How to Make My Own Pond Filter Cheaply
- 1). Place the shower drain beneath the top lip of the bucket and trace the outline with your pen. Cut out the hole you have drawn with the jigsaw. Affix the shower drain to the ridge of the hole with the vinegar-based joint compound/sealer and wait at least one hour to ensure it is secure. Test the seal by gently pressing on the drain. If the drain moves at all, wait an additional hour before proceeding.
- 2). Measure the distance across the base of the bucket then the length of two elbows from tip to bend. Add the elbow length together and subtract it from the base width. The remaining inches will need to be made of the PVC pipe. Cut the pipe to the exact measurement with the jigsaw and slide the tee into the center. Affix the elbows with PVC cement, placing them in opposing directions for proper water circulation.
- 3). Cut an opening for the PVC T to sit inside the center of the garden sieve with the wire cutters. Slide the light grate over the PVC T. Measure the height of the bucket and cut the remaining amount of PVC pipe to fit within the T and reach the top of the bucket. Cement the T and PVC pipe together. Affix the last elbow at the tip of the PVC pipe with the cement as well.
- 4). Cut the plastic hose with the utility knife so it sticks up out of the remaining T piece by one inch. Cut a 90 degree angle into the exposed inch to allow air to collect inside the hose. Secure the hose piece inside the T with the vinegar-based joint compound/sealer and allow it one hour to dry.
- 5). Cement the T with the hose piece to the elbow on the center pipe. Pour the packet of good bacteria to the base of the filter to aid in removing bad bacteria from your pond. Layer the lava rocks inside the bucket in a stacking fashion. The lava rock is a porous rock that accumulates good bacteria that fight the bad bacteria often from fish and plant waste. By now the cement should be dry. If not, wait about an hour before proceeding.
- 6). Connect the water pump pipe to the hose and T piece with an application of PVC cement. Once the water is on, the angled hose will bring air down into the filter to help aerate and help good bacteria thrive and eliminate the bad bacteria. Turn on the water after about an hour and watch it flow down through the pipes, then circulate upwards and through the rocks for filtration. Once the water becomes clean and reaches the top ridge of the bucket it will flow through the shower drain and into the pond once again.
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