filter seeding

[dick benbow]

One of the topics that always seemed to get discussed is starting up a new filter. How long does it take, what can be done to expedite it......

My answer has always been 6 weeks to start one up. Doesn't matter wether you start from scratch or add products like 'bio-lift".

But lately I've been watching the quick easy way of moving k-i from existing filters and how that seems to expedite the process. Anyone else have any thoughts from experience on this process. I find this situation most often to repeat in those who have fish coming from japan and want a quick fix for their spanking new Q-Tank!

[ucpondguy]

I have heard and experieced that if you use some of the filter material from an established filter/pond or use the backwash water from an established pond, this speeds up the process as well. Need to make sure that the source is free of bad bugs or it will transfer over to the new system
My garage has a 6 ft showtank where I used existing jap mats from main pond and is cycling much faster. Setup only two weeks ago, just two weeks, I can feed my koi 4x daily and still no spikes.

[Surfhead]

well what takes so long is the bacteria that converts nitrites into nitrates doesn't form until AFTER the bacteria that converts ammonia into nitrites is formed. BUT if you add nitrites to the system then BOTH form at the same time and it cuts the cycle in half. Roark says to add sodium nitrite. Myself I noticed in my old pond I had a brief spike in nitrites after the pre filter clogged when we had a wind storm and filled the pond with leaves. First there was an ammonia spike, then came the nitrite spike as the bio filter struggled to get caught up. So I did a water change and used the pond water in my new system. less then three weeks and my bio filter was completely cycled.

[greg]

I don't know why it works but here is what my dealer recommended and it has worked a treat. I have just finished my new pond build (3000g) and started up in October in the UK.

I added the koi (call this day one) two days after filling the pond with purified tap water. On day 5 i started brewing my Bactpur Klear.

(This is done by mixing 1lt Klear, 500ml Klear Pre conditioner and 10lts of pond water then heating to 30deg C and add air - leave for 2 - 7 days and you have 11.5lts of filter start).

I left the UV off but had the heater on at 16deg. On day 7 i went to my Koi dealer and purchased 50lts of K1 which he swapped for 50lts of Mature K1 from his own system.
On day 12 i added the brewed Klear and started brewing another lot up. Then on day 19 i added that.
I was recommended to add 10grams per 1000g of Super Clean C and Magic powder (Both Izeki products) also to add 50grams per 1000g of Humanic Clay weekly.

On day 26 the UV was turned on to clear the slight green tinge in the water. In the time i have had my pond running (just over 5 weeks) i have had very slight readings of Ammonia / Nitrite but no nasty spikes and i'm up to feeding 4 - 6 small feeds a day already. No water changes done as try to keep the water so it matures nicely for a while.

Current reading are :-

Amm:- 0.1 (test kit doesn't show 0)
Nitrite:- 0.1 (as above)
Nitrate:- 2 ppm
P.H:- 8.0
GH :- 286.4
KH:- 196.9
Temp:- 15deg

[butterfly]

Quote: Originally Posted by dick benbow One of the topics that always seemed to get discussed is starting up a new filter. How long does it take, what can be done to expedite it...... My answer has always been 6 weeks to start one up. Doesn't matter wether you start from scratch or add products like 'bio-lift". But lately I've been watching the quick easy way of moving k-i from existing filters and how that seems to expedite the process. Anyone else have any thoughts from experience on this process. I find this situation most often to repeat in those who have fish coming from japan and want a quick fix for their spanking new Q-Tank!

I use about 2 oz of Pond zyme plus in a 6000 gallon pond. It takes about two weeks. I do not add any other chemicals in the pond. Fishes provide all the chemicals needed for the bacteria.

[schildkoi]

Koi. No bottled bugs, nothing else fancy, just Koi. Low feeding (but slightly increasing), moderate water changes. With the K1 (in Nexus) it "cycled" the first time in roughly 4 weeks (27 days) and the second in roughly 3 weeks (22 days). Prior to K1 and using submerged airated matting, it has always been right at 6 weeks.

By letting the filter cycle using this method, I feel that the balance in the water chemistry will be more consistent with long term operating parameters. But hey, maybe its just me

Steve

[dick benbow]

glad you posted! I was hearing it was half the time with k-i

[Rich L]

I've been using discharge from my other filters to start a new filter. I don’t recall it taking much over a week to work up. The formed bacteria will begin developing nitrites immediately and the nitrites will seldom show a spike because the ammonia is converting slowly, I suppose.

I can use dumped waste but that won’t be as clean as transferring some media or just letting the water pour off the media.

I don’t have the same confidence in bottled media. It’s not developed under local conditions so the bacteria won’t be as robust in my pond and will have a head start in competing with the local bacteria as it attempts to populate the pond. I would expect the bottled bacteria to have a hard time surviving seasons as well as the local stuff so it may take an extra season for the filter to be properly formed.

We have chloramines hear so I don’t have to use fish. If the ammonia converts I can add ammonia if I’m not ready to add fish. A couple of years ago I started and maintained a 55-gallon drum with added ammonia through the winter. I probably should have added a couple of small koi so they would have added the proper balance of waste rather than my pure ammonia. I didn’t think of it at the time, but I probably could have added that to the pond filter as the weather warmed up.

If a person has already bought the koi and is just starting a new pond, I would still do it the old way and keep changing water and adding Amquel

[kiky]

Now I have a question for matured media. My dealer always recommend that even for matured media, we add 'bio-lift/bacta klear' or whatever, to maintain stable environment, on bi-weekly or monthly basis. Just a small amount of perhaps 200 ml for a 50 tons pond. Is this really necessary?

[KoiCop]

Quote: Originally Posted by kiky Now I have a question for matured media. My dealer always recommend that even for matured media, we add 'bio-lift/bacta klear' or whatever, to maintain stable environment, on bi-weekly or monthly basis. Just a small amount of perhaps 200 ml for a 50 tons pond. Is this really necessary?

Only necessary to help inflate the dealer's profit margin.

A well-maintained pond with an adequate design and sufficient media does not require those chemical additives. Don