Can take 4-6 weeks depending on various parameters of your pond...I saw positive results after 4 weeks with our TT using 7 cuft of Ultima II bio media in a 70 gallon blue plastic barrel...It took 6 weeks before I saw any results with the bakki type shower using bacteria house media...
Go to
www.pondpetsusa.com to see what the Ultima media looks like...
You can make your own Bakki type bins and fill them with bio balls and probably get similar results...John Sprinkle of Twig, told me that he used the commercial silverware trays which are used to wash the silverware in restaurants...you fill the first tray with your bio media, place an empty one on top of it, you continue alternating the filled and empty trays until you're satisfied that you have enough media for the water to flow through...
Aloha! Mike