Arrested Development - Ex-Pats Mexico

I know many people have ponds here .... so I don't understand why it's so difficult to find equipment. I have the pump(s) but other than some basic small cylinder filters seems as if there are no filter/filter media suppliers here; and the two outlets for these don't sell the media for them anyway.

I have a Pondmaster filter unit (bought NOB) but the filter media is not available here. Now I need another one (filter unit) for a second pond. I would like to replace the Pondmaster one anyway, because it's too much of a pain to get the filter media from NOB.

Lots of swimming pool suppliers ... but no Pond supplies ... anyone resolved this problem?

SA, do you have the pressurized filter with bio balls? If so, you can use other things instead of the bio balls but really, they should last a long time. If you have the pre-filter with a sponge like sheet on it, you can use the pads for floor scrubbers. You have to find the ones without soap in them and usually they are round for the auto scrubbers. Cut them to size. I also use cotton batting at times to get the fines out. If you have the bio balls you can use all kinds of weird stuff that will have holes for the bacteria to populate and will tumble like the bio balls. I've used cut up pieces of floor scrubber, the plastic mesh looking scrubbies for kitchens (again, no soap), the popcorn used to pack things, almost anything that won't break down easily and that has enough nooks and crannies for the good bacteria to populate. Lava rocks are what I'm using here, they come in small to medium sizes and work well although they clog up with time.

Jonna: good idea about the floor/pot scrubbers, that just might work with the small 'pre-filter' I have now on one of the pond pumps. This one is a small cylinder, that attaches directly to the pump intake ... and uses those bio balls, with a mesh filter sheet. That was the only filter I could find locally, and it's too small for the job, though it does ok with aeration. Even then, the media has been impossible to find, so your idea might work in that one.

The other filter I have is a flat box type (Pondmaster) and I have tried some different media for it but... nothing very good; so I am stuck importing/bringing back the filter media from NOB. So, I was hoping to buy 2 systems here, in Mexico, so that I can quit hassling NOB friends/family to schlep the stuff down. It's not heavy, but it's bulky.

Right now, I am alternating the filters .. each 'pond' gets the good one (Pondmaster) for a day .... so that is working for now, but I was hoping for a more permanent solution ... sheesh there must be somewhere in Mexico that sells/supplies this stuff! I checked Mercado Libre but not much luck. Limited selection and what they have is very expensive! (I am also reluctant to buy anything online and give out a CC number!)

When you say LAVA ROCKS do you mean the kind that is normally used for landscaping?? I have fish in both of them, so I need something without chemicals added.

I suspect that she may mean the lava rocks normally used for BBQ's.

I am not sure if this has reached into Mexico yet - but those styrofoam 'peanuts' are now mostly made with some type of corn starch, and will dissolve in water.

There are several types of DIY filters that work really well, the most often used is the Skippy filter shown here http://www.skippysstuff.com/biofiltr.htm I've built one of those and it is still keeping a big pond very clean and clear. you can scale it down easily as well, the same concepts at work, the water rises up from the bottom through layers of filter material - scrubby pads, metalo pads, lava rock (plain like they use in landscaping. All these layers can be held apart by the plastic grids that they sell for overhead lights in offices. Cheap and you can cut it to any shape. The other option is a bog type filter which I put on a small pond in Calif. The water goes in the bottom of a trough that is elevated over the pond. It perks up through gravel or small lava rock and through the bare roots of plants in the trough, it spills out and back into the pond. If you pull from the bottom of the pond, you will eventually get a lot of much in the bottom of the troughs so a discharge opening is a good idea. Back flush it occasionally, only about twice a year at the one in Calif. but it depends on the fish load. These also work really well and you will have a clear pond and a good balanced eco-cycle where the fish poop feeds the plants that clean the water for the fish. Plus, It looks great. I also planted the top of the skippy filter with bare root plants, iris, canna, taro and even hibiscus, it quickly gets overgrown and does need some regular trimming and cutting back and root removal. It looks really good though.

I'd say build your own filter and then you are not dependent on what you can buy here, build it from what is available. There are a lot of plastics in various shapes and with some small plumbing skills to install drains and pipes, you have a better filter for a fraction of the cost.

Here's a pic of the bigger pond with the skippy.


and the back of the skippy, it was a plastic horse trough with a block wall and plaster around it on 3 sides and the waterfall in the front.



Here's the small pond right after I finished it, it has the bog filter against the wall. I'm told that it still works perfectly with little maintenance and the plants in the bog are growing well.

Jonna: thanks so much for taking the time to post this, it's very helpful!

I may have accidently built one of these in my first water feature. This one has a stone column, about 10 feet high where the water is pumped up the column, and collects in a concrete basin about 8 inches deep. I put about 4 inches of aquarium charcoal in that basin, along with a bunch of broken terra-cotta pot fragments ... then plants (without soil) whose roots were anchored in the charcoal/terra cotta ... when the pump is on, the water goes up the column, the basin (full of aquarium charcoal/terra cotta and plant roots) fills with water and then tumbles down the rock faced column into the pool below. Never had a serious problem with either algae or water quality. I always attributed that to the filter (which does a good job of sucking up debris AND keeping the pump from clogging) ... but now that I've read your post, I'm thinking that I accidently built what you are describing! I may have been giving credit to the Pondmaster filter when all along, the top part has been doing all the work!

So now, I am going to design something that will work in this 'new' pond ... maybe a higher pre-pool full of plants and some water hyacinth anchored in landscape lava rock from which the water would overflow into the main pond. (water hyacinth is cheap and plentiful here!)

Then all I would need is a pre-filter system for the submersible pump, right?? (to keep it from clogging)

Yes, you can put the submersible pump in a basket with small size plastic grating around it to keep the mulm from clogging it. If you don't have a bottom drain to get rid of the stuff that collects on the bottom, use a shop vac every few months to suck it out. It's good to have the pump a little off the bottom for 2 reasons, it lets less gunk into it and if you have a shut off float (you should) to save the pump if the water goes down, it will leave enough water in the bottom of the pond for the fish to survive until you find it. If you have a spell with lots of algae or the water isn't clear, this usually happened to me when I was planting lilies in pots with dirt, then put some polyester batting, quilt stuffing, somewhere that the water falls through it. Rinse and repeat until it clears up.

There is a lot of good info on the net, I used to frequent a forum (http://www.americanponders.com) that has some good info. I left because the owner is so ignorant and bitter about Mexicans in California that I just couldn't stay. Ignore the chit chat and just look at the pond building areas and you'll find some good info. I think there is still a thread there with the whole process of building both my ponds. There is just no cure for ignorance and because I was involved personally with people on there, the misinformation and the general hatred just got to me. It's easier if you don't feel you 'know' them.

Koiphen (http://www.koiphen.com/forums/) has a good water garden section in their forums, the koi guys are a little intense and don't want plants in their ponds plus they get really technical.

Another tip about ponds. I used to use "Little Giant" pumps for fountains and water features - but they are expensive, and hit and miss. The problem for me also is that people would say their pump failed, demanding an immediate replacement - but there was no idea as to whether the pump was abused with cigarette butts, etc. Another problem, at least up here, is that 120 volt AC requires an expensive, professional installation if you are going to follow any codes.

The solution is 12 volt bilge pumps - they are inexpensive, high quality and trouble free. go2marine.com You need a 12 volt DC power supply, but that is pretty common with low voltage lighting (again beating the code requirement). Just check the total amps you need, for the pumping quantity. With pumps - the amount of 'lift' is as important as the output.

Our pond is all wild, all natural, except for a trickling top up from the aquifer. The yellow flag iris reeds are prodigious - in the fall the muskrats will come in and harvest them. Lots of wood duck babies this year -but none nested with us. The usual nuclear explosion of wild and japanese cherry blossoms.

Here is a picture of one of the three ponds I build when I lived in Los Angeles.