| bakki with bio balls
Well my experiment is over with my filtration 3 stacker bakki tower filled with bioballs. It's been two months and the bacteria is established. I had to add a UV light to get clarity. 3 adult koi over 24" and three under 12 " is the bio "load" in 4,000 U.S. Gals.
I could never get the nitrite readings where I wanted by itself. I have since added a BB filter which i backwash weekly and use a bacteria
(bio-lift) to keep water quality exactly where I want it.
My conclusion is this combination does not work. my inside pond I have a three stacker with bacteria house media with conventional jap mat/vortexes on it as well, water is clear no need for UV and parameters are perfect.( 3-koi over 24 " and a 14", in 2,000 gals) I feed heavier because one of my asagi's is a growing 2 year old.
what nitrite says to me is that my pond was underfiltered or over
stocked, neither of which is the case. I feed Hikari staple and wheatgerm mix and am not a heavy feeder.
What I learned was that substituting media may make a difference as to performance. since I discount any contributiuon of( biological) filtration other than physical to the Bubblebead, I like the idea of a different bio filter in combination with the bakki tower.
filtration to me, whether you use k-1, blue j-mat, is heightened with the use of a trickle tower or bakki tower because of the oxygenation and degassing effect that it contributes in addition to biological filtration.
My recommendation is to combine types of filtration and to strive for more filtartion than could ever be expected to be needed.
hope this info and opinion may help some readers who are struggling with
their current system or planning a new pond. Just remember for cool/cold climates unprotected bakki towers and trickle towers are water chillers and will rapidly cool your water as temps fall. You will need a heater or means of protecting or insulation ( without affecting the degassing effect)
with these two forms of bio filtration.
I do know of one dealer in S. california that I repect who has heavy stocked Ponds with a 4 stacker with bio balls and is perfectly happy with the results, hence my repeat of the word opinion. |