Things You'll Need
- Koi filter, including biological filter compartment
- Cat litter
- 10-gallon plastic bucket
- Garden tap
- Pond pump
- 10-gallon clean plastic container
- 2-gallon plastic jug (optional)
- Wheelbarrow (optional)
Instructions
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1
Use sufficient cat litter to fill the biological filter compartment of the filter box.
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2
Rinse your hands under warm running water to remove any detergents, soaps and natural body oils. These are all harmful to the beneficial bacteria and koi.
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3
Half fill a 10-gallon plastic bucket with cat litter. Place the bucket under a garden tap and turn on the water. Place your hands in the bucket and stir the cat litter to clean it.
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4
Turn off the tap and carefully tip the bucket to drain the water. Be careful not to pour out the cat litter.
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5
Repeat the process until all dust and debris in the cat littter have been washed away.
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6
Wash enough cat litter to fill the biological compartment of the filter box.
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7
Turn off the pond pump.
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8
Open the lid of the biological filter. Remove the mechanical filter material and place it on a clean surface next to the filter box.
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9
Remove the chemical filter material -- which is typically a number of nylon bags containing activated carbon -- and place into a clean plastic container.
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10
Fill the biological filter compartment with cleaned cat litter if the compartment is empty. If the compartment already contains another type of filter gravel, use your hands or a 2-gallon plastic jug to scoop it into a wheelbarrow. Place the cat litter into the emptied container.
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11
Replace the chemical and mechanical filter material.
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12
Replace the lid on the filter box. Plug the pond pump into a power source and turn it on.
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