Fish pond filter system

An apparatus for filtering and cleaning the water of a pond, the system comprising:

• a container having an inlet through which the container receives water from the pond with waste material entrained therein, the container including an outlet through which filtered water is provided to the pond and a waste outlet through which backwashed water and waste material can be removed from the filtration container;
• filtration media comprised of a plurality of individual filter media positioned at random within the filtration container so as to reside adjacent a bottom surface of the container when water with waste material is being provided to the container from the pond wherein the outlet of the container receives water from a bottom side of the filtration media after the water has flowed through the filtration media so as to remove waste material from the water and retain the waste material adjacent a top side of the filtration media to thereby produce the filtered water;
• and
• a water conduit assembly positioned in the container, wherein the water conduit assembly directs water tangentially and at least partially at angles of elevation or declination from horizontal within the container so as to form a first vortical flow of the water within the container.

A filtration system for filtering and cleaning water of a pond, the system comprising:

• a generally cylindrical container having an inlet through which the container receives water from the pond with waste material entrained therein, the container including an outlet through which filtered water is provided to the pond and a waste outlet through which backwashed water and waste material can be removed from the filtration container;
• filtration media comprising a plurality of cylindrical tubes configured to facilitate growth of heterotrophic bacteria positioned within the filtration container so as to reside adjacent at least a first surface of the container when water with waste material is provided to the container from the pond wherein the outlet of the container receives water from a first surface of the filtration media after the water has flowed through the filtration media so as to remove waste material from the water and retain the waste material adjacent a second side of the filtration media to thereby produce the filtered water;
• and
• a backwash system positioned within the container, wherein the backwash system directs water within the container so as to form a vortical flow to urge the filtration media and the waste material contained therein towards a waste pipe located adjacent the second side of the filtration media to thereby permit removal of the waste material from the filtration container wherein the first vortical flow of the filtration media and the waste material facilitates separation of the filtration media from the waste material to further facilitate removal of the waste material.