CNZ® ALL IN ONE Pond Filter System with 13W Sterilizer 660GPH Pump Fountain Kits

Okay, so I was very skeptical when I read all these reviews on how great this filter/pump is, but at $79.99 it was definitely tempting enough to take the risk.Came on time, and like others I went ahead and dissassembled everything to make sure all the pieces were tightly connected. By chance, in my case it was! I had one issue though - and it was opening the UV light compartment. There's this plastic lock mechanism that's tightly stuck and I was too afraid to force it open by hand so I just picked it up and shook it around to see if I could hear a rattling lightbulb - but I didn't. (note: this was a HORRIBLE decision on my part and I was lucky I didn't damage anything). I had to google to see if I could find any "box opening" videos and found out that this is the EXACT same model as the pondmax sf650. (Google/youtube that name and you'll come up with a few demos as well as "how to" videos.)I bought this mainly to put in a large rubbermaid container for an in between fish pond. The water was thick murky green and you couldn't see anything even if you put your hand right underneath the water line. The container is in full sun and I would estimate it's about 25-30 gallons. We did a partial water change (didn't help much) and then simply put the filter in and played with the different heads. (we just use the disk shape fountain head and the others seemed to work too so I'm not clear on which head didn't work for people)The timeline for me was basically this.Day 1 - Nothing - no noticeable changeDay 2 - GREY WATER - all the green colour was leeched out and it was still thick and murky but like scummy dish waterDay 3 - still grey, but around the edges of the container you could see some clearing upDay 4 to 7 - Slowly clearing up but significantly murkyDay 8 - Can the bottom but still a bit murkyDay 11 - Crystal clear. You can see right to the bottom and there's nothing clouding the water at all.Again, I don't have a full sized pond, but just a 30ish gallon container that was really filthy and gets full sun all day. I have about 12 small 2" and under comet goldfish in it so the bioload is quite heavy.I'm 100% satisfied with the purchase and if this thing still works in a year I'll be sticking with this brand and model.

I have an outdoor pond made for the wildlife (deer, black bear, bobcat, mountain lion, birds, raccoon, skunk, turkeys, etc). The pond is lined so we don't lose the water, and to keep the algae in check while I work on establishing pond plants, I use this filter. My pond is about 1100 gallons, and this filter does the job to keep it clean. I couldn't even see the bottom of the pond this Spring, but the filter cleared it up in about a week of running constantly. I did have to wash the filter every 3 days or so when the pond was murky. Then once clear enough, I put the filter on a timer to run for about 12 hours, during the nighttime. In the heat of the summer, about once a week I cleaned the filter, and then every 2 weeks come late August/September, then once a month in the fall. I removed it at the end of October as the temperatures were rapidly dropping and algae wasn't growing anyway. I replaced my pond filter with a pond deicer to create an air hole through the ice that developed by November, and kept my aerator https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00G93ZTR6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1 in the pond to help my goldfish survive the winter at 8200 ft. The UV light is faint, as UV light is more difficult for the human eye to detect (and UV light is not safe for one's eyes, that is why there is a cover over it). To check the light, I would run the filter in a water filled tub in my garage to see the UV glow, and I could see the light faintly at the bottom of the pond in the nighttime if the pond was clean. I would highly recommend this filter, and my fish like it too as they hang out by it when it's running. I attached pictures of my pond (my filter is typically off during the day) so one could see how clear my pond is thanks to this filter. My pond is about 28 inches deep at its deepest.

I had been using pondmaster 190s for years in my small fish pond. They would last anywhere from 2-5 years before they burnt out. They needed a rock to hold them down at the bottom of the water too, so I decided to make a change to the CNZ.So far, after about 2 weeks,the CNZ is great. My water is clear and my fish are happy. It works about the same as the pondmaster, but it is much heavier and a little bit bigger due to the added UV and extra filters. It doesn't need anything to hold it at the bottom.My dislikes- There is no handle. I'm used to the pondmaster's handle and this is a glaring omission, especially when it needs to be removed weekly for cleaning. Cleaning the unit is also a bit more involved. It takes about twice as long due to the extra thick filter and stone filtering boxes.Overall I'm happy I made the upgrade. It's still early spring here, so time will tell if there is less algae with the UV.