Cris
Making a Trash Can Pond Filter
Why should you make a trash can pond filter? Free standing ponds need filtration to keep the water clean. This DIY Pond filter was made from some PVC, a trash can, a submersible pump, and some filter material.
This thing works great! We had turtles in this pond at one time, and if you’ve ever had turtles, you know they stink! This filter really did do the trick, there was no smell, and the water was always clear.
This time around, it’s just goldfish because turtles eat the water lilies. And this time, the pond is for greenhouse winter heating. It’s a re-used pond for sure, what a great investment when you get so much use out of it!
Required Materials
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First off you need a trash can that will hold enough water and filter material to clean your pond water. The size trash can you need will depend on the size of your pond. Mine is a 100-gallon Rubbermaid water trough, so my filter is a 32-gallon trash can. You could go smaller, but I prefer really clean water.
Next you will need some rubber hose and a some picture inspiration to get you going until I can add pictures here.
I did leave the lid off of the filter so that there is also a place to grow those water lilies. This saves space for other pond plants and fish in the main pond. This spring I will be sectioning off a bog portion to grow actual horseradish in it. We can also use this water source and pump to incorporate an aquaponics system. That is a post for another day….