"Pad-&-Media-Bag" Style Waterfall Filters Can Only Be Cleaned BY HAND!
Do you want to put your hands down inside these mass-marketed "Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filters?
If you own one, choose to purchase one, or have your contractor install one for you ...you'll have to!
These types of waterfall filters are widely marketed to landscape contractors through irrigation supply companies, wholesale catalog companies, and other distributors that have little or no experience with pond fish and Koi health.
Make sure you ask your contractor:
"How do I clean the filter?"
If your contractor tells you: "Once per year, pull the filter pads and media bags out and hose them off" - the photos below show you what you'll be doing and how you'll do it.
Contractors: Hydro Vortex™ Easy to Clean Waterfall Filters with or without the HydroFlush™ Backwash System will give you an advantage over your competitors that continue to install outdated, hard to clean, inefficient "Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filters - the photos below will prove it to you.
Compare cleaning "Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filters with how EASY To CLEAN Hydro Vortex™ filters with the HydroFlush™ Backwash System are!
Make sure to ask your contractor to install an
EASY TO CLEAN Hydro Vortex™ Filter from
Russell Watergardens
All the following photos are of actual "Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filters that are in the process of their manufacturer's recommended "annual" cleaning. The manufacturers of these types of filters state: "The filter only needs to be cleaned once per year." You can see by the photos here that their "annual cleaning instructions" aren't quite sufficient for the health of your pond and fish.
Look at these photos of mass-marketed "once-per-year-cleaned-filters"....how healthy do YOU think this muck building up inside the filter will be for YOUR fish?
When the filter is full of all the fish waste, muck and detritus it can hold - what do you think it does with what it no longer has room for?
If you guessed ...."Pass it back to the pond." - You're right!
These "clean-only-once-per-year-pad-&-media-bag" style, mass-marketed waterfall filters could be compared to a toilet that only gets flushed once per year. Just because the marketing and sales literature says it ....would you only flush the toilet once per year? Of course not ....especially when it was full! A full toilet would simply overflow onto the floor and create a huge, disgusting, smelly mess that you would then have to clean up.
That's what happens with "Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filters. They get full of fish waste, detritus, and muck - then overflow into the pond or water feature. According to the marketing and sales literature provided by the various manufacturers of these types of filters you must then catch and remove all your fish, drain the pond, pressure wash everything, pump out all the muck, then re-fill the entire pond, put your fish back in, and start the whole ecosystem over again from scratch. Year after year!
Please, don't take our word for it. Read the marketing and sales literature provided by the various manufacturers - as well as the Owners and Maintenance Manuals of all brands of "Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filters. But don't stop there. Call every pond contractor in your area that offers "Pond & Filter Spring Cleanings" as a service they provide and ask them about the "Annual Spring Cleaning".
Ask your pond contractor: "What they do, how they do it, and why they do it the way they do?". Don't forget to ask them how much they charge for the service too. This has to be added into the cost of the filter you purchase for your pond or water feature.
If you like the idea of personally hand cleaning your "Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filter, or paying a professional to do it for you ...here is how it gets done:
First, you'll have to remove the bags of media - the most popular media in these bags is lava rock. Keep in mind that when these media bags are new and clean they can weigh up to 35 pounds - now add a full year of fish waste and sludge to that! They can easily weigh twice that - 70 pounds or more! To remove them, you have to reach down into the filter and pull them straight up! Make sure you have a proper back brace and "lift with your legs!"
The waterfall filters that use these types of media bags are not designed for routine rinsing, or backwashing. Therefore, they just continue to produce detritus that can't be contained within the filter. Then the filter simply "passes it to the pond" where it builds up as sludge on the pond bottom where it can only be removed by draining the pond and pressure washing while "slurry pumping" it out.
The soiled media bags inside these "Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filters can easily weigh up to 70 pounds or more.
You'll have to climb up to the top of your waterfalls and reach down into the filter to grab the media bags. Make sure to lift with your legs and not your back to avoid injury!
The heavy, smelly, dirty media bags will be below your feet, and you have to lift them straight-up to remove them from the "Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filter. If not lifted properly, a serious back injury could result!
Once all the heavy media bags are removed, you'll then have to reach FARTHER down into the filter to remove the filter pads! Try not to think about the malodorous rotting fish excrement, detritus, muck, and sludge that you're plunging your hands into.
Make sure you have "arm-length" gloves and old clothes on as you remove these dirty filter pads. They can weigh up to 50 pounds or more depending on their size and on how much excrement your fish produced over a year's time. When you clean a "pad-&-media-bag" style waterfall filter box, make sure you have the proper protective equipment for your hands and eyes. A respirator may be a good idea as well to protect your nose and mouth from fumes and splashes. Also, wear a low back brace to help protect your back from the heavy weights you'll be lifting.
There are many brands and sizes of "pad-&-media-bag" style waterfall filters on the market. Virtually every one of them are marketed with "Only Annual Cleaning Required".
The reason they tell you to clean their filters only once per year is that they know if they told you "how" you'll have to clean their filter- and as any Koi expert will tell you - that it "should" be cleaned at least every 30 days - you wouldn't purchase their product!
Filter pads come in all shapes, sizes, and thicknesses. They ALL have to be removed from the "Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filters for cleaning.
When shopping for waterfall filters, you should consider the added costs of paying someone to clean the filter for you, or the extra work clothes and equipment you'll need to purchase if you're going to clean the filter yourself. Also, you need to consider the cost of replacing your filter pads every other year, and your lava rock every year.
Once the heavy, smelly, soiled media bags and the filter pads are removed from the
"Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filter, you'll then need to remove the remaining sludge as seen on the "rock-ledge" of this filter shown on the left.
No "Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filters have bottom drains to facilitate easier cleaning and draining. So how do you get this muck out of the filter? You "hose & pump" it out, "Shop-Vac" it out, or "hand-muck" it out. More than likely you'll need a combination of the three.
Again, when comparing waterfall filters, consider the cost of a sewage pump and hose to "suck the muck" out of "Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filters.
ALL brands of "Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filters get cleaned the same way. You have to remove the filter pads and media bags by hand. Then you have to clean the filter itself by "hand-mucking" the walls, ledges, and corners - especially the brands that have "rock-ledges" or "rock-trays" on the upper edge of the filter. Then, since they do not have bottom drains, they must be drained with a shop-vac or sewage pump.
These are actual photos of a "Once-Per-Year-Cleaned-Pad-and-Media-Bag" style waterfall filter box during its "Annual Cleaning". Take a good look at them, and remember these photos as you compare the many brands of "Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filters with our Easy to Clean Hydro Vortex™ filters with HydroFlush™ Backwash Systems before making your purchasing decision. After all, it"s your pond, it"s your filter, they're your fish.......and you're the one who'll have to clean it or pay someone a lot of money to do it for you.
This is a close-up photo of a media bag and a filter pad removed from a "pad-&-media-bag" style waterfall filter box.
How healthy is your pond going to be with all this fish waste, sludge, muck, and detritus inside your filter for the manufacturers recommendation of a full year?
How efficient do you think this lava rock is? Does this look like it would do much good in your pond filter?
When lava rock is this dirty, it actually does more harm than good inside a biofilter. As the pores get clogged, the biofilm inside the pores dies - thus lowering the overall biofilm surface area inside the filter.
Also, dead biofilm inside lava rock pores becomes anaerobic (void of oxygen) which then encourages harmful pathogens and bacteria strains to take over the biofilter.
Look at the clogged pores in this handful of lava rock removed from the bag in the photo above.
Lava rock is used instead of regular gravel rock because the pores increase the overall SSA (Specific Surface Area) for biofilm growth. But, when the pores get clogged like this, the overall SSA of the lava rock gets reduced to that of regular gravel rock. Lava rock becomes less efficient if not kept relatively clean.
How do you suppose you're going to get this clean? The only way to fully clean this is with high pressure water, and that high pressure water is going to kill the biofilm.
Look at this photo. This is a close-up photo of a filter pad. Filter pads are used inside biological filters because they have relatively high SSA rates. But as you can see, they become clogged with fish waste, muck, detritus and sludge. A clogged filter pad becomes a "dam" in the water flow - and diverts water around the pad instead of through it. This is known as "channeling". Water that "channels" around filter pads doesn't get filtered.
Look at the photo of this filter pad from a "Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filter during its "Annual Cleaning". How much water do you think passes "through" this filter pad? Not much.
When the filter pads and media bags of "Pad-&-Media-Bag" style waterfall filters get clogged with fish waste, detritus, muck, and sludge - water simply passes "around" the pads and media bags. This is known as "channeling". You can easily spot a "channeling" filter - you'll notice water shooting upward in one of the corners - around the pads and media bags. Water that "channels" around the filter pads and media bags is not being filtered. The water is not passing by the bio film, and thus the bio film dies off.
Unfiltered, "channeled" water passing out of the filter results in debris, sludge, and ammonia being passed back to the pond.
This causes sediment and sludge to build up on the pond bottom as seen in this photo. It"s no wonder that Koi hobbyists shun the water garden hobby for placing gravel in the bottom of the pond! Look how unhealthy this dirty gravel is.....you wouldn't want your other pets "rooting around" in this muck, so why would you want your fish to?
Sludge like this on the bottom of your pond feeds algae, and breeds protozoa and parasites that infect your fish. As it rots and decays, it removes oxygen from the pond, and can also cause your fish to have hydrogen sulfide poisoning. Not to mention the foul odor.
Look at this filter pad, do you think it can hold any more fish waste, sludge and detritus?
What happens to the sludge, fish waste, and detritus that it can no longer hold on to?
You're right! It simply gets passed to the pond where it settles to the bottom of the pond.
Since "pad-&-media-bag" filters pass so much sludge, sediment, muck, and detritus back to the pond, this is how "pad-&-media-bag" filter manufacturers tell you to clean the bottom of your pond:
Catch and remove all your fish. Do you have a holding tank large enough for all your fish?
Pump out all the water. Pressure wash all the rock and gravel. Pump out all the muck and sludge. (Where does all this water, muck, fish waste, and sludge go? Do you have a safe place for all the rotting sludge, muck, sediment, and detritus to be discharged where it won't pollute a storm drain or your neighbor's landscape?)
When all the sludge, muck, sediment, and detritus have been pressure washed and pumped away, fill the pond completely back up with clean water and then put the fish back in it. Don't be alarmed when you get your water bill.
Most tap water contains chlorine and/or chloramine, so remember to add a dechlorinator such as HydroClear™ Total Control to make the new water safe for fish. If you're on a well, most well water contains heavy metals, so again, add a heavy metal detoxifier such as HydroClear™ Total Control to make the new water safe for fish.
When the pond is clean, you then have to clean the filter pads and media bags. To clean them, you'll have to high pressure wash the filters pads and media bags. Never mind that this will aslo destroy the biofilm in the process.
Then, once the filter pads and media bags are clean - put the whole filter back together and restart your pump.
The pond will look fantastic after a "Spring Cleaning" such as this......but only for a very short time. You see, as a result of pressure washing with water that has different pH levels, temperature, and/or is chlorinated - your biofilm is irreparably harmed and you'll have to start the ecosystem over from the beginning. You have to re-build your ecosystem from scratch - and as you remember from when you first built your pond - it takes up to six weeks to mature!
Remember, your biofilm is what removes all that ammonia that your fish produce. A lack of biofilm results in raised ammonia levels in your pond. Raised ammonia levels can be immediately fatal to your fish - or, if it doesn't immediately kill your fish, it will drastically lower your fishes' immune system, causing burning gills which then causes “flashing", which then leads to infections - both internal and external. Not to mention all that un-metabolized organic debris and fish waste that encourages algae growth. This is why ponds get a significant algae bloom and fish disease outbreak following a "Spring Cleaning".
For all the above reasons, this is why "pad-&-media-bag" style waterfall filter boxes and gravel bottomed ponds are not the healthiest choice you can make for having valuable Koi in your pond. These filters and pond types can be acceptable for Goldfish, but when considering the much higher priced and valued Koi, it is a good idea to place them in a Koi pond or a Hybrid Pond™ along with completely backwashable Hydro Vortex™ or Hydro Bead Vortex™ biological filters. Koi require clean ponds without sludge, muck, sediment, or detritus build-up.
Unlike all "pad-&-media-bag" and "strapping-tape-spring-flow" style waterfall filters, Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filters with HydroFlush™ Backwash Systems don't have to be disassembled for cleaning. They are cleaned with Highly Oxygenated Pond Water at low pressure that is both the same temperature and pH as the water passing up through it. No chlorinated water is used, and the pond doesn't have to be drained. This saves on water and never harms the biofilm. The biofilm is always maintained in a clean and un-clogged environment as to perform at peak efficiency at all times. This is especially important for the health of your valuable Koi.
When considering purchasing any brand of waterfall filter, you should always ask: "How do I clean it? When do I clean it? Why do I need to clean it? And what happens if I don't clean it?"
With Hydro Vortex™ waterfall filters from Russell Watergardens, you'll always know the answers to these questions.
Although "Pad-&-Media-Bag" filters may be less expensive to purchase, you must consider the added costs of replacing their filter pads and other media every 1-3 years. You'll also need to include the high cost of the time you will spend each year performing the massive, disruptive annual "Spring Cleaning", or paying someone a lot of money to do it for you. Lastly, remember to factor in the eventual cost of replacing your "Pad-&-Media-Bag" filter with an Easy to Clean Hydro Vortex™ filter. In the long run, it's more cost effective to purchase and install the correct filter the first time....an Easy to Clean, Highly Efficient Hydro Vortex™ fully back-washable waterfall filter.
What are more and more "Pad-&-Media-Bag" filter owners across the United States and Canada doing with their filters?
They're replacing them with Easy to Clean, Highly Efficient Hydro Vortex™ filters with HydroFlush™ Backwash Systems from Russell Watergardens.
The unwanted "Pad-&-Media-Bag" filters then get cut into small pieces of plastic for recycling into something more useful.
Attention Contractors: Replacing outdated "Pad-&-Media-Bag" filters with Easy To Clean Hydro Vortex™ Filters with HydroFlush™ Backwash Systems is a great way to add new revenue sources to your business.
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