The Irish Mitsubishi FTO Owners Club

A little less than 2 months ago, I installed a 5000 per hour litre external filter to my outdoor pond. It's a little bigger than a standard paper bin. The thing cost me €160 and it did a great job at clearing the slime from the pond. 2 weeks ago, the neighbours 5 year old boy jumped over the wall (like he had been told not to do dozens of times) and lands on the filer, which is 75% buried in the soil. He knocked out one of the hoses and my wife was home to reconnect it. I arrived home and the boys mother told me that her son had done this and if there was damage, she would pay for it. We get on ok (hello and kids are friends kinda stuff). Anyway, there was no sign of damage, but it had been raining a little too that day. The filter comes with a self cleaning mechanism, so I opened the valve and redirected the flow to drain some dirty water and water started pissing out of a 5 inch crack. It seems that the change in pressure caused a fracture to split. I tried repairing with sealant, but it's impossible, to get in at the damage, even with the lid removed.

I tried to get a free replacement part, because it's only a few weeks old, but the best I could do was £50 from the uk. I'm half thinking of just letting it go, because new media and a new uv bulb (which I will receive with the new lid) would cost half that, but at the same time, I probably won't need either for the life of the filter. However, i am thinking it might make them put some manners on the kid. I have no problem with anyone being in the garden and looking at the pond and fish, but I keep finding limbs of little action men at the bottom and I know it's the kid from next door. I've caught him twice. It takes ages to fish the bits out. As well as that, he throws stones into the pond, which is stressful for fish, but then so are my cats din from it every day. I know he's just a kid, but I feel like dunking him into the water sometimes. What would you do? (about the bill, not the dunking).

Its actually not a bad idea - tell the kid you've got piranha's in there and to watch his fingers if he's near the pond.

Wouldn't hit your next door neighbours with a bill for 50Euro btw - it just wouldn't be worth it in the long run and might start a tricky precedent.

That's what I was thinking. Actually it was more along the lines of dropping it into them and telling them that they can pay some if they have it, but because of the uv bulb and new media, I am not too bothered. It might be best to just say I had to replace the part and to ask that they lock the kid up in a small cage. Well that would be mean...maybe if they just sold him to the circus.

Funny. I didn't have to say anything. There was nobody home today and the replacement lid was delivered to the neighbour in question. The box arrived with a big picture of the filter on all sides. I will just leave it at that and see if they have the decency to ask about it. One of the nieces called in with the box.