Crystal Clear Water with a Bucket - Cheap and Easy Bucket Filter

How to get crystal clear water fast, cheap, and easy making a bucket filter. This is version two of the bucket filter we had on the channel years ago.
The parts you'll need:
Pump: amzn.to/3ltZ0Eu
Bucket: amzn.to/3G6qeuk
Screw Top Lid: amzn.to/3MDwJaC
Hose (check hose size will fit your pump): amzn.to/3wE0QYF
Batting: amzn.to/3sQUCDL
Check out all the stuff we use around the shop on DoItYourselfDad here: amzn.to/2z8Yly0
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[@cegli1966]

Thank-you SOooooooooo much for this video! My husband and I were prepared to spend between $500 and $1000 (Canadian dollars) on a filter for our fairly large fish pond that came with our new (to us) home. I also have a 75 gallon fish tank in our home, and the rocks and pump and stuffing made sense to me for a filter as it is similar materials in my fish tank filters. However, my husband was not convinced. Off I went to the pet store and lucked-in by speaking to someone in their pond department who had just started working there, and before that, he had spent years working at commercial fish farms. He told me to build my own as well, saying that at the commercial farm, they had used everything from foam curlers, sponges, & the plastic netting that comes around oranges, avocados and other produce in their filters for thousands of fish. He convinced me! I showed my husband your video and explained what the store employee had told me, and off I went to Home Depot to buy the supplies. I was in a hurry to get the filter made, so I didn’t want to order the pump from Amazon. All the pet stores told me that I wouldn’t find a strong enough pump in our city, but I just changed what I was asking for. I asked for a “sump pump” at Home Depot, and bought one for $98 Cdn that moves over 1000 gallons an hour. I bought a 5 gallon white food grade bucket with a snap-on lid and a 2-inch hole saw at Home Depot too. I used a garden hose to attach to the pump and bought O-rings to put on either side of the bucket where the hose exits the bucket. The only thing I did differently from your design, was that I pulled the electric cord out through the batting to one of the holes in the top, wrapping it with plastic netting so the batting couldn’t escape. With all the supplies, your home-made filter idea cost me $128.00 and better yet, it has been 24 hours and I am already noticing a big difference! I did read the review where the person had to clean the batting several times before getting their pond totally clear, so I will likely have to do that as well. I also left the garden hose long enough to prop-up between some rocks to make a 2nd little waterfall for more aeration. Last Fall I thought that a Blue Heron had stolen all of my 7 fish from my pond. I had shut down the waterfall and the whole pond last Fall thinking that I would “deal with the pond” in the Spring. Earlier this week, I thought I saw one fish in the murky, pea-soup-like pond water, so that is why I was in a hurry to get the filter made. As of this morning, I can see well enough into my pond that 3 larger fish actually survived the Heron attack and they also lived through the winter! Sorry for my long comment, but I made it in case anyone else reads this and is in a hurry like I was to get a filter made! Thank-you again for your idea! I hope it goes “viral” and will share as much as I can!

[@markb8954]

Good comment. Yep, almost like making your own FLUVAL FX6 (submersible) canister filter. I’m thinking that you could actually use some of the coarse Fluval canister pads instead of the floss. Good luck. Glad that your fish were still there.

[@kellyharrison5184]

So simple! I have been agonizing over how to filter my 1,500 gallon pond without spending a lot of money. You just answered my prayers!

[@mnemosynevermont5524]

Go one step further and point that exit hose straight up to create a fountain which will add oxygen to the water for the fish.

[@jonisolis9645]

I have bucket filters in three small 110 gallon ponds I have and they work great. I use two large old 100% acrylic knit sweaters in one of the bucket filters instead of filter floss. The sweaters are easy to hose off when dirty. Reuse and spend less! I used old used buckets and some lava rocks.

[@zgrothus]

This is great, thank you! I made a couple changes: I wanted my filter to pull in water from close to the bottom of the pond, so I drilled a bunch of holes along the bottom, but still on the side of the bucket. I drilled smaller holes so my fish can't attempt to swim inside and get stuck. I stuffed the bucket with quilt batting and then put my pump on the top, just below the lid. Works like a champ!

[@ivanhoe011]

I'd recommend using lava rocks instead of the river rocks for additional benefit of powerful bio-filtering, not just the water polishing. Lava rock has a lot more surface available for beneficial bacteria to grow on and clean ammonia and nitrates from the water.

[@MouseyFiles]

Lava rock is a way better idea

[@DoItYourselfDad]

I agree, Im not using this as a long term bio filter, but if I was lava rock would be the way to go.

[@MouseyFiles]

@@DoItYourselfDad I have been looking into building some deck ponds next year So I am going to try this on a much smaller scale. The design is solid, and I'm sure you could tweak the internal media to suit your needs :) . Also sometimes you can build something yourself and it cost so much less .

[@logiq101]

The filter floss has way more surface area than lava rock.. ceramic rings/bioballs etc all have significantly less surface area than filter floss.

[@MouseyFiles]

@@logiq101 yeah but you do need something to weigh that bucket down, noone ever questioned using the filter floss that is how you get the crystal clear water... But if you are going to use a rock to weigh it down,lava rock would be the way to go because it has more surface area. Hope that explains why we were all suggesting the lava rock

[@systemnotes]

Cool idea. Now you got me thinking how to create smaller version for a fountain. Since it already has a submersible pump it’s just a matter of building the filter in a smaller housing.

[@DoItYourselfDad]

I actually did exactly that with a small container fountain, uses a plastic food container as the housing.

[@markthomas3730]

I'VE BEEN POSITIVELY PREACHING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HOME MADE BUCKET/TOTE BOX FILTERS FOR YEARS AND YEARS...

[@terryl.9302]

Affordably solves so many water problems for me. Thank You !!🍒

[@ahowl7mx]

I use a similar method except with old worn out pillow cotton/polyester fill. Its free, it works, you'll have to wash out the filter every other month depending on the size of the pool. Also use pool flocculant, just a capful will work magic and you can use it with fish. I use a teaspoon of floc in my regular 55 gal fishtank.

[@kevinphillips566]

Wow, amazing I could not believe how well it worked, so simple yet so effective, my pond has never looked better in the summer months, I can see all the fish and the bottom of the pond.

[@ijsmale]

I built a filter almost identical to this about 15 years ago for my pond. This past week I added 3 inches of reticulated (open cell) foam to the top layer, with batting below and bio-balls at the bottom. My water had been cloudy for a week since I drained and cleaned the pond, and after adding the foam it cleared up in 24 hours. Submersible filters like this are ideal when there is nowhere to hide a filter beside or above the pond.

[@jacobsamson257]

🦆

[@DBRGB]

One question: How long will the filter last before needing to be changed if the pond is already clear?

[@BeautifuLakesStreamsBiologists]

It will become probably a monthly stinky chore. But it isn't much worse than most backyard pond setups because they require too much work to maintain as well.

[@mercamg9312]

A BIOLOGICAL FILTER SHOULD BE ABLE TO RUN INDEFINETLY WITHOUT CLEANING IF ITS NOT OVERWORKED OR TOO SMALL. LET THE MICROBES EAT ALL THE MUCK.

[@IO-zz2xy]

It will need cleaning one a week if water has a lot of suspended particles initially. There after it will probably be only every two to three months if not longer once water is clear. However only the batting should be cleaned then replaced once it is too clogged. Leave the rocks as they will possibly have beneficial microbial growth on then helping to breakdown toxic buildup. Regards from South Africa

[@senatorjosephmccarthy2720]

@@mercamg9312 . No need to yell tho.

[@mercamg9312]

OH. So sorry for yelling. Hope l didn't blast your eardrums. l apologize. sincerly.@@senatorjosephmccarthy2720

[@robinbnd]

This saved my pool last summer and I will use it continuously this summer, too. As far as I’m concerned, it works better than any filter.

[@pecosray]

So I have a very expensive filter uv light pump system thats suppose to take care of 1000 gallons, an all in one and its been in place for a year and I still have green water so maybe I've not been doing everything just right but I thought the filter would take care of my lazyiness , but oh no nasty green water and I have 3 huge Koi in a 700 gallon tank so one week in and I love this... It worked great....Love Love :Love This..... Thank You for SHARING

[@faustolifeexplorer6970]

Superced results and expectations. MIne was green and with a lot of particles floting on it, I did clean it ALL....over night, so clear i can see the bottom of the pond. and the fish. THANK YOU ! THANK YOU ! Water its so clear

[@DoItYourselfDad]

Great to hear!

[@Antonio-mg9ul]

Thank you very much i appreciate you helping people like me to improve my pond i just got into it for the past 3 months maybe and i am looking forward to your help when ever a situation arises thanks again 😊

[@shereetheron6860]

Thank you. We made one for our Intex pool which came with a useless filter pump. It works perfectly!

[@oldmanjoe6808]

I've used the same system many years ago and it's a fantastic method. These days I have only a small 9 gallon "water feature," I'd call it, and have since sung the glory of blue pond dye. Algae won't grow in a pond with such a product because light to grow algae is blocked while the blue tint in the water is pretty cool to look at. I got that idea from a plant nursery which had a a very large pond on the property tinted with the blue pond dye... not a speck of algae in it. I don't know if that water was filtered like yours.

[@FrankMatthys-nq8xp]

I want to say... this is the best method for a filter.. I have made me one in a smaller version! For a small pond... its like magic! I had instant results... with a timer on it... the water is now cristal clear! And the filter is easy to clean... just the upper cloth remove, put some new one in.. Thank You! Frank, Belgium, 14 april... 9.15 o'clock...

[@Boballoo]

Cool! The water is so clear! And so easy to fix.

[@scorthyshadows8259]

I thank you sir your pond filter works amazingly well for my small fish pond I am very happy with the results I made it at 11 am today and all ready I see a difference going to make a short video now and again on Sunday 2 days later.

[@newviolets8489]

Truly magical outcome.

[@poisonivy745]

Thank you. Did a version of this (just used the batting, and a few rocks) and my small 110 gallon pond is clear.

[@davidlangston6927]

The KISS principle always works best!

[@bortzysports]

Just tried this today and hopefully it works wonders for our pond. Thanks for sharing this video. 👍🏼😁

[@justsayin6795]

I used a big trash can out side my pond ,cleaned it out once a year, never used rock ,but a good ideas Yours is Great for a small pond.👍

[@DoItYourselfDad]

Thanks! I’ve got a trash can at the top of my waterfall, I’ve been using these small ones to “polish” the water if it gets bad.

[@Xcessive_Evil]

Just followed this guide. Smooth as silk!

[@jovid7]

I have been using a similar setup in my 400 gallon goldfish pond for 12 years. The line going out the bucket goes to a Tetra pressurized biological filter and then to a waterfall. The only thing I would say is be careful with smaller fish. They will go into the bucket and get sucked into the quilt batting. I put plastic mesh on the entrance holes on top and around the bucket to prevent this.

[@bretthall3519]

How often do you have to change the batten?

[@jovid7]

@@bretthall3519 About every 3 to 4 months. It depends on how many fish you have and how much you feed them too.

[@reckneya]

That result was pretty impressive.

[@diehardfan173]

That looks well enough for me to attempt it! I have a deep pond as opposed to its width so, I’ve been thinking of ways to build it up anyways, this might just be one way because the casing is thick enough that it won’t have to be cleaned quite that often. And it gives me something to stick my plants on!

[@Peter12029]

I don't have a pond but this was a good build. I am looking for ideas to make my own 5 gallon canister filter for my aquarium

[@EZ2XLR8]

We have struggled for the last several years with green water. We were about to give up. I built one of these and the only changes we made was putting bio balls at the bottom. We covered that with lava rock instead of river rock and then added the filter fabric on top. After the first 2-3 days we were very discouraged but I knew the filter was accumulating lots of junk. I cleaned the top fabric twice then after running for 6 days I took the whole thing apart and rinsed all the stone, the balls and thoroughly cleaned the batting. After all that the water finally cleared up in one day and the fish look very happy. We can see the bottom. This works! You just have to rinse frequently if your pond is really bad like ours and then keep at it. Eventually it should clear up. Thank you!

[@annmhunick]

Do you deconstruct to rinse? Do you need new batting?

[@EZ2XLR8]

@@annmhunick the first two times I just rinsed the top filter section. The last time I removed all the batting and gave the rocks a rinse. Now that it’s clean I can just do the top occasionally.

[@cindyhmcdaniel4977]

I have used the large nylon bath puffs as part of a filter fountain. All in a plastic basket or crate. This can collect fine dirt debris along with the quilt batting and will prolong the time between cleaning.

[@sandycollins3613]

I loved your video, it was easy to understand and you went straight to the point 👏 thank you for sharing 💞

[@ericfurrow]

I have a 2000 gallon frog pond with a solar powered fountain pump (i.e. only runs during the day) I set up a 5 gallon barrel filter but put the barrel on its side so it would still function as a fountain. I tried the batting material but it kept clogging up so I removed the batting and just used lava rocks. It took a few weeks but the water changed from solid green to clear. This has been super-helpful; thank you so much!

[@gunnworks]

This is exactly what I was looking for!

[@anselmmartin1085]

Great advice, it was very easy to follow. Thanks.

[@micheler3011]

Subscribed, well explained and I am ready to build my own pump for my swimming pool koi pond. Loved your video, and it definitely helped clean up your pond. Thanks for sharing!

[@yogawithjag5078]

Thanks for this video. This has changed my from green to clear pond in 4 weeks. It took a long time to clear, but it works.

[@magiz0]

Do u have the pump going the whole time?

[@MyDCCollection123]

Hi very new to having a pond and fish. Water had gone green and even started to smell a bit. Didn’t know what to do and then found your video, ordered everyone off Amazon uk and built mine yesterday slightly different to yours I added 4 bags of ceramic bio filter rings in between the batting 24hours later and I’m very happy to report I can see the bottom water is clearing up looks amazing thank you so much for the video. Next up I would like to build a custom waterfall 👍🏻

[@DoItYourselfDad]

Glad I could help!

[@MyDCCollection123]

@@DoItYourselfDad you did dude now if you can show me how to build a filter/waterfall next that would be great 👍🏻

[@scottgordin9709]

That’s actually a good idea, I’m contemplating putting a smaller pond (bout 250g) in my back yard and don’t really want an exterior filter and this one is like a giant Shark filter👍

[@scottgordin9709]

Update--- I built one of these canister type filters for the 150 gallon pond I put in in our backyard, I did not use a five gallon bucket, but used a 2-1/2 gallon bucket with lava rock and not river stone as it will hold more B/B for the pond. The pond does get sun from about 7 am to 3 pm, so it does get full sun throughout the day, but, the water is as clear as any aquarium I have in the house and I do believe it is to having good filtration. Anyone contemplating what kind of filter you should, could or would use for a pond, I will say this is probably the best outdoor pond filter you can build on a budget, I obtained the bucket with a lid from our local bakery so I know it was used for food grade items (free), one bag of Grill use lava rock ($7) because it has the bigger chunks, a bag of batting ($10) a bigger roll, a pump I had sitting in my garage for the last 5 years or so ($40). One inch pond hose I had left over from redoing the hoses on my canister filters for my aquariums (which I picked up on clearance last winter for about $15), so with everything I had laying around and newly purchased items I have around $70 for a canister filter that's doing the same work my $400 filters are doing, and if the pump burns out I can just go pick up another one for around the same price on Amazon or in store somewhere.

[@reneesimpson7094]

Great video. Short and to the point!

[@RayRay-dr7og]

I just made one of these today! I used a 6 gallon wine bucket, placed a layer of lava rock, situated the pump in place with more lava rock surrounding the pump, then I removed the bioballs from the old leaky filter placed those into the 6 gallon bucket over the lava rocks, cut two pieces of AC filter to size, placed that over the bioballs, drilled multiple holes in the lid, and have the discharge pipe feeding the waterfall. Two jobs in one, a biofilter for cleaning the water, plus oxygenating the water by feeding the waterfall. The fish were so happy they were jumping!

[@sebastiantoney3373]

Solid information. Looking to start a minnow tank for my fishing.

[@TheHappinessOfThePursuit]

Exactly what I needed. ❤

[@billr9]

I like the way he comes up with these ideas

[@spaideman7850]

its the same idea as the old aquarium air pump filter.

[@joselara9529]

Thankyou for posting this is super effective y have crystal clear water

[@franniebowden8487]

I also have other ponds and fish aquariums i can do this just do different sizes. Materials are so easy to find. Thanks so much. Hopefully this will work with all my ponds and aquariums.

[@elihuthompson626]

Thank ,love this it will help clean the surface water as well

[@nandish666]

planning to this technique for my farmhouse tank/pool

[@franniebowden8487]

I've been trying to do my pool pond all nature filtration but would like to have the water to look clearer love this idea i have all the materials so I'm going to give this a try. Will update soon.

[@reyouk3672]

Nice work can’t wait to try it🙂

[@1975normal]

Very useful information I can think of several uses for this type of filter.❤🛠️🔧💪🏼

[@williampatterson5982]

Cool project

[@pshewitt]

A big thank you and shout out for this video. I recently bought a house and inherited a 6000L pond and a bunch of koi in a dire state. After already spending £££ on a new pump and pressure filter I could just not clear out silt in the water, even after many water changes! In desperation I decided to try this hack to get the water cleaned and its gone from being a brown silted up mess to being able to actually see some fish! Thank you! For those reading, as I already had a pump and filter I just put my existing pump into this bucket with the rocks and floss, so its almost like a pre-filter water polisher...

[@DoItYourselfDad]

Fantastic! Glad to hear it all worked out!

[@monikarudzik3884]

Works great !

[@duxdawg]

Sweet! Great hack. Thanks!

[@jonfranklin9361]

Great job. Good idea.

[@samuelwoodruff933]

Very nice - thanks for sharing.

[@apocalypticrain]

so clear! great video

[@DoItYourselfDad]

Glad it was helpful!

[@proctroll]

Thank you I will try this for my duck pond

[@bonnieting3103]

Easy enough to make one, i am going to try.

[@clarencejackson5284]

Pretty cool

[@eloycontreras6214]

Sweet pond brother

[@abigailkellerman666]

That’s freaking awesome 👏 thank u

[@richardcox5693]

Great video! I was wondering if you had posted a video on how you did your waterfall. Thank you.

[@delawareteacher1182]

Awesome video, this works great!

[@dustbat]

My pond has a rock only filtering system. The pump pushes water up through about 3 feet of rocks. Then it flows over in a fall. Nice while new but when it gets dirty I must have someone take out all those rocks, clean things up and repeat. I am planning to make a temporary filter I can put under the fall and hose goo off the top of those rocks.

[@Paul-pt9wi]

I used a square, plastic box with holes drilled in and a plastic seed tray also with holes and one to allow the fountain to poke out of the top. The principle is much the same and even after 24 hours the water is clearer. Thanks

[@raymondmoreno7442]

Thank you for great video helpful 👍

[@joenic4303]

I built a filter just like this using an intake spout at the bottom, porus lava rock, and filter floss surrounding the pump which sends the water into a bowl on the top, spilling over. The bowl is above the water level. It's working great.

[@user-tu8lj8kf2w]

👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿👍🏿Kool how creative ppl get,instead of spending hell of lot of money,on something that would do tha same thing

[@karmaghale8721]

How often do you have to clean the filter?

[@unclegeorge7845]

Nice. Thanks

[@thatsmyrc]

Excellent idea 👍🏼

[@thatsmyrc]

Could I use like lava rock I have left over or does it need to be river rock for the weight?

[@jessejohnson7628]

Also can add a waterfall feature using longer hose or even a fountain.

[@jaeman1969]

wow dude awesome im in cape town and gonna make a new pond of around 2m x 1m x 1m deep with your bucket filter and i pray as the african sun is harsh here

[@TroijanSkinhead]

I love cool stuff 😎

[@CATANOVA]

GOOD JOB 👍

[@DoItYourselfDad]

Thanks!

[@glennyoung762]

Brilliant 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻

[@DoItYourselfDad]

Thank you!

[@xxvodanhxx]

You said check after a day, then skipped to a few days so I was expecting my water to clear in a day lol. Few days of course. Great guide for very affordable pricing. I used lava rock as grow medium and weight as someone suggested. I used 3/4" in pex fitted on the included 4/5" barb by heating the pex and pushing it on, then clamping it. Currogated tubing seems to cost a lot and comes in 20ft we only need like 2. I also used a smaller drill bit to fit very closely to the 3/4" pex, and actually routed the wire through one of the holes at the top to not cramp the drilled hole. Drilling from inside out is easier to get a flat surface with no protrusions from the rim. My only issue was the pex is a bit rigid so it pushed against the barb fitting and loosened the weak plastic thread used on the fitting. I managed to get it back on but keep that in mind for the bend. Now that I think about it if I bent the tube in the far side I'd have a bigger angle and not cause that stress. The batting on amazing are more like sheets so I am trying some of the batting from walmart which is also much cheaper. I plan to use macropore mesh at the top to help catch bigger particles to ease cleaning but the batting I chose comes apart easily I may have to just replace it.

[@ArthurX-eg8bc]

Pex can simply use a ninety -degree fitting to make a difficult bend.

[@agentredhasretired5450]

Thanks.

[@inlovedesign4300]

Awesome!!!!

[@kenburnette1121]

Good job!

[@DoItYourselfDad]

Thanks!

[@argondemad8024]

Awesome

[@p.r.6220]

AWESOME

[@wkp4139]

this is a great video

[@theondebray]

Thanks for this, good ideas, which I will modify for my shallow pond. Filter material? I have some free foam from an old mattress which I will wash first in case of any chemicals. I'm going to use an old brewing bin with tap, & I'll fill it manually as I don't want to suck up all the pond insects.

[@ryandann9362]

I don't have a pond, but seeing this make me want one lol

[@DoItYourselfDad]

Doooooooo it!

[@blessedarmadillo8257]

This is exactly what I was looking for - a way to clean out the small fish pond I have at the end of season or beginning of season without emptying the water out, and while using my existing sump pump. One question - why does the lid have to be a screw top lid? Wouldn't any any lid that stays on work just as well?

[@DoItYourselfDad]

Doesn’t have to be a screw top lid, but it does make it a lot easier to clean out.

[@ps603]

This was how we did the fish tanks back in school. We use charcoal in filter.

[@laineboyd1249]

Yeah Dude Awesome 💪💪🥇

[@lavenaihms1941]

An answer to my problem. So glad I found you but my pond is not that deep. Will see if I can use the same kind of set up

[@michaelikeya1230]

I had the same concern so I used the smaller 2 gallon Lowe’s bucket and it still worked great.

[@JhunDumsTVXj]

amazing

[@Falconurbex]

I did thos for my sons tirtle tank but i had the pup imside the pond and i use a bucket for a external filter so 1 pump in pond woth pipe running to no2 the external filter 2 pipe from external filter back into the turle tank amd it was lovely amd clear oh and i used lava rock and i ran out of the fiber stuff so i use the fiber from the inside of a ild quilt oe bedding stuff and it worked perfectly everytime.

[@susannewinslow5717]

Thank you ❤

[@DoItYourselfDad]

You're welcome 😊

[@buuluu7633]

I wish if you can do with air pump instead of this pump? Thanks!

[@9catlover]

watching this again. i have been looking at bog filters now. as your own is similar to a bog filter just that a bog filter is outside the pond rather than submerged

[@DoItYourselfDad]

I do have a typical bog filter as well at the top of my waterfall, but this one definitely would do the job as well. These make great bio filters.

[@BlackKettleRanch]

Wow.

[@mobileplayers5008]

Cheap n smart ways of making ur pond freshed