A biological pond filter is a convenient place where oxygenated water, ammonia and nitrification bacteria (Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter) meet and allow the Nitrogen Cycle to take place.
Good Pond Bio Filter Design Principles
- There must be a way to allow large colonies of bacteria to colonize. The choice of bio media is important. Use a bio media with a large SSA (specific surface area) as this increases the biomass (size of bacteria colony).
- If you currently use plastic bio media as the home for colonies of nitrifying bacteria to live on then I would advise you to replace it with Supra pond filter media, probably the best low cost biomedia available for use in small to medium sized fish ponds. The higher the surface area the greater the amount of ammonia that can be broken down in one go, providing of course that there is an adequate supply of oxygen which is essential for the nitrogen cycle to take place.
- Ideally a system that allows organic waste to be removed before it has a chance to enter the biological chamber is ideal. One such system is a vortex koi filter which is the professional Koi keepers favourite in the UK. In the USA the Koi keeping community tends to lean towards bead filter systems. If you only have a small to medium sized pond then a box type filter or pressurized pond biofilter are great alternatives.
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