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Home: KOI Talk: Pond Construction & Water Filtering System:
High Nitrates Level? Try This!

 





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Ben
Koi Lover

Dec 9, 2000, 6:13 AM

Post #101 of 312 (34133 views)
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Brushes are commonly used in pond. Should be able to get it in most koi shop


gary
New User

Feb 27, 2001, 9:21 PM

Post #102 of 312 (34133 views)
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can anyboady please tell me if a trikle filter would help with blanket weed by lowering nitrate levels etc.nice clear water just loads of weed.


Ben
Koi Lover

Feb 27, 2001, 11:26 PM

Post #103 of 312 (34133 views)
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Trickle filter will reduce the nitrate content in your pond water very effectively and this effect to reduce the possibility of outbreak of algae and other plant that depends on nitrate to grow very fast.


Norbert Somlai
Koi Lover

Oct 28, 2001, 7:36 AM

Post #104 of 312 (34133 views)
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Hello,

Reading through this topic, I'm quite convinced about building a trickle filter. However, in my country it should be shut off for the winter if I don't want to see my entire pond in the form of a nice big iceberg. Smile

A question: what will happen to my plants in a zero-nitrate environment?

Norbert


Mark
Koi Kichi

Oct 28, 2001, 12:22 PM

Post #105 of 312 (34134 views)
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In this region, many of us do not have the luxury to build big ponds in expensive lands. We therefore built small concrete ones or install ready made small fibreglass tanks. In view of the constraint, there is no or little room left for plants. So installing a trickle tower in such situation is the most logical way to help us to get rid of the nitrates.


Milky
New User

Nov 5, 2001, 3:49 PM

Post #106 of 312 (34133 views)
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guys,

Trickle filter will never reduce nitrate. it can ONLY reduce NH4 and NO2. and it does it very well. I am a salt water reef tank keeper, and a wet/dry filter is known as a "Nitrate factory" in the reef tank hobby.

------------------
Milky


SMW1
Koi Kichi

Nov 6, 2001, 11:25 AM

Post #107 of 312 (34133 views)
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Hi Milky,
You say that a trickle tower does not reduce nitrites, how then have a number of us who have recently installed a trickle tower seen rapid changes in our nitrate levels ?

(This post was edited by SMW1 on May 11, 2001, 2:00 PM)


Milky
New User

Nov 6, 2001, 1:18 PM

Post #108 of 312 (34133 views)
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From my understanding. Denitrification process can only take place in a regions where there is a low oxygen concentration. The bacteria living there have to be able to use an alternative source of oxygen for oxygen gas, O2, that aeorobic bacteria typically use. What the anaerobic bacteria typically use is the nitrate molecule, NO3-. As a result the nitrate is transformed to nitrous oxide, NO, and then nitrogen, N2.

There is a equipment call "nitrate filter" which can really remove NO3. it works just like a we/dry but it is a closed system. which mean there is no oxygen present.
below link will explain it better
http://www.dupla.com/e033.htm

But a wet/dry filter can only held aeorobic bacteria, as the filter is full of oxygen.

Actually i am quite surprize that u guys' NO3 level reduced after using Wet/dry. Because for reefer, we have to keep our NO3 below 20ppm. that's why we throw away the wet/dry but use something else instead.

u all must have done something wonderful to reduce that NO3....??????????



------------------
Milky


Khoobg
Webmaster


Nov 11, 2001, 11:11 PM

Post #109 of 312 (34133 views)
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The actual reason why Trickle filter reduce Nitrate is rarely understood but the fact is it actually reduce nitrate substantially. Many of us have used it for a number of years and are extremely happy with it. While we may not be able to understand why, by measuring and monitoring the Nitrate level before and after installation will be able to tell the effectiveness of the trickle tower.


SMW1
Koi Kichi

Nov 13, 2001, 12:54 PM

Post #110 of 312 (34133 views)
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I totally agree.

I used to have very high nitrite and nitrate levels and tried various procedures to bring the levels down. although some of them were effective, they were not long term.

My trickle tower, is run from a seperate small pump (300 gal per hour). The outlet from my tower is big enough to compensate for the inlet. so the flocor in my tower is never submerged in water but is always wet.

My Nitrate and Nitrite levels are now both 0 and have been for some time.

Stuart


Joshua Lee
Koi Lover

Nov 14, 2001, 1:20 AM

Post #111 of 312 (34133 views)
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Dear Milky

Anthony Goh took your sizzling question to Cyberfins and was answered by Doc Conrad, a scientist and trickle filter enthusiast. If you want to hop over for a look-see, the link is here:

http://www.cyberfins.net/ubb/Forum6/HTML/000488.html


Cheers
Smile
Josh


Milky
New User

Nov 15, 2001, 10:44 AM

Post #112 of 312 (34133 views)
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Josh,

thanks.. the info is very good!!
really amazing

Thanks again..

Now, i learn something new

------------------
Milky


crazoo
Koi Lover

Nov 18, 2001, 3:10 PM

Post #113 of 312 (34133 views)
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what is bio-balls and how does it looks like because all these 3 years with my pond i havent heard about it..

(This post was edited by ahmad on Jun 11, 2002, 2:00 PM)


SMW1
Koi Kichi

Nov 19, 2001, 3:35 PM

Post #114 of 312 (34133 views)
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hi Ahmad,
Bio balls are a form of flocor media. They come in many forms. Any flocor should have small groves or gaps for bacteria to breed and grow. These bacteria are used to keep the levels of Nitrite, Nitrate and ammonia to a minimum.

Stuart


crazoo
Koi Lover

Nov 19, 2001, 4:32 PM

Post #115 of 312 (34133 views)
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Thanks for the bio-balls. Please advice on this, i had my pond build by someone i think has less experience. I have no bottom drains for my filter!!(will this have any bad effects?), and only use green matting. I used to have corals but since i`m having tough times maintaining them i changed to green mattings. I modified the filter and now it is clear. But i knew nothing if it is safe for my koi`s. the filter have 4 chamber. first is the settlement chamber, second and third is green mattings and 4th the pump. thanks.

p/s:after reading advices on this site i felt like creating a whole new pond. Too bad i did not found this site earlier.. Smile

(This post was edited by ahmad on Jul 11, 2002, 2:00 PM)


dttk
Senior Member

Nov 19, 2001, 11:54 PM

Post #116 of 312 (34133 views)
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Hi Ahmad, how long have you been keeping koi in this pond? How big is the pond and filter? How are you removing waste from the floor of the pond so far? How do you clean the filter so far? Are the koi well and what are the water parameters(ammonia/nitrites, nitrates, pH, etc)? Sorry for all these questions. Smile Just like to know more about your koi and pond. Smile


SMW1
Koi Kichi

Nov 20, 2001, 7:55 AM

Post #117 of 312 (34133 views)
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hi ahmad,
As dttk suggests it would be benificial for us to have your water paramaters, you can but these test kits from any koi shop.

The main ones you need to worry about to start are Ammonia , Nitrate, Nitrite and PH. Do worry too much about the salt, copper and KH testers at present.

Do you not have any Brushes in your Filter ?.
Also you could replace one of the matting chambers with bio balls, this will have a little bit of a better effect, however there is nothing wrong with the Japenese matting.

It may be worth creating a new Topic for this under "pond & filter construction", don't worry, we'll find it.

Stuart


crazoo
Koi Lover

Nov 20, 2001, 8:44 AM

Post #118 of 312 (34133 views)
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Hi again, thanks for the interest on my pond. Actually i have been on the wrong side of the road all along. The pond size is if i am not mistaken around 800 gal(i am not sure, i used to just roughly guess, sounds uncaring rite? but i never knew all these things and can say that i am a junior coz of my age?;18). Let me get a more accurate number by this wednesday. I have been keeping koi in this pond since it was build, but i dont think it is build suitable for koi. How i remove the dirt?(manually la of course)i`ve been thinking of getting a vacuum but could not find a good one, any one knows any shop near klang or damansara that sells one? the filter? 3 ft * 7 ft * depth??. after changing to green mattings, cleaning and maintaining the filters are quite easy. based on what i saw the koi`s are healthy and aggressive. except that 2 of them (around 12-14cm) will scratch their bodies(i dont know how to describe it) to the ponds wall. Is that normal or they got some parasites on them or something? about the water parameters honestly saying i never have checked before and dont even know it is necessary until i did a research on the net early october this year.i will go get a test kit by this week. till then here is another question, about the aeration of the pond. is it a must, what does it do/help the koi`s, i dont use it and my koi looks fine(looks only, i dont know how they feel) and without an aeration pump will it distress the fishes?

p/s: i felt so bad talking about my pond since i knew all these things, felt as if i wasn`t doing enough for my koi`s. i can say it is not properly set up in terms of water quality,filter,pond condition and so on. thanks so much and please advice..
one more thing, now i knew why my uncle`s kohaku died(not one but three), his pond is also poorly maintained. I guess he never checks the water parameters as well. Shame on him coz having a swimming pool he should have the experience and knowledge of it. Smile


SMW1
Koi Kichi

Nov 21, 2001, 8:44 AM

Post #119 of 312 (34133 views)
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Hi Ahmad,
The koi's with scratch their bodies or "flash" as we call it. Due to 2 things either your PH level is too high, too low or unstable. Or the pond may have some parasites. Once you check your PH, Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite levels we can either confirm or digard this possibility. The other factor will be flukes in your pond. These are a form of parasite. They are like nits in humans which wedge themselves under the scales of the koi. The fish Flash to scratch themselves, just like we do when we have an itch.
If your PH is stable between 7.0 and 8.5. Then you coul dadd a 0.3% salt mix to get rid of the parasites. 1kg of salt (pond salt) added to 1000 liters of water will make a 0.1 % salt resolution, so you will need 3Kg of salt per 1000 liters (sounds allot Iknow). After a week do 2 x 40% water changes (remeber to add the anti chlorine solution first).

As for aeration, do you have a waterfall coming back from your filter. I'm just trying to find out how much oxygen is getting into the water. An air blowing is always a good idea, an would reccommend purchasing one of these anyway.

Staurt.


crazoo
Koi Lover

Nov 21, 2001, 3:46 PM

Post #120 of 312 (34133 views)
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Hello again, im compressing data to my brain as i have a test this friday. Do you have a picture of brushes?

i dont have a waterfall but have something that works like it, used to have waterfall but since it dried a lot of water because of its poor placement, i installed a pvc on one side of the wall and make a lot of holes. so walla there goes my waterfall. it doesnot look nice but my koi`s love it , so am i.

as for my 4th chamber i can see that i still have some dirt that pass through my bio-filter any advice why that happen?. And is horizontal ok for the green mattings. I am asking because my filter is different from the one i used to see a lot here in the forum and other sites on the net. Mine is just a straight left to right without going through down-up thingy. i was thinking of changing it to vertical. By the way i am at home today and tomorrow so i will try to calculate the water ie how many gallons. 1 ton is how many gallon? i will also buy a test-kit tomorrow.

one more thing, as all my japaneese stock have died (this sad tragedy happens when this one day someone so st*up*d and go poison my pond(actually for the grass). i got another small pond which i put in tilapias, they dont have a filter and dont need one as i dont see any problem for them (also got poisoned before). just change the water weekly.and now i only had koi`s that cost as much as rm50 (6-12 inches) i dont think they are of good qualities. i think i have 2-3 koi`s that is similar to kohaku but its not pure red, its orangish to red. any idea?

there is one more thing, my father is a f.e, so if he would want to buy koi`s directly from japan and ships here would any body want to 'pesan'? as if we were to brought in more the prices will go down. if there is a lot of ppl who wants to buy i would try ask him about it.

p/s: dont put so high hopes because i would want my pond to be in good condition before i bought any of the good and colourful koi`s.Just saying that it is possible and much cheaper coz my father`s friend(pilot) used to do it...

by the way thanks for the advice.. Smile


SMW1
Koi Kichi

Nov 22, 2001, 7:04 AM

Post #121 of 312 (34134 views)
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Hi again,
If your pond runs from left to right ( >>>> ). Your matting should be placed against the flow of the water ( | | ). i.e.


>>>>>@@>>>>>@@>>>>@@>>>>>@@>>>>
>>>>>@@>>>>>@@>>>>@@>>>>>@@>>>>
>>>>>@@>>>>>@@>>>>@@>>>>>@@>>>>
>>>>>@@>>>>>@@>>>>@@>>>>>@@>>>>

Sorry about the poor quality of the diagram. I was never any good at art.

[biggrin]

Stuart


crazoo
Koi Lover

Nov 22, 2001, 9:00 AM

Post #122 of 312 (34134 views)
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i will be testing the water before midnight today,

so now i have bio-ball and zeolite. which chamber is the best place to put it ?
and how long will the zeolite works? recharge it with the normal salt or have to buy special salt ? how many salt?

thanks


crazoo
Koi Lover

Nov 22, 2001, 3:18 PM

Post #123 of 312 (34134 views)
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here is my water parameter..
ph 7.6
kh 5

but i am concern of the present of high ammonium level.

i cant read it properly but knew that it is more than 6
how to reduce it?

and can anyone help me build an external trickle filter. what to use? drums?

(This post was edited by ahmad on Oct 11, 2002, 2:00 PM)


SMW1
Koi Kichi

Nov 23, 2001, 9:00 AM

Post #124 of 312 (34134 views)
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Hi Ahmad,

I can't really help you with zeolite as I have never used this. Maybe one of the other guys can give you the answers you need here.

As for your Ammonia level. Are you sure it's 6 ?. Thats really high. You need to get this down real quick with a 50% water change. Remeber to add the anti chlorine solution first. Can you double check the ammonia reading again. It's very rare that you would have an ammonia of 6 but nitrites and Nitrates of 0.

Stuart


crazoo
Koi Lover

Nov 23, 2001, 5:20 PM

Post #125 of 312 (34134 views)
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stuart, i would change the water tomorrow,

i have put in the salt. IF i change 50% of the water would the salt be reduced? should i add more salt? how often do i put in the salt? or just once?

thank u

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