Filters Clog too Quickly

[Crisco]

Hi,
I am new to ponds and just set up a very small pond that has a Pondmaster 190 fountain/filter.  I started using the pump 4 weeks ago and cleaned it after 2 weeks and then about a week ago then just 2 days ago and now it needs cleaned again?  Each time I clean the filters, I have to because the flow from the fountain reduced to a trickle due to clogging with muck. I only have about 5 small 3 inch goldfish and 4 tadpoles in the pond and no plants yet. Any advice or suggestions to avoid having to clean the filter every other day?  Would I be better off making a smaller version of a skippy filter for this small pond?  I also read about removing the filters and putting the pump in a basket type container with nylon scrub balls or cleaning pads surounding the pump.

Thanks

Chris

[Kittyzee]

Mine does the same thing too--but that's what filters do, filter the water and this time of year there is a lot of particulate matter, fish poo, etc. and we hose ours off every few days.  Maybe it makes a difference if you have a skimmer (which I don't), but this is stuff suspended under the water not skimmed off the top.  My water is clear and fish and plants are healthy, so I don't really mind doing it in the height of ponding season...

[Crisco]

Thanks Kittyzee, 

If I have to clean it every other day that's what I will do.  I thought it wouldn't hurt to ask to see if the experts here on the board know something I don't about this.  My expertise is music & guitars not ponds and filtration systems   

Chris

[Jerry]

I clean my Skippy once a year, so help me.  The skimmer i clean when the waterfall slows down.
We have had members claim the never clean theirs!
Yes I have clear water.

[Crisco]

Jerry,

Can a smaller version of a skippy work in a small pond?

Chris

[Kittyzee]

Crisco, I failed to mention that I do have a biological filter/waterfall that sits up above my pond.  I turn it on in early spring and then when it warms up I add plants to it(water clover and parrots feather this year) that help to filter the water.  But the only actual physical filter I have I DO clean every few days.  The only time my bio filter is cleaned (rinsed with hose water only) is in the fall when it gets shut down before really cold weather.  I don't want my falls to freeze so I drain the tub and wait for spring.   

[JuneBug]

I hope you have well water when you say you "hose your bio falls filter off", because un-chlorinated water will destory any good bacteria....

[Shoestring Ponder]

OK, I am new to this stuff as well, so I am going to ask a really dumb question, but here goes, What is a skippy filter?  Can someone direct me to a picture of it? TIA

CyndiMO

[Kittyzee]

I live on a farm and have well water.  I don't hose out my bio filter at all.  It's only drained and rinsed out with well water at the end of the season.