The Origin of Bakki Showers?

[MikeM]

I completed cleaning the Bacteria House media today. The third tray was done a couple of weeks ago and was somewhat less dirty than the upper trays. So, when I placed the BH in a tub of pond water this morning and did not see so much glarf, I was feeling pretty good. When it was all in the tub, the dirt was more obvious. Once it was swished around, the water looked... well, like this.

I thought I would post this so that anyone who thinks their media is not loaded with detritus by superficial observation could take note.

[MikeM]

My Bakki is installed distant from the pond, with two 4" drain lines returning to the pond. One of the regulars on K-B cautioned that the lip of the return pipes would result in detritus building up in the bottom tray. I checked it out at the time, which was a couple of months at most after beginning operation. There was nothing worth being concerned about.

Well, there was a build-up of mulm and gunk this morning... a little more than two years after beginning operation. It got a thorough cleaning, which is not easy in the close confines of a Bakki. The mulm was much like that which build up in the bottom of a wet-dry aquarium filter, with the same 'sticky' character.

Those who have a similar installation should take note.

[farne230]

MikeM - great job, lots of work, but very detailed and I love the pictures. We sure have a long way to go to design a maintenance free BS and media. I have not opened mine up to clean, but you have shed new light on the fact I may need too. It will be a big job. If I do I will share my finding too.
Thanks,
Bob

[farne230]

I forgot, I did remove a type of elephant ear plan that shoots runners out in all directions in my top BS tray. I found the roots went every where and put strain on the plastic trays. No damage noted, but I did the same thing to my water fall. The roots bored between the rocks and I believe caused small leaks. I have patched the leaks this weekend. From now on I will just keep BH media in the trays.

[KoiCop]

Quote: Originally Posted by MikeM I thought I would post this so that anyone who thinks their media is not loaded with detritus by superficial observation could take note.

MikeM . . .

Yech!

Looks like your far-infared rays were aimed in the wrong direction.

[hacnp]

I run a bakki type filter full of lava rock that has been up and running for 2 yrs. now. Last month I took a tray down to rinse, got almost nothing out of it. The flow to this filter is also from a skimmer but has 2 stages of mech. filtration ahead of it.

[MCA]

I am planning to use trays of 1" bioballs instead of BH media. What say ye? Is there a better performing alternative to BH? I guess lava rock would be much less expensive than bioballs.

[PapaBear]

MikeM,
That is the dirtiest "clean" media I've ever seen. Pretty amazing how much had accumulated completely out of sight. I guess for me the question would be, is it housing active bacterial colonies down deep inside more than on the exterior, or is that really a lot of crap accumulation that has the potential to go sour?

hacnp,
I really wouldn't expect the lava rock to accumulate hidden mulm the same way BH does. The lava rock does most of its work on the rough surface rather than inside the rock itself. After all, it doesn't have near the porosity of BH. Being rather fond of lava rock myself, I don't see that as a negative.

[MikeM]

Larry: I do not like all the dirt, but there was no foul odor at all... even in the layer of mulm that settled in the bottom tray. With water going through the shower at about 5,000 gallons per hour, I expect there is not much opportunity for anaerobes to over-populate. The mulm captured in the BH is extremely fine, not the clumpy waste found in a filter mat. It is more the residues of decomposition. The question is: Is the decomposition occurring in the Bakki, or are these fines from the water column captured in the pores and crevices of the BH? ...Or, is it from the decomposition of the biofilm itself? Now that I have mats laying on top in the first tray, I'm not getting algae glarf on the media. Before doing that, I believe the algae was decomposing in the unit.

MCA: I'm not criticizing the BH media. I plan to keep mine. Nonetheless, I think much of the benefit of a Bakki-type system is from the degassing. I suspect any media that breaks up the water flow to maximize exposure of water surface will do very well. In the nitrate thread we had going, I posted info on the degassing of ammonia to the atmosphere. In one experiment, 13% volatilized when overhead irrigation was used. I can imagine a Bakki doing as well or better under proper conditions due to the repeated exposure of water surface to the atmosphere.

[MCA]

Much thanks Mike.

I just wondered in a shower filter...how much of the benefit is flow rate, type of media, how long the water is falling (more trays rather than fewer trays)...etc. I know if could be tall towers I would. But the beloved HOA would take a dim view of that. So I will do two showers. Each with two trays of media. While it may not be as good as one shower with 4 trays,,,I figured it will do not harm.