I lined a small wire basket with the quilt batting and placed it underneath my waterfall so all the water ran through it. It was easier to replace the batting this way as to start with I was changing it every 2-3 hours because of all the gunk it collected. My pond water looked a soupy green, brown colour to start with but after 10 days it is crystal clear and I can now see the bottom. I can't believe the transformation. I felt I had to post as this was so easy and cheap and I am thrilled with the results.Anyone trying this please persevere as I only have a small pond (6ft x 3ft Aprox) but it did take 10 days to finally clear. Great to see my fish again (not just when they were right at the top) and all this without any nasty chemicals. Thanks for the super idea!
This really, really works. My husband and I bought a house that has a fish pond in front. About 600 gallons. Previous owner could not tell me much about it. It had a submersion pump to a waterfall. There was no type of filtration system. Water was brownish green and murky. There are about 6 goldfish in the pond and some frogs and lily pads. I bought a filter waterfall, suppose to clear pond in a few days, but didn't. Bought a UV filter to clear up algae, helped but pond still murky. I bought a plastic milk carton box for $4 and already had some poly batting. Less than 24 hr water clear and can see bottom of pond. Thank you so, so much for a very cheap solution instead of completely draining pond.
Hey Jamie, we just got a house with a pond with some fishes and tadpoles in it too. Could you please explain again how you cleaned the water? Sorry, I am completely new to this, so I wanted to the know a proper method to take care of the pond with 🐟
I have searched for years and given up that during the summer I would never see the fish much less the bottom of the pond. I have researched online and I have tried all the chemicals without success. I tried this method. Only out $5 for the batting. This worked great! I did not know we could not put a pond out in the middle of an open field. By next day it was crystal clear. I have an in ground pond estimate water to be less than 600 gallons. Now my house is sold!
Thank you so much!! This was a factory what I was looking for because I’m going for a self-sustaining little eco friendly pond and did not want to use chemicals☺️ My pond is only 35 gallons with a small circulating pump for a waterfall feature, it did take a about 3 days for mine to clear but it’s CLEAR!!!!! Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!!! I wish I could share the before and after pics!
just wanted to update. it worked!! i actually just wrapped the batting around my pump in my skimmer, left it alone, woke up this morning to a crystal clear pond. i was able to see everything as if it was a fish tank in my living room. i had an algae problem. i would clean everything and it would grow back in 2 days. murky/dirty green water. i did your method and wow. Enough said. p.s 1500 gallon pond. Thanks Melissa J. Will
This turned my green pond into a very healthy looking pond! I can't believe the solution was as simple as this, using a couple free items I had already to expand the surface area of the filter. An expensive UV light didn't work. Expensive bacteria colonies didn't work. Complex filtering options didn't work either, but this simple idea keeps my pond nice and clear. It's over the 1000g size but works. Also I found a way to make this easier: I only wrap 4 sides of the crate which is easier to do. While not all the water goes through the filter before going into the pump, it still works well and the filter media becomes dark green. I also place this in a shallow part of my pond, allowing the top to work as a surface skimmer for leaves.
We have a fairly large pond so it has taken a week or two, but my pond is clearing quickly now. I can see the bottom of the pond. As well as using the batting, I put pebbles and stones in the bottom of the pond and bought a few more plants. I'm delighted to be able to see my fish again. Thank you Melissa.
I can't believe this worked. Your video + 20 minutes of my time and less than $20 of tools saved me from paying thousands in contractor costs. Thank you so much.
Great idea. You inspired me to build my own micro filter using a tiny waterpump inside a vase stuffed with filter medium. Now i have a tiny pond spring that filters the water and no pipes or hoses visible. Thank you!
I am so happy I found this video. I will definitely try this. My pond is pea soup and we had to turn off the waterfall because of leaking. The filtering waterfall did an amazing job but the water loss was not worth it in the long run. We unfortunately inherited this problem when we bought the house. It’s so well established that a complete remake is not an interest or worth it. I’ve tried to find ways to bypass the waterfall and recreate a smaller one….. still researching at this point. I do like this method I’ve not seen it before. My pond is 2500 gallons and needs help. I do have a bog filtering system which is helping… 🙌 thank you for the amazing tip!
I can't believe it thank you so much I tried so many things. We have a huge half wine barrel as fish pond couldn't get it clean no matter what we tried. We tried so many things but this worked so well. It took a few day but we can now enjoy watching our fish thank you xx
Thank you for this video.. our pond was green as pea soup.. a few hours later, crystal clear!! I am amazed and very grateful that we came across this video!
Found you on the net. having recently had my 1500 gallon pond relined and a new Eazypod filter system installed I was disappointed to not be able to see my expensive koi because of green water. Pond experts said that it could be the weather, too many fish, poor water quality or bad filtration. Made up a unit using an inexpensive pump and within two days I was seeing some change in the water colour. After 3 days I decided to lift the unit and change the material around the crate. The amount of green algae collected on the outside of the unit was amazing. I'm thinking that within the next week I'll be able to see the bottom of my pond and all the fish therein. Thank you Melissa
I have a 1000+ gallons with a waterfall and this method worked perfectly in 2 days.... thank you so much was so frustrated 🥴 now I am happy 😁 and so are fish....
I've been trying to get my pond clear for years. I tried this method and my pond was crystal clear after 3 days. The difference is amazing without chemicals of any kind. Wish that I could add pictures.
Hi I have had a murky pond for years and I took your advice and after about 4 changes of the padding a miracle happened and i can see the fish!!! Yippee. Thank you very much. Surrey. England
I have my pump in a cage made of chicken wire, wrapped in polyester fiberfill. When it gets covered in gunk, I take the cage out of the water, hose the gunk off with the jet spray, and put it back in. No need for new fiberfill each time.
I followed the concept and modified to fit my 3600 gallon koi pond which has two skimmers. I went to Michael's and bought some thicker rectangular polyester batting for cushions and cut them to fit into my skimmer netting. Had to clean the polyester pads multiple times, but the pond is getting cleaner. The picture of the dirty batting is from running about 12 hours. Thank you for sharing your video!
Lady this is so good and simple and I can now hardly wait to try it on all my ponds. I have 3 and have had this hobby for years but am in Australia and it is only just getting warm down my way. Spring is here and temperatures will rise quickly. I have watched many now but You are the best! Richard
Ok so I was super skeptical. I have a 10x10'pond that has never been cleaned. I never hoped i could see the bottom. 10h. Thats what it took. I cant believe it. This is amazing. THANK YOU
I tried this in my pond: milk crate and batting as you describe. Left it running for 24hrs and it had absolutely no effect. On a plus note, I have spoken to a number of people who swear by the batting as a suitable replacement for their pump filters.
This method is incomplete. You have to cut batting to fit inside, then a layer of lava rock then pump sits on lava rock. Then fill will lava rock and put batting over the top of the assembly. I place 2 large flat stones on top so the top piece doesn't come off. Sure fire way to clean it,. But it mucks up quick if you have a 2000 gallon per hour waterfall pump like me. I also have a 250gph fountain pump with box filter from pond master. I clean both of these a couple times a week. I have furnace filter material rather than quilt batting. Quilt batting seems to fall apart fairly fast and get sucked into the pump, even polyester quilt batting.
I have been telling people this since 2004 .I put the crate up in my waterfall filter and let the water run into it and this way you don't have this heavy crate to pull out .My pond is over 5000 gallon pond .The weight of pulling a crate out of even 100 gallons is a lot and it could clog up the pump inlet .I clean my quilt batting with a hose and water goes in my garden and then dip the quilt batting in peroxide and water and reuse and that water goes in my garden also
Thank you for your help with your advice on this filter. Is there any way that I can get the filter out of pond without the guck going back into my pond
Cleared overnight, thankyou . Simply ran the pond water through the batting which was squashed into a pond planter basket , which i sat on a bbq grill so the clean water can run back into the pond.
This worked my pond Is so much cleaner... I can’t add photos but I used an old pump and a hamster cage to build an independent unit that I can use anytime separate from my pond pump.
I was spending approximately 3 hours every weekend trying to get my pond back to looking beautiful. I would empty 90% of existing (murky) water, topped up the balance of the 10% water, diluting with tap water as it was being topped up. Next weekend - rinse and repeat ... I tried this method and was totally blown away. My pond went from very murky and I could not see the bottom on the pond to crystal clear within days. Absolutely amazing. I tried this as a last resort but this is absolutely brilliant and works incredibly well.
THE BEST! For a couple of years now I have tried unsuccessfully to clean up the cloudy water in my tiny pond. I have tried just about EVERYTHING natural and chemical -(LOL) without success. I wrapped my pump cage in a bit of polyester and voila! within four hours my water was pleasantly clear. Amazing! Thank you, thank you - the cloudy water has bothered me for a long time.
Great to hear! I hesitate to recommend it for larger ponds simply because, if they are really green, it may take a very long time and whole lotta quilt batting to clear it. . Congrats on your clear pond water.
@@empressofdirt Yeah, I totally understand that. Ours was just murky from putting in new plantings, and we have a really good size pump, so this trick worked under those circumstances.
I used your method over night on our 600 gallon pond. This morning it seems there is really no difference, though the batting is clearly catching the gunk. So, removed the contraptionI and rinsed the batting clean. I am going to put it back together today and keep running if for the next couple days, changing the batting as needed. I love the set up, and see exactly why it should work. I am concerned that since i (stupidly) put sand in the bottom of my 600 gallon pond that the sand is producing dust that will not clear up. I’m wondering if the sand is my problem and wondering if I should remove it and replace with stones?
This is fantastic, I used old pillow filling. It cleared our 1000 litre pond over night. So glad I found this chemical free budget friendly video. Thank you.
It works with mine. Had a terrible pea soup colored pond water few weeks ago that I can no longer ser my kois.and then I tried doing this process. After overnight of circulating, my pond water became clear and can now see my koi. 😊
I have done the method here when I need to add an extra pump for circulation. But I have also used the batting at the bottom of the waterfall, in the skimmer (catches most of the gunk) and in a small waterfall that is fed from the uvlight. Most important is to always clean out those filters. Sometimes its everyday or weekly. But it really, really, really, does work. I live in san diego and its almost sunny here. I have no plants in my pond and it gets full sun.
Wow, thank you so much, my husband , and I were trying to come up with a good , safe, for the fish , way to filter the pond...I am a quilter, so I had a whole container of left over quilt batting...some , polyester...what a great idea...smart girl...
OMG, Totally ROCKS! So fed up with trying to strain, re-do water, etc.-- Going to get started now. Thanks so much for a simple way to fix this stinking pond!
I use this the quilt for my koi pond and it works beautifully. I replaced the sponge in the filter with the quilt and wash out or replace every 2 weeks when I do a water change.Keeps the pond clear.
Excellent - because, with the large area of the filter material, at any point, the water will pass thru at a very slow rate & thus not ingest the pond insects (which I wish to keep - no fish here). Also, I have added 2 small barley straw bales to help clear the water biologically.
Hello Mellisa , thanks for taking the time to show this simple yet effective solution. Once the pond is clear it would be great to connect this up to some sort of murky water switch (maybe optical) and then it'll come on and clear the pond automatically if it starts to murk up again. I have a couple of questions that you may know the answer to. I've been told that keeping a good sized colony of Daphnia in the pond will keep it healthy and will help keep the algae growth down. Have you tired this ? does it work and if you do have Daphnia does this type of filtration also filter out the Daphnia? Thanks
Thank you for the idea. I have a 5 by 12 goldfish pond. I couldn't see a single rock on the bottom two days ago. Now I can. I used a mini crate for my pump. It fit perfectly and was easier to handle. And it worked. Only now I have new problem. This morning my goldfish decided that the polyester material is a good place to lay eggs.
Quick question..... how do you get the batting out without letting the sludge back in the clean water. It worked great but I can't remove the dirty one
Hi, this really works I did it 6pm next morning clear as can be I can a 75 gallon with 2 red ears sliders and a 800gph pump 20 bucks from Amazon the "pump"
The procedure for turning murky water to clear water presented in this video is extremely accurate. You only need two things, 1)the batting and 2) activ(ated) charcoal, and of course a pump to move the water through those two things. It doesn't matter where you place those 2 things in relation to the flow of water, as long as the water passes through them at some point. If you don't want to see the batting or don't have a space above the water to place the filter and carbon, choose a setup like this video shows, pull the water through the batting and charcoal on the way to the pump. I had let my 10'x10' pond sit for a year, no fish, no plants, and an oak tree dropping leaves and pollen all year long, it was murkier than this lady's. Not wanting to disturb my setup, I disconnected the hose from the back of my waterfall and ran the hose outlet into a temporary filter setup consisting of a broken laundry basket with holes drilled in the bottom, dropped in two layers of 0.75" generic pond filter batting and old socks full of activated carbon, tied in a knot at the end. The thing rested on a 4x4 post I laid across the pond. Same concept as what is presented here just in a different part of the water cycle. Took a week but the water is now crystal clear. To note: I also have a $1000+ pond filter system, it's the same thing, just with a built in UV light. All you need to do is run the water through those two things, doesn't matter what amount of water you have, all that influences is amount of those two things you go through in a year. My temporary setup is ugly and once I'm happy with the clarity I'll design a box behind the waterfall that does the same thing but out of sight. I've even seen the boxes for sale. You can even run the water through a clear section of hose and place a plug in UV light bulb next to it to get the same affect.
Great I put a pond planter basket in the top of the waterfall directly under the hose. Had to change it a lot at first but after three days you can now see the bottom of the pond.
I have a submercible pump that connects to filter box . Box has charcoal filter 12 x 12 and poly fill coarser for top. 2 layers. The fountain attachment comes out of small pump with waterfall attachment. pond is 4 x 6 by 18 deep. 2 goldfish 1 frog. Had it for years no chemicals use 10 % drain weekly method. Everything fine crystal clear for month or so then over nite it starts to change within couple days completely cloudy. What makes it change so suddenly. Too much rain? Too hot too humid? It is in full sun til about 5pm. I pull box and pump out wkly and clean when i do water 10 % change. I have always done it this way.
That's a great idea ,how do you get the polyester filter out without it releasing the dirt back into the pond or does it stay intact well you lift it out .Also do you think it would be good to add rocks in the milk create for extra filtering , putting in a large pond 12x10 by about 3 feet deep, no fish I'd like to swim in it to no chemicals and I'm off grid so pump won't be running continuously, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated enjoyed your video Thanks Dale
To remove filter, I lift the whole thing into a plastic tub placed next to it to catch drips. This filter is intended as a fast way to pull gunk out of water--not sure how rocks would help in short term. If off-grid and not running pump all the time, you could manually dump water through batting to catch gunk. Could be refreshing on a warm day. :)
Thank you! I needed a chemical free way to clear our small backyard pond because our genius dogs drink from it. I used this method overnight and can see to the bottom. Thank you!
Brilliant design! This solution seems beautifully simple! I would like to use it for the pond in the garden at my kids' school. I have a few questions though. 1. How often do you need to change the batting? 2. How do you dispose of the used batting? I hate to generate non-compostable waste unless absolutely necessary. 3. How well does this system work in a place with snowy, icy winters like New England? Do you have any tips about pond maintenance through the winter? Thank you for sharing this amazing technique!
Hi Betty, You may want to read the article I wrote about this method here: empressofdirt.net/clean-murky-pond-water/ It has more details. 1) The batting is changed when the water flow starts to diminish. This will be different for every pond--depends on how mucky it is. 2) When creating this method I tested a variety of items including cotton batting. It did not pass the test because it clogged quickly and could not manage large volumes of water before replacement was needed. The batting that works best is synthetic. Some people wash out the gunk and reuse the batting many times over. 3) I live in Canada. I find no need to do this method during the winter because algae doesn't grow in the cold months. I resume using it as temperatures warm in spring. I have shared all my winter pond tips here: empressofdirt.net/how-to-care-for-a-winter-pond/ Best wishes,
Wow great idea. Heading to the store now to grab supplies. We are trying something a little different. We're hoping your great idea helps keep our ducks bath clean! Can't see why not! Thanks.....
will this help pull grains of sand out of the water, i have some of that that fell in when i was putting it around my preform and i also have been getting some droppings from different faraway trees. does the bigger stuff clump and stick to the filter?
I am going to build this today. A few questions. In the video, you did not put the batting around the bottom of the crate. Should the batting also be wrapped around the bottom as well to completely cover all holes of the milk crate? Can I use a submersible sump pump for this? I already have one and can attach a small garden hose and then adapt a larger hose to it? Thank you. Great video. I hope it works.
Thank you for this, best video I've seen on the subject this morning, but I only have a small sump pond which feeds a cascading stream. My issue is that the water is drunk by my dog and we're worried it's what makes her sick continuously ( vet thinks maybe) I'm going to try your method at the top as there is no space in the sump and flow the water through and then down the cascades. I'll let you know how successful it is, thank you again👍👍👍
Never, no matter the color of water, from our farms, to city living, to backyard ponds, have our dogs gotten sick from water... Hope there is not something else to worry about...
Certain blue green algae can kill dogs when they drink it. Happens every few years in lakes in Texas. It’s rare, but not impossible a dog could get sick from pond water. Dogs will also eat pretty much anything so it’s a wonder most of them are ok most of the time.
Our pond was almost taken over by lily pads . Beautiful as the flowers were , we were shocked at the huge hay like bail of the root system that was taking up a large portion of our pond ! We were advised by a local pond guy to put on hip waders and enter the pond every other day and as gently as possible reduce the lily pads . We took over half of them out but the amount of soil attached really turned the pond water muddy . We were assured that by buying a great quality filter of the size we did the water would clear within a few days . Should we try your method of clearing the water before having to remove the Koi ?
The lilypads might oxygenate the water and consume co2 and put out other beneficial emissions. They also likely prevent the evaporation of water, possibly more than they take from the pond. Just some ideas
I have a 1000 gallon pond that had not been touched in atleast 6 years when we bought our home . 3 weeks ago we bought a BioSmart 5000 filter and also added a Aqua scape2 outlet aerator kit . The water still won’t clear and all the sludge from the bottom of the pond is filling up our filter so it’s not clearing the water. Hoping you have a suggestion on what we should do ? We purchased 4 lovely large Koi and we worry the muddy water will harm them
Hi great video, i have tried this Method i used a cloths plastic basket to put the pump in and wrapped the batting round as you did, it has been in my pond about 20 hours now and i see no difference i took it out and it does have some dirt on it but doesn't seem to be clearing the pond its only about 350 gallons am i doing anything wrong.thanks steve.
Madam what can I say after spending a small fortune on chemicals ..I bought a box with holes in and a bungee cord some wadding and it worked, thank you so much, am just about to change the wadding for some fresh stuff, my wife thinks you are the bees knees x
Thanks for this. i just inherited a small fish garden pond. with almost no instructions to keep it going. it’s already turned brown and i’m going to try this to get it clear again! do you have any suggestions to keep it clear?
Yes, important things include using a recirculating pump to keep the water running and oxygen circulating. Also, prevent debris like leaves from getting in the water. And, if there are fish, follow guidelines for an appropriate number based on the size of the pond (too many is bad for fish and creates a lot of waste in the water). I also use the quilt batting trick ongoing to continuously filter out excess algae. I have more pond tips here including a free tip sheet: empressofdirt.net/advice-for-starting-a-new-garden-pond/
what about the algae and gunk on the bottom? And, can you advise on how much plants can/should be in the pond? I have water reeds and lillies - they look beautiful but they cover half the pond. Thanks
Is it ok to assemble the batting and basket in the water? My pump hose is covered by too many rocks to disassemble the pump and then reattach in the pond.
I lined a small wire basket with the quilt batting and placed it underneath my waterfall so all the water ran through it. It was easier to replace the batting this way as to start with I was changing it every 2-3 hours because of all the gunk it collected. My pond water looked a soupy green, brown colour to start with but after 10 days it is crystal clear and I can now see the bottom. I can't believe the transformation. I felt I had to post as this was so easy and cheap and I am thrilled with the results.Anyone trying this please persevere as I only have a small pond (6ft x 3ft Aprox) but it did take 10 days to finally clear. Great to see my fish again (not just when they were right at the top) and all this without any nasty chemicals. Thanks for the super idea!
This really, really works. My husband and I bought a house that has a fish pond in front. About 600 gallons. Previous owner could not tell me much about it. It had a submersion pump to a waterfall. There was no type of filtration system. Water was brownish green and murky. There are about 6 goldfish in the pond and some frogs and lily pads. I bought a filter waterfall, suppose to clear pond in a few days, but didn't. Bought a UV filter to clear up algae, helped but pond still murky. I bought a plastic milk carton box for $4 and already had some poly batting. Less than 24 hr water clear and can see bottom of pond. Thank you so, so much for a very cheap solution instead of completely draining pond.
Great to hear! It's simple but when it works it's so satisfying. I hope the fish enjoy their new view. :)
Hey Jamie, we just got a house with a pond with some fishes and tadpoles in it too. Could you please explain again how you cleaned the water? Sorry, I am completely new to this, so I wanted to the know a proper method to take care of the pond with 🐟
You are a Golden Girl. So smart of an idea. Just wow
@@empressofdirt hi does this also remove nitrates?
@@benchau3864 Hi Ben, this method doesn't "remove" anything. The batting just acts as a filter to catch large algae particles.
I have searched for years and given up that during the summer I would never see the fish much less the bottom of the pond. I have researched online and I have tried all the chemicals without success. I tried this method. Only out $5 for the batting. This worked great! I did not know we could not put a pond out in the middle of an open field. By next day it was crystal clear. I have an in ground pond estimate water to be less than 600 gallons. Now my house is sold!
Thank you so much!! This was a factory what I was looking for because I’m going for a self-sustaining little eco friendly pond and did not want to use chemicals☺️ My pond is only 35 gallons with a small circulating pump for a waterfall feature, it did take a about 3 days for mine to clear but it’s CLEAR!!!!! Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!!!! I wish I could share the before and after pics!
just wanted to update. it worked!! i actually just wrapped the batting around my pump in my skimmer, left it alone, woke up this morning to a crystal clear pond. i was able to see everything as if it was a fish tank in my living room. i had an algae problem. i would clean everything and it would grow back in 2 days. murky/dirty green water. i did your method and wow. Enough said.
p.s 1500 gallon pond. Thanks Melissa J. Will
Really works!! 1400 gallon pond. Could not see the pump covered in batting. Within 20 mnutes noticable. 1 hour clear. Amazing!
Excellent!
It works! From zero visibility water to 90% clear in just 7 hours. Thank you for sharing this tip!
This turned my green pond into a very healthy looking pond! I can't believe the solution was as simple as this, using a couple free items I had already to expand the surface area of the filter.
An expensive UV light didn't work. Expensive bacteria colonies didn't work. Complex filtering options didn't work either, but this simple idea keeps my pond nice and clear. It's over the 1000g size but works.
Also I found a way to make this easier: I only wrap 4 sides of the crate which is easier to do. While not all the water goes through the filter before going into the pump, it still works well and the filter media becomes dark green. I also place this in a shallow part of my pond, allowing the top to work as a surface skimmer for leaves.
Can you please give me some details. I have similar problem with my pond. Where did you buy them from. The type of pump etc. Thanks
Now see....that was one of the best pond vids I've seen so far, I'm new to this and trying to figure it all out without having to pay a professional
me too
We have a fairly large pond so it has taken a week or two, but my pond is clearing quickly now. I can see the bottom of the pond. As well as using the batting, I put pebbles and stones in the bottom of the pond and bought a few more plants. I'm delighted to be able to see my fish again. Thank you Melissa.
Glad it's helping. Always nice when the fish are visible again!
The batting really works! I have a waterfall and I put batting inside the waterfall! It’s easy to remove and apply clean!
I can't believe this worked. Your video + 20 minutes of my time and less than $20 of tools saved me from paying thousands in contractor costs. Thank you so much.
Great to hear! Thanks.
Thank you so much! I tried this method and my pond cleared overnight! I keep a whole bag of quilt batting in my bio filter now. 👌🏽👌🏽
Great idea. You inspired me to build my own micro filter using a tiny waterpump inside a vase stuffed with filter medium. Now i have a tiny pond spring that filters the water and no pipes or hoses visible. Thank you!
This worked amazingly well, my pond was like pea soup, a week later its crystal clear, I can actually see my fish! Thank you!
Great to hear! And hello to your fish. :)
I am so happy I found this video. I will definitely try this. My pond is pea soup and we had to turn off the waterfall because of leaking. The filtering waterfall did an amazing job but the water loss was not worth it in the long run. We unfortunately inherited this problem when we bought the house. It’s so well established that a complete remake is not an interest or worth it. I’ve tried to find ways to bypass the waterfall and recreate a smaller one….. still researching at this point. I do like this method I’ve not seen it before. My pond is 2500 gallons and needs help. I do have a bog filtering system which is helping… 🙌 thank you for the amazing tip!
Ok this works like a dream! I put the batting into my existing box filter, instead of the crap filters that came with the unit. Crystal clear!!
I can't believe it thank you so much I tried so many things.
We have a huge half wine barrel as fish pond couldn't get it clean no matter what we tried.
We tried so many things but this worked so well. It took a few day but we can now enjoy watching our fish thank you xx
Thank you for this video.. our pond was green as pea soup.. a few hours later, crystal clear!! I am amazed and very grateful that we came across this video!
I tried this today on my pond 6500 L and I'm thrilled with the result!
Found you on the net. having recently had my 1500 gallon pond relined and a new Eazypod filter system installed I was disappointed to not be able to see my expensive koi because of green water. Pond experts said that it could be the weather, too many fish, poor water quality or bad filtration. Made up a unit using an inexpensive pump and within two days I was seeing some change in the water colour. After 3 days I decided to lift the unit and change the material around the crate. The amount of green algae collected on the outside of the unit was amazing. I'm thinking that within the next week I'll be able to see the bottom of my pond and all the fish therein. Thank you Melissa
Used this method over the weekend and I am pleasantly surprised how well it worked!! Thank you for sharing!!
If you put bio balls in it helps with plants and keeps it clean because the good bacteria that grows on the bioballs 😊😊
I have a 1000+ gallons with a waterfall and this method worked perfectly in 2 days.... thank you so much was so frustrated 🥴 now I am happy 😁 and so are fish....
I've been trying to get my pond clear for years. I tried this method and my pond was crystal clear after 3 days. The difference is amazing without chemicals of any kind. Wish that I could add pictures.
Hi I have had a murky pond for years and I took your advice and after about 4 changes of the padding a miracle happened and i can see the fish!!! Yippee. Thank you very much. Surrey. England
Followed your instructions and from a luminous pea green to a much healthier looking color in 11 hours.
Size of pond is 21 foot by 10 foot depth 4 foot /pump is a pondXpert pondpush 8000 I run the pump through a filter system too.
I have my pump in a cage made of chicken wire, wrapped in polyester fiberfill. When it gets covered in gunk, I take the cage out of the water, hose the gunk off with the jet spray, and put it back in. No need for new fiberfill each time.
I followed the concept and modified to fit my 3600 gallon koi pond which has two skimmers. I went to Michael's and bought some thicker rectangular polyester batting for cushions and cut them to fit into my skimmer netting. Had to clean the polyester pads multiple times, but the pond is getting cleaner. The picture of the dirty batting is from running about 12 hours. Thank you for sharing your video!
Hi are you in Perth?
Amazing...I tried this yesterday and it cleared my pond up.. I am so surprised...thank you so much!
Nice to hear, thanks!
Lady this is so good and simple and I can now hardly wait to try it on all my ponds. I have 3 and have had this hobby for years but am in Australia and it is only just getting warm down my way. Spring is here and temperatures will rise quickly. I have watched many now but You are the best! Richard
Ok so I was super skeptical. I have a 10x10'pond that has never been cleaned. I never hoped i could see the bottom. 10h. Thats what it took. I cant believe it. This is amazing. THANK YOU
What pump did you use
Thank you...I'll be heading to a store tomorrow to get this set up
Thank you for sharing this idea! I have been struggling this entire summer with clear water. Within 2 hours the water was completely clear!
I tried this in my pond: milk crate and batting as you describe. Left it running for 24hrs and it had absolutely no effect. On a plus note, I have spoken to a number of people who swear by the batting as a suitable replacement for their pump filters.
This method is incomplete. You have to cut batting to fit inside, then a layer of lava rock then pump sits on lava rock. Then fill will lava rock and put batting over the top of the assembly. I place 2 large flat stones on top so the top piece doesn't come off. Sure fire way to clean it,. But it mucks up quick if you have a 2000 gallon per hour waterfall pump like me. I also have a 250gph fountain pump with box filter from pond master. I clean both of these a couple times a week. I have furnace filter material rather than quilt batting. Quilt batting seems to fall apart fairly fast and get sucked into the pump, even polyester quilt batting.
I have been telling people this since 2004 .I put the crate up in my waterfall filter and let the water run into it and this way you don't have this heavy crate to pull out .My pond is over 5000 gallon pond .The weight of pulling a crate out of even 100 gallons is a lot and it could clog up the pump inlet .I clean my quilt batting with a hose and water goes in my garden and then dip the quilt batting in peroxide and water and reuse and that water goes in my garden also
hi, I am going to try your idea which seems very sensible to me. What weight if quilt do you use
Im making a pond soon and want to use this idea I think is a good idea to put near the top of fountain for easy access
I also found that its an unwieldy way of cleaning ,so I put my filetr also on the discharge side of the pump,and cleaned with my power jet
Allan
Can you please post up a video of your setup my man?
@@TruthIsNot4Sale how did it go
Thank you for your help with your advice on this filter. Is there any way that I can get the filter out of pond without the guck going back into my pond
Yes. Lift it directly into a plastic tub.
I’m definitely going to try this ! Thank you for a to the point no non sense video
Completely works! Our pond was Swamp like and now it's crystal clear! Thanks.
Thanks for sharing this video, tried this on my pond, and after about 2weeks and 3changes of badding it's crystal clear for the first time ,
Thank you! Can you show us where you put the milk crate and how you got it to blend in with the pond? I love your garden!
Cleared overnight, thankyou . Simply ran the pond water through the batting which was squashed into a pond planter basket , which i sat on a bbq grill so the clean water can run back into the pond.
Great idea , thankyou.
After two days the water is much much clearer. Very happy with the results. Thank you.
This worked my pond Is so much cleaner... I can’t add photos but I used an old pump and a hamster cage to build an independent unit that I can use anytime separate from my pond pump.
Can you send few more videos ... my wapp no +91 9830332103
I was spending approximately 3 hours every weekend trying to get my pond back to looking beautiful. I would empty 90% of existing (murky) water, topped up the balance of the 10% water, diluting with tap water as it was being topped up. Next weekend - rinse and repeat ...
I tried this method and was totally blown away. My pond went from very murky and I could not see the bottom on the pond to crystal clear within days. Absolutely amazing. I tried this as a last resort but this is absolutely brilliant and works incredibly well.
Excellent! Great to hear.
THE BEST! For a couple of years now I have tried unsuccessfully to clean up the cloudy water in my tiny pond. I have tried just about EVERYTHING natural and chemical -(LOL) without success. I wrapped my pump cage in a bit of polyester and voila! within four hours my water was pleasantly clear. Amazing! Thank you, thank you - the cloudy water has bothered me for a long time.
Yay!!!!!! Very happy for you and your pond. Thanks for letting us know. :)
Thank you - the pond cleared within 4 hours!!
Great to hear!
Thanks for sharing! This worked very quickly and I can now see my Fish!
Great to hear!
My (new) pond is much bigger than 1000 gallons (it was our old pool), and this method still worked REALLY well! Thank you for sharing this trick!!!
Great to hear! I hesitate to recommend it for larger ponds simply because, if they are really green, it may take a very long time and whole lotta quilt batting to clear it. . Congrats on your clear pond water.
@@empressofdirt Yeah, I totally understand that. Ours was just murky from putting in new plantings, and we have a really good size pump, so this trick worked under those circumstances.
I used your method over night on our 600 gallon pond. This morning it seems there is really no difference, though the batting is clearly catching the gunk. So, removed the contraptionI and rinsed the batting clean. I am going to put it back together today and keep running if for the next couple days, changing the batting as needed. I love the set up, and see exactly why it should work. I am concerned that since i (stupidly) put sand in the bottom of my 600 gallon pond that the sand is producing dust that will not clear up. I’m wondering if the sand is my problem and wondering if I should remove it and replace with stones?
Thank you, it really works, I have tried many things without success but this is simple and has cleared by pond unbelievably
Fantastic. Thanks for letting us know. And enjoy your pond!
Thanks for the quick reply. Our pond is 1000 gallons and the pump is 1000 GPH. I’ll leave it over night & check it tomorrow. Lynn Mc
This totally works! Thank you so much! My pond has looked like pea soup for months and used your advice this morning and my pond is looking great.
Yay! Great to hear. It's so satisfying when it clears as hoped. Thanks for letting us know.
This is fantastic, I used old pillow filling. It cleared our 1000 litre pond over night. So glad I found this chemical free budget friendly video. Thank you.
It works with mine. Had a terrible pea soup colored pond water few weeks ago that I can no longer ser my kois.and then I tried doing this process. After overnight of circulating, my pond water became clear and can now see my koi. 😊
I have done the method here when I need to add an extra pump for circulation. But I have also used the batting at the bottom of the waterfall, in the skimmer (catches most of the gunk) and in a small waterfall that is fed from the uvlight. Most important is to always clean out those filters. Sometimes its everyday or weekly. But it really, really, really, does work. I live in san diego and its almost sunny here. I have no plants in my pond and it gets full sun.
Wow, thank you so much, my husband , and I were trying to come up with a good , safe, for the fish , way to filter the pond...I am a quilter, so I had a whole container of left over quilt batting...some , polyester...what a great idea...smart girl...
Thanks Melissa for sharing such wonderful method. I was thinking how to make the water clear in my small pond. Thank you again, from Sri Lanka,
Hi um also from sri lanka did u try this out?
@@sihina4169 not yet. But I will do this
I've been working on my pond for a month now every day it's getting better but I want it way better I'm so excited to try this out thanks so much
I have a 1500 gallon pond and I just set this up today and put some in my water fall too hopefully it works thanks for the help 👌
Excellent illustrated video !! Saludos desde Cuzco 🇵🇪
OMG, Totally ROCKS! So fed up with trying to strain, re-do water, etc.-- Going to get started now. Thanks so much for a simple way to fix this stinking pond!
I use this the quilt for my koi pond and it works beautifully. I replaced the sponge in the filter with the quilt and wash out or replace every 2 weeks when I do a water change.Keeps the pond clear.
So did you put the wadding inside the filter where the sponge is?
This works I’ve tried it 👍🏾... Thanks for your video.
Excellent - because, with the large area of the filter material, at any point, the water will pass thru at a very slow rate & thus not ingest the pond insects (which I wish to keep - no fish here). Also, I have added 2 small barley straw bales to help clear the water biologically.
Hello Mellisa , thanks for taking the time to show this simple yet effective solution. Once the pond is clear it would be great to connect this up to some sort of murky water switch (maybe optical) and then it'll come on and clear the pond automatically if it starts to murk up again.
I have a couple of questions that you may know the answer to.
I've been told that keeping a good sized colony of Daphnia in the pond will keep it healthy and will help keep the algae growth down. Have you tired this ? does it work and if you do have Daphnia does this type of filtration also filter out the Daphnia?
Thanks
The opposite way compare to most other videos trying to show people how to.... thanks lady youre the best
THANK YOU VERY CLEAR & CONCISE INSTRUCTIONS I WILL GIVE THIS A TRY.REGARDS B.
Thank you for the idea. I have a 5 by 12 goldfish pond. I couldn't see a single rock on the bottom two days ago. Now I can. I used a mini crate for my pump. It fit perfectly and was easier to handle. And it worked. Only now I have new problem. This morning my goldfish decided that the polyester material is a good place to lay eggs.
For my pond not work I still have green water
How to set the pump in pond ... Please update demonstration video
Quick question..... how do you get the batting out without letting the sludge back in the clean water. It worked great but I can't remove the dirty one
You could get a grocery bag and put it around before lifting it out of the water.
Hi, this really works I did it 6pm next morning clear as can be I can a 75 gallon with 2 red ears sliders and a 800gph pump 20 bucks from Amazon the "pump"
Excellent!
The procedure for turning murky water to clear water presented in this video is extremely accurate. You only need two things, 1)the batting and 2) activ(ated) charcoal, and of course a pump to move the water through those two things. It doesn't matter where you place those 2 things in relation to the flow of water, as long as the water passes through them at some point. If you don't want to see the batting or don't have a space above the water to place the filter and carbon, choose a setup like this video shows, pull the water through the batting and charcoal on the way to the pump.
I had let my 10'x10' pond sit for a year, no fish, no plants, and an oak tree dropping leaves and pollen all year long, it was murkier than this lady's. Not wanting to disturb my setup, I disconnected the hose from the back of my waterfall and ran the hose outlet into a temporary filter setup consisting of a broken laundry basket with holes drilled in the bottom, dropped in two layers of 0.75" generic pond filter batting and old socks full of activated carbon, tied in a knot at the end. The thing rested on a 4x4 post I laid across the pond. Same concept as what is presented here just in a different part of the water cycle.
Took a week but the water is now crystal clear. To note: I also have a $1000+ pond filter system, it's the same thing, just with a built in UV light. All you need to do is run the water through those two things, doesn't matter what amount of water you have, all that influences is amount of those two things you go through in a year. My temporary setup is ugly and once I'm happy with the clarity I'll design a box behind the waterfall that does the same thing but out of sight. I've even seen the boxes for sale. You can even run the water through a clear section of hose and place a plug in UV light bulb next to it to get the same affect.
Can you please explain what the activated charcoal is for ...the benefits of it? Thank you.
Great I put a pond planter basket in the top of the waterfall directly under the hose. Had to change it a lot at first but after three days you can now see the bottom of the pond.
Work great after 4 weeks pond was clear
This is awesome!
Are the sheets of batting reusable after rinsing and air drying?
I have a submercible pump that connects to filter box . Box has charcoal filter 12 x 12 and poly fill coarser for top. 2 layers. The fountain attachment comes out of small pump with waterfall attachment. pond is 4 x 6 by 18 deep. 2 goldfish 1 frog. Had it for years no chemicals use 10 % drain weekly method. Everything fine crystal clear for month or so then over nite it starts to change within couple days completely cloudy. What makes it change so suddenly. Too much rain? Too hot too humid? It is in full sun til about 5pm. I pull box and pump out wkly and clean when i do water 10 % change. I have always done it this way.
That's a great idea ,how do you get the polyester filter out without it releasing the dirt back into the pond or does it stay intact well you lift it out .Also do you think it would be good to add rocks in the milk create for extra filtering , putting in a large pond 12x10 by about 3 feet deep, no fish I'd like to swim in it to no chemicals and I'm off grid so pump won't be running continuously, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated enjoyed your video Thanks Dale
To remove filter, I lift the whole thing into a plastic tub placed next to it to catch drips.
This filter is intended as a fast way to pull gunk out of water--not sure how rocks would help in short term.
If off-grid and not running pump all the time, you could manually dump water through batting to catch gunk. Could be refreshing on a warm day. :)
Thank you! I needed a chemical free way to clear our small backyard pond because our genius dogs drink from it. I used this method overnight and can see to the bottom. Thank you!
Great! Thanks for letting us know. (lol re your genius dog)
We have used batting in our pond skimmer to clear up the water but I like this idea better
Brilliant design! This solution seems beautifully simple! I would like to use it for the pond in the garden at my kids' school. I have a few questions though.
1. How often do you need to change the batting?
2. How do you dispose of the used batting? I hate to generate non-compostable waste unless absolutely necessary.
3. How well does this system work in a place with snowy, icy winters like New England? Do you have any tips about pond maintenance through the winter? Thank you for sharing this amazing technique!
Hi Betty,
You may want to read the article I wrote about this method here: empressofdirt.net/clean-murky-pond-water/ It has more details.
1) The batting is changed when the water flow starts to diminish. This will be different for every pond--depends on how mucky it is.
2) When creating this method I tested a variety of items including cotton batting. It did not pass the test because it clogged quickly and could not manage large volumes of water before replacement was needed. The batting that works best is synthetic. Some people wash out the gunk and reuse the batting many times over.
3) I live in Canada. I find no need to do this method during the winter because algae doesn't grow in the cold months. I resume using it as temperatures warm in spring. I have shared all my winter pond tips here: empressofdirt.net/how-to-care-for-a-winter-pond/
Best wishes,
Thank you so much, just like a magic it cleared my pond in couple of hours. Is it safe for the fish to leave the polyester padding on ?
Wow great idea. Heading to the store now to grab supplies. We are trying something a little different. We're hoping your great idea helps keep our ducks bath clean! Can't see why not! Thanks.....
Thank you so much. You are Awesome!!!
Amazing after 2 days crystal clear pond thank you.
will this help pull grains of sand out of the water, i have some of that that fell in when i was putting it around my preform and i also have been getting some droppings from different faraway trees. does the bigger stuff clump and stick to the filter?
I am going to build this today. A few questions. In the video, you did not put the batting around the bottom of the crate. Should the batting also be wrapped around the bottom as well to completely cover all holes of the milk crate? Can I use a submersible sump pump for this? I already have one and can attach a small garden hose and then adapt a larger hose to it? Thank you. Great video. I hope it works.
This has worked should I use thin or thicker layers of batting?
Thank you for this, best video I've seen on the subject this morning, but I only have a small sump pond which feeds a cascading stream. My issue is that the water is drunk by my dog and we're worried it's what makes her sick continuously ( vet thinks maybe) I'm going to try your method at the top as there is no space in the sump and flow the water through and then down the cascades. I'll let you know how successful it is, thank you again👍👍👍
Never, no matter the color of water, from our farms, to city living, to backyard ponds, have our dogs gotten sick from water... Hope there is not something else to worry about...
Certain blue green algae can kill dogs when they drink it. Happens every few years in lakes in Texas. It’s rare, but not impossible a dog could get sick from pond water. Dogs will also eat pretty much anything so it’s a wonder most of them are ok most of the time.
I don’t even have a fishpond I just like this video
Meez best comment!
Our pond was almost taken over by lily pads . Beautiful as the flowers were , we were shocked at the huge hay like bail of the root system that was taking up a large portion of our pond ! We were advised by a local pond guy to put on hip waders and enter the pond every other day and as gently as possible reduce the lily pads . We took over half of them out but the amount of soil attached really turned the pond water muddy . We were assured that by buying a great quality filter of the size we did the water would clear within a few days .
Should we try your method of clearing the water before having to remove the Koi ?
The lilypads might oxygenate the water and consume co2 and put out other beneficial emissions. They also likely prevent the evaporation of water, possibly more than they take from the pond. Just some ideas
Thanks tried this method and the pond as never been so clear thank you
Great to hear!
I have a 1000 gallon pond that had not been touched in atleast 6 years when we bought our home .
3 weeks ago we bought a BioSmart 5000 filter and also added a Aqua scape2 outlet aerator kit . The water still won’t clear and all the sludge from the bottom of the pond is filling up our filter so it’s not clearing the water.
Hoping you have a suggestion on what we should do ? We purchased 4 lovely large Koi and we worry the muddy water will harm them
Hi great video, i have tried this Method i used a cloths plastic basket to put the pump in and wrapped the batting round as you did, it has been in my pond about 20 hours now and i see no difference i took it out and it does have some dirt on it but doesn't seem to be clearing the pond its only about 350 gallons am i doing anything wrong.thanks steve.
Very cool idea ,thanks
Madam what can I say after spending a small fortune on chemicals ..I bought a box with holes in and a bungee cord some wadding and it worked, thank you so much, am just about to change the wadding for some fresh stuff, my wife thinks you are the bees knees x
Thanks for this. i just inherited a small fish garden pond. with almost no instructions to keep it going. it’s already turned brown and i’m going to try this to get it clear again! do you have any suggestions to keep it clear?
Yes, important things include using a recirculating pump to keep the water running and oxygen circulating. Also, prevent debris like leaves from getting in the water. And, if there are fish, follow guidelines for an appropriate number based on the size of the pond (too many is bad for fish and creates a lot of waste in the water). I also use the quilt batting trick ongoing to continuously filter out excess algae. I have more pond tips here including a free tip sheet: empressofdirt.net/advice-for-starting-a-new-garden-pond/
what about the algae and gunk on the bottom? And, can you advise on how much plants can/should be in the pond? I have water reeds and lillies - they look beautiful but they cover half the pond.
Thanks
Is it ok to assemble the batting and basket in the water? My pump hose is covered by too many rocks to disassemble the pump and then reattach in the pond.
You can save a few more pennies by recycling your unwanted cushions for this - 9 times out of 10 they’re stuffed with polyester batting
Ya ur right
Iam Shirley Chatagnier from St.Martinville La.This really works.My pond is crystal clear.