Anyway, the design I went for was pretty simple. \u00c2\u00a0First off, here’s the shopping list:<\/p>\n
- \n
- 5 Gallon Bucket with lid ($5 at a hardware store<\/a>)<\/li>\n
- A 10 pound or 0.5 cubic foot bag of lava rock ($4<\/a>)<\/li>\n
- Some fine filtration media ($9 for plenty<\/a>)<\/li>\n
- Enough garden hose to reach across the pond and into the bucket (under $10<\/a>)<\/li>\n
- A cheap hose adapter ($3<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0for each female and male, or skip if you have an intact hose)<\/li>\n
- Male and female 1″ PVC adapters (less than $1 a<\/a> piece<\/a>)<\/li>\n
- Some cheap, sturdy, plastic box that fits at the bottom of the bucket. \u00c2\u00a0I used\u00c2\u00a0a large glad-ware container ($3)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Most of these you probably have lying around. \u00c2\u00a0The total cost here is $36, and it’s probably more like $25 if you scrounge some things you have lying around.<\/p>\n
Tool wise, all I used was a drill and a pocket knife.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
There are a few reasons that these particular selections work. \u00c2\u00a0The pond pump I have fits a garden hose if you just cut one of the connectors off and slide the hose into the pump’s output tube. \u00c2\u00a0I find this much simpler than PVC, but if your diameters don’t work you’re going to have to redo a couple of parts.<\/p>\n
Step 1 is to cut a hole in the small plastic box (the GladWare) in the bottom center (which will become the top) around which the garden hose will couple. \u00c2\u00a0It helps, then, to pick an adapter that flares so that when you screw the hose to the adapter it grips the plastic. \u00c2\u00a0This picture should help:<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"http:\/\/www.chiplynch.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/knife_adapter_gladware-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a>The knife used to cut the hole in the Glad Ware through which the male hose adapter is pushed.<\/p><\/div>\n
On the hose, I had cut the male end off a year ago (and lost it) to fit an end into the pump,\u00c2\u00a0which is why the adapter I linked to is male; save yourself $3 by saving the end you chop off.<\/p>\n
After that you want to drill some holes in this plastic box. \u00c2\u00a0The idea is to get enough water flow in all directions without hurting the structure of the box, since it will need to support some lava rocks later. \u00c2\u00a0Here’s another pic:<\/p>\n
![\"Holes](\"http:\/\/www.chiplynch.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Drill_gladware_holes-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a>Holes drilled into the bowl with a 1\/4″ drill bit, and the reverse view of the hose adapter.<\/p><\/div>\n
Now, more elaborate setups build a grille and support structure at the bottom of the bucket, and some include a valved output port at the bottom of the bucket for emptying gunk much like in a water heater. \u00c2\u00a0Some designs put PVC elbows in to direct water flow in certain ways. \u00c2\u00a0All of these may be minor improvements, but they each add incrementally more difficult builds and complications, and without, I think, being worthwhile.<\/p>\n
Next, we cut the same sort of hole near the top of the bucket facing to the side to fit the two PVC adapters. \u00c2\u00a0These will be threaded through the bucket just like the hose adapter is threaded through the plastic box. \u00c2\u00a0While we’re cutting things, cut a hole in the lid of the bucket to pull the hose through. \u00c2\u00a0Voila:<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"http:\/\/www.chiplynch.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150726_183416_S-Brook-St-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a>The hose, inside box, PVC output spout, and lid without the filter material.<\/p><\/div>\n
With the inner box laying\u00c2\u00a0firmly on the bottom of the bucket, fill the bucket within a couple of inches of the PVC pipe with the lava rock. \u00c2\u00a0Put them in gently at first to make sure you don’t crush the little box at the bottom.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"http:\/\/www.chiplynch.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/lava_rock_in_place.jpg\")
<\/a>A blurry view of the lava rock filled bucket.<\/p><\/div>\n
At this point you may want to stick a clear water hose into the bucket and run it for a few minutes to clean off the lava rocks, which tend to come with a lot of red dust on them.<\/p>\n
Next you want to stuff the rest of the bucket with the finer filter material. \u00c2\u00a0I cut a few squares larger than the bucket, and cut a hole in the middle of each (A simple way to find the center is to fold the square in half twice, and cut at the inside corner). \u00c2\u00a0Run the end of the hose through these so that they fill the bucket. \u00c2\u00a0If you use multiple sizes of filters (coarse, medium, fine), the coarser ones should go towards the lava rocks. \u00c2\u00a0You’ll have to ou have to\u00c2\u00a0take the lid off if you already threaded the hose through it, like I did. \u00c2\u00a0Oops.<\/p>\n
Here’s a picture; I’m using a terrible filter medium here because the stuff I ordered hasn’t arrived yet. \u00c2\u00a0You want to stuff \u00c2\u00a0this fairly full, just not so full that any of the media gets squished. \u00c2\u00a0This photo needs another inch or two of material:<\/p>\n
![\"Almost](\"http:\/\/www.chiplynch.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/filter_material-1024x576.jpg\")
<\/a>Almost filled with fine filter material, a bit more needed.<\/p><\/div>\n
And that’s it. \u00c2\u00a0Put the top on firmly and attach the other end of the hose to the pump. \u00c2\u00a0Should be good to go! \u00c2\u00a0This is a picture of a test pump… I’m planning on partially submerging this and hiding it in some rocks, but it’s functionally complete. \u00c2\u00a0Let me know if this works for you!<\/p>\n
![\"Working](\"http:\/\/www.chiplynch.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/running_a_test_pump.jpg\")
<\/a>Working if ugly pond filter! Woot!<\/p><\/div>\n
I’ll upgrade the filter when I get the amazon order in with the smaller micron filter material, but in the mean time here’s the instant before and after water (the pre-filter water is on the right). \u00c2\u00a0The filter definitely removes big detritus, but I’ll need the finer mesh to get here, and a few weeks of bio goop growing on the lava rocks to (hopefully) get much cleaner. \u00c2\u00a0I’ll try to follow up, but so far so good!<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"http:\/\/www.chiplynch.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/after-and-before-shot-576x1024.jpg\")
<\/a>The dirty water on the right is pre-filter, and on the left is the first pass coming out.<\/p><\/div>\n
UPDATE!…<\/strong><\/h3>\n
I pulled out the very cheap filter media leaving only the rocks for a few days, and quality still improved dramatically. \u00c2\u00a0After 5 days with just lava rocks, the water looked like this:<\/p>\n
- A 10 pound or 0.5 cubic foot bag of lava rock ($4<\/a>)<\/li>\n
![\"After](\"http:\/\/www.chiplynch.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/20150731_204421_S-Brook-St-576x1024.jpg\")
<\/a>