Pond Pump Filter Combinations

To clean it out, you must remove it from the bottom of the pond. This is going to get you wet. If you don’t clean it out, then the filter assembly (usually a foam pad) will clog up and your pump will run hot (and burn out much faster than it should).

If you have any fish, then this filter will clog up much quicker than you can believe possible. Remember that fish will keep the water stirred up and goldfish or koi (even small ones) will root around in the bottom stirring up the bottom muck. Your pond pump filter combination is trying to remove these suspended solids and will plug up. (Reality check – this can happen almost every day at the height of the season so don’t plan on leaving your fish pond running while away for the weekend or holidays.)

These units are usually cheaper than other systems. The reason this is so is because they are built cheaper – less expensive parts and motors. This in turn means the motors are not likely energy efficient (what you save on a motor, you pay on your electricity bill). It also means the more important bushings and fittings are cheaper and will wear out faster. So if you leave your pump running constantly, you’ll wear it out faster than a better built unit (and replacing these units regularly – every 2 years is pretty common) It is not usually possible to repair cheaper units so if a seal goes – the entire thing is wrecked.

If it sounds as if I’m not a fan of these systems, it may be because I’ve used them.

The only place I’d have them in my garden is in small ponds sitting on a patio or deck. I’d have them in places where I could reach them easily and not have to wade through flowers or step on “stuff” to get at them to clean them. I’d make it as easy as possible to reach the unit and the plug so I could clean them. In this application, they are excellent and my pond filter pump combination of choice.

The other location for them is in very small ponds where it is physically impossible to create a regular skimmer and filter design.

In any pond that had gold fish or koi, I would never use a pond pump filter combination

My .02

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