Activated Charcoal

[Swiegand]

Has anyone used activated charcoal in their duck pool/pond for filtration purposes? Curious...
I put the pond shock bacteria in there yesterday with fresh water and already looking dirty. Don't know if it's even possible to keep it clean without a filter, but I'm determined until we upgrade their pool

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Not that I know anything at all about ducks, but it might be important for others to answer: How many ducks, and how big is the pool?

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Charcoal is great at removing microscopic contaminates in water but it isn’t going to put a dent in duck poopy water. Sorry! For now, I would change the water.

 

[Canadian Wind]

Problem with activated charcoal is that once it's absorbed it's limit (and who knows how long that will take with ducks!) it then ceases to work, so you end up with more contaminants in the water without knowing it.

Trying to remember the name of the stuff I used in my aquarium... Pretty sure it was Purigen by Seachem. It removes ammonia, nitrates and nitrites and is rechargeable.

 

[Swiegand]

Not that I know anything at all about ducks, but it might be important for others to answer: How many ducks, and how big is the pool?

5 ducks. They are currently using a 90 gallon stock tank, but they will be upgrading to a 2,000 gallon stock tank that I will probably install a filter on. I used the 2,000 gallon before with more ducks and I was able to go longer without cleaning, but yeah I'm sure a filter of some sort would be helpful....

 

[Swiegand]

Problem with activated charcoal is that once it's absorbed it's limit (and who knows how long that will take with ducks!) it then ceases to work, so you end up with more contaminants in the water without knowing it.

Trying to remember the name of the stuff I used in my aquarium... Pretty sure it was Purigen by Seachem. It removes ammonia, nitrates and nitrites and is rechargeable.

Good to know! Thank you! Maybe activated charcoal isn't the way to go.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Might find some info here https://www.backyardchickens.com/threadloom/search?keywords=Pond+filter&tab=0

 

[FrostyMilkshake]

What about one of those sand filters for a pool?

 

[Canadian Wind]

What about one of those sand filters for a pool?

The sand will act as both a physical and biological filter (it will trap some debris and give a home for the good bacteria to colonize), but it will need cleaning also.

There is no way of getting around cleaning the media. Dirt and gunk will get trapped in there, and since it's a closed system (ie, contained with no in or out for the water) we need to provide the elements that Mother Nature normally does.