Maximizing Your Pond Filter Efficiency

Keeping your water crystal clear all year round may look effortless but behind the scenes filters are working hard for your enjoyment. During high debris seasons like fall, extra measures need to be taken to lessen the amount of debris so you maximize the efficiency of your pond filter.

We can first look at what a filter is and why it is so valuable. Filters eliminate muck, particles, and biological wastes from the water that are unhealthy for the pond. A properly installed filtration system will pull water from the bottom of your pond and circulate it, along with essential nutrients and oxygen, throughout the water garden. A filtration system serves two purposes for your pond. First, it acts as a mechanical filter that removes particles of debris by means of passing the pond water through various filtration media. The second is to act as a biological filter by incorporating a filter in or around your pond that uses bacteria in order to break down toxins coming from fish, excess food, and decaying organic material. TotalPond offers a Pond Filter with UV Clarifier that has both mechanical and biological filtration with the added bonus of a UV clarifier. A UV Pond Clarifier kills floating algae, bacteria, and other microorganisms that flow through the clarifier and return clear, safe water back to your pond. All of this is necessary because when there is too much debris in the pond, your filter is at risk of not working to its optimal capacity.

Luckily, there are ways to ensure the volume of debris is controlled during autumn. Using a pond Skimmer Fish Net will help to rid the pond surface of dead leaves and other organic material. Once the pond surface is clean, place pond netting over the entire pond to create a protective screen and limit the amount of leaves and debris. When there is no longer an immediate risk of falling leaves, you can detach the pond netting and remove the fallen leaves in bulk. Use the fish net once again to rid the surface of any visible leaves. Performing a partial water change is recommended. Pumping some of the water out of the pond to expose the planting shelves around the pond periphery makes it easy to gather excess debris. Then you can use a pond vacuum to remove debris and algae from pond water and tackle any pond job quickly and efficiently. After you can manually clean the filters and replace the water. When replacing the water after cleaning, add a water clarifier and chlorine remover to remove harmful contaminants like chlorine, chloramines, and heavy metals and improve clarity. It’s also suggested to use chemical filter media like Pond Cleaner Tablets in autumn to help decompose the leaves and debris that have landed in your pond and use year round to prevent algae from forming. The tablets are a blend of beneficial bacteria, enzymes, and natural barley that break down fish waste, phosphates, nitrates and other pollutants.

Using all these preventative measures will ensure your filters have a long lifespan and help keep your pond sparkling and beautiful through every season!