Maurice! Fines filtration - Koi Forum - Koi-Bito Magazine

B.Scott · 12-12-2004

Hi Maurice,
I've been snooping around your site and I had a little question. Am I correct in assuming that your fines filtration consistes exclusively of static kaldness k1?

The reason is that at the moment I have an answer fitted to my primary vortex. It works great but is eating me alive in electricity. I was considering switching to wedge wire system but this is going to mean not only the expence of the sieve but a complete rebuild ot the filter system itself.

If I was to convert to static kaldness the convertion could be accomplished in a matter of hours instead of days and at a significantly lower cost. The big IF here is will it be as healthy for the fish and maintain the water quality I enjoy at the moment.
What are your thoughts on the matter?

Some other info...
How often do you flush the static kaldness
How long will it actually go without flushing? (during vacations, long weekends and such)
Do you feel the fines filtration will copare to that achived using an answer?

Cheers mate

Maurice · 12-12-2004

BScott,

I'm Australia at the moment and am heading off to visit family in a few minutes, I'll post later this afternoon to answer all your questions. But tomorrow I shall be heading off, up north and will be out of conntact for a week.

But all the answers are good, it's been one of the best things I've done in years.
The static Kaldnes is in my systems back home now and running without maintenance for a month!
Maurice.

B.Scott · 12-12-2004

OZ! Oh I can feel the summer sunshine now! Enjoy dude!

I'm looking forward to the rest of your answer but i must say it sounds encouraging. I can always move the answer into the Q-tank and nick some K1 out of the main filter for the Q-tank filter should I suddenly need to use it.
B.Scott

Maurice · 12-12-2004

Yes, Australia, one of the best places in the world to be sure. 4am in the morning Lynn and I are off to the Ningaloo reef, West Australia’s best hidden secret (far better than the Barrier reef and only yards from the beach) 12 hours drive up the coast from Perth.

I switched from an Answer to the static Kaldnes; it only took around 1/2 hour to complete the change. I too was worried about the power consumption, as the new pond was to have 5 Answers. This change saved a lot of 'energy' and has proved most successful.

My preference is for a smaller, rather than larger vortex, as I feel there is a need to flush and rinse the Kaldnes at least twice to get the media as clean as I like. In a large size vortex, this uses too much water. I use 24” vortex’s, with 50ltrs of media and happily feed 2,000 UK gallons an hour through the system. This gives me crystal clear water to a standard many have never seen.

I flush and clean the media daily, but I know from trials that this period can be increased and as stated earlier when I head off on my travels I am happy to leave these systems unattended.

If you have any more questions, I’ll happily answer them in a week, when I return to my parents’ house in Perth.

Maurice.

B.Scott · 12-13-2004

Sounds like your and your Misses are having a fab time Maurice. Take lots of (underwater) pictures for us OK?

That pretty much covers what I wanted to know. Do you take the J-mat plug out when you empty/clean the kaldness or just turn on the air and then drain?
My Vortex is fortunately on the smaller side (27"@60 gal./300 liters).
I agree with you about a daily flush being wise and my thoughts were along te same lines as yours... how long can I leave it in an emergency without a flush. Nice to know where your limits lay even though we don't need to go there. Your return will be a nice test of how things go when it is left unattended. Try to take some pictures if you aren't too jet-lagged

Hope you have a good time and don't look to much like a gleaming white pom on the beach to all the Ossies

Fair Dinkim mate, throw a prawn on the barbie and think of us freezing our nXts off.

B.Scott

dick benbow · 12-13-2004

Glad you asked the question B. scott. My answer too sits idle, so I'll be waiting the week to get more details. I took a 55 gallon plastic barrel and placed two three inch bulk head fittings into the bottom of it it. I ran 3,000 gallons and hr thru there and
boiled the water with air- medium. I capped two three foot pvc pipes to the height of the water that had slits around the circumference and were manufactured to be used in well casings to keep sand out of the pump. in about 6 weeks the slits were filled with fines and the filter room was flooded. I drilled 1/4 inch holes in it as well but was too nervous about another flood and pond lowering that i never tried the second effort.

B.Scott · 12-13-2004

I was looking at the one Maurice made and his slits are pretty coarse. No need to worry about sand I think. I was thinking of putting a bit of coarse mesh instead of a cap to work as an overflow. 3000 gallons an hour is quite impressive though!
Yeah I figured I would take my answer and fit it into a 3/4 bit of plastic drum with a vat of kaldness suspended above it. Small footprint and all but if this static kaldness really works I may to the same in the QT
The only onther issue I have with the answer is that at some point the pump will crap out on me. If a main circulation pump in the pond goes I have spares. If the answer pump goes my filter stops until I can special order a new one. .

B.Scott

Akai-San · 12-13-2004

Good thread guys...If energy consumption for the answer is less than desireable, scratch that puppy of my list.

B.Scott · 12-13-2004

What can I say Akai-San? It's a good piece of kitt and I don't regret having one. It gets the job done without a doubt and if you can afford it, I would reccomend one. The down side is it is costing me $600 a year to run. If you don't have deep pockets (like with a couple of kids in school sucking you dry) an alternitive is worth considering. At the time I got my answer it was the best you could have. I was with the team from EA when we saw kaldness at the Dutch Koi show for the first time. Nobody had even dreamed of static Kaldness at this point. But so you see doors open and doors close. As toime goes by the hobby improves and we get better. Thats why we don't use gravel filters anymore.

B.Scott

dick benbow · 12-13-2004

B. scott

can you post the www address with photos and info as i';d like to check them out!

12-12-2004	#1 (permalink)
B.Scott Jumbo Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Holland Posts: 822	Maurice! Fines filtration Hi Maurice, I've been snooping around your site and I had a little question. Am I correct in assuming that your fines filtration consistes exclusively of static kaldness k1? The reason is that at the moment I have an answer fitted to my primary vortex. It works great but is eating me alive in electricity. I was considering switching to wedge wire system but this is going to mean not only the expence of the sieve but a complete rebuild ot the filter system itself. If I was to convert to static kaldness the convertion could be accomplished in a matter of hours instead of days and at a significantly lower cost. The big IF here is will it be as healthy for the fish and maintain the water quality I enjoy at the moment. What are your thoughts on the matter? Some other info... How often do you flush the static kaldness How long will it actually go without flushing? (during vacations, long weekends and such) Do you feel the fines filtration will copare to that achived using an answer? Cheers mate

12-12-2004	#4 (permalink)
Maurice Tategoi Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Somerset, England. (land of the country bumpkin) Posts: 397	Yes, Australia, one of the best places in the world to be sure. 4am in the morning Lynn and I are off to the Ningaloo reef, West Australia’s best hidden secret (far better than the Barrier reef and only yards from the beach) 12 hours drive up the coast from Perth. I switched from an Answer to the static Kaldnes; it only took around 1/2 hour to complete the change. I too was worried about the power consumption, as the new pond was to have 5 Answers. This change saved a lot of 'energy' and has proved most successful. My preference is for a smaller, rather than larger vortex, as I feel there is a need to flush and rinse the Kaldnes at least twice to get the media as clean as I like. In a large size vortex, this uses too much water. I use 24” vortex’s, with 50ltrs of media and happily feed 2,000 UK gallons an hour through the system. This gives me crystal clear water to a standard many have never seen. I flush and clean the media daily, but I know from trials that this period can be increased and as stated earlier when I head off on my travels I am happy to leave these systems unattended. If you have any more questions, I’ll happily answer them in a week, when I return to my parents’ house in Perth. Maurice. __________________ http://www.koi-uk.co.uk

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12-12-2004	#2 (permalink)
Maurice Tategoi Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Somerset, England. (land of the country bumpkin) Posts: 397	BScott, I'm Australia at the moment and am heading off to visit family in a few minutes, I'll post later this afternoon to answer all your questions. But tomorrow I shall be heading off, up north and will be out of conntact for a week. But all the answers are good, it's been one of the best things I've done in years. The static Kaldnes is in my systems back home now and running without maintenance for a month! Maurice.

12-12-2004	#3 (permalink)
B.Scott Jumbo Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Holland Posts: 822	OZ! Oh I can feel the summer sunshine now! Enjoy dude! I'm looking forward to the rest of your answer but i must say it sounds encouraging. I can always move the answer into the Q-tank and nick some K1 out of the main filter for the Q-tank filter should I suddenly need to use it. B.Scott

12-13-2004	#5 (permalink)
B.Scott Jumbo Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Holland Posts: 822	Sounds like your and your Misses are having a fab time Maurice. Take lots of (underwater) pictures for us OK? That pretty much covers what I wanted to know. Do you take the J-mat plug out when you empty/clean the kaldness or just turn on the air and then drain? My Vortex is fortunately on the smaller side (27"@60 gal./300 liters). I agree with you about a daily flush being wise and my thoughts were along te same lines as yours... how long can I leave it in an emergency without a flush. Nice to know where your limits lay even though we don't need to go there. Your return will be a nice test of how things go when it is left unattended. Try to take some pictures if you aren't too jet-lagged Hope you have a good time and don't look to much like a gleaming white pom on the beach to all the Ossies Fair Dinkim mate, throw a prawn on the barbie and think of us freezing our nXts off. B.Scott

12-13-2004	#6 (permalink)
dick benbow Honmei Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: seattle, wa Posts: 4,156	Glad you asked the question B. scott. My answer too sits idle, so I'll be waiting the week to get more details. I took a 55 gallon plastic barrel and placed two three inch bulk head fittings into the bottom of it it. I ran 3,000 gallons and hr thru there and boiled the water with air- medium. I capped two three foot pvc pipes to the height of the water that had slits around the circumference and were manufactured to be used in well casings to keep sand out of the pump. in about 6 weeks the slits were filled with fines and the filter room was flooded. I drilled 1/4 inch holes in it as well but was too nervous about another flood and pond lowering that i never tried the second effort.

12-13-2004	#7 (permalink)
B.Scott Jumbo Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Holland Posts: 822	I was looking at the one Maurice made and his slits are pretty coarse. No need to worry about sand I think. I was thinking of putting a bit of coarse mesh instead of a cap to work as an overflow. 3000 gallons an hour is quite impressive though! Yeah I figured I would take my answer and fit it into a 3/4 bit of plastic drum with a vat of kaldness suspended above it. Small footprint and all but if this static kaldness really works I may to the same in the QT The only onther issue I have with the answer is that at some point the pump will crap out on me. If a main circulation pump in the pond goes I have spares. If the answer pump goes my filter stops until I can special order a new one. . B.Scott

12-13-2004	#8 (permalink)
Akai-San Tategoi Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Kanagawa, Tokyo, Japan Posts: 336	Good thread guys...If energy consumption for the answer is less than desireable, scratch that puppy of my list.

12-13-2004	#9 (permalink)
B.Scott Jumbo Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Holland Posts: 822	What can I say Akai-San? It's a good piece of kitt and I don't regret having one. It gets the job done without a doubt and if you can afford it, I would reccomend one. The down side is it is costing me $600 a year to run. If you don't have deep pockets (like with a couple of kids in school sucking you dry) an alternitive is worth considering. At the time I got my answer it was the best you could have. I was with the team from EA when we saw kaldness at the Dutch Koi show for the first time. Nobody had even dreamed of static Kaldness at this point. But so you see doors open and doors close. As toime goes by the hobby improves and we get better. Thats why we don't use gravel filters anymore. B.Scott

12-13-2004	#10 (permalink)
dick benbow Honmei Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: seattle, wa Posts: 4,156	B. scott can you post the www address with photos and info as i';d like to check them out!