I think a nice DIY filter with some added quilt batting for a short while might help.

Years ago I did a lot of work in figuring out how to remove this type of thing. I had a lot of success, and it wasn't difficult but the details were complex. Too complex for most people unfortunately. Here are some things I learned for it's worth.

Filters do not work the way people think they do. Because of this they do not set up the filter properly. Here's a picture of a fabric filter under a low power microscope. It had run for a little while and has some particles.

{{gwi:206546}}

Two different fabrics. You can best see 2 trapped particles in the upper left corner of the fine bag picture. What you'll notice is how small the particles are compared to the openings in the knit.

There are basically 2 types of filter material. Things like a drinking water filter don't have openings larger than a certain size, like 5 micron. Nothing larger than 5 microns can get through the filter. This is what some people think all mechanical filters are and also exactly what they want.

The problem is each opening will trap exactly 1 particle at the most. Often many openings will only trap i particle since a 50 micron particle would cover about 100 openings. In a drinking water setup the water to be filtered is pretty darn clean to been with, so only a few particles have to be filtered out. Pond water on the other hand would cover every opening in the filter in less than a single minute.

It is possible for these types of filters to clear a pond, but you would have to replace the filter every 60 seconds and buy hundreds of filters. Another important aspect to these filters is they really can't be cleaned. The particles jam into the tiny openings and it would take super clean water to clean the filter otherwise the result is just more particles from the "clean" water being trapped.

Fabric filters
The second type of filter has much larger openings than the particles. Some people think these can never work, and it's true. Unless used properly these filters don't work.

These types of filters allow many particles to pass right on thru. But given a huge number of particles a few will get stuck in some of the tight spaces. What happens is a stuck particle makes the opening smaller. Over time another particle gets stuck, making the opening smaller. This continues until all that's left is say 5 micron openings which traps the smallest particles, the filter clogs completely and the fabric needs to be cleaned.

This feature also allows these filters to trap a lot of particles, way more than the fixed sized opening filters, and also allows the fabric to be cleaned easily. Here's a macro world example of how this works.

Say you have an opening in the ground the size of a front door. Drop 100 2x4's on to the opening. Some 2x4s will fall on thru, some will fall across the opening and be stuck. When a few 2x4s get stuck the openings will be smaller, making it harder for other 2x4s to get thru. At some point no 2x4 would get thru and every 2x4 would pile up. If you match the filter opening to size and shape of particles its a great filter. But ponds have more than a single particle size.

So, lets say we now have a pile of 2x4s stuck over the opening. Now lets dump a load of grapefruit, limes, cherries and peas. There are openings between the 2x4s so many of the peas and cherries will bounce around and find openings and go on through. So will some of the grapefruit and limes, but many of them will get stuck, making smaller openings. Dump another load. More cherries and peas are trapped. Dump more. Pretty soon not even a pea can get through.

Now kick the pile. What happens? A few peas, cherries and maybe some limes will be jiggled loose and fall thru the hole. Keep vibrating the pile hard enough and long enough and every single particles will find it's way through the hole.

So it is with fabric.

In pond forums you will hear over and over, add quilt batting. It's true, quilt batting can work. But so can many other fabrics, but synthetics are the best.

However it is not as simple as "just add quilt batting". First the particles have to the right size and there has to be the right mix. The OP's picture is perfect for a fabric filter.

The size of the filter has to be appropriate for the pond's size. You're relying on a mix of particles, the particles them selves become the filter, the fabric is only a supporting structure. If the filter is too large you won't have enough particles to build the needed filter matrix. As a rough guide the filter should be no larger than 1-5% of the pond. The smaller the filter the more likely it is to work, but the more often it has to be cleaned.

Next the flow has to be right. What's the difference between washing out a dirty filter and trapping stuff? Speed of water and vibration. If you push water thru fabric too fast you're just washing it.

Last, you have to be able to gently remove the fabric for cleaning. Otherwise as you try and remove the fabric the trapped particles will just fall off back into the pond.

With the proper fabric, the right filter set up, a fabric filter would clog about every 12-24 hours for the water in the OP's picture for a filter appropriate for the pond's size I'd expect the water to be "clear" in about 7 days, cleaning the fabric once per day.

This concept of particles creating the filter matrix is exactly the same way a swimming pool DE filter works. What's called the "filter" is a mesh. DE (particles) are added to the water which becomes stuck on the mesh and create the actual filter matrix which can get other particles stuck.

Source of the particles.

Fabric filters don't work in new ponds with green algae blooms. Algae is too small and there too few larger particles to create a filter matrix. Interestingly dumping dirty water into such a pond could actually make the fabric work and clear even algae.

The particles seen suspended in the OP picture are bits of decomposed organics. Algae mostly, but also fish poo and dead higher plant material. It takes a few years for a pond to have this kind of build up. But once there is generally stays forever because there's a constant new supply.

This cycle can be broken by keeping a pond very clean. I'm talking about a functioning bottom drain system or weekly vacuuming or scooping out crap with a net. The suspended particles will continue to decompose into smaller and smaller bits until it becomes a DOC (dissolved organic compound) which is a separate problem. With a limited source of new organics the water will become clear over a long period (months).

In a water garden as seen in the OP picture this is virtually impossible. Very surface of the the plants will have tiny macroalgae growing on them, dying. Very hard to clean around a lot of plants.

So that leaves 2 solutions. One is a filter. Fabric, sand and bog type filters can be effective.

The second is a trickle water change system. New water is added to the pond 24/7 and an overflow carries particle filled water to a holding tank or bog which is used to water landscaping in the yard. Net water use is zero assuming you normally water the landscape.

Filters that use bacteria to decompose the particles faster can in theory work to clear water. They'd have to been the size of the pond, like a bog filter, or need a lot of movement and O2 like a moving bed filter. And in the end these would only convert particles into DOCs which will create other problems and need another filter to remove DOCs.

wow, very impressive post. I'll wasn't very encouraged before I've used felt cloth (10"x 10") before and it clogged in a few hours.

I'll try a simple fabric with larger holes.

Thanks, I'll let you know how it goes.

Clogging in a few hours is a good sign. Most of the tests I did the fabric never clogged. Clogged means it's working. The next question is whether it's easy to clean and how much muck is removed. If it's hard to clean and you don't get much stuff then yeah, time to move on.

My best fabrics clogged in about 24 hours.

My quest started with a post on this very site maybe 15 years ago. It was a single post about using panty hose to clear water. The key however isn't just the fabric but the filter too (water flow, etc).

Hi casio. The #1 basic ponding rule to remember is to correct the CAUSE of the problem rather than treating it with chemicals and/or additives. These should be reserved for emergencies and not part of normal upkeep & maintenance. And before I get the nay-sayers all riled up, I'll qualify that with this disclaimer: there are exceptions to every 'rule'. However, if your pond is otherwise healthy, there doesn't appear to be one here:)

Particulate can be any number of things: decaying leaves, fish waste, etc. One frequent culprit which is often overlooked is the planting medium used for potted plants in the pond. Your comment "considering building a filter to my pump" threw up a red flag for me. What type of filtration to you have now? I don't see that mentioned in your original post.

Here's a *quick fix* which will remove the floating particulate. (I searched but couldn't find the original post so this is a quote from pat c):

QUOTE: Here's an old trick Horton taught me years ago. Take a clean tall kitchen trash can. Cut a series of holes in the side at the bottom. Do this on only one side of the trash can. Get a box of poly batt at walmart. Unwind it and stuff it in the bottom of the trash can and set the trash can at the edge of the pond with the side with the holes facing toward the pond. Then run a hose from your pond to the top of the trash can. The water will fill the can and run down thru the batt and filter. Then it will run out the holes in the can back into the pond. Run this for 2-3 days and I promise the pond will clear. You will have to clean the Batt evry so often but it will trap all that suspended algae. I only had to do this once and my pond cleared and stayed clear.

Note: this is a TEMPORARY fix until/unless you determine the CAUSE/source of the problem but it works splendidly. Many (many) years ago, I cleared up my pond with this method in one day. It did clog rather quickly, but I was working in the yard all day so kept an eye on it. Rinsed the batting several times throughout the day (draped it over a couple patio chairs & hit with the jet spray from the garden hose) but at the end of the day my pond was clear.

While the water was filtering, I built a skippy filter in a lotus pot & a diy filter to enclose my submerged pump (2 black baskets connected w/zip ties & some scrubbies). In my case, I determined the SOURCE of my particulate & removed it from the equation.

At the end of the day, my water was gin clear and I could see the bottom of my puddle for the first time & enjoy my fishies. It remains that way yearsss later. The ONLY thing I have EVER added to my pond is dechlor at startup. I don't even do water changes; I just top off my pond with a fine mist sprinkler every week due to evaporation (a fact of life here in the south).

My system runs 24/7/365. I clean my skippy once a year in the spring at which time I replace the top layer of batting. (Adding here: I've replaced the batting a second time in the fall a couple times througout the yrs when we've experienced extreme weather/storms from hurricanes - we're a bit inland so that's rare - I just watch the flow to determine if that's necessary).

I clean the pump filters every month or two during the summer months, not at all during the winter months as there's no need. Again, I just keep an eye on the flow. In all these yrs, only ONCE have I seen string algae. I removed it with a toilet brush and haven't had an issue since. Never had a UV and never will.

I watch my ponding friends empty their wallets and spend hours and hours on pond maintenance all the while asking me 'How do you do it?' as I sit back, relax & just ENJOY my pond.

Bottom line: our ponds are man-made. Try as we might, they will never be a *natural environment*. However, the closer you get to mimicing nature, the less maintence you will have to do and the more enjoyment you will receive. My fish are happy, my plants are happy, and my wallet is happy. Doesn't get any better than that.

Hope something here helps..

blessings,
~digger

Hi Digger,

More info:
1. I have no filter
2. Pump (solar) is for circulation only
3. Have considered a solar air bubbler, but experience with floating solar doohickeys have shown it to be high-maintenance
4. I do bi-weekly 15% water changes (vacuum up crap on bottom)
5. I have no soil medium (used sand for water lily)

If this were my pond, I'd start with a skippy filter (actually, it was and I did, lol:) Adding a link below for your info. A skippy functions as a biological & mechanical filter, requires no electricity and very little maintenance.

I built mine in a large planter (lotus pot basically, but any water-tight container will suffice) in a couple hrs the afternoon I removed the particulate with Horton's trash can bit. Plopped some plants on top & voila! It's invisible...disguised as a lush planter next to the pond. That was [many] yrs ago. Haven't had a problem since.

You definitely need to add a filter asap with that fish load. Guessin based on the size of your fish, they haven't been there since the beginning. They will grow and they will multiply. A filter is a MUST, as is good aeration and the sooner, the better (yesterday would be good).

Anyhoo, check out the link & post any questions you might have. Lots of skippy experts here who will be happy to halp.

blessings,
~digger

Here is a link that might be useful: skippy filter

Hi Digger,

Thanks for your post. (I've considered the skippy filter before)

1. Am I wrong? I thought the skippy filter does use electricity.

2. Isn't the skippy filter biological (rather than mechanical) filtration? Since I only have access to solar power, wouldn't the bacteria die without constant circulation?

3. The physical layout of the pond is such that there is no room for a bulky container (ruins the aesthetics) nearby.

Amen - Digger's got the answer - I think even a retro bottom drain is good, go for the aereation as best you can.
i used a version of the trash can filter-my pond had not been cleaned in 9 years; took a dirty water subpump( it will pump small particles) and I was clean in about 6 hours. (Sub pump bought on ebay for $79.00)

Since I have 2 pressure filters already, I'll continue to use those- then it's skippy time.( Hope to hide the skippy behind my waterwheel feature that is in progress)

The filter material I used for this operation was a furnace filter I got at the box store - it came with a plastic grid which I used for holding down some filter material - worked okay, but it's now become the window panes on the waterwheel facsade - but the filter material did work fine, but is a one time use- that filter was a $10.00 so to me worth the cost

QUOTE:

1. Am I wrong? I thought the skippy filter does use electricity.

***The skippy does not require electricity - see link above

2. Isn't the skippy filter biological (rather than mechanical) filtration? Since I only have access to solar power, wouldn't the bacteria die without constant circulation?

***The skippy provides both biological and mechanical filtration and constant circulation - an environment in which good bacteria will thrive.

3. The physical layout of the pond is such that there is no room for a bulky container (ruins the aesthetics) nearby.

***It is possible to have a skippy without 'ruining the aesthetics' even with a more formal pond such as yours. My skippy is only discernable to the well trained [ponder's]eye. As I mentioned in my previous post, it appears to be a lush planter situated near the pond. One must look carefully - and poke around a bit at that - to discover the small tubing which feeds it which is cleverly hidden in the vines/foliage of the skippy itself. Take a peek at others' skippy pics here for other creative ideas.

Bottom line is this: (and, in the interest of time, please excuse my bluntness:) if you don't do something SOON, aesthetics will be the least of your problems. I will add that my pond is about 2/3 the size of yours. You don't need something huge & bulky. My lil skippy has sufficed for years & my water is gin clear.

I don't recall offhand the size of mckool's pond but his version of the 'trash can filter' accomplished the job in a little less than half the time as my version. I didn't have a sump pump at the time so I just diverted my water directly from the submerged pond pump to the trash can. Point being, if you're willing to invest the time & labor, the sump pump is not absolutely necessary although it will certainly make things easier & quicker.

Hope this helps...

blessings,
~digger

While a Skippy does in theory do both bio and mechanical there are filters which perform these functions better. Because of the low O2 environment of static submerged media the conversion rate of ammonia and nitrites is about 10-30 times less than a high O2 environment provided by filters like Trickle Tower, Bakki Shower, Fluidized Bed.

It is true that a Skippy will collect muck over time, most everything will. Mechanical filters really have to be part of a system which includes a bottom drain and the ability to be cleaned every couple of days to be very effective. If a Skippy removes 5-20% of waste from a pond that generally really doesn't change the water quality very much since the debris normally sits in the Skippy decomposing, just as it would if it were sitting anywhere else in the pond.

The other issue is as the Skippy collects waste the muck dust covers the media and therefore the bio film. "Good" bacteria can't live under a layer of dust. These things are very small so the thinnest layer of dust is enough to choke out the bio film. "Bad" bacteria can live without O2 and moves in. So at certain periods a Skippy is a bio filter for bad bacteria.

The high O2 bio filters wash the dust away leaving a surface good bacteria can live on. Basically they're self cleaning, cleaning themselves 24/7 rather than once or twice a year.

I realize in water gardening Skippy is King of the filters and I've committed heresy here by even mentioning Skippy may not be the best filter on the planet, or that this is some kind of personal vendetta against a plastic tub. It's unfortunate but not all filters are great at everything. Some have to be better than others. Only in the filter special olympics is every filter the greatest of all time.

I'll let the zealots roast me now and I will not contest. It would do no good. Never has, never will.

Nope, I wont roast you but what Im not clear on is if you are proposing the trickle (in whatever form it is built) to be the sole filtration or is it used in conjunction with some other filtration. As I understand it there is some bio-filtering function in the trickle (rocks or whatever) so maybe that's all that's needed?

Certainly can't and won't argue with Digger's success either - maybe because of the infinite variety of how our ponds are constructed , how water circulates, etc. - can there ever really be a "one size fits all." I just discovered that I need to get more oxygen in my pond - pronto - so Im back to thinking of trickles - alone or in combination with something else.

Trickle Tower is primarily for conversion of ammonia and nitrites. That can be measured and we know exactly how it performs, works the same in every pond. Beyond that we get into the what people think it does, but there's never been any kind of study that I know of that proves anything. For example they will sometimes get credit for clearing green water which could be attributed to macroalgae growing on the trickle tower, other people attribute the clearing to bacteria. But these don't always clear green water.

Trickle towers add more O2 to water than a Skippy. That would increase decomposition of suspended particles, improve fish health. However, good water movement within the pond would improve O2 much more, so I would say O2 improvement is just a side benefit.

Although we don't understand a lot about how aqua systems work I do like that Trickle Towers and Bakki Showers are based on natural streams. A TT is just a compressed stream environment. High O2, media cleaned 24/7, fast moving water. So it's an environment that can support all the things nature provides, whatever that is, even if we don't understand it all. Streams are widely thought to improve water quality, both in what can be measured and for improvements attributed to streams since the beginning of mankind, whether deserved or not.

The other thing I look to is what's happened in fish farming and high fish load Koi ponds over the past 15 or 20 years. Static submerged media filters (Skippy type) were once the most popular state of the art filters for these applications. But TT slowly replaced those filters and Bakki Shower filters have replaced TT. Today I doubt you could find a single fish farm, and very few high fish load Koi ponds, using static submerged media for bio filtering. At most static submerged media is used as pre filters and for settling but even that is being pushed out by sieve filters.

There is just a bottom line in any combo filter, not just Skippy. Bead filters went through the exact same issue of initially thinking it was the perfect combo filter. The bacteria we consider "good" simply can't function in a muck accumulating environment. Easy to test, many studies. That we understand. But it is a perfect environment for the bacteria we consider "bad". No one has ever found a way around that.

The best bio filters are always going to be high O2 and cleaned 24/7. Unless someone creates a new species of bacteria.

The best mechanical filters are always going to be the ones that remove debris from the water column as quickly as possible and at the lowest cost. That's why sieve filters are the top mechanical filter today. Even bead filters today are considered poor mechanical filters. They trap debris sure, but have to be flushed daily which is expensive. Sieve removes debris from the water column immediately and are low cost to clean.

Another way to look at it...say you wanted to create a perfect filter for growing "bad" bacteria, what would it look like? Skippy would be perfect. Low O2, constant source of new waste as food. More of a compositor than a filter.

Having just discovered bad smelly bacteria growing in one of the 2 filters I've got (submerged) - Ive pretty much decided to put a shower in.

By sieve filter do you mean a skimmer that sits at the top of the pond. What I dont get about those is - dont you want to pull your water off the bottom where the muck is to get better circulation. If you had a long skinny pond perhaps but mine is round. Water would just come out the waterfall and right back into the skimmer.

A sieve is just a screen that water flows over and debris in the water slides to the edges of the screen out of the water flow. They can be placed in a skimmer, but no, a sieve isn't a skimmer.

Normally a sieve is placed on the pipe coming from the bottom drain on a gravity fed system. The fish poo hits the screen and moves out of the water column. It can be a complex set up or very simple.

For a mechanical filter you do want to pull water off the bottom, since that's where 99% of the debris is located. I often read people saying they have a "mechanical" filter but don't have a bottom drain. It's a strange concept to me that something could be considered a mechanical filter with 99% of waste sitting on the pond bottom. They clean the "mechanical" filter once a year and see a bunch of dirty water and think it's making some difference. Look close and you're likely to see algae growing on the media and that's the source of much of the dirty water.

@ kashka kat: Your nod to the uniqueness of our individual ponding environments is very insightful & makes an excellent point. That comment, coupled with your concern about the oxygen level in your pond is what nudged me to add to my previous posts..

My pond environment might be a tiny bit more unique than most. It's actually three connected pre-forms (due to space requirements & a ponding addiction, lol). Because of this, I possibly have more aeration & circulation than most(?) In any event, I should have mentioned it before. My bad.

Anyhoo, here's my setup: skippy, then upper pond, then middle/fish pond, then lower/frog pond. The skippy was constructed in a lotus pot/planter. The pre-forms that follow are 35, 250 & 90 gallons respectively (or 375 total).

The skippy is elevated & feeds the upper pond via pvc pipe...which flows into the middle pond via a 'lip'. The middle pond flows into the lower pond via a small waterfall (more of a cascade really - water trickles down over a 2' stretch of rock through an abundance of watercress). The pump on the bottom of my lower pond returns water to the [plant loaded] skippy via buried pvc pipe.

In addition to this, I have a 2nd smaller pump in the middle pond outfitted with a diverter. It supplies a pre-fab waterfall (a mother's day gift i struggle to disguise) as well as providing circulation in a 'dead zone' beneath the small upper pond feed which houses as many plants as I can squeeze in. On top of all this, I also have a frog spitter.

Point being, I likely have more aeration/circulation than average. I do not 'test' my water nor do I intend to (although dh did for several months in the early days as I rolled my eyes at his efforts - he tired of that after a few months when the results were always perfectly normal). Call me crazy if you will but I depend on my eyesight & plain ole common sense to detect a potential problem.

PtL, in all these yrs, I've only had to make occasional minor adjustments and even those were in our early ponding days. Btw, the bottoms of my pre-forms are textured and clearly visble & my water is gin clear. My fish are happy and thriving and eat out of my hand.

I'm no 'expert' nor do I claim to be...not by any stretch of the imagination. I can only share my experience and what has worked (or not) for me. Take what you will from my offering(s) & toss the rest. I'd simply like to hear you're ENJOYING your healthy pond *smile*

I will add that I could not have done this without the experienced ponders here. Their experiences (both good & not-so-good) have been invaluable to me. THANKS PONDERS!

Ultimately, the key to a healty pond is BALANCE. (water volume:plants:fish load:filter system - including aeration & circulation etc). I hope something here helps in some small way or at least sparks a new thought..

blessings & happing ponding,
~digger

Shalom, agree with Digger - I believe you can't have too much aereation. You may want to google venturi, or search this forum, for using a venturi I used in the hot summer before I went to an air pump in addition to my circulatiojn pump.
By the way, Ive not ever used test strips, etc. - but I'm a firm belivere in keeping a block of plaster of paris in the skimmer with the pump and also in the modified skippy filter I use for my middle preformed pond - FYI

Ok, mckool, what's the deal w/the plaster of paris? Enlighten me. And why have I never stumbled across it in all my ponding years + googling? Inquiring minds want to know. If I had to guess - off the top of my head, - I'd say it's a slow-release version of baking soda maybe? Or perhaps my ignorance is showing (my chemistry yrs are *ahem* far behind me). Got a ponding buddy who tosses in baking soda by the box - and I mean literally in.the.box...claims it provides a slow release which keep his water balanced. Not sure I'm buying that but whatever...he has peace of mind & his pond is thriving so all's well on the western front.

As for me, I'm a firm believer in *if it ain't broke, don't fit it* lol. Meaning, I don't 'need' this info at present, I just 'want' it. Knowledge is a wonderful thing...when coupled with wisdom. Never know when that might come in handy..

Thanks in advance for humoring me.

Shalom,

meant to say *if it ain't broke, don't FIX it*

('scuse the typo's - it's late & past my bedtime obviously)

Shalom Diggery - Yep, you got it, slow release baking soda. Got the tip here on the forum, couple years back
McKool

Good to know.
Thanks, friend.

You're most welcome - I keep a block in both my ponds and have lost 2 Koi to disease in 11 years, I don't what affect it has had,if any, but to me natural cheap insurance.
Shalom,
McKool