verynewtokoi
Koi Lover
May 8, 2008, 7:59 PM
Post #1 of 5
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My K1 Kaldness filter that I made
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Okay,
Some have asked me to do a post on my Kaldness filter that I made, so here it goes.
I would appreciate some feedback, and if you have questions please feel free to ask.
Well firstly I don't have pictures of all the components & tools needed for the job neatly laid out like on some post. My main concern was to build the filter.
What I used are as follow;
Material
1 X 150L plastic drum that seals properly and has a sturdy construction (you can use a 210L drum as well)
3 x Tank connectors including flanges
3 x Stainless steel mesh strainers (so that the K1 stays in the drum)
1 x Tube of Silicon sealant
2 x Complete Connectors couplings that screw onto the tank connectors, and either screw or glues onto your in & outlet piping
1 x Ball Joint connection for the bottom drain.
1 x Bag of 50L K1 Kaldness Bio Media.
1 X Big Airstone
1 x Relatively powerfull Air compressor.
4M of Strong Air hose
1 x tin of good quality PVC Weld
Tools
1 x Drill
1 x Silicon Gun
1 x Hole Saw
1 x 14mm Drill
1 x 5mm Drill
The process
Remember soak your k1 as it takes some time ( a couple of days) to get the correct boyancy otherwise your filter will look like a popcorn machine 
You need to deceide where you want to possition the in & outlets as well as the bottom drain, try and cut the holes on flat areas on the drum not on the curves. This will drastically reduse the risk of leaking afterwards.
Cut the holes with the hole saw. Try and use on about 2 - 3 mills smaller than the tank connector, this means you "force the connector in (almost screwwing it into the drum.
Clean the drum thoroughly after cutting the holes to get rid of all plastic shavings.
Coat the connector librally with silicon during the screw on process.... remember water can get in anyware  or out.  I let the drum stand in the sun a bit after cutting the holes and before fixing the tank connectors as this softens the plastic a bit and makes it easier to get the tank connector in.
Now your drum should start to look like this...
Inlet connection
outlet
Bottom Drain
All
Leave it to settle a while and dry thoroughly.
Now before you fit the strainers, drill some extra holes in them with the 5mm steel drill bit (or you have to find ones with that diamater, or you have to make your own strainer out of pvc, don't make the holes to big, or you will loose the kaldness or it can land up in your pond.
Glue the strainers to the inside of the tank connectors... & Allow to dry... see bellow
Now drill a hole in the lid with the 14mm dril, or just big enough for your air hose to fit through. Pull some hose through. Attach it to the air stone, I used one of those big flat round ones that is about the size of a side plate, once the strainers glue has set, place it in the drum, this type works well as it is quite heavy & thus stays in place (sorry no pics of this prosess).
Connect all your piping, place your pre soaked K1 into the the filter, if your piping is glued into place wait for it to dry. I made mine screw on so I can always move it later etc.
Open your inlet velve and ensure that your flow rate is correct & that your strainers can handle it. If need adjust.
If all is fine, then close the lid tightly & monitor that all systems work fine, after a couple of days it should be purring allong like mine
This is what my biofilter stage looks like, The water comes into the K1 filter then flows to my Ultrazap 25L biofilter, then UV light, back to the pond via a water feature.
The end result
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So exactly how much is the effective area for the bacteria to grow in 50L Kaldness?