Hey all,

Just a quick question that I wanted to run past the team. I have a raised pond underneath a flood table (which essentially just another raised pond) that drains back into the pond. It's a pretty simple system and has been working well but recently I've been noticing a lot of the fish waste and excess food pools in the center of the flood table and this waste matters seems to really enjoy clinging to my plants roots. I've received a few bit's of advice that suggest that this waste matter collecting on the plant roots will inevitably decrease PH and also increase the chance of anaerobic bacteria. Apparently a solution to this is to have a Sump style system (which I'd like to avoid for the time being) or to have a filter system that will catch the heavier waste before it enters the flood table.

So I currently have a 6 gallon tote filled with Hydroton as my Bio-Filter. Water is pumped from a 3-way outlet from my pump which sits in the bottom of the pond. One goes to a venturi style aerator (that also creates a small current), one goes to the flood table and one goes into the Bio Filter. Water exits the Bio-Filter through a Bell Siphon directly back into the pond, so in case I'm explaining this poorly I want to directly state my water doesn't get filtered directly before it is pumped into the flood table.

So here are the questions.

1.) Can I use my bio-filter as a particle filter as well? I was thinking I could put the Bio-Filter above the flood table and simply have it drain into the flood table instead of into the pond. This would also eliminate the need to have a 3-way outlet from my pump.

2.) If the above is a plausible solution how often will I be needing to go into the Bio-Filter to clean it out? I'm under the impression that you actually don't want to clean a bio-filter because it houses all of your good bacteria which completes the nitrogen cycle.

3.) If my Bio-Filter can also double as a particle filter, and it doesn't need to be physically cleaned and if I were to remove my Bell siphon (which would cause the bacteria to receive less aeration) and turn the Filter into a continuous flow system would I need to add an air stone and air pump to keep the Bacteria oxygenated or do you think this would unnecessary?