Pond Filter Options & Considerations

PRESSURE FITLER SYSTEM

Pros: Easier to install, most space efficient, most anyone can learn how to maintain and clean the filter system, can be installed at a wide range of elevation in relation to the koi pond.

Cons: Uses more electricity to operate, louder to operate, less oxygen availability for the biology inside of filter and less contact time between pond water and filter system making for less efficient nutrient cycling, more frequent filter cleanings required, fish poop and other organic waste gets chopped up into finer particles by going through a pond pump before going into the filter system making it more difficult to trap the finer particulate waste inside the filter. Pumps typically don’t last as long in a pressurized filter system.

GRAVITY FILTER SYSTEM

Pros: More energy efficient, higher oxygen levels, quieter operation, higher feeding rates, ability to keep high densities of koi in your pond, less frequent filter cleaning and pond maintenance, more contact time between biological media and pond water makes for high rates of waste conversion, pumps encounter much lower pressures and less waste through their impellers allowing them to last longer, gravity filter systems allow the pond owner to leave for long vacations without worrying about their pond.

Cons: Needs professional design and installation, requires someone with a background in koi pond maintenance and fish care to maintain them.

GRAVITY FILTER MECHANICS EXPLAINED

A gravity fed filter system is a filter system where water is fed into the filter sytem as a result of unequal water pressure between the filter system and the koi pond. As water is pumped from the filter system into the koi pond the water level in the koi pond rises and creates an unequal amount of pressure between the filter system and the koi pond. In a natural effect of the water wanting to rebalance the pressure in both the pond and the filter system, water from the koi pond rushes back into the filter system cleansing the water as the it moves through the filter system eventually reaching the pond pump to get pumped back to the pond for the cycle to continue. 

PRESSURE FILTER SYSTEM MECHANICS EXPLAINED

Same as a swimming pool filter. Water is pumped directly out of the koi pond and forced through a filter tank at pressures typically greater than 5psi. These are the most simple, loudest, most space efficient, and most energy intensive types of pond filtration systems.