the "easy"

[Maurice]

Ok, you’ve got me!

Many of you will be aware that I have run static Kaldnes as my main and only mechanical filtration on 3 of my ponds for more than 18 months. As I changed each of these systems to static Kaldnes, I discarded an ‘Answer’ (mechanical, self-cleaning micro-screen).



The water, within 24 hours was unbelievable!



Evolution Aqua had been aware of my set-up for a long while, but I had kept it a little to myself, as its use left their designed product obsolete in my ponds and have been a strong Evolution Aqua fan from day one. My first ‘Answer’ invoice was Number 11.



While EA were designing a static Kaldnes system to be used in conjunction with the Nexus they consulted with me regarding how to keep heavier/larger waste from mixing with the Kaldnes. The final design, the ‘EAzy’ uses my principal, but takes it a little further in that the media is totally held in it’s own container, my design just separated incoming water with a screen under the media level.



So, not only does this mean you can see the amount of ‘larger’ waste collecting around the side of the ‘EAzy’, but it also means there is a far larger area to pull water from (more surface area, more holes). This larger surface area means there is far more chance of heavier waste settling, rather than being sucked against the ‘EAzy’ (larger surface area = less suction per square inch).



I think they have it just right with this one.



They use air agitation for cleaning, the same as I do, the whole thing is so simple. Flushing is so easy; I do not even get my hands wet.



In a couple of words it is the SIMPLEST, MOST EFFICENT mechanical filtration I have used in 35 years+ of fish keeping.



There will be many ‘homemade’ versions of EA’s design and my own, for those doing this a couple of points: Don’t use too much media, there has to be enough spare room for the media to ‘churn’ well while cleaning. Make sure the slots or holes in the outlet pipe to the biological filtration are at least an inch above the level of the media in the static filter. Clean the static Kaldnes frequently, it’s great to achieve better mechanical filtration and pond clarity, but it’s not healthy, unless it flushed and dumped regularly!!!



A good friend has just switched to using my method. The water was filthy, because of his high feed regime; fish could not be seen at all if they were deeper than 6”, within a week, the bottom of the pond can be seen!!




I rest my case.

Fire your questions.

Maurice.
PS
My design is on my web site. One point, I get many e-mails, asking if I still use the Jap Matting disc. The answer to this is no, that was only on the first prototypes, for the first few weeks, it was only used to stop the Kaldnes escaping down the outlet and it was a pain to clean. So I switched to the slotted pipe and air agitation for cleaning.

[Maurice]

Tom, one point I meant to make, but forgot was the static Kaldnes in the exit chamber of the Nexus stops some of the fine waste returning to the pond.

BUT, most of the water goes under the media and so this has a limited effect.

Maurice

[ranskye]

oh my, what are those nexus things? is that the vortex that ive heard you people talking about?
thats a nice sticker, what is it doing?
it seems that the easy things are a container of bioballs.
what are you getting at dick? that the things are blocking up quick smart.

wheres the water go in and what happens to it before it goes out.
whats the different stages and in what order? one of you who runs one should be able to say..

a common system that i use would have the water entering 2/3 up a conical tank which drops the settleables out to the bottom as it spins around, from there in the bottom of it the settleables is pumped a couple of times a day.
the main flow of water would go out and over a fine screen to remove some suspended solids then to the biofilter and then off to a foam fractionator which would also run through the bio before going back to the tank, either that or have a simple skimming overflow.

[GCSpyder]

Quote: Originally Posted by Maurice There will be many ‘homemade’ versions of EA’s design and my own, for those doing this a couple of points: Don’t use too much media, there has to be enough spare room for the media to ‘churn’ well while cleaning. Clean the static Kaldnes frequently, it’s great to achieve better mechanical filtration and pond clarity, but it’s not healthy, unless it flushed and dumped regularly!!!

Hi Maurice,

I have been a frequent visitor of your site, so I have been comptemplating to convert one of my existing container to static Kaldnes for a while. How much Kaldnes do I put in. Can I assume 50% of the capacity of the container?

It will be flushed and dumped automatically everyday with the use of timed solenoid valve. Thanx for your advice.

Cheers..

[MikeM]

Every time I read your experiences with the static Kaldnes, Maurice, I get convinced. Then I start worrying over my circumstances and start waffling. Right now, I'm strongly leaning toward the EAsy rather than the Answer.

BTW, talking with an experienced pondbuilder/designer in northeast U.S., I learned that in outdoor applications where tree leaves are an issue, he recommends a large vortex before the Nexus. Reason: The Nexus discharge port is too small to discharge to waste when many leaves get in it thru bottom drains, and cleaning it out becomes more laborious than other settlement methods. This places in question the reasons for using the Nexus (small footprint), but would also seem to reduce the clogging risks with the EAsy. However, the pondbuilder still recommends the Nexus as providing superior results.

[markgardner]

You can see a video of the Eazy in action at http://www.koikit.biz/nexus_eazy.wmv



Mark

[Tom C]

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the video, can you post a picture of one out of the box not in the Nexus? How much K1 does the unit use? In the video it looks like it could have been installed on a indoor tank, was it? In a lot of cases hobbyist have more than just fish waste that comes into the tank. I would think this would all get stuck to the screen of the Eazy. Right now my pond is getting just a little bit of string algae to it. The Answer keeps it off of the screen some what, but how is this Eazy going to do that.

I dump my settling tanks everyday. With doing this, I would also have to clean the Eazy everyday. How long does it take to clean it. In the video it was 1 1/2 minutes long, but it did not show the true time to clean it all the way. Also it looked like you just opened the line to the drains to clean it out after it drained out. Do you also have to hose the screen off?

I'm not trying to bash this product, but I can't see spending $500.00+ on something that's not going to be the answer to the problem. The Nexus was marketed as a maintenance free filter. With the Answer it is some what, with the foam block it was not at all. It was one of the worst filter I have ever had to deal with. I'm hoping the Eazy will be the answer to having a low maintenance filter.

Tom

[koi4all]

I have been running an eazy for about 3 weeks now clarity excellent and cleaning is a doodle yes it is still winter and the covers are on but after I took the answer off I was cleaning the sponge every 2 days and this cost nothing to run.


rick

[gregbickal]

As a DIY guy I am very excited about the prospects of something that has no moving parts I currently only use passive settling chambers, with an exit tube near the surface which goes to a chamber full of brushes. This year was the first time for the brushes, and I did not enjoy cleaning them at all.

The idea of static Kaldness is very appealing to me. I currently have 3 cubic feet of it (that im using in trickle towers). But I invested in it as a media for its versitility.

[Akai-San]

Quote: Originally Posted by Maurice There will be many ‘homemade’ versions of EA’s design and my own, for those doing this a couple of points: Don’t use too much media, there has to be enough spare room for the media to ‘churn’ well while cleaning. Make sure the slots or holes in the outlet pipe to the biological filtration are at least an inch above the level of the media in the static filter. Clean the static Kaldnes frequently, it’s great to achieve better mechanical filtration and pond clarity, but it’s not healthy, unless it flushed and dumped regularly!!!

Maurice,
I remember you mentioning that you actually left your pond unattended when you went on an extended vacation (as a system test). I do understand that regular cleaning is optimal for the Vortex K1 setup, and you would never recommend leaving the filtration for extended periods...but did the system hold-up when you got back from your vacation? If so, this passive system would have the capacity for minimal maintenance (ALTHOUGH NOT RECOMMENDED). Can you comment on your experiences testing the K1.

You have convinced me to go this route...I am planning to use two vortex side by side(two bottom drains so four vortex total)...each drain to have its own line...the first for heavy separation and the second as fines separation using your suggested K1 arrangement. After running through the K1 filtration process, I am planning to polish and aerate the water via bakki tower type and media. Does anyone see any possible problems with my first try at selecting a filtration setup. Thanks all.