Bakki Shower/Bacteria House vs Conventional Submerged Filtration System.

[killroy]

Finished reading the entire thread at exactly 3:51am. I have to admit, skipped some posts since i couldnt relate or catch up. As a newbie/fry....will concentrate on the basics 1st. And if ever in the future, that I have so much info in my head and have gained experience in the hobby, i guess I'll also express my own thoughts of what works best and what doesnt work.

Indeed, progress has its setbacks.

jay

[junglegeorge12]

So what's the nitrate reading these days?

[dtbh]

Sorry guys,

I had to postpone what I was suppose to do because of the many holiday "interruptions"....was away overseas twice. There is no point in me starting anything significant without being able to monitor the parameters. Anyway I will continue shortly and will post the findings very soon.

A great new year to all, dtbh

[dtbh]

Okay guys, nitrates have returned to 10-20ppm (same as source). I will be bypassing the FG above ground filter (packed with matala) today. Meanwhile my pond is holding well despite the past week of thunderstorm...touchwood.

[dtbh]

I think it is time I give a preliminary conclusion to this comparison. I have since by-passed the hydroponics and both the above-ground submerged filters. The results were in a way within my expectations.

Below are my views:

1. BS/BH works. Nothing new I suppose. Despite my heavy feeding and my by-passing of my filters the BS/BH took over the task wonderfully. On the other hand I note that the BS/BH did not benefit in any significant way in addition to my huge conventional filtration system. Or should I say that the BS/BH is redundant to my pond?

2. BS/BH did not have any significant effect on my kois (in terms of appetite, growth and skin quality). To give due recognition to the BS/BH all these were maintained when the above-mentioned filters were by-passed.

3. BS/BH has no effect on the sludge accumulation in my filters. I see the same amount of sludge which require daily siphoning. This was a big time disappointment to me. I expected the BS/BH to ease my work. Sigh.

I believe that the BS/BH will do the job just as well if I by-pass my last submerged filter. I will do that after the Chinese New Year and if there is nothing significant to report I will not post any further regarding the experiment. Meanwhile you guys can draw your own conclusions.

Good luck.

[PapaBear]

Glad to hear things are still going well, sorry to hear the daily mulm flushing is still needed. Less work would be nice wouldn't it
But that brings me to a question.
Even though I would also tend to continue using mulm settlement before the shower (it does seem sensible), does that not partially defeat the showers ability to eliminate it? Being neither an advocate nor a detractor of the media I only have the 2nd hand word of others to go by, but it is my understanding that the mulm is only reduced if it is pumped directly through the media without prefiltration of any sort (somebody correct me if I'm wrong).
If the mulm is to be eliminated it must be broken down, injested, and digested by direct contact with the media and only then does the bacteria have the opportunity to consume the solids as well as the liquified and vaporized effluent they produce. It would seem to me at least that a prefiltered BS is really just a very expensive TT while one that is not prefiltered is a complete system unto itself, assuming it performs as advertised. (with or without FIR, so lets not start that fight again fella's)
What do you think? I am really curious to know the answer.

[dtbh]

Good question, Papabear. If you look at my pre-experiment set-up I have an in-ground filter that is being fed purely by mid-water. I have used this filter to assess the amount of sedimentation AFTER water is being fed thro' the BS/BH. I must agree that the mid-water feed to this filter is an admixture of unfiltered water as well as post-BS/BH filtration. I would expect that over time sludge accumulation would decrease if BS/BH performs as reported by some. Not in my pond. The sludge accumulation in this filter is way too much to be ignored. Perhaps those who reported that BS/BH gets rid of mulm may see some sedimentation if they run the post-filtered water thro' a long channel. My bet is they will see significant sedimentation. Anyone care to try?

Cheers.

[hwong]

Doc, SInce it works without your existing systems, it is a good thing as you now have more space to extend your pond!

[PapaBear]

Running a return channel to a post-bakki sediment drum would be interesting just to see if fines would flock and reconstitute to a certain degree.
In any case, your experiment and sound methodology have certainly made this a wonderfully educational thread (in spite of a few stray lightning bolts many pages ago).
Another question for you. Since I assume you still have plants growing in your now isolated hydroponics chambers, have you performed any tests on that water to measure changes there as well? I remember it being mentioned that there was some curiosity about the plants being a potential contributor of nitrate as well as a consumer. Just curious.

Quote: Originally Posted by dtbh Good question, Papabear. If you look at my pre-experiment set-up I have an in-ground filter that is being fed purely by mid-water. I have used this filter to assess the amount of sedimentation AFTER water is being fed thro' the BS/BH. I must agree that the mid-water feed to this filter is an admixture of unfiltered water as well as post-BS/BH filtration. I would expect that over time sludge accumulation would decrease if BS/BH performs as reported by some. Not in my pond. The sludge accumulation in this filter is way too much to be ignored. Perhaps those who reported that BS/BH gets rid of mulm may see some sedimentation if they run the post-filtered water thro' a long channel. My bet is they will see significant sedimentation. Anyone care to try? Cheers.

[dtbh]

Quote: Originally Posted by hwong Doc, SInce it works without your existing systems, it is a good thing as you now have more space to extend your pond!

Yeah, I have built many castles in the air but each one has been demolished by the home minister!

You are right. If space is a constrain BS/BH I believe is the way to go. However I would advise with some modification to what has been recommended. I have done a mental calculation as to the cost. If I factor in the land cost my 150% filter cost as much as the BS/BH (at 10kg BH/ton).