Best Bio Filter??

[jnorth]

Quote: Originally Posted by marco I'm using now K1 for one year in my bothe filters (multichamber vortex and nexus), and it's amazing the work done by this media. The only problem could be the fragylity of the biomass during winter period and the slow maturation in spring. Marco

I might have a cure for that....

[Russell Peters]

Quote: Originally Posted by Bill D Russell... actually, I think that statement is true with any "system", not just the Nexus, yes? Kind Regards, Bill

Hi Bill,

To some degree I agree with that. It is always best to keep your stalking levels down for best results. I have found that the Nexus really needs a slower turnover rate and therefore you are more likely to have particulates if you overstock. If, for example, you are over stocked, and you have a pressurized system,then you can have a higher turnover rate which will remove more of the particulates (fish poop) that might settle in a pond with a lower turnover rate. There is a down fall to this, besides the obvious, which is that with the pressurized mechanical filter you have to back wash more often. If you don't then the filter will clog up and you will have more particulates going back into the pond.
Bill, looking at the picture you posted, I think you definitly have the right idea though, it really looks great!

[Russell Peters]

Quote: Originally Posted by PapaBear I'm a bit of a titewad so all of my filtration is cheapscate DIY, but I'm a pretty handy and innovative skinflint so my water is perfect . The only pricey products in my filtration are the pump and the lithaqua (thanks Russell, love the stuff ) If I had the bucks to do it I'd probably have a K1 moving bed and BS to go with it. I've just heard too many rave reviews from people who have them established. As for me and my fishies, we get by with this. The pump (wardley 8500gph) with strainer basket feeds the vortex which feeds the crossflow tub with matts and 1 bag lithaqua, which feeds the lower waterfall. App 40-50 gpm. It feeds the other 90-100gpm to the trashcan showers full of bagged lavarock and lithaqua at the head of the stream. Results??? Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate... 0.0 ph stable at 7.8-8.0 And no pea soup in spite of several rainshowers mingled with hot sunny days and a pond with no shade . And no, I don't have any UV or aerators running . The water is Oxygen rich from the sream and waterfalls.

Larry,
I am glad to hear it is working out for you.

Russ

[junglegeorge12]

The only problem with the nexus is it isn't a bakki shower.

Kidding, the showers and trickle towers are proven to outperform any submersed filtration for bio filtration.

All that aside, I do not really like the # of koi a nexus supports for it's pricetag. You can DIY a much larger filter that does the exact same thing(bucket in a bucket, flow pattern, DIY EZ, etc.), that can handle a much larger load for way less money, and still utitlize K1 the exact same way they do. In fact, you will be able to throw in a vortex or two with jmat, matala, or K1, and settlement, and still come in under the nexus price tag.

I will also be curious to find out how stephen's new bead filters perform over time.

[Steve Nguyen]

I am using japanese mats and I found that it's hard to remove stuffs stucked in it. I planned to use matala on my next pond.

Steve

Quote: Originally Posted by BobinCA I posted this same question on the NI board, and would also like the opinions of this board..... Which makes for the better bio filter, japanese matting vs. moving bed bio filter medium ie: kaldnes ?? Bob A

[RayJordan]

It is difficult to discuss the "best" bio filter in a closed system without also discussing the entire system design, circulation, turnover and stocking rates. Almost any type of bio filter will perform if properly sized, maintained, and combined with adaquate mechanical filtration to help exclude solids. Also the amount and frequency of feeding and water changes are a key part of the ultimate system performance.

The most sucessful systems today usually utilize a seperate gravity fed bottom drain, solids seperator, bio-filter, and water pump for each 4-5,000 gallons. In addition air dome bottom drains and TPR's can dramacally assist in keeping the pond surfaces clean and water circulating properly. Most ponds are turned over through the filter system from 50% to 200% per hour. Aeration is one of the key engines that drives higher water quality. Also a properly positioned skimmer/s with a seperate circuit of solids seperator, bio-filter, and water pump completes the system.

Finally I reccomend using different types of filtration & media. Combinations of different types of mechanical and bio filters seem to me and many others to be a valuable concept in filter design.

The different types of bio filters can be divided into three groups:
"submerged closed", "submerged open" and "wet/dry".

Submerged closed are mainly bead filters

Submerged open are matting chambers, fluidized bed, moving bed, various other media using upflow, down flow or horizonal flow designs.

Wet/Dry are Trickle towers, Showers, Rotating Drums

Each type has it's own individual advantages and disadvantages. Proper sizing, design, and diversification of types will help enhance the final results.

[koihaku]

Dear Lary n others senior member I'm planning to add some more biologic filtration since friends of mine told me I don't have enough one. what do you think about my pond: pond volume 20 Ton, filter chamber 7 Ton, 50,000 bioball (some of them in trickel tower) and 50 litre K1 1st chamber is vortex, others bottom up flow.. water pump 200 gpm 2 HI blow 80 (1 in pond and 1 in chambers) If it is not enough I wanna add some more but I'm confused which one to choose? 1. Bacteria house: I'm affraid about turn over rate it need. my turn over quit low and can't increase cos don't have large enough pipe 2. Lithaqua, How about life time and how much we need? my dealer said 200 gram for 1 ton. I hear russel said much more than that the price here is about $E86/pail (10kgs).cheap? anybody tried compare BH and lithaqua? perhaps with the same volume/cost (BH with low turn over rate)? rgds, koihaku

Quote: Originally Posted by PapaBear I'm a bit of a titewad so all of my filtration is cheapscate DIY, but I'm a pretty handy and innovative skinflint so my water is perfect . The only pricey products in my filtration are the pump and the lithaqua (thanks Russell, love the stuff ) If I had the bucks to do it I'd probably have a K1 moving bed and BS to go with it. I've just heard too many rave reviews from people who have them established. As for me and my fishies, we get by with this. The pump (wardley 8500gph) with strainer basket feeds the vortex which feeds the crossflow tub with matts and 1 bag lithaqua, which feeds the lower waterfall. App 40-50 gpm. It feeds the other 90-100gpm to the trashcan showers full of bagged lavarock and lithaqua at the head of the stream. Results??? Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate... 0.0 ph stable at 7.8-8.0 And no pea soup in spite of several rainshowers mingled with hot sunny days and a pond with no shade . And no, I don't have any UV or aerators running . The water is Oxygen rich from the sream and waterfalls.

[MCA]

why the "or"? and what about using a shower as the third opition?

We use Nexus on the BD circuits and BH shower on the skimmer circuit...and find it is a great combination.

[CarolinaGirl]

After getting a nexus on one of my bottom drains and understanding the concept of it, I built my own for the other drain. I actually like the performance of the DIY version better. the most expensive part of this filter is the K1 it takes to fill it.

New Static And Fluid Kaldnes Filter (diy) - KoiShack

[PapaBear]

We've been doing some upgrading on ours to accommodate the enlarged pond and higher fish population, so our original setup is less accurate these days.

We have added 2 vortex (1 for bottom drain, 1 for skimmer circuit), the main waterfall is now being converted to 2 diy moving beds (55gallon drums) and the trashcan shower towers are now replaced with bakki showers filled with a combination of Lithaqua and Lava Rock. I plan to replace the lava rock with feather rock at the first opportunity.

I have become a devote' of Bakki showers, but I just can't make myself pay the BH price tag. We've had outstanding results using a smallish bakki for our outside qt, temp pond (pool), and hatchery tanks. Water quality couldn't be better. Even when spawning in a 600 gallon hard-side tank the mini-bakki restores the water quality within less than 24 hrs of a spawn.