Pond filter natural alternative: Plant filter

What is a pond filter?

Pond filter vs plant filter

Pond filter vs plant filter

What should be in a pond filter?

Several components are essential in a pond filter. Filter foam and filter wads are excellent for mechanical filtration, as the strong nylon fibers remove coarse dirt from pond water. For biological filtration, it is particularly useful to use filter lava because it is ideal for bacterial breakdown of invisible dirt and pollutants.

What is the best filter for the pond?

For a beautiful, clear and healthy pond environment where aquatic plants can grow abundantly and fish and other pond animals feel at home and which also promotes biodiversity, it is important to design the pond in a natural way. Pumps and filters do not belong here, aquatic plants do, therefore it is important to plant your pond according to our pond planting plan. One option is to plant all kinds of water plants loose in the pond to create a natural filter, but you can also choose to build a plant filter, these are both natural options. For constructing a plant filter, we have all kinds of cleverly composed plant filter plant packages.

How big should the pond's filter be?

The size of the filter for a pond depends on several factors, including the presence of fish. In general, in a pond without fish, a filter with a capacity equal to the volume of the pond is sufficient. So for example, in a 10,000 gallon pond with no fish, a filter with a capacity of 10,000 gallons would suffice. However, if you plan to keep fish in the pond, then it is recommended to count on a filter with double the capacity. In this case, in a 10,000-liter pond with fish, you should consider a filter with a 20,000-liter capacity. This is because fish affect water quality by producing waste products, so a larger filtration capacity is needed to keep the water clear and healthy.

What types of pond filters exist?

You have created a pond in the garden and want it to stay clear and healthy. There are several types of pond filters that can be used to do this, including options that are not harmful to the environment and promote biodiversity. Below I list a few of them:

Mechanical filters

First, you have the pond filter as many know it, which is the "Organic Pond Filter. These filters work by removing particles from the water through a fine mesh filter mat or filter brushes. The water is pumped through the filter and the larger particles are left behind in the filter mat or on the filter brushes. Disadvantages of this filter are that it is expensive to purchase, it looks unnatural in the pond, it causes higher energy costs and the filter requires maintenance to remain functional in the pond. Other pond filters that are mechanical and perform a similar function in the pond are: 'the UV filter' and 'the Skimmer'. The UV filter uses ultraviolet light to kill harmful bacteria, viruses and algae. Water is pumped through the UV lamp and the UV light kills the harmful organisms. Skimmers keep the water surface clean by removing leaves, branches and other floating debris from the pond. They have a basket in which the debris is collected.

Biological filters

What people sometimes do not know is that a pond can also be filtered completely naturally by planting sufficient and different types of aquatic plants in the pond. The plants that are indispensable in every pond are: 'Oxygen plants', 'Sumpfpflanzen' and 'water lilies'. These pond plants each have an important function in maintaining a healthy and balanced pond. Oxygen plants, as the name suggests, oxygen plants produce oxygen through photosynthesis. During photosynthesis, plants absorb carbon dioxide and water and produce oxygen as a byproduct. Oxygen plants are therefore essential for maintaining a healthy and balanced pond ecosystem because they provide a continuous supply of oxygen for fish and other pond animals.