Easy Homemade Pond Filters
- 1). Cut the evaporative cooler pad so it will fit both inside and around all sides of the finished filter. For a 10-inch square basket, that's 6 inches deep. The finished pad dimensions should be 36 by 46 inches.
- 2). Place the plant basket in the center of blue pad about 13 inches away from three sides of the basket. Fold the padding up and over those three sides, so the basket is "padded" both inside and out. Hold the padding temporarily in place by attaching a clothespin at the top of each covered side.
- 3). Fold the final padding up and over the fourth side of the basket and across the bottom. Scatter a handful of gravel around the bottom edge to hold the padding in place.
- 4). Place the submersible pump or intake line inside the basket. Fill the basket with gravel, one handful at a time. Completely cover the pump or intake line in the process. Place the completed filter at the bottom of the pond then plug in and turn on the pump.
- 5). Maintain the filter by removing it from the pond every month or two to hose it down. Clean it in an area that's free of plants grown for food. Don't remove all the "muck" collected on the filter padding, because beneficial bacteria--now well established on the filter and in the pond water--help maintain water quality.
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