Compare Bead Filters

Bead Filters That Require Air Blowers
for Backwashing Are Less Efficient
and Have a Higher Cost of Ownership
than HydroBead™ Vortex

All these brands of bead filters require an air blower for backwashing


  • Their designs don't let them backwash with just water
  • They use bio media that doesn't backwash with just water
  • Their bio media is either heavy,  porous, or both
  • Their bio media "clumps" together
  • "Clumping" bio media must be broken up with high air pressure bubbles
  • Air blowers add to the cost of the filter
  • Air blowers require additional steps for backwashing
  • Additional steps mean more time to backwash
  • Air blowers require additional plumbing
  • Additional plumbing increases installation time
  • Air blowers fail over time and must be replaced
  • Replacing air blowers increases the cost of ownership
  • Air blowers are loud
  • These filters are an eyesore in the landscape
  • These filters ruin the natural look of the pond

There are many brands of koi pond bead filters that require air blowers for backwashing. The air blower sticks out like a sore thumb on the filter. These air blowers are very loud - more than triple that of a hair dryer. 

Do YOU want to have to wear ear plugs just to backwash your filter?
 We don't think so.

Unsightly bead filters with loud air blowers frequently get installed in filter sheds



Also, do you want to look at a filter like any one of these near your beautiful koi pond?  Many people build a shed to hide these filters - that also adds to the cost of the filter! Building a filter shed also increases your installation time - and requires additional pipe.  Yup, you guessed it! That significantly adds to the cost of the filter too! If you don't build a filter shed - do you want to scare your fish with a loud air blower?

If you don't build a filter shed you'll also make every dog in your neighborhood bark every time you backwash your filter. Your neighbors won't be too happy with you. 

The Question to Ask is: Why is an Air Blower Required for Backwashing?

The answers we found after testing and researching these types of bead filters is simple:

  • This filtration system disrupts the natural look of the landscape
    They have flaws in their overall design
  • They have design flaws in their water flow
  • They have design flaws in their water direction
  • They have design flaws in their bio media
  • The bio media is heavy
  • The bio media is porous
  • The bio media clogs
  • The bio media clumps together
  • The bio media is hard

Now, not every filter has all the above, but if it requires an air blower for backwashing, you can be sure that it has at least one or more of these problems.

  • Floating and porous bio media
    Down flow water direction during filter mode traps debris on top of  floating bio media - requiring an air blower to force high pressure air bubbles up through the media to lift the trapped debris to purge it from the filter
  • Heavy sinking bio media requires air blowers to backwash
    Heavy - or sinking bio media  such as glass beads or clay beads require downward water flow during filter mode that results in the same backwashing requirements as floating bio media in a down-flow design.
  • Clumping bio media requires an air blower to break apart the clumps
    Porous bio media requires high pressure air bubbles to dislodge debris trapped within the bio media
  • Ring type and bio-ball type media clump together requiring high pressure air bubbles to break them apart.

Compare With The Benefits You Get With HydroBead™ Vortex

HydroBead™ Vortex* filters feature a unique design that eliminates the need for costly and difficult to use air blowers for backwashing - saving you time, aggravation, and money.  Because of the HydroBead™ Vortex filter design, it not only doesn't require an air blower, it uses much less water during back flushes. The vertical backwash jet inside HydroBead™ Vortex bead filters eliminates backwash "dead-zones" that occur in other brands with horizontal backwash laterals. 

The super lightweight Styrofoam HydroBead™ media inside the bead filter cling together under pressure to trap fine particulates and polish the water during filtering, and easily separate during backwashing to release the trapped particulates.

For clean healthy pond water coupled with superior water polishing, easy and complete backwashing - without the need for an air blower - there are only HydroBead™ Vortex bead filter.

* This video shows our older version with a clear lid, the new lids are solid.  The old lids tended to crack over time, so we replaced the lid with a much stronger and heavy duty lid.  

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