The aim of any pond owner is to take clear, good for you water. But despite the filter's obvious task of sucking in and trapping all that waste material, a pond filter should actually be clean inside too. Here's why:

Pond filters typically piece of work in 2 ways - mechanically and biologically. Mechanical filtration is when particles are physically trapped within the filter, and biological filtration is when benign bacteria are used to convert toxic fish waste product to less toxic forms. The 2 piece of work together to clean and cleanse pond water, making it articulate for viewing fish and salubrious for fish to live in.

Just beneficial bacteria really like articulate, well-oxygenated water too, and if also much muck builds up in the mechanical department of the filter, period tin can drop off and with that the essential water menstruum, food and oxygen that the leaner need to do their jobs. Muck trapped on the mechanical side tin and then itself commencement to break down, releasing phosphates.

How oftentimes to clean filter sponges

Filter sponges work both mechanically and biologically, so are in the well-nigh demand of frequent cleaning. Leaner alive within those holes in the sponge and if the holes block with muck, they can't go the water menstruation and oxygen they need. If the sponges shrink considerably those little holes become smaller and less desirable for bacteria too.

Some filters volition use a combination of coarse and fine sponges and then the coarse sponges catch almost of the muck and cake less easily, leaving the fine sponges to practice the biological work.

If the filter has just one sponge information technology will demand to exist cleaned oftentimes to keep its shape and to remove muck from the system, but as well to go on the bacteria alive. But ever wash sponges in old pond h2o and you tin can wash them as oft as you desire, fifty-fifty daily, which may be necessary for some ponds in high summer.

How to make clean multi-stage filters

Some of the all-time pond filters separate the jobs of mechanical and biological filtration with different media in different areas. The advantage is that then the mechanical filter can be cleaned frequently, simply leaving the biological filter intact and undisturbed.

With a carve up mechanical filter, information technology can be cleaned daily, hourly or even constantly, trapping the waste and flushing the waste on a constant cycle earlier the bacteria have to break it down.

This is more piece of work than any pond owner tin handle, merely better still the filter cleaning can be automated like on a Nexus Automatic or an Oase Pulsate Filter, cleaning the mechanical filter as frequently equally is needed, automatically, and hands-gratis.

Automatic pond filters often use pond water to clean the mechanical filter, removing a tiny proportion as they do so, and this in itself also provides a tiny simply frequent water change. The ideal for keeping nitrates low, pH and KH levels high, and fish actually good for you with maximum growth potential.

So the answer to the question of how ofttimes yous should clean your pond filter is as often as you tin for the mechanical filter and less oft or not all for the biological filter if its prefiltered first. Ever utilise former pond water and never utilise tap water. And if you can't or don't want to clean your filter regularly, go automatic.