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August 25th, 2009 by John Stoner

If you have looked at Koi pond filtration systems lately you know there are many choices. Well it is no different when it comes to the filtration media that is available. I get asked all the time about what is the best media to use.

There are two types of filtering to be accomplished – mechanical and biological. All media performs one or the other or both. They are both required for your Koi pond so what do they do? Well the mechanical filtration media removes large particulate waste material. Biological filtration fosters the growth of beneficial bacteria that breaks down pollutants in the water.

For biological filtering Japanese matting is one of your best choices. It is made from thousands of tiny fiber strands formed into a sheet or mat. The only thing to remember is not to use for mechanical filtering. The large waste particles will clog it quickly. You end up cleaning it very often and it will finally fail.

Another good type of biological filter medium is bacballs. They are easy to work with and clean. Again, don’t use them in the early stages of the filter system as they too may become clogged and require cleaning often. Bioflow and flocor are plastic pieces that are light weight and easy to clean and good for biological filtering. Aquarock is another good media for biological filters.

If you don’t have a vortex chamber as your first stage of filtration, you will want to use brushes in the first stage to trap the large solid waste material. Brushes are easy to work with and clean. You can be sure they will need frequent cleaning depending on the waste load of your Koi pond.

So what is a good setup? Well the answer might be different depending on who you ask but here are some suggestions. If you have a pump-fed multi-chamber system without a vortex you would want to consider having brushes in chamber one, followed by flocor or bioflow in stage two, followed by Japanese matting in stage three. If you have additional chambers consider adding matting, foam or Aquarock.

Regardless of what your exact setup is, there are many options available. Do a little homework and see what is available. Alternatively the setup I have described will serve you well.