bakki towers

[dick benbow]

Jim,
Were you on the debating team in college? WOW!
Lots of good room for a healthy and respectful exchange of information!
Over the years in my search for a healthier pond, I discovered some things as truth. Not necessarily in order of importance.
Light stocking levels. an open system where a minimum of 10 % water exchange is enacted continually. the more air the better. ability to control water temperature. most of my education as come from cause and affect. If I read something that made sense, I tried it. if it worked I used it until I found something better. It is kinda a miracle that I stayed with it as long as I did with the thoughts you expressed about koi keepers that flowered and quickly faded
I have to say that with all those lessons learned along the way, the shower system incorporates what I have learned provides the best results. so it seems logical to me that this sytem will work.
But I'll be ther first one to say different if after I get it up and running
and it doesn't contribute something readily seen.
each year when something new comes along,I jump on it with both feet.
I had the first answer in the northwest, I was into kaldness as soon as i could get my hands on it. I can give you a hands on report of the worth
of both to MY SYSTEM.
Lee used the term lemmings, as a graphic picture of all of us going off the deep end earlier in this thread.
I have to say in all fairness to both Jim and Lee, I would never advise
anyone to abandon a system that is working ( the degree of which is always debateable) to embrace something totally unknown and unproven.
I have done that and learned the hard way. We're getting closer to the time I can lay my hands on the media, so I'm ready to start the test.
Wish someone had a crystal ball we could look into to determine what's at the end of the road. it may be paved or it may be rocky, but either way I'm packed and ready to roll......

[Lee]

Dear All,

First of all...please, note that I am not insulted nor offended by the above response (to my inquery).

In fact, I believe there is too thin a skin on many of our boards contributors and 'we' as adults should not need to be so careful in the sharing and questioning of our thoughts, ideas and pro-offered new ideas.

Nor, do I find it necessary to be even the slightest 'edgy' in offering a truthful response.

Gosh, guys...I am a gray haired grandfather and like yourselves, I've heard much worse in my time.

Nonetheless, I am grateful for the thought and concern and the coming to my defense, by JR, thank you...However, I believe no insult was intended, nor was any apology necessary.

As said before, you can call me anything, 'except' - late for dinner!

In regard to the shelf size mentioned. The shelf that I wrote of in my previous e-mail, as far as I know is the ONLY size shelf that has been offered.

Sir, if you have dimensions of another sized shelf then please share it with us all - as I have been told (from the source) that this 'size' was the only size that he had 'available'.

And, as far as JR's thoughts regarding a wait and see period. Of course, I agree.

However, I cannot wait too long as my excavation company is 'here' on site...now!

In fact, they are less than one hundred meter's away from me this very moment with trucks and digging equipment aggressively making what appears to be a small lake sized pond - for 'whatever' new filtration equipment is deemed to be the very best available within the international world-wide marketplace.

As was repeated from a koi friend in Kentucky earlier this morning - "what we spend now, is immaterial in comparison to what effect we achieve later".

Of course, this is fine if you have an unlimited budget, however, recognizing that 'the' construction and equipment purchasing phase is only the begining of the process...I'd rather make no mistakes.

And, as I know I shall soon have to add PRIZE WINNING KOI to this newly dug pond or JR will never visit me...

Thus, this is truly only the first step of a very-very expensive long process which each of us have gone thru before and will go through again! And, again. (For certain, my two ponds will not be adaquate, as a third will be wanted and a fourth and so on...until I turn our nearby jungle and bush filled land into a koi lovers paradise.)

Thus, I remain eager and hungry for more information on these showers, as well as, on the Bacteria House media.

Please, tell us all you know. And, keep it coming...

And, as I am willing to fly and visit "wherever you are" to see a 'shower' in actual operation in order to learn more and/or to either buy, obtain or steal... same and/or to find a 'better koi filter system' of whatever is deemed to be 'optimum' system worthy of 'OUR' various boards collective first choice of filter - to next purchase.

...as for certain whatever is 'best' should be enthusiastically shared with all koi ponders everywhere and whatever is 'tainted' and/or found poor and unqualified for the job, should also be equally condemned and written about, as well as, widely voiced.

As it should, yes?

Lee
Grand Cayman

[bil]

Well now, My take on this is that I would be a whole lot happier to see very thorough prefiltration (ie solids removal), and a continuous flow of clean water into the pond. Good results may be achieved with shower only systems. To me that would suggest much better results from getting the crap out first.

As to the science. Jim makes noises like someone smelling a snake oil salesman, and so do I. I find the concept of infra-red radiation and waterclusters so suspect as to leave me wide eyed. In all fairness, this talk of IR and clusters may simply be the attempts of someone with limited scientific knowledge trying to devise a theory for something that works, but they do not understand how.

Talk of water clusters being reduced in size really bothers me, and this is why.

Water is an unusual molecule. It ought to be a gas at sub zero temps, because in order for it to have a liquid phase between zero C and 100 degrees C, it would need to weigh 25 times what it does.

This anomaly was explained when it was realised that water is dipolar (ie one end is slightly positely charged and the other negatively. This attracted molecules to each other and water effectively goes around in polymers of 25 molecules.

The Bakki explanation of halving the cluster sizes, would mean that it's effective molecular weight was halved, which would result in a lower boiling point. I can't be bothered to work out the precise temp it would then boil at. If this is for real, I would really, really like to see some serious science here. Same goes for the IR claims.

That isn't to say that I don't think its a good idea, especially with clean water.

[shiromujigirl]

At the risk of the very nice US suppier not sending me the $240 worth of 3 cubic feet of Bacteria House media to test 3000 GPH against the lava rock, may I say I smell a rat also.

If koi get greater health and growth with BH may I suggest trying saturating your pond water O2 first by a cheaper means first and see what happens. A 6 sprinkler oscillating cheapo sprinkler array set on wide low fan, for instance, will set you back $2.98 a sprinkler head. Those using milk crates or other containers may I suggest you have a foot of free fall of air between trays.

IF IT IS, in fact, heterotrophs that are doing away with the poop in a maxed o2 setting, the total dissolved organic carbon test and ORP done weekly as the medias cycle should prove that.

It is Griff, the good old Mad Builder, that wants to test the infrared rays using a plain old infrared lamp to heat plastic media also to see if he gets identical results. And Roark, good knows what he is going to do in that third floor lab of his wuith the micro wave oven parts. All I want to know is what is happening to the poop.

Aquatic Eco Systems has been selling a tiered bucket filled system with bioballs for years that you run a off gassing towers rates. This is not a new concept.

[Lee]

TO: Andrew
FR: Lee

Yes. in reply to your enquirey. I am on Grand Cayman.

I also add my home (location after my name, when signing off) as there is another 'Lee' on various koi boards who does not add his location and I do not want to have us two confused as being one in the same.

[Andrew]

Thanks Lee, I was there earlier this year, that's the only reason I asked, I envy your climate!

[Lee]

Dear Andrew,

Now, I'm really angry!

JR was also in Grand Cayman this past year - without calling me.

And, now you tell me you were (also) less than five minutes distance from my home and that you didn't call me either...

Is it my preferrence for Kohaku, my having called you 'Drew' or is it my wait and see policy regarding the 'shower' system?

Whatever the reason. Thank goodness, Griff...came off his cruise ship, placed a phone call (to me) and had me drive into town and pick he and Merilyn up...allowing us to spend time together at my home, 'talking koi'!

Andrew, all I can say is "please, hurry on back again, soon".

All the best,

Lee
Grand Cayman

[shiromujigirl]

Griff is one of the most wonderful, ingenious and practical back yard scientists and engineers I know of. His idea to shine an infrared heat lamp on plastic media along side the lava rock, which he says has some rays of its own because it, too, is a fired media, and BH media is a great experiment. He is such a friendly and enthusiastic person. Also, his wife must be very tolerant of his unsightly contraptions he festoons the property with.

Griff, you have to run this experiment in a garage where the ambient temperature of the room can be controled, right? Regular light bulbs must be used to shine on the other medias and keep them at the same temperature. This precaution to rule out the infrared lamp warming the plastic media causing it to cycle sooner than the others.

[bil]

Ahhh, but normal bulbs will also emit IR radiation.

If the Bakki emits IR then that should be detectable.

[shiromujigirl]

Thats what Roark is doing with the microwave oven parts.