Do Water Gardens Really Need Filtration?

You may have read articles that say a backyard water garden can sustain itself without a filter. Well, that’s not really true. A water garden can sustain itself, but only if you don’t really care what it looks like.

If you want to have a backyard pond that’s beautiful, it’s going to take a little more than just Mother Nature. It makes sense to think that if you create a natural environment for your pond, it should naturally create an environment that takes care of itself. However, this is not the case.

When you create a manmade backyard pond, you are installing a liner, rocks purchased from a store and water from the faucet. All of these elements create a beautiful pond, but not a natural one. A natural pond is not chlorinated and it does not have anything plastic in it.

It’s important to face reality when it comes to a water garden. Whether or not you choose to have fish in your pond, it still needs proper filtration. Pond filters are designed to help your water garden remain clean, attractive and relatively maintenance-free.

It’s understandable that you want to enjoy your backyard pond more than you clean it, which is why a quality pond pump and filter are necessary. The pond pump works to move water throughout the water garden so that all of the water is properly filtered. This filtration system will keep debris, muck, bacteria and sludge from occupying space in your water garden.

So, ultimately the decision is yours. You can choose to live with a cess pool in your backyard or invest in a quality pond filter and enjoy the man-made beauty of your water garden all spring and summer.

*Photo courtesy of the Italian voice via Flickr.