Bakki Shower Question

[dick benbow]

people who market products always look for something to make their product
stand out in the crowd.

back in the early 1900's in America, canned sockeye salmon was all the rage. open the can and the red flesh was a delight to the eyes. it was marketed and accepted as the best...pink or white flesh was not making the cut....till a genious marketing man claimed in large print that their salmon was guranteed not to turn red in the can. Now the indication was that there might be something wrong with it?

lets look at popular items marketed in japan.for koi...'magy' units that have magnets in their return to minaturize the water molecules and face them all in the right direction, thereby allowing multiple benefits, kinda reminds me of other claims.....

I didn't look at the claims when i set up the unit for bakki shower. I have run it close to 3 years now because i wanted to test it....not for fir...but does it filter the water. I can say in my experience it does, I have seen an extra clarity to the water and noticed an increased appetite in the fish. I still eat sockeye salmon as well as the others too. gee i never did buy a magy unit but did add powerful magnets to my return pipe and noticed it will kill suspended algea.
(they were more expensive than a UV light ) and i found in furthur studies if you have a pond filtration done properly in balance with the fish load you need neither......

as indicated by many this is a passionate subject...about a topic people can get passionate about... the riddence of koi waste...sheesh...if we can it will it turn anything red in the jar! LOL

[Sangreaal]

Thanks for all the input from everybody. (And Don, I'm not trying to flog a dead horse--honest! *G*) You all give me such great ideas and useful snippets of information (okay, so some of the snippets get pretty long and detailed, but I like it!). Now let me show you more of what I'm working with to create my very own and intensely personalized "bakki" shower.

Here's the filter medium I'm going to use. It's a volcanic silicate glass with a chemical composition similar to (I'm still researching this so don't take it as the unvarnished gospel) clinoptilolite: (Na, K, Ca)2 - 3Al3(Al, Si)2Si13O36-12H2O, Hydrated Sodium Potassium Calcium Aluminum Silicate.

I've called it pumice, the rock company I get it from calls it "feather stone" because it floats until it is sodden through with water:



It should shred and pulverize solids and house bacteria into its core, not just on the surface.

Anyone have any close up pics of BHM to compare?

Marie

[PapaBear]

But they are similar. Dr. Roddy Conrad wrote some info about it several years back as a carveable stone that will harbor biobacters in aquaria and waterfall features. I've been looking for some here in Oklahoma to experiment around with in my pond but as it is mined mainly in California it isn't readily available here.
Doc Conrad built a pretty impressive waterfall with it that functioned much the same as an open air shower. Since the water flows through it as much as over it the biobacters take up residence below the surface where UV radiation can't kill them off.

Quote: Originally Posted by Sangreaal Thanks for all the input from everybody. (And Don, I'm not trying to flog a dead horse--honest! *G*) You all give me such great ideas and useful snippets of information (okay, so some of the snippets get pretty long and detailed, but I like it!). Now let me show you more of what I'm working with to create my very own and intensely personalized "bakki" shower. Here's the filter medium I'm going to use. It's a volcanic silicate glass with a chemical composition similar to (I'm still researching this so don't take it as the unvarnished gospel) clinoptilolite: (Na, K, Ca)2 - 3Al3(Al, Si)2Si13O36-12H2O, Hydrated Sodium Potassium Calcium Aluminum Silicate. I've called it pumice, the rock company I get it from calls it "feather stone" because it floats until it is sodden through with water:It should shred and pulverize solids and house bacteria into its core, not just on the surface. Anyone have any close up pics of BHM to compare? Marie

[Sangreaal]

Quote: Originally Posted by PapaBear But they are similar. Dr. Roddy Conrad wrote some info about it several years back as a carveable stone that will harbor biobacters in aquaria and waterfall features. I've been looking for some here in Oklahoma to experiment around with in my pond but as it is mined mainly in California it isn't readily available here. Doc Conrad built a pretty impressive waterfall with it that functioned much the same as an open air shower. Since the water flows through it as much as over it the biobacters take up residence below the surface where UV radiation can't kill them off.

How close are you to Oklahoma City? Check this out:

http://www.minickmaterials.com/produ...2&c=112&p=2056

Costs the same there as it does here in N. California--30 cents per lb.

Pick and choose through the boulders--some are much more porous (and lighter) than others....

Mine is going to resemble an open-air shower/waterfall too. Hopefully no one will be able to tell that it is the filter for the whole pond.

Cheers,

Marie

[PapaBear]

Thanks for the link. I'm only an hour from OKC (going there tomorrow for the Koi Show). One of the builders I've talked to suggested Minick as the most likely source but I haven't had the chance to check them out. Looks like he was right

[Sangreaal]

Quote: Originally Posted by PapaBear Thanks for the link. I'm only an hour from OKC (going there tomorrow for the Koi Show). One of the builders I've talked to suggested Minick as the most likely source but I haven't had the chance to check them out. Looks like he was right

Better take your truck, then. *LOL* AND a good pair of gloves. This stone will cut your hands up. Very sharp.

If they will let you pick and choose, you can end up with a lot of cubic feet for very little. However, some of those boulders aren't light; they feel more solid on the inside and hence a lot more weight. I just had to get one of those (it had a nice shape *S*) and the fellow that fished it out of the pile for me swore it was light enough for a wimpy old lady like me to carry.

I could hardly muscle that thang out of the trunk of my daughter's car. Of course, as I teetered it out of the trunk, Newton's Law took effect and the boulder did not ease into the center of gravity alloted for it in the garden cart. Nope, almost is not enough for a boulder plummeting off-target into a two-wheeled conveyance with its additional support on the other end of impact. Oh no. With no ado whatsoever, that cart immediately and unceremoniously chucked the behemoth to the ground, compelling it to roll and lodge itself underneath the car. *rolls eyeballs* I'm just glad no one was watching....it was quite the wrestling match to get it on wheels, and I finally had to arm myself with oven mitts. That stuff cuts. Did I tell you that?

*adjusts bandaid on right thumb*

~Ahem~

Anyway, the moral of that story is to pick light if you're wimpy or want more volume for your moolah. The rest was easy as pie to unload--one boulder was a little over half the size of that 100lb biggie and weighed only 15 lbs. There can be a lot of variation from rock to rock.

Good luck and enjoy the koi show! Be sure and share your adventure with us when you get back.

Marie