"fish" wrote in message
ps.com...
Ive heard that mussels and clams are a good natural way of filtering my
pond, i am wondering what the pro`s and cons are, my pond is 24000 lts
with running water from a water fall, I would be greatful if someone
could help with my quiery.
Thanx john

Clams are probably out, because they need to be buried or partially buried.
Mussels can be attached to rope that's suspend in the pond (just like in a
commercial farm).

Mussels are filter feeders, they'll feed on particulate matter suspended,
such as algae, microorganisms, etc in the water. But particulate matter
suspended in the water is a symptom of a ill maintained pond, not the cause.
Plus mussels release the same type of waste that fish do, namely nitrogen
compounds.

That isn't to say there isn't room for experimentation, but it's my
understanding that mussels need fast moving cool water. The consensus in
this group is that an ideal filter setup involves a particulate filter,
using a filter media, a biological filter to assist in converting the
nitrogen compounds in fish waste into safer compounds, and finally a plant
(veg) filter to convert nitrogen compounds into a plant.

-S