Pond filter and pump

[Roy31]

Can you use a pool filter and pump for a duck pond or should I get a pond filter and pump? It'll be 12x16 and 3 feet deep.

 

[jducour]

I dont think so, I would get a pump designed for a pond, and make sure it can handle that many gallons. That will probably be around 5,000 gallons of water, right? I have a 3,000 gallon pond, and I have one large pump, (the pump house is about 2x5' that holds it all.) it has two separate filters that have to be cleaned daily; one under the water, and one in the pump house. I also have a secondary filter at the waterfall, and a uv filter for algae. This barely keeps the slime at bay, and it takes a lot of work to keep up on it. I have 40 plus fish in my pond, and 6 ducks, so I have to have a good pump flow to keep up on it. Here are some pictures of my system

 

[Roy31]

Thanks for the info, I was just curious because I had a pool filter and pump but ill get a pond pump and filter. How often do you have to drain it and clean it?

 

[jducour]

Ponds are just so different, they get dirty fast! I do a full clean out every spring. All fall and winter we get a ton of fallen leaves that rot during the freeze, so by spring it is pretty nasty, where I live, my pond actually freezes over, and my fish hibernate for about 3 months. We don't feed them anything from November until about March, they mostly hibernate, and live on the debris on the bottom. This is the 15th year we have had the pond, and we still have our original fish, so they are pretty hearty! I do a partial clean out every month or so during the late spring to late fall. I will drain about 1/3 of the pond, do a good cleanup of the bottom (neighbor kids love to throw in rocks), and change out with fresh water. Other than that, we clean the main filters every day. It's a lot of work, and most people don't know what they are getting into!