What filters should I use for my fish pond in Mechanicsburg, Harrisburg and Hershey?

4/25/2016

There are two basic types of filtration. The frist one in Mechanical or all also referred to as skimmers. The second types is biological it absorb ammonia, and turn nitrites into nitrates, which are less dangerous (this mean it take all the bad stuff from the fish out).

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The Mechanical Basics

Mechanical filters, also referred to as skimmers, are a huge part of your pond’s ecosystem. Sure, they might not look as cool as your gushing waterfall or eat out of your hand like your favorite koi, but they do take care of a lot of the debris in your pond that could be harmful to your fish and make your waterfall look less than stellar. Mechanical filters house and protect the pump, ridding ponds of larger particles, waste, and sediment. There are many types of filters designed to perform this task, and that’s why it can be so difficult for people to distinguish between the good and the bad.

Skimmers filter water by removing debris and waste before it has had a chance to fall to the bottom of the pond – much like a swimming pool filter. The box skimmer is the easiest to maintain.

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The Biological Filtration

Skimmer filters

Skimmer filters take out all the large debris off the top of your pond before it can sink to the bottom. The skimmer also keep the pump off of the bottom of the pond and keep the pump from getting clogged.

The bottom line when it comes to choosing your skimmer is to keep things simple. A basic design is always the best way to go. When things start getting complicated, with two separate chambers or several different kinds of filtration, there are more opportunities for failure. Simplicity will make a big difference when you’re enjoying your low-maintenance, chemical-free water garden in the privacy of your own backyard. You’ll be glad you did the research now, so you don’t have to deal with the problems later!

The biological filter receives water that has already passed through the mechanical filter, or skimmer, typically placed on the opposite side of the pond. The water enters the biological filter via flexible pipe located near the base of the unit. The water then flows from the bottom to the top of the filter, traveling through filter media housed inside the unit. The filter media helps with the removal of fine to medium-sized particles. The larger debris was already removed by the skimmer.
As the biological filter fills, it will overflow and cascade over its waterfall lip, cascading down rocks that have been set to create a beautiful and preferably natural-looking waterfall. The waterfall creates aeration for the pond, assisting in the circulation and health of the water. If a slower, stream effect is preferred, the unit simply needs to be sunk lower into the ground.

Biological filters on the market today range in size and can filter ponds up to 10,000 gallons. For larger ponds, constructed wetland filters (Bog) can be incorporated into the design. The ones under 10,000 gallons are the most popular in Mechanicsburg, Harrisburg and Hershey.

Biofalls Filter

Aquascape offers an extensive line of BioFalls® biological waterfalls filters designed to help you create a beautiful, low maintenance water garden. A biological style of filter provides a home for beneficial bacteria to grow. These special strains of bacteria that are added to the water garden are highly effective at breaking down and removing wastes from the water, such as ammonia, nitrogen, decaying plant debris and fish waste. All of this waste, if not properly filtered, can become harmful to fish and cause significant water quality issues. One of the biggest challenges with most biological filters on the market is they are difficult to hide and are often an eyesore that takes away from the overall beauty of the pond. The Aquascape Biofalls®, unlike traditional biological filters, are actually hidden into the landscape. The Biofalls® can be buried into the ground to create the beginning of a stream or raised to create the start of a beautiful waterfall. The top of the filter can be filled with aquatic plants and accent stones allowing the filter to be completely camouflaged into the landscape. Once the Biofalls® is installed, you could be standing right next to it and not even know it is there.The ones under 10,000 gallons are the most popular in Mechanicsburg, Harrisburg and Hershey.

Wetland Filtration

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A wetland works just like a biological filter, but instead of creating a waterfall; it creates an area in your pond thick with naturally-filtering plants, as well as rocks and gravel, which provide a surface for bacterial colonization … nature’s perfect filters. So a wetland, while naturally beautiful and pleasing to the eye, is a great filtration method, and will help keep your water looking crystal clear. The ones over 10,000 gallons are the most popular in Mechanicsburg, Harrisburg and Hershey.

One of the greatest things about wetland filtration is that it can be used with almost any system. But will it fit in with your pond? Do you have to have a lot of space to construct a wetland? There are no size limitations because it acts as your biological filtration. The plants, rocks, and gravel act as the filtration media, similar to what you see in nature.

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