Fish Pond Water Quality, Sand Filters and Biofiltration
In a pond toxic chemicals build up naturally ... the fish secrete these toxic chemicals like ammonia and unless they are removed by continuous bio filtration the fish will eventually poison themselves to death. Sand filters as used in swimming pools are bad for garden ponds water quality.
One of the most fascinating parts of pond keeping for the enthusiast is the management of the pond water quality. Highest quality water is probably the most sought after objective. If the water quality is good everything else falls into place. This is the purpose of biofiltration. Note we talk of BIOFILTRATION and not just filtration. There are significant differences and a basic understanding of the difference is important.
Clear water in a fish pond is no indication of the water quality.
Control of Water Quality in a Swimming Pool is Quite Different to Control of Water Quality in a Pond.
In a swimming pool water is normally pumped through a sand filter using a strong pump that can develop enough pressure to push the water through the fine bed of sand. In passing through this fine bed of sand any solids are removed by trapping. Thus such a filter does the job of removing solids and particles that remain suspended in the water. If there is an automatic pool cleaner the sand filter also removes those solids that settle on the bottom.
Sand filters tend to look like the image above and are used extensively on swimming pools.
Just think a moment about your sand filter if you have one. If you could see inside and watch exactly how the water flows through the bed of sand you would notice that many areas never see fresh water because they are partially blocked by accumulated debris that had never been able to be cleared by backwashing.
You would see that the water flow is through channels rather than across the whole surface of the sand bed. As such stagnant areas develop and in these areas bacteria of the undesirable kind also develop (mainly anaerobic bacteria. ie those that do not need oxygen) survive and multiply. Since chlorine kills all bacteria that find their way into the circulating water this situation is not serious in a swimming pool.
Read this new article truth about pond filters
continued article on biofiltration and Click here to learn how a biofilter works.
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"The Complete Pond Solver" by Tony Roocroft
2005 Edition. Essential reading for anybody who wants or has a garden pond. Get 12 Excel pond calculators free as well as "Water Lilies and Pond Aquatics" ebook also free
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