Polar Aurora CPF-250 Pond Pressure Bio Filter 13W UV Light 10000L Koi Water, Black

First let me say that this filter works great in our small 350-400 gallon pond. We’ve had this filter for over 5 yrs and bought this one for the just in case the original one breaks. We’ve bought extra filters so we have a system setup when we clean the filter.The only issue we ran into after a year of use was the push to clean the filters knob got stuck and basically is worthless, we haven’t used that function in years, we just pull the filters out and manually clean the filters, which honestly is the only way to verify the filters are clean. We’ve replaced the blue light a few times as well due to normal wear. If you don’t mind tearing the filter apart to clean the filters and bio balls, this filter will work for you. If you just want to mash that button to self clean the filters, you won’t be happy after that knob breaks.To clean the bio balls and the 6 filters and get it back filtering the pond takes us about 40-60 minutes.

My Pond is about 2500 gallons with 5 Koi fish. It is 20 years old and it has so much algae that I can’t even see my fish. I saw this Aurora filter. It is priced so cheap that I was willing to give it a try. I had another pond filter costing 3X that could not keep my pond clean. After owning a few other filters, I always knew that back flush systems don’t really work. You can’t take the easy way out. Owning a pond full of big Koi fish is hard work just like owning any pet. I could tell the Aurora filter started working after a few days. The pond got a bit clearer but still lots of algae. I opened the filter and it was full of yucky green algae. I took the filter pads out of the filter, disassembled them, and hose them down. I repeated this process every few days or whenever I could tell that the water flow is slowing down due to amount of dirt trapped in the filter. The pond got a bit clearer each time after I hose down the pads. Now my pond water is totally clear again and I could see my beautiful 1.5 ft long koi fish. I did try using the back flush but as other reviewers mentioned, it doesn’t do much. You have to take out the filter pads and hose them down. All biofilters are like that. I am now at a point where I still take my filter pads out to clean them but I don’t have to separate and take them completely apart as shown in the manufacturer’ video. I just hose the pads when they are in their assembled state. I can separate the filter pads a bit using my fingers and gently hose them down. It saves time and it still allows you to clean the filter pads. So it is a shortcut. This Aurora filter works. It even cleared up a 20 year old pond full of green algae but it does require you, the owner to do some work and hose down the pads. At this cheap price, it is well worth it. Even if it does not last, I am ok with replacing it every so often.

Overall considering the price, the filter is made well. I did not receive the instruction Manual and back then there was not much you could find out about it on youtube or elsewhere. Now you have got to see the youtube instructions to make sure how this filter works. MY PROBLEM WITH IT: when I took the filter apart to clean the filter well, I didn't know, but you have to PLACE THE O'ring AT THE TOP EDGE OF THE BODY (and lubricate with Silicon O-Ring Lubricant) THEN close the top part, I left the O-ring at bottom part. So the filter kept leaking from the edges. SECOND PROBLEM, the UV light mechanism shorted out (see other reviews) and no longer works after 2 years of operation. If you can spend the extra hundred, get the better quality.

At almost 1 yr of owning this filter it began blowing the breaker. I email the seller for suggestions or warranty information and they never responded to my questions. For that reason I would NOT suggest purchasing this filter, especially from this seller! Upon inspection I found that the box on the top that houses the electrical parts and bulb had been leaking and was full of water. I had never opened this area, so the issue went un noticed until it was too late and ruined all of the electrical parts. I am truly dissatisfied and disappointed in the lack of response from the seller. I realize issues like this happen from time to time, but their lack of interest in resolving or helping a customer is frankly poor business!

The filter worked great when i first got it. But the function switch (knob, actually) broke within 3 months. It just spins around and the "Watering" (backflow) outlet leaks outflow such that it drains the pond. Weak, all plastic construction that simply breaks ! Too bad because the filtering action is quite good. If only that knob hadn't broke...

This is the third filter of this model I have purchased. All are still working very well. When I received this last one it had a part which was broken in transit. I contacted the seller and had a response within a few hours and they sent a replacement part in only a couple of days.

Purchased this filter in Nov 2020. For a year it had worked great. Kept the water clear and I thought I loved it. Went on vacation and came home to a non functioning pump and filter. It turned out that a short in the UV filter light caused my circuit to trip and therefore my pump also shut down, as it was plugged into the same circuit. If they spent a tad more money making this product, it could have be a good value at a slightly higher price point. I've been using this without working UV light since 2021 and as a filter it is still functioning well, but it would be so much better with that UV function. I manually clean the filter and do not use the backwash.