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Home: KOI Talk: Pond Water Quality:
Filter problems can you help?

 





 


gadgetv8
Koi Lover

Feb 12, 2002, 9:41 AM

Post #1 of 10 (2737 views)
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Filter problems can you help? Can't Post
UnsureHoping for some advise,
I have a 2500g pond running an aquamax 10000 pump into a 55w uv into a cloverleaf CL2 filter which returns via a waterfall i am also running 4 airstones i have also modified the CL2 to house 12x short 8" brushes above the vortex inlet in chamber one to help collect the solids i have added sinterd glass pellets to the lava rock in the final chamber but still my water quality is not what i would like i am reading small amounts of amonia and nitrates in my pond the ph is 8 ish normal on my scale the pond and filter are only 3 months old and i made the mistake of adding all the fish i wanted in close succession consisting of 3x 11" koi 1x 24" ghost koi 6x 8" koi 4
g/orf 3x 8" tench 1x 20" sturgeon 1x11" common carp and 7x 5" koi sorry for the babbling but i am confused by contradicting advise on this matter............ oh nearly forgot i am also running with half oz salt per gallon Can you tell me would a fluid bed filter cure my water problems?
and what chamber should i place the fluid beds pump in, in my CL2 as i would like to have the fluid bed filter in the shed with the CL2 rather than out near the pond also what size and price of fluid bed would you advise if any? Also can you tell
me does it improve the water visually by making it clearer than it is with a CL2?
Thankyou for your helpSmile


gadgetv8
Koi Lover

Feb 14, 2002, 9:18 AM

Post #2 of 10 (2706 views)
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Re: [paulbarke] Filter problems can anyone help please? [In reply to] Can't Post
In Reply To
UnsureHoping for some advise,
I have a 2500g pond running an aquamax 10000 pump into a 55w uv into a cloverleaf CL2 filter which returns via a waterfall i am also running 4 airstones i have also modified the CL2 to house 12x short 8" brushes above the vortex inlet in chamber one to help collect the solids i have added sinterd glass pellets to the lava rock in the final chamber but still my water quality is not what i would like i am reading small amounts of amonia and nitrates in my pond the ph is 8 ish normal on my scale the pond and filter are only 3 months old and i made the mistake of adding all the fish i wanted in close succession consisting of 3x 11" koi 1x 24" ghost koi 6x 8" koi 4
g/orf 3x 8" tench 1x 20" sturgeon 1x11" common carp and 7x 5" koi sorry for the babbling but i am confused by contradicting advise on this matter............ oh nearly forgot i am also running with half oz salt per gallon Can you tell me would a fluid bed filter cure my water problems?
and what chamber should i place the fluid beds pump in, in my CL2 as i would like to have the fluid bed filter in the shed with the CL2 rather than out near the pond also what size and price of fluid bed would you advise if any? Also can you tell
me does it improve the water visually by making it clearer than it is with a CL2?
Thankyou for your helpSmile


SMW1
Koi Kichi

Feb 14, 2002, 4:46 PM

Post #3 of 10 (2697 views)
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Re: [paulbarke] Filter problems can anyone help please? [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi Paul,

You mention that you have small amount of ammonia and Nitrates. What are the reading you are getting and when are you taking these readings.

If you are taking the reading within 2 hours of feeding then you will always have traces of Ammonia and Nitrates. due to the waste food from the koi.

Unlike humans the koi can digest the food and pass it through their system in a matter of minutes rather tan hours.

You say the water is not as you would like. Is the water clear ?. If you have foam or oily substances then I would recommend a protien skimmer such as the G65 turbo cleaner.

Let us have your readings and tell us if your water is pea soup, slightly misty or crystal clear and we should be able to give you further advice.

Stuart


gadgetv8
Koi Lover

Feb 14, 2002, 10:24 PM

Post #4 of 10 (2689 views)
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Re: [SMW1] Filter problems can anyone help please? [In reply to] Can't Post
Thankyou for replying to my post,

I take the water samples in the morning before a feed, I use the tetra test kits to test my water and they have instructions which i follow to the letter ie temp time delays etc and the ph shows as 8.0 which is the nearest blue on the chart, No2 shows between the yellow and the orange on the scale which is between <0.3 mg/l and 0.3 mg/l, and the Nh3 and Nh4 shows between 0 and 0.25 mg/l

As for the water condition visually it is not green or frothy/oily it is quite clear all apart from tiny particles almost transparent in colour throughout the pond this is most noticeable at night when the pond lights are on

I have been told that there are chemicals and a clay powder which is desighned in a way that they collect this type of matter and collect it down to the bottom of the pond where it then gets dispelled to the filter but as i said already i am new to this and i am not sure what to do for the best, I have been told by cloverleaf the company that fitting thier fluid bed filter to my CL2 filter by means of submerging the pump tp feed the fluid bed under the jap matting in chamber three of the filter and piping the outlet of the fluid bed back into the same chamber would vastly improve the bacteria working on my waste from the pond and enable me to get the desired pond quality ie 0 amonia etc and this would allow for the growing fish/waste

I would be gratefull for your views

I would just like to add that i would like to contain any pipework etc to my shed where my CL2 is housed as the pond was desighned to hide all pipework tubing and electrical cables under the waterfall and it looks great and i would hate to have to run pipes etc so they are on show

Thanks againSmile


SMW1
Koi Kichi

Feb 15, 2002, 5:56 PM

Post #5 of 10 (2672 views)
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Re: [paulbarke] Filter problems can anyone help please? [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi,

You sound like you have quite a good filter setup and the water parameters are not too bad. A couple of questions for you. What size pump do you have in relation to the Water mass. i.e. how many times does all the water pass through your filter in 1 hour ?. do you have any brushes in your filter compartments ?. Brushes will usually remove any particales visible through the human eye.

I have a feeling that the particale you can see are algae. Do you have any vegitation in your pond i.e. plants etc. also how often do you feed your koi and how much ?.

There are a number of elements that could be cusing this problem. don't worry we'll get to the bottom of this.

I am off to Canada on Sunday for 3 weeks so I won't be able to get back to you during my holiday. But hopefully one of the sifu's from this forum (Mark, Joshua, dttk, khooberg etc.) can help you while I am away.

Stuart


gadgetv8
Koi Lover

Feb 15, 2002, 7:03 PM

Post #6 of 10 (2669 views)
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Re: [SMW1] Filter problems can anyone help please? [In reply to] Can't Post
I have an aquamax 10000 which is situated 22 feet away from the filter it is also 3feet 6" lower than ground level and has to pump up to the 55w uv which is 5 and a half feet above ground level before it goes into the filter, do you think my flow could be too slow with these paramaters if so i could move the pump closer to the filter and lower the uv fixings to shorten the pipe and increase flow?

In chamber one of the CL2 i have made a grid shelf just above the inlet apature so as not to hinder the vortex action and fitted 12 8" brushes in chamber 2 i have twelve long brushes in chamber 3 i have a jap mat cartridge that fills the chamber and in chamber 4 i have lava rock and sinterd glass pellets with 3 thin layers of foam on top i also have an airstone in the chambers 3 and 4 to add oxygen to get them nice bacteria to grow :-) if only,

As yet i have no plants as i am waiting until my local aquarium stocks up with the springs new plants, What type of plants would you reccomend to benefit my pond/fish?

As for feeding i only feed the winter wheetgerm food i was told to feed them by my local aquarium both floating for kois and sinking for tench/stergeon they get approx one half of the possible contents of a coca cola can split in two, half in the morning and half in the afternoon i cant see any left over in the pond but i can see koi waste around the airstones on the pond bed which i tease off the bottom with a fine net and remove.

I was sold some pink crystaline compound which had to be mixed with warm water and added to my pond which supposedly prevents algae forming this was done 2 weeks ago so i hope the particles are not algae forming as it is a new pond and i never had algae yet so if it is the poyion does not work :-(

Ps thankyou for your help with thisSmile


Arcen
Koi Lover

Feb 26, 2002, 1:18 AM

Post #7 of 10 (2592 views)
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Re: [paulbarke] Filter problems can anyone help please? [In reply to] Can't Post
Hi Paul,it sounds as if you have a good filter system set up.With regards to the tiny particles you will never get rid of them.It is possible to reduce them!But I am afraid your fish will constantly stir up the water in the forever search for food...Smile it is only natural for there to be particle's floating around,I'm positive the fish don't mind one little bit.If you are that troubled by it,get some information on the ANSWER, www.evolutionaqua.com.I would stop feeding the coca cola to the sturgeon.


Jim Towle
New User

Feb 26, 2002, 8:09 AM

Post #8 of 10 (2585 views)
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Re: [paulbarke] Filter problems can you help? [In reply to] Can't Post
...Hello Paul



...Your system appears to be very adequate for your pond. I have two suggestions.



...Lava rock is a very poor choice for media. It clogs readily and becomes anaerobic and channels very easily. This could be part of your problem with the ammonia and nitrates.



...If you add a TT in the last stage of your system you can reduce/eliminate the nitrates very easily.



...Jim


Arcen
Koi Lover

Feb 27, 2002, 1:01 AM

Post #9 of 10 (2565 views)
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Re: [Jim Towle] Filter problems can you help? [In reply to] Can't Post
Hello Jim,Tell me,what is TT?Also you mention lava rock,is that the same as alfa grog? Cheers.Crazy


Jim Towle
New User

Feb 27, 2002, 1:37 AM

Post #10 of 10 (2564 views)
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Re: [Arcen] Filter problems can you help? [In reply to] Can't Post
TT is trickle tower I don't know what alpha grog is.



...Jim

 
 
 



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