Filtreau Excellent Combi Drum 25/30 – Pump Fed

Filtreau Excellent Combi Drum 25/30 – Pump Fed

An automatic combi for ponds with a pumped supply

The Excellent Combi 25/30 Pump Fed suits a pond where a circulation pump lifts dirty water into the filter and the cleaned water flows back by gravity. It combines an automatically rinsed drum, biological chambers and an 80W high-output UV-C unit in a single standard-height body.

The important figure for this version is a maximum flow of 20,000 litres/hour. The 25/30 model name is not a promise that a pump can push 30,000 litres/hour through this pump-fed installation. Allow for the return pipework and the actual output of the pump after lifting water to the filter.

An upgrade for an established pond

A pump-fed system can be useful when the pond is already built and there is no practical bottom-drain connection to a filter at pond level. The pump supplies the filter above the water surface; a generously sized, continuously falling return carries the water home. Avoid narrow hoses, high points or submerged restrictions that make water back up inside the filter.

With a body measuring 1,200 × 1,117 × 985 mm, the 25/30 needs a proper base rather than a small shelf at the pond edge. Think about where you will stand to reach the drum, where the waste can drain and how much extra head the installation will add to the circulation pump.

What the cleaning system does

The 120-micron screen separates suspended solids before they reach the biological media. A level change triggers the drum motor and built-in wash pump, rinsing the trapped material into the waste channel. This reduces routine screen cleaning, particularly during heavier feeding and seasonal debris loads.

The UV-C deals with green water rather than ammonia or nitrite. Its 80W high-output lamp is a different component from an 80W amalgam lamp, so use the exact lamp and quartz references when replacements are needed. Never buy a UV spare solely because the wattage matches.

Building the biological section

The media choices are separate from the filter itself. An optional arrangement of 100 litres of Hel-X and 2 m² of Japanese matting gives a useful starting point for discussing the biological setup. It is not a guaranteed stocking allowance, and the moving bed must retain enough free space to move under aeration.

Select one or two of our high-quality Japanese matting sheets if you want uncut material for the static-media section. Each sheet is 1.2 × 1 m; two sheets provide 2.4 m² before cutting, not a pre-fitted cartridge. Keep matting out of the moving-media area and choose a separate air pump that can drive the fitted air bars at working depth.

Specifications for the pump-fed version

Getting reliable performance

Start with a manageable fish and feeding load while the media matures. Test ammonia and nitrite, observe the return flow and inspect the filter after the first automatic rinse cycles. An occasional extra rinse during the initial clean-up of an older pond is very different from a permanently restricted return.

For a lower body, see the Excellent 20/25 Low Pump Fed. For a new pond with bottom-drain plumbing and a filter set at pond level, the gravity-fed 25/30 is the relevant comparison. The Excellent manual covers isolation, UV safety and servicing; leave room to follow those procedures once everything is installed.

Related equipment and advice

• Charles Austen ET80
• View the full Filtreau range
• Browse Filtreau drum filters
• Read our drum filter guide
• Compare all drum filters
• Choose a variable pond pump
• Choose a Charles Austen air pump
• Pressure pipe, valves and fittings
• View Filtreau UV-C units
• Find replacement UV lamps and quartz sleeves