Great video. Clear. Simple. Easy to follow. You are inspiring me from across the ocean to rebuild my pond. You are also great in your rockwork. Talent is understated.
Very useful thanks, just purchased a 3000, very similar to yours, as I was lifting it out of the water, a blue light came on, on the top of the device, please could you let me know what this indicates? Its not mentioned in the instructions. Cheers
Hi there, thanks for watching! The blue light is the uvc-there’s a small clear indicator window on top of the unit which allows you to look through to the uvc to indicate if it’s on or not. You’re seeing the glow of the uvc tube shining through the window, meaning it’s working as it should! Best, Ed
Hi Ed in your video on the oase filtoclear 30000 system you said it’s good practice to replace the foams every year with new ones. Would you also recommend the same on this system ?
Hi Luke-good question! The filtoclear units are pressurised and as a result the filter media/foams tend to expire and require replacing more frequently then other non pressurised systems. I would expect foams for the filtral units to last longer- a couple of years (or more) before requiring replacement. Once the foams start to break up or have compressed and don’t spring back to shape after cleaning its time to renew. Hope this helps! Best, Ed
Hi there, thanks for your comment! Indeed yes, the flow rate has been reduce somewhat by opening the secondary valve slightly which returns some water back to the pond underwater. However, even on max flo it’s not a powerful pump and is rated at 1700lph at full capacity. Best, Ed
Excellent videos both the install and re-visit. Loads of very helpfull tips and information. Can I suggest a small cable tie is put not too tightly around the cable to stop the gommet sliding into the pond.
Hi great video very informative and I like the idea of the all in one solution. Another great accessory were the gloves. Where do you get them from. Many thanks Paul
Thanks for your kind words! The gloves are just generic pond gloves or pond gauntlets-a look online should pull up lots of different options for you. Best, Ed
Ed what a great video. Prior to watching your videos I was planning to buy the Oase Filtral 9000. I liked how you used the head cam as it gave a better view of what you were doing. Can I ask if you do vacuuming aswell or just the pump filter?
Thank you for the positive feedback! As for your request-later on during spring I’ll be undertaking spring pond servicing (which is the best time to renew uvc tubes) and should have plenty of opportunities to document such work! In the mean time I would recommend you have a look at my video tutorial on the older gen 1 filtral model-much of the internals are similar to the 2nd gen and I go through uvc tube replacement on that video. Best, Ed
Morning! Yes, absolutely continuing to run your filtral durring the colder winter months is fine-and in my opinion important to do so. Make sure that the unit itself is well below any potential surface ice build up-so keep it in the deeper part of your pond-however not at the deepest part, for reasons I’ll explain shortly. Continuing to run the unit will ensure water quality doesn’t drop and any water movement/surface agitation will help prevent the entire surface of the pond freezing during extreme cold. Re not placing the unit right on the very bottom; generally our climate isn’t cold enough to worry about this, however during the colder winter months the bottom of the pond is the warmest place for any livestock that may be overwintering in the pond. Drawing this though a pump/filter and bringing it to the colder surface can actually cool the pond entirely, so it can be good practise to raise any pumps from the deepest sections and move them to a slightly shallower shelf, build up a platform on which it can sit, or simply suspend it with some suitable string/wire-but making sure it’s not within the surface freeze zone! In all honesty unless we have some really cold weather I don’t tend to bother about this, but good to be aware of!! Hope this helps, Ed
Ha ha! Thanks Paul. To be honest the images haven’t really captured the water clarity well due to the reflections/glare. Looked a lot clearer then the video suggested. Sadly I’d already stirred up the pond a little by the time I did the underwater shots!
Hello mate, your video is great. I'm starting up a raised sleeper pond for goldfish. It's 1200 litres (1.2m x 2.4m x 0.6m deep) and I was wondering if the 3000 or 6000 would be ideal? The specs of the 3000 match my pond quite well but was hoping to keep clarity perfect if possible and maybe the jump up in size would help but I've read that the pump maybe too strong for the fish? Any info would be gratefully received, keep up the hard work
Hi there- thanks for your kind words! Re your query- first of all the math doesn’t add up- based on the pond dimensions you’ve provided the volume would be circa 1728 litres/380 gallons! Based on this volume (or even the slightly lower number you estimated I would actually only entertain using the largest of the filtral range; the 9000. This unit includes an integrated 13w uvc. Always be very wary of manufacturer claims- they always tend to wildly over estimate the ability of their products (even Oase!) and for safety and absolute clarity I use the formula of 1w per 30 gallons/136 litres for ponds less then 1000gallon/4500 litres in volume. This equals an estimated wattage of 12.66 watts- always better to slightly over spec and so 13 watts would be perfect. Remember that using a submersed all in one system such as this is always a compromise- such units tend to be designed small and discreet- the complete opposite of what we really want in a filter- maximum surface area! Go big- flow rates wont be an issue and if you wish you could purchase the optional fountain kit which includes a handy two way valved riser pipe, which could be used to discharge water via two outlets- softening over all water flow/currents. Hope this helps and good luck! Best, Ed
Hi there! If you check out my channel you’ll find a video titled How to service an Oase filtral (older model) ‘all in one’ filter. Although not entirely the same as the updated model it’s close enough and will aid you through quartz sleeve removal and uvc tube replacement. Best, Ed
Hi Ed, this may sound like a very silly question but, after washing the filter medium in the bucket of pond water do you disregard that water, or, does it go back into the pond? We have recently bought our first Oase, the Filtral 3000. Prior to that we had used the Hozelock easyclear 3000 but that became defective after 3 years of continuous use, so we decided to give this a try this instead. Thanks.
No not a silly question at all!! The dirty water left from cleaning the filter media should be discarded of and not put back into the pond (you’d just be putting all the muck the filters have trapped from the pond back into the pond if you did!). Use this highly nutritious water to water your plants/containers. A very valuable natural organic fertiliser! Hope this helps! Best, Ed
I’m not sure I quite understand your query…a fountain accessory kit is available that includes a telescopic riser pipe, a two way valved adaptor and some fountain heads-this would certainly extend the discharge outlet- if this is what you mean!?… as for uvc wattage- in the current gen 9000 a 13w uvc tube is used, in the older style an 11w tube is used. Hope this helps! Best, Ed
Hi Ed. I have just realised I asked about 2 queries for one product hence why you didn't understand. The bulb power was for the Filtral 9000 which you answered thanks. The second query, extension pipe for the water drainage was in relation to the Oase Pondovac 3 which I failed to mention hence the confusion. Would you know if this is available. Thanks again.
Hi, thank you for these useful videos. I have just inherited one of these with a new house, and while it seemed to work fine for a week it has now stopped pumping all but a dribble of water. I have taken it apart and it didn't seem that blocked, even just with the pump and UV unit submerged it was barely moving any water. Do you know a likely cause? The impeller is making a slight grinding noise, but I couldn't see an obvious way of getting at it to have a look.
Hi there, thanks for your comment-in general if the flow from units such as these reduces that would indicate a clean is required. However as you have tested the unit without the surrounding filter media and are still having this issue then it’s not simply dirty. Instead I would suspect either a dirty/blocked impeller or worse-a worn impeller where the impeller turbine has become separated from the spindle shaft. Access to the impeller is via a removable impeller cover on the pump-twist and pull to remove. To then remove the impeller gently pull/lever the plastic impeller turbine-the whole assembly is held in place with a magnet so may require a bit of gentle force. The whole assembly can then be removed and cleaned. Clean the impeller assembly and the housing to remove any sludge and reassemble. Whilst you have access to the impeller a good test for wear is to manually turn the plastic turbine-this should also cause the assembly/magnetic shaft to turn. If the plastic turbine spins freely then this indicates a worn impeller clutch and a new impeller is required. Hope this helps and good luck! Best, Ed
@@CrystalClearAquatics Hi Ed, thanks for the tips. The impeller turns independently of the magnetic body, so it looks like a new impeller will cure the problem. Thanks for the help!
Hi There, I use a standard Portland cement mix which contains lime, as does pretty much all cement based products. Once the rock work has been completed I always recommend filling the pond completely and letting is rest for a week or so to ensure much of the lime and other nasty stuff contained within the cement has a chance to leach out into the water. During this time often the water will turn a blue/green colour. This is then fully drained, rinsed down with a jet wash and refilled. Ideally then before adding livestock the pond should establish for approx 4 weeks and during this time if the water regains this bluish tinge a partial water change will need to be performed. I do always stress to clients that the first year or so after the pond has been built blanket weed will be more of an issue then at any other time of the ponds life, due to the buffering properties from the lime/rock work within the pond. Levels do settle though and as long as this is preempted by adding treatments such as blanket answer prophylactically through the season. Generally when I’m building ponds I have refilled reservoirs of either original pond water (if a pond already exists) or of tap water that has had a chance to stand for a few weeks prior to use. This helps speed up the maturation process of the pond prior to adding livestock. To prevent any seepage of lime etc from the rock/cement the use of resins (such as G4) which can be painted over the surface have been used in the past, but personally I don’t like the colour once this has been applied and as I dont need to apply such products for waterproofing (as I’m using pond liners) I dont feel the need to. Hope this helps!
Hi there, thanks for your comment! I agree that the pond in this video definitely wasn’t crystal clear-however it was a vast improvement from its original appearance a couple of weeks prior to the filter being installed-and since then the pond had gone on to clear beautifully. I’m not a huge fan of any sort of small ‘all in one’ filter system, however for small ponds like this they have their place and can do a good job! Best, Ed
