david williams wrote:

Hi,
My bilogocal filter seems to soon fill up with a greeny brown muddy sludge.
Should I clean it or will cleaning it destroy the bacteria I'm trying to
encourage?




Hi, I am new to this ng and what a really nice place this seems to be!
Congrats to the moderator!
Filter cleaning. I clean mine once each season. Our season here in
Colorado Springs only last about 6 months before it gets too cold to
keep things running. Because I installed a faucet in the bottom of the
bio filter tank (a rubber maid stock tank) I just open it up, let flow
for a bit, and the sludge is gone. I do not scrub or sanitize my filters.
And I agree with the not using tap water. Use pond water and slowly
replace the water in the pond with tap water. I don't use a declor or
anything, just use a fine mist or spray. That seems to take care of my
chlorine.
Hope that helps.
W. Dale