What filter do you have and how often do you clean it during this season?

[koiloco]

Hi Everyone,


I have 1 settling tank and 2 big pressurized gravel filters.
I have to backflush once every 4 days to clean them and keep optimal flowrate during this season.

I just wonder what filter setup you have for your pond AND
how often do you clean it during this heavy feeding season?

[Mike T]

Koiloco:

Two Ponds systems: 1. 9 Koi 10-22" in 1500 gallon pond, 2. 6, 22+" koi in 900 gallons...

1. 4" bottom drain reduced to 2" at pump to TPR and Aquabead To Bakki shower, to pond... Demand Feeder...koi feed all night

2. 2" bottom drain to pump to Aquadyne to TT to pond, 2" pipe from Savio Skimmer/Filter to Bakki Shower to pond. Auto feeder 8 times between 7am-9pm...

Clean Bead Filters every Sun and Wed by agitating and backwashing... takes 3.5 minutes each filter...Really only have to clean once per week but like a cleaner bead since it's only being used as a mechanical filter...

Haven't cleaned Bakkis since installation about 1.5 years ago, check them periodically, but nothings there to clean...

This is year round since temps are always in the 70-80, 90 during hot summer days...

Aloha! Mike T

[tewa]

Hi Koiloco

I only suse bakki showers and haven cleaned it since it started 9 to 10 months ago, like mike T said there is nothing there, I believe Maurice has n't cleaned his indoor pond shower for 2 years.

i do spend sometime every few weeks looking at the filter as i just find it fun to watch the water crash down on to media from tray to tray

tewa

[dick benbow]

the filter media itself i have never cleaned. I have a bakki shower that has run for a year and never touched. I have 3 -250 gal tony prew vortexes filled with heavily aeriated j-mat that i drain everyday but have never touched the filter media in 7 years.

cleaning mechanical filters is a troublesome task but if you collect something you don't want in the water it behooves you to eliminate it as often as possible.

[MikeM]

Daily (unless working too late to have the energy): Settlement in vortex and Nexus dumped; bead filter settlement dumped (something I did not do in past ... surprised by how much I get). Leaf catchers on skimmers checked every day or two and emptied. When floating pellets fed, skimmers are checked to remove any pellets captured. Leaf baskets on pumps serving bead filter and Bakki Shower are checked every day or two, not only to remove any leaves that got through the skimmers preceding them (not many leaves do, but a couple some how manage it) but especially to remove frogs and toads that get sucked in. These drown in the leaf baskets and would add a great deal of pollution if emptied only weekly. Top up water to replace what is lost in dumping settlement... 1-2% of pond volume per day, most days.

Weekly: Clean EAzy units; thorough backwash of bead filter; check Bakki media to remove any leaves or twigs that have managed to get under the covering; rinse skimmer filter mats; wash off skimmer leaf catchers (which attract insect larvae casings). [I'd do the bead filter backwash twice per week or more frequently if gunk was building up. Right now, there is so much filtration for 15 fish that once per week seems sufficient.] Perform water change. Currently 20%.

Monthly: Flush all lines as best as can to remove/reduce build up of gunk.

When Needed: Whatever.

[andrewn15]

5000+ gal pond,11 9" koi, 3 12" and 2 21" koi. 40" round settling tank fed by 4" bottom drain from the pond, flush every week, pump fed through a small 16" bead filter (use only as mechanical filter) back wash once a week, water then flow to homemade 250 gal bio filter set up with 4" thick Japanese mat (first layer) and about 250 litres of K1 on top with heavy duty air pump to agitate the media this bio stage is cleaned once a year during spring start up.
my pond can be viewed at www.9homepage.com
Happy koi keeping
Andrew

[GazKoi]

Hi Guys,


I have four vortex units connected together with two 4" pipes which was especially made to fit in the small area behind the shed/Koihouse!!

I have the first as settlement with a Geazy static K1 chamber (home made Eazy) then the next two units have 120lts of fluidized K1 and the last chamber is Japanese matting this is all feed from a 4" aerated bottom drain.I like to flush the settlement every day as it only takes a couple of minutes and i don't get wet and its so easy to do

I also take it in turns on dropping the others to help keep them nice and clean i also have a TT filled with BHM and that just does its own thing All baskets/skimmers are emptied and cleaned every day.

I clean every day because i believe if it in the water its in the pond so i want it out ASAP!!!!!!!!

[koiloco]

Wow,

I guess I shouldn't complain then. You guys also have to do quite a bit

[keokoi]

Daily.......... I clean no Niche skimmer for heck of it just rinse em off.

every other day I flush settlement of waste until most is gone

Twice a week I also backwash bead filter that comes from skimmer.

Weekly I Drain Settlement which is 450 Gallons. I have 30 24" Brushed hanging in settlement ( these were given to me by Dan DCNY thanks Dan) These I get rinse out in settlement and Drain. so that works real good.

All of my chambers are hooked up to a pool pump so I can drain quicker and more effecent. I have a manifold to control which ones need it.

The Mechanical filter stays pretty darn clean as the brushes in vortex act as a pre mechanical filter if you will.

Bio I rinse aerated J-mat twice a year. Once before winter and once in middle of summer.

Mechanical I rinse brushes 3-4 times a year. This year may be different as I added those brushes in the settlement. So far so good.

I am looking to add a bakki shower soon!!!

I also want to add another 450 g chamber to make my life even hard.. LOL But I may just add a different type of media.

Joe

[Dan Blatt]

Have a 4487 gallon pond with two Lim bottom drains with air domes at 7 ft. 2 inches deep. Pond is 16x6x6.5 ft deep at sidewalls, sloping to the drains at 7 ft. 2 inches. Essentially two 8x6 ft. comparments on the bottom seperated with a ridge running across the 6 ft. width at the middle (8 ft. mark on the length side)with all four sides of each compartment sloping to the drains.

Two 4 inch bottom drain lines coming into a Y with valves just before a Sprirex vortex. Water leaves the vortex and goes through a 1/4 hp Dragon pump into a 4.4 Aquadyne filter. Return is split to the pond with 1/2 going directly back and the other 1/2 going through an Emperor Aquatic HO 80 watt uv.

Maruku 80 running the air domes...jacuzzi time.

Separate 1/15 hp Lim wave pump on a Savio skimmer at the opposite end of the pond from returns.

I empty the vortex and flush the bottom drain lines every 4 days and flush the filter once a week (every 5-6 days....as indicated on the pressure valve. Clean Savio Japanese matting every 2-3 days.

Used both Refresh and Koizyme weekly.

Total time for the week......2-3.5 hrs tops.

Considering TT or shower...just not sure where they would fit....very formal pond with decks on all sides. Would be hard to blend in. Not convinced at this point I need either as water quality is excellent and koi always look great. Guess the old saying applies...it it ain't broke, don't fix it.