Which design of filter did you build for it?
There's a few different methods, Personally I like the "two chamber" can method where the pump brings water into the first garbage can, from the top of it and the water rises to the pipe and over to the 2nd garbage can the first can collects the heavies and lets them settle there in the first can. you can put a prefilter screen to keep any floaters out of the second can and thats where the biological and fines will go to the polfil. this will keep the majority of the gunk out of your floss and bilological filter but even that will need to be flushed out occasionally, people will put a bulkhead and ball bvalve at the bottom of the buckets since the buckets Flood with water, and then hose from the ball valve and when they want to "flush" out the build up in the cans you can open the ball valve, stir trthe sediment and it all fluses out with the water from the bottom, which is good compostables.
There should also be a screen on the intake for the pump that's in the pond to keep things out but it can get blocked up There's also a one chamber design which puts everything into the
polyfil and biological media which requires more cleaning at first.
But a question... why filter it? Does it support life as it is or is it stagnant? Water movement can solve stagnation itself without needing filtration, the natural processes will take place and waste will break down in the pond itself wit oxygenation, but if it's outside, you are going to have periods of greenwater and algae unless there's lots of shade with or without a filter. clumps will rise up in the heat of the day and drop down over night from photosynthesis. Some people use
algaecide, but just more lilies and floating plants can block a lot of the algae issues.
What's the issue with the pond that you feel it requires filtration?
if it's duck waste, tadpoles and snails love to eat it, and ducks love to eat snails and tadpoles.
if it's algae there's another solution from much more shade from floating plants to algaecide.
if it's stagnation, water movement is really all that's necessary, oxygenating the water, then the biological filter in the pond will take off on it's own and establish where it can and will.
if it's the "stuff", hurting water clarity, lots of semi floating particulates/detritus thats coming into the filter, try a pool filter basket on where the water enters the filter from the pump, finer than the screen that is on the pump to keep larger damaging things out of the pump. this will filter out the bigger stuff, but it will need to be dumped quite regularly or it will
overflow and get bypassed. it works like a filter sock does, just not so fine.
it's pretty normal at first to have to clean the filter a lot unless it's a brand new set up pond, and eventuallyit gets better as you remove more and more particulates from the water.
