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Home: KOI Talk: Pond Construction & Water Filtering System:
Seeking ideas to improve filtration

 





 


cykoed
Koi Lover

Dec 20, 2006, 11:42 AM

Post #1 of 15 (2161 views)
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Seeking ideas to improve filtration Can't Post
Facts:
  • This is my current filtration setup (please see attached file). My pond is about 12feet x 12 feet x 4 feet deep, each chamber is about 2feet wide, 3feet long and 5 feet deep.
  • Chamber1 is supposed to be a settlement chamber, from where water is pumped into Chamber2 which has the filter mats which perform both mechanical (not ideal) and biological filtration.
  • Chamber3 has seashells to stabilise the water parameters.

Problem:
The settlement chamber does not work too well, so that most of the gunk gets churned by the pump and dumped into Chamber2. So Chamber2 get clogged up, and too often. Furthermore, it's not easy to clean out due to the size of the chamber.

Advise sought:
What options are available to improve the mechanical filtration so that:
(1) avoids clogging up Chamber2
(2) easy to clean out mechanical filter
(3) cost effective


Appreciate some guru-inputs thanks!!


koi@kit
Senior Member


Dec 20, 2006, 8:00 PM

Post #2 of 15 (2143 views)
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Re: [cykoed] Seeking ideas to improve filtration [In reply to] Can't Post
hi cykoed..

i m not guru but this is wat i think.. u shud concentrate on biological filtration more than mechanical..
biological filter purified water, mechanical filtration filter solid waste and need to be wash frequently..
IMHO if u losen up ur 2nd chamber and make it biological filtration then it wont clog up..Sly

rgds


Koi38
Senior Member


Dec 20, 2006, 8:10 PM

Post #3 of 15 (2139 views)
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Re: [cykoed] Seeking ideas to improve filtration [In reply to] Can't Post
If I were you I relocate the pump to the last chamber if it can't be installed as in-line pump. But to do this you need to have a good gravity flow in your filters from chamber 1 to 3. Replace or add more media in chamber 2 and add media in chamber 3 for bilogical filter.Wink

For now all I can tell is you only have mechanical filters and hardly any biofilter. Having shells is okay but having more bio media is much better maintaining water quality. Shells specially oyster shells are for PH buffering only nothing else, IMHOSmile

*What's your pond volume?
*what's your turn over rate?
*how many fish?


rgds.
Jon

"DuKu Friendly"
_____________________________________
"No one is ever too old to know better"

http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/Koi38/


cykoed
Koi Lover

Dec 26, 2006, 1:06 PM

Post #4 of 15 (2071 views)
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Re: [Koi38] Seeking ideas to improve filtration [In reply to] Can't Post
thanks for the suggestions.

koi38, my pond is about 11500 litres with 25 fish (including the algae munchers) with each on average a foot long. not sure about the pump specs as it was included when i purchased the house!

one of the koi has reddish ulcers on the side, so that's been keeping me distracted on the weekend. dumped some salt into the pond. so far none of the others look to be affected, and the afflicted one is still active and eating well although sporting those sores on the side. efforts to catch it have been futile due to the size of the pond!

temporarily i've put a sock into the outlet of the pipe, which works well to trap the gunk. except it fills up in half a day! so i'm now trying a larger mesh.


sunshinekoi
Member


Dec 26, 2006, 9:38 PM

Post #5 of 15 (2052 views)
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Re: [cykoed] Seeking ideas to improve filtration [In reply to] Can't Post
Cykoed,
Hi, my filter is a updown gravity filter with the pump at the end. I have changed my filter media placement in my 4 chamber twice. What I found effective is on the first chamber which normally a settlement chamber I have the flow going upward first and then come down when entering 2nd chamber. I have a few plastic stools that are sitting above the inlet of the filter and I placed 4-5 layers of japanese matts (of 2 different pore size) horizontally and have some bricks on top to keep the matts from floating. The setup works very wells and all the dirts and shits captured on those matts. To maintenance the cleaniness I have to clean it twice a weeks as the chamber will be very filthy which I think is effective. The downside of the placement is it will create anerobic conditions which is very undesirable, thus twice a week cleaning is necessary to avoid that condition from happening. Laugh

Hope this helps
sunshineSmile


cykoed
Koi Lover

Jan 3, 2007, 11:29 AM

Post #6 of 15 (1975 views)
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Re: [sunshinekoi] Seeking ideas to improve filtration [In reply to] Can't Post
I'm thinking of trying an alternate way which involves...

1. droping lots of filter brushes into chamber 1 below the pump. Intention is to have the brushes filter out the gunk, and also to keep them at the bottom of the chamber
2. installing a pump at the bottom of chamber 1 below the brushes, outlet goes into the standpipe and hence flushes out. As the gunk should accumulate here below the brushes, the pump should draw this in its a matter of turning on the pump every day for a couple of minutes to flush out the gunk and out into the standpipe.

any thoughts....and alternatives based on the budget below?

cost - filter brushes (40*$6 (2 feet ones))= $240
pump and pipes = $110
total $350...*ouch*


sunshinekoi
Member


Jan 3, 2007, 7:38 PM

Post #7 of 15 (1961 views)
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Re: [cykoed] Seeking ideas to improve filtration [In reply to] Can't Post
Cykoed,
Can You kindly reload your attached file again? I can't find any plan or picture in this thread. Laugh

sunshine


cykoed
Koi Lover

Jan 4, 2007, 2:03 PM

Post #8 of 15 (1938 views)
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Re: [sunshinekoi] Seeking ideas to improve filtration [In reply to] Can't Post
sunshinekoi,

i'm now mulling over a cheaper solution invoing making a rack with a mesh on the top of it. and to sink this into the first chamber so that it effectively blocks the muck from flowing up into my pump1. then i'll install a pump2 underneath this rack, and the outlet goes straight into the stand/exit pipe.

if this works, then i hope that the rack/mesh traps the muck at the bottom of the first chamber, which i can flush out easily just by flicking the switch on pump2 which lies underneath this rack and amongst all the muck.

let me try again to attach the picture...


cykoed
Koi Lover

Jan 4, 2007, 2:06 PM

Post #9 of 15 (1937 views)
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Re: [cykoed] Seeking ideas to improve filtration [In reply to] Can't Post
hmmm..having probs attaching the file.

seems ok in uploading the attaching before i post, but after posting it doesnt appear...
Attachments: Koi Pond.jpg (45.5 KB)


cykoed
Koi Lover

Jan 4, 2007, 2:08 PM

Post #10 of 15 (1934 views)
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Re: [cykoed] Seeking ideas to improve filtration [In reply to] Can't Post
 
Attachments: Koi Pond.jpg (45.5 KB)


Koi38
Senior Member


Jan 4, 2007, 5:52 PM

Post #11 of 15 (1922 views)
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Re: [cykoed] Seeking ideas to improve filtration [In reply to] Can't Post
cykoed,

Pls see the pic below. If you can achieve this then you'll improve your systemSmile All you need to do is relocate the pump in the last chamberWink

rgds,
Jon



"DuKu Friendly"
_____________________________________
"No one is ever too old to know better"

http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/Koi38/


cykoed
Koi Lover

Jan 5, 2007, 1:08 PM

Post #12 of 15 (1900 views)
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Re: [Koi38] Seeking ideas to improve filtration [In reply to] Can't Post
koi38,

thanks very much for your suggestions!

one concern tho'...the end of DrainB lies outside my house ie it hangs over the drain so i have no control to stop it from being opened...and if that happens my pond can drain dry!

also...being a plumbing dummy... appreciate if you can clarify what "adding elbow point up and using stand pipe as drain valve" involves. is this the same arrangement just that i add on a "L" shaped piece to the end of DrainB so the end of the pipe is then directed upwards, and continue to use the standpipe as the flush? if so, what changes will the elbow bring compared to now?


i realised the UV light had KO'd and got this changed 2 days ago. but alas, the water continues to have the same green consistency. sigh Frown

tks!


Koi38
Senior Member


Jan 5, 2007, 6:34 PM

Post #13 of 15 (1886 views)
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Re: [cykoed] Seeking ideas to improve filtration [In reply to] Can't Post
cykoed,

Well if you can not extend or add a valve for your drain in SC might as well keep what you got there. The reason for relocating/removing the stand pipe is ease of maintenance by replacing the stand pipe with slide valve to drain your SC.

Check the glass tubing of your UV, it may be full of biofilm or something preventing it to work efficientlySmile

rgds,
Jon

"DuKu Friendly"
_____________________________________
"No one is ever too old to know better"

http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/Koi38/


cykoed
Koi Lover

Jan 18, 2007, 1:55 PM

Post #14 of 15 (1741 views)
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Re: [Koi38] Seeking ideas to improve filtration [In reply to] Can't Post
just thought i'd update on the progress in my pond....

i made a stand from pvc pipes and sunk this into the settlement chamber, with a pump placed underneath this stand. then on top i layered a new piece of filter mat, and then a couple of older pieces. fixed the UV and had this on 24x7.

for 2 painful weeks the water was still peasoup with no material improvement. on one of the nights, 2 koi couldn't make it through the difficult environment.

then on tuesday (after some water flushing helped by the rain on the weekend), the water turned amazing clear. so the bottom is now clearly visible. each koi is now much more active, and looking happy :)

my guess is that the frame and mats in the settlement chamber needed some time to clog up so that it became a more effective sieve. as for the pump that's located at the bottom, every day i turn it on and jig it around, and a lot of the gunk is sucked up and dumped straight off into the standpipe.

fingers crossed that the balance can last!


cykoed
Koi Lover

Mar 26, 2007, 2:26 PM

Post #15 of 15 (1323 views)
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Re: [cykoed] Seeking ideas to improve filtration [In reply to] Can't Post
so far the diy method where i made a stand from pvc pipes with layered filter mats on tops and an extraction pump underneath has worked fairly well. whilst in the day the water stills turns greenish and opaque, but it's much better than before, and thankfully at night this clears up.

i'm now looking for a tighter filter material for the first filter/stand, as some gunk still gets through. so i'd like a better trap so that the extraction pump can just get rid of it with a flick of a switch.

any ideas on what material i can use which will be a tighter mesh and one which is tough and long lasting? i was thinking along the lines of material like scouring pads (green mats used to scrub dishes).

also, any suggestions for making the extraction pump more effective? i have a perforated hose fixed to the input of the pump, but it's difficult to manoveur it while it's under the stand so that i'm effective in 'vacuuming/ hoovering' all the gunk.

cheers!

 
 
 



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