Hi there, I’ve just joined the forum and have a question for you

[Martin59]

My pond has been up and running now for just under a year. Everything seems to be working okay so far but I would like the water to be a bit clearer. I am running a nexus 300 on the bottom Drain and a easy pod on the skimmer, but it doesn’t seem to cope with the fines in the water, so thinking of installing a drum filter as a pre-filter to the Nexus. The only concern I have with the drum is how it copes with leaves as last autumn the nexus was getting clogged up all the time. Unfortunately, there is a massive oak tree nearby and the leaves are a nightmare. Netting the pond would be a bit difficult and collecting the leaves would be a nightmare on his own. Anyone out there with drum filter Experience that can advise me would be much appreciated.

[KiOgon]

I have a beer filter in the outlet tube of my EZpod which I swap or clean every day, takes a minute, it's amazing what it collects and the improvement in the pond fines - for about a tenner!
You need a adaptor ring to allow the filter to sit on top of the central tube, (my son has a 3D printer so makes all sorts of pond bits for me).

Similar to these: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/294378731058?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D1110 018%26algo%3DHOMESPLICE.COMPLISTINGS%26ao%3D1%26as c%3D20210609144404%26meid%3D2e8486b8351641f5a13054 ad007e7eec%26pid%3D101196%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D12%26sd %3D303865391549%26itm%3D294378731058%26pmt%3D1%26n oa%3D0%26pg%3D3458402%26algv%3DCompVIDesktopATF2V2 %26brand%3DUnbranded&_trksid=p3458402.c101196.m221 9&amdata=cksum%3A2943787310582e8486b8351641f5a1305 4ad007e7eec%7Cenc%3AAQAIAAAA8A%252FX5kvtcYFtPo%252 BGm1mGYep%252FnzsfAsAu7Lm%252BV%252BFXsi026bxJSE3Z QhrOS%252BnRuUtOely%252FOc36Qph15XGX8HJ7v2fvBLeCcx BHUf7efWLNldQ6hpcVJNc%252Fakwtd2eB9nrrjXESzxwVpM4B yPKMlBmc3tHqwSfYSnGKFTNp1IxAP5m09EeaEzGJAQjmAKqjPH E9S5BK7XkdUJV5WkCve2QHGrEIUZa4NgphzrayCvM0SR%252Bq K4EqUUpcnradim9Vo4kG0xlWPaVO%252FOR3Zv1jOgdjnYzqRr s0%252FRmb40B8%252BNetfTd3%252BYtkwEQzWG0Sw5nH3ELR 0Q%253D%253D%7Campid%3APL_CLK%7Cclp%3A3458402

Edit: I've just seen adaptor available on ebay too ;-)

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/385817619...Bk9SR4is95vRYg

[Martin59]

Hi kiOgon, thanks for the reply, but I don’t think that will work on my set up as the pod has been converted to gravity fed from the skimmer So there is no outflow pipe for the adapter to sit on

[KiOgon]

My EZpod is gravity fed from the bottom drain, the outflow pipe is in the centre of the EZpod, how is yours different?

[Martin59]

The eBay link you put on your reply says the adapter is suited to a pump fed System

[Frimley Koi keeper]

The eBay link you put on your reply says the adapter is suited to a pump fed System

I've got 2 Eazy Pods, the first is on a pump fed system and the second is on a gravity fed system. The only visible differences are the inlet and outlets are different sizes 3" in and 2" (could be 1.5"?) out on the gravity fed version and 2" (could be 1.5" ?) in and 3" out on the pump fed version. The centre pipe gets swapped round so on gravity it sits lower down in the centre section but sticks further out of the side of the filter. In theory the 'beer' filter will work in either pump fed or gravity fed Eazy Pods as the water going down the centre pipe is just falling down via gravity in both systems. In the pump fed system the filter would be easier to fit and remove as the top of the centre pipe is literally just below the water level in the Eazy Pod where as in a gravity system it would be sitting a fair bit below the water level so as long as it's not made of a buoyant material the flow through the centre pipe even on a gravity set up should in theory be enough to keep the 'beer' filter in place in the centre pipe.

Word of caution though, anything you put in that centre pipe that is designed to catch things is likely to block and then stop water flowing down the centre pipe so on a gravity system you would potentially starve the water pump but on a pump fed system you would most likely cause the Eazy Pod to overflow and potentially drain your pond unless you have a water level switch fitted.

I tried putting 3" filter socks in the centre pipe on my pump fed Eazy Pod and it blocked very quickly. Same thing would happen with a gravity fed Eazy Pod but I didn't try that only put the filter sock on the end of the return pipework after the pump and the filter socks blocked fairly quickly there too.

At least with filter socks you can buy different grades and they are relatively easy and cheap to get hold of. I started off with a 400 micron which blocked fairly quickly initially then would last for a week or more. Then went for a 200 micron, again this blocked quickly but then would last a week or so. The difference in water clarity was noticeable. Not perfect but definitely better. Then I tried a 100 micron. That was interesting!!! Blocked in hours, then days and eventually lasted a week. I did buy a 50 micron but not sure if I actually tried it as the 100 micron was giving me pretty good water clarity. Always bought the filter socks in 2s so I had one in use and one cleaned and ready to swap.

Something else I found with any kind of mechanical filtration - filter socks and sieves etc. Initially they remove what you want them to but if they don't get cleaned often enough the muck that has previously been caught starts to get ground down and then starts to get through the filter sock or sieve screen, plus you can start to get a build up of muck which causes bad water parameter issues.

[Martin59]

Hi thanks for your reply. It sounds like a lot of work continual replacing and cleaning filters, and monitoring the system so it doesn’t starve the return pump of water. The pod is on the skimmer and the Nexus is on the bottom drain where the majority of filtration takes place. I still think a drum filter in front of the Nexus would be best and it is virtually maintenance free, provided it can cope with all the leaves in autumn, which is my only concern.

[Frimley Koi keeper]

Not sure on drums and leaves but from my understanding is they self clean so that sort of thing would get washed away to waste I believe but you may have to be careful about leaves blocking the drain maybe?

For space saving why not stick a Drako drop in drum into your Nexus? Probably easiest and cheapest option compared to adding a drum? Not sure 100% if it's a retro fit option but EA do an Automatic kit for the Nexus which if possible to retro fit could be a simple solution assuming it works on a gravity fed set up unlike the Automatic Eazy Pod which only works on a pump fed system.

My thinking is more cleaning should remove more muck before it gets turned into fines as it continues going round and round the pond and filter system? Also the more often it cleans the more water will be required to top the pond back up so the more water you will be changing which will also help with water clarity and hopefully quality?

[CobraKoi]

I've the same set up as you. I find most of the leaves get stuck in the filter basket .
They don't hang around long enough to skink to the bottom drain.

[Martin59]

I have looked at the Draco drop in for the Nexus 300 and it looks a great peace of kit and simple to install. But again my concern are the leaves. The problem with the Nexus is the waste drain is only 40mm and last autumn it was getting clogged up all the time.

[Martin59]

Hi Cobrakoi, I think it’s the fact the leaves are oak leaves, whether they are heavier than other leaves l don’t know, but I do know they don’t rot down like other leaves and they get sucked into the bottom drain

[RS2OOO]

I have looked at the Draco drop in for the Nexus 300 and it looks a great peace of kit and simple to install. But again my concern are the leaves. The problem with the Nexus is the waste drain is only 40mm and last autumn it was getting clogged up all the time.

The drop in drum would be my solution also.

It will cope with the leaves no problem.

If you can find a used one you might be able to pick up a bargain, even if it means buying the nexus that probably comes with it and then re-selling the Nexus itself.

I ran a Draco Drop in drum on my Nexus 220 for 2 years and whilst I know some people have had reliability issues, mine did not miss a beat, even when it was cleaning every 6 minutes through summer.