VIVOHOME 1370GPH Pond Filter Pump

Clearing up my green water

Short Review: I recommend this filter. It is extremely good at filtering waste and clarifying water. It's very easy to install and is a decent price for what it does. However if this filter is going in water that has fish in it I strongly recommend removing the uvc bulb before putting the pump in the water as it will kill beneficial bacteria as well. The fish need the good bacteria. Long Review: I got this filter to deal with an ammonia spike I noticed in my 150 gallon pond. It was bad, about 1ppm. By the grace of God the guppies and danios were still in there breeding up a storm. Just because they can endure it doesn't mean they should. Not long after doing the water test one of my chickens showed up for a drink and to snack on some salvia. To my horror she took a huge dump in the pond. That explains the ammonia despite all the plants growing in there. Surely the local wildlife has been doing the same. I bit the bullet and ordered this. No amount of plants can counter that kind of abuse on such a small pond. It only took this pump about a day to make the water crystal clear. But a word that kept popping up in the instructions began to haunt me. The word was "sterilize." I loved how clear it made the water. However I was concerned as to how it would affect the beneficial bacteria. I let the pump run for a week then checked the water again. I used an API Master Test Kit. The ammonia had gone down a bit. It was 0.5 ppm. Then I checked the nitrite and it was terrible. I had never, ever seen nitrites so bad in any of my water gardens. That test tube looked like it had grape Kool Aid in it! After I got done freaking out I proceeded to do a water change big enough to water nearly my entire garden and removed the filter. I pulled the uvc lamp out of the filter and removed the uvc bulb. If you plan on doing this you must make sure the inside of the glass casing where the bulb is kept stays dry and is securely fastened to the filter. Obviously if it gets wet it will short out your pump and can electrify the water. Unfortunately the uvc lamp does not have an on off switch so this was my only option if I still intended on using this pump without slowing suffocating my fish to death. Nitrite is very toxic to fish and it is the beneficial bacteria that converts it into nitrate. Nitrate is much safer for fish in moderation, especially if plants are present. The bacteria can't convert anything if they're killed by uvc. After the changes I dosed it with Seachem Stability to replenish the bacteria colony. I let the pump run for another week without the bulb and tested the water again. Much better. The ammonia was down to 0.25 and the nitrites were 0. I let it run another week and both the ammonia and nitrite were eliminated and the nitrate was 40ppm. It's pretty well balanced now. Now all there is to do is make sure nitrate stays under control. This pump does exactly what it advertised and it does it a bit too well in my opinion. For that I won't knock off stars. I'll chalk up my trauma to my ignorance. So far nightly raccoon visitors haven't broken it so it's sturdy enough. The fountain looks nice. I like that it has different heads you can switch on. Ultimately I like this because of how quickly it clears up the water and it helped me solve my ammonia problem. I just wish there was easier way to turn off the uvc if using this for fish.

Years ago when I put my pond in I bought the Pond Guy all in one system that was like this mainly for extra filtration to assist my main filter and for a water feature in the shallow end of my 4,000 gallon pond. The Pond Guy all in one was garbage compared to this unit and cost over twice as much. In the spring I clean out but leave my KOI in the deep end. There's lots of muck left even after draining the pond by 4/5.... and adding fresh water. This unit has a great pump that provides a powerful water feature... it's impressive at the price point. The filter pads were caked with junk after three days after spring clean out. The design on this is simple and effective. MY only complaint is the filter media once it becomes clogged is not easily washed. Once the water feature starts to reduce substantially due to clogged filters you can clean them about once and then you need new ones. This is a blessing and a curse. Blessing because they are effective at catching debris... curse because you must buy new filters.... I ordered 6 replacement filters because I've learned in the Koi game the filters will be harder to find way before the pump or unit fails. GREAT UNIT AT A GREAT PRICE

Gorgeous pump! Love it! It has 3 types of filteration plus the UV light. It sits right in the bottom of the pond and has a great sturdy handle for lifting in and out. Its easy to pull apart for cleaning and is quite compact. I love that it gives the option of connnecting to a hose or just placing it in the bottom of the pond with fountain running. I noticed a difference in clarity after about 12 hrs. The only issue Im having is that I would like to order a replacement UV bulb to have on hand but cant seem to find where to order. Can you help?

Works well, but the blue highlights stink as it stands out significantly in the pond.