netrate, Water hyacithn along with water iris also, will keep your water clean. They are natural filters. Those 2 plants alone are amazing. I bought mine on Ebay this year, I was very pleased with the quality of the plants. You will probably get a good deal now, check it out.

I probably won't be able to help you. Don't know nuthin' about skimmers or fancy filters. I'm a simple girl and I like simple things. What about some filtration involving the plastic mesh basket that's over the bottom drain? You can take some stalkings or other breathable fabric to make some carbon bags and stick them in there also. I'd leave the pump running throughout the day. You could even line the mesh basket with a thin layer of quilt batting to catch some of the smaller debris. Tannis will stain the water, but it doesn't muck it up. Typically you should be able to see through blackwater pretty clearly. If you can't see more than a few inches beneath the surface, I'd be more apt to blame improper filtration and stirring of silt and dirt than tannins. And by the sound of it, you might even be surprised how much flow you're getting. I've read on this forum recently, that a garden hose *may* be equivilent to approximately 500gph. It struck me when I read it because I'd always thought the garden hose matched the flow and velocity of my 600gph pump pretty closely. And my past "falls" at that point was quite gentle. You have a pair of those, you said... So you might be getting more flow than you realize. As per the leaves, short of a skimmer there's just no way to deal with them except to net them out once a week. But they sink pretty quickly, even when I net daily I still get that wonderful stenchy brew each Spring. That being said, I'm banking on someone here being a bit smarter than me and having a better solution for you. Can you show any pics? Sounds like a pretty nice set up!

Hi Think cc has the best idea if you have the room?? Wouldn't worry about filtration just make it easy to clean. The "waste " water certainly won't go to waste on an orchard.?? Automate it as much as your space and budget will allow as it will have to be cleaned at least every week. No use even trying to landscape it. I raised Wooducks and Mandarins many years ago on a half acre pond and it still showed signs of "ducks" lol. While most young birds are quite ugly baby ducks are adorable. So you have to choose either ducks or plants lol IMight also mention that three will soon become 6 or ten or more lol gary

Vicki, There are many filter systems used by ponders but keep in mind it is a system. Since it is a run off pond with rocks on the bottom I don't think you have a bottom drain. So that in itself means eventually you will have to vaccuum the pond or drain and pump out the mulm and clay that accumulates under the rocks. Most people with rock lined ponds do that yearly. Pond skimmers will help keep the surface debris from eventually ending up in those rocks. Bead filters and pressure filters usually require a prefilter before them, and you must frequently flush them wich requires a lot of water. May not be a bad option if you install a skimmer and use it after the skimmer. But you must commit to those flushes. Your pond is twice the size of mine. How deep is it? What are the dimensions. If it was my pond and the theme was more natural vs crystal clear here is what I might do. I might just use two large skimmers and take them to skippy filters. I don't think I would retrofit a bottom drain due to the clay. So I would do a yearly clean out. If the clay was not that big of a deal I would retrofit a BD to a settling pond or chamber and take that to a skippy. Others with better ideas will chime in soon. Regards, Lisa