Cheap options for filtering garden pond?

Ninfa Asby: The Pond Lady's suggestion is a good one, however here are a couple of additional thoughts. Since your pump will be under lava rock with the water splashing down on it, aerating it, you may consider a mesh suction screen instead of the foam device. Danner makes one or you could make a cylinder out of 1/8" hardware cloth with the far end crimped. This would keep your pump from sucking up something nasty.The other thought is that with a device like this you have good circulation where it's located. If your pump has enough flow, you could use a tee and ball valve arrangement to split off half or so of the water and run it to the other side of the pond, thereby helping to get cross-pond flow. This thought is based on the filter on one end. If it's in the middle, the flow will be different. You'll just have to play with it.FWIW, we use something like this for our fish holding tanks when we are doing a pond cleanout or repair job. We use 1" pipe and it's dis! charging a foot above the lava for major aeration. We also have a bleed off ball valve so we can get circulation to the other side of the 5 ft tank. These are extreme conditions, but your situation is just a smaller version of the same concept...Show more

Melissa Lavallie: About the cheapest filter I know of is a DIY one. Get a container like a nursery pot or plastic bucket of some sort. Fill a couple of mesh bags full of WASHED lava rock. Put the pump at the bottom of the bucket and the rocks on top. Run the hose and the electric cord out the top of the bucket. You will filter out the pond scum. It is easy to balance the pond ecologically with floating and submerged plants and let your fish eat them. The submerged plants grow faster than the fish can eat them. Do not feed your fish.For lots more pond info, see my website at http://www.pondlady.com You will find articles I have written and be able to interact with other pond keepers if you wish....Show more

Galen Gowers: the pond is never going to be pristine (nor sh! ould it), but putting plants that are anchored in baskets of gravel does a good natural job of helping keep it clean.