make another one. I want to add that I used lava rocks instead of the bio balls which required running water over them for a few minutes to get rid of all that red dust just in case anyone doesn't want to buy all the bio balls. Happy crafting!
Great job came out beautiful , my only ? You didn't mention anything about the pump used or did you .but still great advice
Hello trevor hi i have been looking for them black connecontions things you got but cant find them and not sure what there called so if you could drop me a line and let me no i would be verry gratefull thanks
dennis hopkins You can find them here: aquariumsupplies.marinedepot.com/search?w=bulkhead%20fitting
I have purchased many items from this site and every transaction was smooth.
Hope this helps, Good luck!
A massive thank you Trevor, I've built this today, took me 30 mins and cost me less than £15 all together (that said, I do have a trade card for supplies, but would still be cheap without), I instantly saw the water coming out of the filter was cleaner, I can't wait till it settles in and works its magic.
I was literally about to spend another £400 on another rubbish filter promising the earth and delivering pants, but then I stumbled upon your video, so glad I did..
To anyone thinking of doing this... DO IT.
You're a legend, thank you
Great idea for sure! There is one thing I noticed that may improve even water flow across the top filter layers; I would think if the holes in the inlet pipe were to be smaller and fewer closer to the inlet and slightly larger and more plentiful further from the inlet, it will even out the pressure in the pipe thus dispersing the water more evenly. As with anything, you may have to experiment with various configurations of hole size and placement to achieve perfect flow.
@gomewex- you can put this filter at the top of your waterfall, you just need to ensure that your pump can deliver water to the filter (I am assuming it can because it is probably doing that now). With respect to cleaning, in the beginning my pond was very dirty so I had to clean the filter material several times during the first 4 weeks. Since then I rinse the filter material around 2-3 times a year (mostly during summer) to clear the debris out. Good luck with your filter if you decide to build one.
Excellent tutorial. Thanks and Be Well.
What grade plastic is that? Is it food grade to be fish friendly or just random cheap plastic that poisons your fish over time!
What water pump do you use for your pond?
HI Trevor, great tutorial thank you. Can you submerge this filter into a pond? I need a filter that can be installed inside my 480 litre pond? The lid can be over the water line but not the body.
that IDEA I can do & be happy about & easy to do too.
superb explanation of what is actually going within the filter system! Just what I needed to see!
Why would you use such a big inlet pipe? Why not just use a 20mm inlet with 20mm drilled pipe arranged into a ring to better distribute the water? Your current setup dumps all of the water in a straight line across the filter foam and the 40mm pipe is way thicker than it needs to be. Other than that oversight the rest of the design seems decent, although your filter media isn't the best, though if you're going for cheap, it's better than nothing.
Thank you! An excellent instructional video. Really helpful for newbies to see and hear the principles of operation and construction clearly explained and delivered with excellent diction! Just one question; what size pump was delivering water from the pond to the filter?
This is an amazing video. For both the beginner and expert pond owners. This is also a priceless video. Thank you for sharing your ingeniuty with the world. I have both extreme large koi ponds and small ponds. I have watched the pond industry and being a numbers person, I am constantly calculating how much money the pond industry is stealing from the good hard working people that just want to set back at the end of the day and enjoy their ponds. It is a blessing to see these DYI projects. Perhaps someday the pond industry will wake up and start lowering prices. But of course I will have long passed and my great grand children will be standing on my bridges feeding my life long passion.
Hannah Hendru is
Hannah Hendru
I am enthused with your teaching techniques. On my way, as a novice, to construct one thanks to you, Trevor. Thank you, sir
wow! i have been watching videos on DIY filters and this is by far one of the best. you explained everything in detail. Hopefully I can pull this off for my soon to be patio pond. Thank you!
Totally agree wiv u Natasha!!!
Very well explained I found the visual diagram explained while drawn very helpful....ur video will save me hundreds of NZ dollars.
Big fishy kisses from my goldies ❤
How many GPH is your power head?
great video, BBQ lava rocks are the best bio media for the bottom
What a great video! thank you for sharing your experience. Is it possible to put plants on top of this system.. similar to aquaponics setup?
instead of the pricey pre-made bulkhead fittings you can use the just regular male and female pvc adapters and sandwich the plastic and cut your own rubber grommet out of soft thick rubber or just use silicone. A lot of useful info on here thanks :D
Is silicone safe to use in a turtle pond?
@@mindya1799 sure, after it dries for at least a day
check out rubber "uni-seals " a few dollars each
Thank you so much for explaining how this works and why you made all of your design choices in such great detail. This was an excellent video.
This is the best diy pond filter video I found! Six months ago I used this video to help build my own filter and it has worked perfectly! Thank you for sharing this info, it was so helpful!! ☺️
love the way you hid the filter.
I know you cant even see its uglyness on your beautiful pond
Just watched this for about an hour straight I think this man knows exactly what he is doing. Time to look at Instagram Models.
I'm thinking that will make water hot when sun is beating
Thank you so much for this video and all your information., I built two of these filters for two differant Koi ponds and they are working great. I have tried several differant manufactored pond kits that did not work for me. Thanks again.
Loooove your video! You had all the elements to help the most non mechanically inclined person (like myself) understand! Thank you!
Home made filter is best filter, the best video you upload I think now anyone can make a filter , I use hand made filter in my pond & it's working perfect
good job! how big of a pump did you use? too lazy to watch 2x thanks
Trevor do you have plans for adding UV to your Bio filter
UV does not work
UV is tried and not trusted anymore
That's exactly the DIY system that I was looking for!! We recently bought a house, with a big pond in the backyard (+6000L). The previous owner never filtered the water nor provided it properly with oxigen (the pond is, according to the neighbors, more than 10 years old), let alone ever cleaned it, with the result that a 30cm thick layer of all kinda crap settled on the bottom of the pond and filled with very dark green mucky and stinking water. We were barely able to see any fish that was surfacing for food. I was able to rescue about 20 fish, all sorts of them, 3 koi's included (I have no idea how they even survived in that stinking water!!) and pumped out most of the water out of the pond. Next step is getting rid of all the yuk and muck on the bottom with buckets, which is gonna be one hell of a backbreaking job of you ask me. ^^ And, because I'm a person who likes DIY, I was wondering how to make a proper working biological filter that would be easy to clean and working properly. And there you are! Tho my tub might have to be bigger, +6000L to clean, as well as maybe a stronger pump, the system stays the same.
Thanks for sharing, buddy!! Cheers!
What size pump do u need for this?
Cool at first but your pond look incredibly dirty ...
Love your video!! Having a hard time deciding which I like better your filter or your workshop!!
This is an excellent video. The diagram at the start made everything very simple to understand, and then watching you construct the filter made the whole project seem completely doable. Thank you. I do have one question--how often does the filter need to be disassembled and cleaned?
Very thorough and concise. I very much appreciate this tutorial video. I will be making this exact same setup! Thank you.
An interesting video, my own home made pond filter was very successful but a very different layout. I used a plastic water butt and made the holes for fittings with a hole saw. I was trying to do it very cheaply but as you know the price of fittings and valves puts the price up!
Hi Trevor, your tutorial is so simple and easy to follow , not sure why some other people make it so complex but yours is straight forward, as a newbie knew nothing about filter and a small budget to play with , I watched many other samples but I chose your method as the best one so far . Thanks for sharing the idea. Cheers
I purchased an all in one filter uv pump and realized that my pond was too filthy for the filter to handle. Used your design to create one similar using the pump I purchased... Great idea.... Thank you..
you didnt explain how it works , i need the explamation
This is what you call a trickle filter, they are also used in saltwater tanks.
Hello Trevor, I have a big ecopond, 10 metres by 10 metres, of which half is the plant regeneration zone and half the swimming pond. I have plenty of tilapia, maybe 500, a mistake I now realise as I struggle keep the water clean. I’m slowly clearing the pond of fish but it’s slow, cast net! The cubic meterage of water is about 300, possibly slightly more. I have a large waterfall for aeration. Everything is home built.
Do you have any advice on how big a biological filter I would need to clean the water? I could incorporate it into the waterfall I think
Thanks for sharing. Does it matter if the outlet is on the length of the tote as oppose of the width?
no
How does the flow rate impact the filtering process. I have a small pond about 5’x12’. About half of the pond is 3’ deep and the rest is about 1’ deep.
It is currently fed by a creek about 12’ in length and an overall decline of about 6’.
I purchased on auction a Flotec 1/2 hp pump. The good news is that for $7 I have a $200 pump. That said the current pump is only 1/4 hp and I’m questioning the impact of stepping up the flow. Also looking for a good filtering solution. Thanks….great info and videos are very well done.
I don’t rate Bioballs at all. Alfagrog is a much better alternative. Alfagrog can be bought for 15kg for £20 there is loads in the sack.
I wonder how well this would work for a duck pool?
Love the video. Wondering though, what kind of pump are you using?
Hello what size tote thingy would you suggest for 100g and 7 baby koi (making a pond next spring so the 100g is only temporary) ty
I need mine shallower and submerged. Will redesign, thanks!
Appreciate the video! You might want to try a drum filter for even better pond care. It cleans the water on its own and needs very little maintenance. It’s also energy-efficient, costing only about 50 cents a month. If you’re looking for an easier way to keep your pond clean, this could be a perfect fit.
I wanted to see if specific parts and pumps for was on your website. But when I click the link on your website for the pond filter I get an critical error message. 😢
Thanks that's a really nicely made filter that anyone could make well done
Have you considered adding some rocks on the top of your filter to keep everything in place?
Excellent video! I'm getting ready to build my own pond in the back yard and was wondering how to set up a filtering system. I just happened to stumble across your video. It answered just about every question I had. Great job Trevor!
Thats not how a wetland filter works and thats just a complete waste of time. Aquascape are screaming watching this
Where did you purchase the water pump from?? And visit also still solar. I really need to know this so I can get it for my pond
Up there with the best and finest expls., well done! I try all this! Richard in Australia
Glue some fake rocks on it and it will disappear into the landscaping. Nice.
its inverted from the profesional biofilters the water comes from the bottom to rise up an flow out of the top dispersing the water evenly across the whole sheets of filters not just the center decent cost saving just need to flip the design in my opinion
Hi after a time the filter started to flow over the top - I am using lava rocks so do I need to take the materials out and clean them - it really cleaned the pool
Excellent, I changed mind. Not buy make myself. Good luck!
poooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
can that filter support 40 pcs koi fish on a 500 gals ( 5- 7 inches in size ) ? will it maintain good p.h and low ammonias? how much water change per week should i do if i have more fishes?
+Seph Raven the other 20 fishes are just temporary though
It depends on the power of your pump
+Seph Raven Hello, your fish will adapt to your normal (tap / well) PH. Remember they have are many breeding generations from their wild cousins. Therefore you should add nothing to your filter or water to alter your normal PH. When biological filtration occurs, there should always be zero ammonia and close to if not always zero nitrites. Some products (and even lava rock) will in time grow anaerobic bacteria and even remove nitrates. Excessive water flow can be the enemy of biological filtration, but his design lessens that possibility. For any "Gold Fish," always think of turning (filtering) the water volume 7 to 10 times per hour. 10 times per hour will be easy for 500 gals. Be Well
No. 500 gallons is way too small for koi to thrive.
@@thechannelivesetupbecausey3585 You have the dumbest name on youtube. That should be your new name. Geezus
Thank you!!!!!! I had an idea using a tote, and you put it all together for me!!!!!!!
Very thorough and concise. thanks for a very complete and informative video on pond filters!
How do you get the bacteria in to the bio balls? Do you need to buy a culture or does it just naturally occur?
That was an excellent job. Thank you.
Ah, a fellow South African! Great video. Thanks so much :)
Thank you sir great video helpful
Thanks Trev for good idea, I will try.
What kind of pump gets the water up to the filter box???
How big of a pond will this filter and how big of a pump do you need
Good job best one so far,Cheers
danny dee mo
After installing this type of filter. My question is now HOW do you stop the algee from growing in my pond??
best thing is an ultraviolet sterilizer. Put it inline AFTER your filter.
Uv sterilizer/light
Dear Mr. Trevor, thanks for a very complete and informative vid on pond filters. I shall make the one you've shown.
Blessings, - pierre from New Mexico
Are you using a pre-filter on your in pond pump prior to pumping to your homemade filter?
+Fred Zehr no pre filter. just pump water direct from pond to filter
How do you avoid your pump from not getting gummed up with pond debris?
@@trevorsworkshop
What pump do you use?
question: how strong is your pump? Litres per hour
How does this work for situations where the water being pumped is a fast waterflow?
How many times did you have to clean it in the first month?
Nice job. About to build an above ground pond myself and I'll be using a combination of commercial and DIY filtration. I don't believe you can ever have too much filtration. 😁 Except of course if you do it to the point where the extra work achieves nothing. Basically I'm just adding more to the biological side of things.
"50 - 100 dollars to make urine filter."
your system does not have dirt draining system
What kind of pump was used?
How many quarts is that tote? If u don't mind me asking.
How does the pump itself bring dirty water into the system without clogging in the first place? I have have a natural pond with trees around it and a bunch of algae/ muck. I've tried copper sulfate and muck-away, but it seems to have gotten worse ( I followed directions) I really need a filtration system, but I feel that the pump itself would get clogged.
Btw, this is by far the best video I've seen on how pumps work. Thank you for that.
Well done. You have inspired me to make one of these. Thanks for sharing!
thank you - I have about 4000 Gal pond with about 1 dozen large koi fish, my question if anyone can help, how often I need to replace or clean the top layer of filters. my pond water is very green and existing commercial filter does not do a good job.
thank you
This is a very interesting and useful video. I hope to make my own now too. Thank-you. One question though, what are the items in the plastic net bags please?, I didn’t recognize what these where. I guess they just have a different name in Europe perhaps?
Dear Trevor, great tutorial, thank you!!
My current position is that I took an existing plunge pool (2.85 x 2.85 x 1m deep) and a full three years ago added Tilapia fish to it :-) I was led to believe that they would consume all the algae but that was wishful thinking. The fish have been happy, have multiplied and come up for food but the green water has prevented me from actually seeing them for well over a year!! Sad, huh?!
I have tried barley grass and various products designed to magically reduce the algae but these have been unfulfilled promises.
The existing pool pump is obviously far too powerful for this job unless I were to somehow do a flush thru the diatomaceous earth filter as a one-off booster - the only problem being that I cannot see the fish so cannot run any pool brush or suction device thru the pond, least of all to the bottom!
My current submersible pump is the largest I have tried so far but seems happier just pushing the water around and at least getting some aeration in the water. However, with current summer temps around 35C this is all rather a test of the Tilapias' tenacity and staying power than anything else.
So, my question to you first of all must be - what size pump are you using? I am using a B.I.C.I.S.A. - 4500, operating at 100W and a flow rate, (oviously) of 4500 l/h and a max Delivery Height of 4,5m.
Any input would be most graciously accepted at this stage, thank you.
12:56 Dragonfly nymphs are voracious aquatic predators and can reduce fish fry survival rate.
Awesome stuff!!! What makes the water crystal clear? Is it the bigger the pump? or the bigger the bucket? Thanks for the info...
What brand of water pump did you use
Awesome...Long forward to making this. I have a very tall waterfall...can I put this on the top of the waterfall and will it still work. Also, how often should I expect to change the filters (clean the filters)? Thank you very much for this wonderful idea!!! It will help me save a TON of money!!!
What about cleaning it? Won't that be a pain?
Wouldn't the overflow defeat the purpose of the filter? The silt and large material will simply wash right back out the large overflow.
I prefer to separate the bio and mechanical filter. Solids to a settling chamber fed by gravity only. Filter material near top of water column. Pump above near top of settling chamber. Pump to spray bar at top of bio filter box full of lightweight high surface media like packing straps. Not rocks please. Water exits bottom of filter into pond or waterfall. Biofilt should never be submerged.
What kind of filter is on the inlet of the pump? Isn't the large particles being filtered before it gets to it?
I have 4 baby butterfly koi's I feed them the Laguna brand small pellets, sometimes they swallow it and spit it out, does that mean the pellets are off/ bad etc. Pls. help. ???
How often should we feed them at that age, my objective is to grow them as big and colourful and quickly as possible. ???
If this is expensive take the pump put it in a pond water planter basket tie wrap wading around it. Keeps tank squeaky clean. Costs 3 quid. Each change afterwards cost 50p
Outstanding job. There is only one thing I would add. The tub container I would spray paint the outside with two coats of black. This will help prevent any algae from over taking the growth inside the tub! After drying buy some bamboo, split the bamboo, get a glue gun, glue the bamboo to the sides and top. To camouflage the bio filter.
Wonderful video and explanation!! I'm working on mine this weekend using a 30 gallon food grade barrel from craighslist
Very nice video sir. Now that's what I call explaining things. got a quick view of your pond your idea is very good but I would of stepped up the size filter box plus a little more power in the pump wouldn't go amiss BUT really like your idea well done sir.
I have built plenty of diy filters for my tanks and pond but recently I learned something for the pond. Using a lowes plastic tote is not a good idea. Get a better one. The one I bought from lowes about 2 years ago fell apart this week. The sunburnt plastic begins to become brittle and slowly breaks down over time. The tote cracked and in the end leaked. His can still be used with something other than a tote. I'm upgrading to a trash can
I'm building a filter like yours. I want to order the bulkheads, as I can't seem to find them in stock in stores around here. I have 1 1/2" pvc for the intake and 2" pvc for the outflow. What size bulkheads to I need to order?