Mechanical Filter Versus Biological Filter??/

Well I have my Plexiglass top over my pond so the Raccoons dont bother
my fish/turtles ect. Half is plexiglass the other is green plastic
coated metal 2 inch by 2 inch.square so i think this year the raccoons
will stay away. I am not looseing my pets because of raccoons. Anyways,
I always used a basic plastic box filter with a course and fine filter.
Is that mechanical/ Or is it bio? The fish store told me it was
mechanical. Im totally lost here. I just want a combo bio/mech. That I
dont have to keep cleaning every week. At one time a friend gave me 2
350 magnum filters, they worked good but I had to replace the filters
every week. Any Ideas? 300 gallons, 4 hours sun, 3 turtles, 28 fish (to
many I know) Most 2-3 inches and frogs. Can i just use a 1200 gallon
pump with a diverter and run 1/2 fountain for air and 1/2 for water
movement? There must be a way to do this with the over crowdibg I have.
Im not adding ant thing else but I dont want to give up what i have.
Thank you

A mechanical filter is any kind of mesh material, sand, polyster stuffing,
etc through which water is passed and suspended particles of fish waste,
uneatten food, dust, etc

The term bio filter is a little bit of a decieving, it implies that there's
a special part of the pond where the bacteria grow. There's some floating
around in the water, some growing on the pond liner, the rocks. Mechanical
filters often can pull double duty, and be an a bio filter as well, just
because the filter material provides a high volume of surface area for the
bacteria to grow on.

A good bio filter will typically be a container filled with a light,
material that provides lots of surface area, compared to the volume, such as
floor polishing pads, landscaping fabric, screen material, bio-balls. Inside
this container you'd want a constant flow of aerated water.

Stagnant water or unaerated water creates an enviorment where anaerobic
bacteria grow, which creates the swamp smell, and doesn't work as well.
Aerobic bacteria on the other hand don't smell and work more efficiently.

Check out this website and get some ideas.
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/filters/myfilter.html


-S

Thank you. Whats a good filter for 300 gallon pond. Thanks

That is the $64,000 question. The size of the filter really doesn't have
anything to do with the size of the pond. It is dependent on the bio load,
like how many fish, turtles, frogs, how often they are fed, how often
10 -25% water changes are performed. Generally, for most ponds, you can get
by with a filter that is rated at twice the capacity of the pond, but due to
fish load, I am running filters that will handle 4 times the size of the
pond. As for a filter that doesn't need cleaning, there are none. Bigger
filters last longer between cleanings. Bead filters are easily backwashed
in coat and tie, if your so inclined. Gravel filters are heavy and dirty to
clean. Water troughs with screen or other media, are somewhere between the
extremes. Veggie filters seem to be little maintenance during the year, but
if they are working, will make for a lot of plants to divide.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html

"DD DDD" wrote in message
...
Thank you. Whats a good filter for 300 gallon pond. Thanks

Check out this website and get some ideas.
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/filters/myfilter.html

Cool, Snooze, I always wondered if there were a way to get to just a
certain page of my website. When I do it I don't see the URL change, so
don't know how to do this. Now that I know it is possible I'll bug computer
boy to explain.

As far as a filter for a 300 gallon pond, click on the link Snooze provided
above and scroll to the bottom. ~ jan

See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
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