Tetra Pond Bio-Active Pressure Filter, for Ponds Up to 2500 Gallons

I was struggling to keep my new pond clean and free from algae and my previous pump clogged literally after 1 week. After doing some research I decided to try this filter along with a Tetrapond pump. Wow! What a difference it made in about 10 days. No more clogs in the fountain and the water clarity settled down and is easy to maintain. Very easy to clean as well. Note that this filter is MUCH bigger than it appears. I was able to hide it under an upside down half oak barrel, that now has a potted plant on it. For reference, my pond is 12 x 12 and 3 feet deep. Holds an estimated 2,200 gallons.

We have a 1500 gallon pond that we've been just sort of winging it since we bought the house 4 years ago. The summers are hot in NC and the algea gets out of control. We also have a lot of trees dropping debri in the pond. We finally got in there and scooped a lot of the crap out which made the water very murky. We had a pump and filter combo from AquaSource that was so nasty to clean out. In the summertime we would have to clean it two or three times a week just to get the water to circulate through the pump. On a local Facebook group I asked what kind of pump I could use that would not get clogged up and everyone suggested the Tetra large debris pump with this filter hooked up to it. The first couple days we were pretty disappointed that we didn't see much clarity. However, after 3 weeks the pawn looks better than it's ever looked. Because the pond was so scummy and murky to begin with, I did the back flush every other day to clean out the filter and added fresh water to the pond since the backflush causes a lot of water loss into the yard. So we've had it for about a month now and the back flush option is really awesome. One thing to be mindful of is the attachment sizes of this unit are rather large (1 1/4 and 1 1/2). It's hard to find pond tubing that size locally And we also ended up having to buy a new waterfall box because our old waterfall box only had a 3/4 in max inlet. So if you end up going with this filter, I would definitely recommend buying your hosing in any other accessories you need online. We used the Tetra large debris handling 3000 gallon pump with this and it's working great.

Once I figured out the size hose needed and the pump needed to run the filter, this filter is great! I have a 1500 gph pump and the filter works fine. Even when I flush it, I get lots of debris flushed out. Not sure how the 3500 gph pump would make it better. I think the sellers could put this information on their sites so others could see it at a glance. I love the filter and it helps keep my pond clean! It was easy to install. I dug a hole, placed a LARGE flower pot in the hole, placed 2 bricks in the bottom and set the filter on top of the bricks. This will make taking it out for the winter much easier. This filter is easier to clean than the one I had IN the pond. I use that filter to keep large leaves out of the pump.

The first couple of months, it worked great, then I noticed an O-ring issue. The O-ring had a split. Looked like a manufacturer's defect. Unable to obtain any spare parts, anywhere. Not Amazon, eBay, or even the company itself. Nothing more than a paperweight, as I'm unable to obtain a replacement O-ring, and it was not through a lack of trying. O-rings must be an exact fit, or you will have leaking and air pressure problems.

First off, this filter is large! Maybe 3 or 4 times bigger than the filter it is replacing. It puts out a huge flow of water so I had great hope of it cleaning my water garden. My issue is that it really doesn't have mechanical filtration like it says in the instructions. Only biological media

The back flush is convenient and seems to work well but this filter does not capture and keep all sediments from returning to the pond. I replaced a filter that used a combination coarse and fine media filters for this one and this one does not work nearly as well. The other one I had made the water crystal clear... with this one the water is always a bit murky. I have had it for about 9 months. I am wondering it I can add some media filter to it also as there is plenty of room. The downside to my old one was that I had to take it apart to clean it every 6-8 weeks but to have a clear pond it would be worth the added time.

Terrific and reasonably priced product. I had looked at pond filters at my local hardware store and all I saw were cheap mechanical filters. Mechanical filters require regular cleaning and I was no longer willing to get messy every month cleaning out a gunked up filter. So, I looked at pressurized bio filters. I was floored to see how even inexpensive models ran upward of $425! Then I stumbled upon this TetraPond model. The reviews looked solid .... I asked my pond guy and he said he was experienced with this model and had good luck with them. So I jumped in. Absolutely no regrets. The filter has been running for about 3 weeks now, the flow is still strong and the water is nice and clear again. When the flow slows, I'll do a quick backwash and not have to touch any of the gunk. The only caveat is to realize the fittings are for rather large connections. Two inches, and you can trim to 1 1/2 inches. I had to get some reduction fittings so my tubing would fit. It hasn't affected performance - but be aware if you're running 1" or less diameter tubing you may have some challenges getting connected.

I have had one of these filters for around 8 years so I just purchased another one because I feel it could be at the end of its life. It is super easy to maintain and keep the pond clean. I love the backwash feature, but after turning off the pump, we take the hose out of the water else the backwash (as you turn it on and off) will dump tons of dirt into the pond. So just take the hose out and do the backwash on and off a few times until you see is coming clean at both ends. Also, we normally wash the whole filter probably every 8 weeks. We made a gigant container (a square with 4x2s) with hardware wire as the floor of that container. We dump the little white piece onto this made up strainer and hose them really well. Makes the job super easy... but you lose the good bacteria every time you do a full filter clean. We fill the filter with the pond water and works fine. My only concern eith this filter is the hoses could become lose even with clamps and i am terrified of obe day finding the pond with no water. I am trying to find better connectors that mire securely attach the hoses to the in and outlets. The filter last longer if it is covered from direct sun too. I have the pump also from Tetra and both of them work great together. Very pleased. My 7 koi fish are all happy and healthy.

Works wonders!

Good replacement for my 20-year old filter.

After three days the pond was crystal clear

We have an indoor turtle pond. About 150 gallons with 1 turtle and a few big gold fish. The turtle has access to large sandy rock suning area so is always carrying debrie back with her. For not having an ultra violet light or spounge media I was amazed at how well this cleared up the water. When I put this is we did a 1/2 water exchange and things were stirred up pretty good. We had removed a waterfall and some plant material as well. The water was horrible looking but by the next morning it was nice and clear. In the pic there may be a little haze.... had to go find the air bubbler after removing waterfall to turn water over. The 4 stars instead of 5 is that this suffers from leakage from the "back wash" port just like every other model I have owned.... but this one does it from the start..... but it comes with a stop block for the port so at least they acknowledge this flaw and provide a solution from the start. In the summer I will buy an UV chamber to add in line somewhere but for the price you really can't ask for much better. If anything happens that would change this review I will update but highly recommended so far.

This TetraPond Bio-Active BP1500 Pressure Filter comes in a large box, weighing about 9 pounds. Everything is easy to open, connect, and start using right away, thanks to the well-written instructions included inside. The filter has a very simple design, that features an inlet and an outlet as well as a backflush. During my testing, on my 800-gallon koi, goldfish, and pleco pond, the filter was running dry without any noticeable leaks, so both the housing and connections were solid and tight-fitting. I ran this for well over a month and it did well to maintain my pond, keeping it free from algae buildup. This filter has been on the market for some time and it's a popular choice. The biggest reason why it's done well is because of the backflush feature which cut down on so much of the dirty work involved in filters that don't have one. All I have to do to clean the unit is turn the single knob to the clean position, which flushes out the entire system of dirt and debris while keeping the good bacteria remaining on the bio-activators. I use the nutrient-rich water from the backflush in my nearby garden, which provides a natural fertilizer. As the name suggests, this filter is rated for a 1500 gallon pond. In terms of the current price, this is one of the most affordable options out there on the market my experience has shown that it is a really good choice, especially for medium size ponds. Full marks from me!