A Comprehensive Guide To The Best Pond Filter

A backyard pond is a great spot where your family can find temporary relief from those boiling hot days in the summer. It can be a languid oasis that is completely free from the hustles and bustles of day-to-day living. But this can only be achieved when you have a properly operating pool filter. Equipped with advanced features, the filtration system plays a key role in keeping your pond water always clean and clear.

To help you make the right choice, I’ve created this guide with some useful tips and reviews about the best pond filters available on the UK market.

What do we need a pond filter?

A pond filter is an essential component that can keep your garden paradise from becoming an unusable swamp. It helps get rid of toxic chemicals, decaying organic matter, excess food, fish waste, and other debris.

If these elements build up over time, they would cause annoying smells and murky or green water. Also, fish in the pond can be affected due to increasing levels of poisons.

Key considerations and features to look for in a pond filter

a) Types of pond filter

You can choose from one of three kinds of pond filter: biological, chemical, and mechanical. Biological systems use bacteria to remove ammonia coming from fungi, waste, or food, while chemical units use a resin or filter media to remove some nutrients or chemicals with excessive amounts. Mechanical filters drive water through some materials that can catch debris and particles.

b) Flow rate

Flow rate is the amount of water a filter would pass through it per hour. For efficient filtration, a pond filter should pass 4 times the whole volume of the pond each hour. It is often better to go for a unit with a higher flow rate.

c) Ease of maintenance

A filtration system requires periodical replacements. However, some units are easier and cheaper to change than the others, which reduces the costs and effort of maintenance.

d) Size

To choose the right size of pond filter, you need to measure the area of your water area. With these measurements, just follow the instructions of the manufacturers and select a suitable option for your needs.

How to use a pond filter

Just like any other appliances, the first thing you need to do when using a pond filter is to read the manual guide and user instructions from the manufacturer to learn how to use it correctly.

After unpacking, you need to assemble all components and put the filter under the water inside the pond. Once one end of this machine is the pump equipped with tubing attached to the discharge side. You can attach this discharge side with a barbed-threaded or pipe-threaded nipple where the tubing could be connected. Then, it is necessary to attach the tubing to an intake area of the pond filter.

A benefit of operating a pond filter is that this submersible machine can be out of sight and hidden anywhere inside the water. Also, most of them feature black colour, so you won’t have to worry about spoiling the overall landscaping.

Depending on the sizes of your pond and working capacity of the filter, you can run a pond filter between 10 and 15 hours per day. It is important to check the pump pre-filter regularly to ensure it has good flows. For biological units, keep in mind that it might take them a few weeks to become fully active.

When fish in your pond grow in size, you might have to consider increasing the power and size of the filter. This is because more fish means there will be more waste and debris, which would make the water turn murky or odorous. Also, avoid overfeeding your fish as it would make it harder for the pond filter to clean the water adequately. It is better to feed the recommended amount.

Ideally, you should clean your pond filter at least once per month. Just disassemble all components and use a solution of cleaner and lukewarm to clean each part thoroughly. Rinse again with clean water and check for any remaining debris. Regular cleaning is important to ensure smooth and efficient operation, as well as prevent the blockage of the pump or hose.

Top 5 best fond filter reviews

1. All Pond Solutions 12000 Liters Pressurized Pond Filter

 

The PFC-12000 filter from All Pond Solutions is a high-quality and affordable choice for your garden. It features a range of pressurised filters with integrated UV sterilisers. This special system is carefully designed to be pressurised constantly by your pump, which helps maintain excellent water quality and healthy fish. Mechanical and biological filtration are available for efficient removal of fish waste and debris.

The operation is simple as you just need to turn its cleaning handle to rinse the foam media clean. Thus, it helps save plenty of time for disassembling. Each unit comes with a built-in UV light that can effectively prevent algae from growing and get rid of harmful parasites or microorganisms in the pond. The package comes with 3 stepped hose tails to fit different sizes of hoses. Overall, this filter is great for ponds of up to 12,000 litres in size.

What I like about it:

  • Combine mechanical and biological filtration
  • Include 5 foams and 3 hose tails
  • Built-in clarifier and sterilizer
  • Ideal for up to 12000-liter ponds

2. Oase Pontec 15000 Pond Filter Kit

 

Featuring a powerful pump of up to 2,500 litres per hour, the Pontec filter kit from Oase is the ultimate cleaning solution for ponds of all size. It comes complete with pressure filter, pump, and UVC to guarantee clear and clean water. The filter blends features of both mechanical and biological mechanism to remove debris and bacteria more effectively. Also, the 11-W UVC can kill algae to prevent your water from turning green.

All connections are provided in the package. The cleaned water would be channelled to 1 meter in height and could operate a watercourse. Operating is simple with a user-friendly control panel. Overall, it is a great option for every gardener and homeowner.

What I like about it:

  • Easy to set up and use
  • 4.5 to 5-meter hose
  • Integrated UVC clarifier
  • Can operate a watercourse

3. Pontec PondoPress Set of Pond Filter

 

There are many forms of pond filter, and each of them has its own pros and cons. But with this model from Pontec, you won’t have to hesitate anymore. It features a biomechanical mechanism that can effectively remove and get rid of debris in the water. Purified water could be routed to 1 meter in height and then moved into a stream.

Featuring holes of 4 millimetres in size, the filter can gather a wide range of debris from the water inside your pond. Also, the hose is 5 meters in length to allow for better flexibility and maneuverability. There is a built-in 7-watt UVC clarifier that can efficiently kill algae causing green water. With a flow rate of up to 2,500 litres, it is perfect for ponds with a capacity of around 10,000 litres.

What I like about it:

  • Include UVC clarifier
  • Powerful pump – 2500 liters/hour
  • Integrated with bio-mechanical filter
  • Up to 5 meters of hose

4. Hozelock 2500 Litr Ecocel Pond Filter

 

No more worry about murky or green water in your garden pond with this amazing unique from Hozelock. Water goes through this unit through a spray head and then is distributed evenly via a foam sheet. During this process, solid particles and debris will be trapped and collected for later disposal. After that, solid-free water will pass through its plastic biomedia where pollutants are cleaned by beneficial bacteria.

You can observe the whole operation through a viewing hatch to know exactly when to stop cleaning. Also, it would suggest when maintenance is necessary. The machine is designed with a Vorton UVC that can get rid of green algae in the water. It is suitable for a pond size of around 5,000 litres.

What I like about it:

  • Provide both biological and mechanical filtration
  • Portable and compact design
  • Built-in UVC to remove algae
  • Ideal for pond size of up to 5000 litres

5. Blagdon5-in-1 Inpond 5W Pond Pump Filter

 

The Blagdon filter is an all-in-one unit that features everything you need for a healthy and clean pond. It is a combination of a filtration system and an efficient pump with many advanced features. These include 3 fountain heads – bell jet, super daisy jet, and daisy jet – a UV clarifier, and biological and mechanical filtration.

With the maximum flow rate of 700 litres each hour and a pumping height of around 1.25 meters, this filter is ideal for very small areas, up to 3,000 litres. The 50-Hz UV clarifier is able to kill and eliminate green algae in the water effectively. During the night, a LED spotlight will turn on automatically for easy manoeuvrability. With provided instructions, you can set it up easily without additional tools or hardware.

What I like about it:

  • Quick and simple to set up
  • Ideal for small ponds
  • Kill and filter green algae
  • Automatic nighttime LED spotlight

Frequently asked questions

How to keep pond water clear without a filter?

Believe it or not, most ponds are a great little ecosystem all by themselves and should require very little cleaning.

Plants are the best way to keep a pond clean. The oxygenate the water and should be able to keep it free from build up.

A fountain, or other aerating feature, can also help hugely, by bringing oxygen to the water and preventing algae from accumulating.

Water snails are great at keeping ponds clean; they eat algae and weed and can help stop a pond from getting clogged up (they do breed incredibly quickly, however, so you may need to keep an eye on their numbers!)

How to make a pond filter without electricity?

If you have a pond with wildlife in it, you will need some sort of filtration system, to prevent the build up of algae, debris and natural waste products from the creatures living in your pond. You don’t NEED an electrical pump, however!

Keeping a good level of pond plants in your pond is an effective filter, as is not overstocking with fish. If you can somehow rig up a waterfall system that doesn’t require electricity, you will find that your water is filtered better, because of the extra oxygen that can get into it.

You can also use a solar powered filter, which relies on the energy from the sun rather than electricity – but you may find that this does not work as well during the winter months.

How to clean a pond filter?

Once your pond vacuum filter has sucked up all the debris that it can from the bottom of the pond, you will need to clean it out to make it continue to work.

You will need to regularly clean out your pond filter by removing it from the mechanism, running it under water until the debris and gunk has all been washed away, then replace it.

Keep an eye on it in the meantime; some filters will stop working altogether once they are filled up, others will continue to try to keep going. Either way, they won’t work at their best unless they are clean.

Leave a Reply