koi show flow thru water

[John Seifert]

How many shows are using a constant flow thru water system such as the Oklahoma show? If not, why not? We are considering using this water quality system at our next show if possible.
John

[Michael K]

San Antonio does, but they use well water.

[JasPR]

A very cool and advanced approach to shows I think. But hard to set up for every show. I also think it takes some care and expertise to get the pefiltration/water conditioning and isolation of each tank right. And if it is not done right, it can be a disaster! So, I hope it catches on in time where it is possible to create and I also hope that it is completely understood before it is designed at new shows. JR

[dick benbow]

with a contact for him who might have had a hand and expertise in the creation of a system now in use.

[Auntiesue]

For our first show (UMKC) we did exactly this!! It was one of our primary goals to implement a flow through system. OK City has chlorinated water so don't let that stop your desire to do the same. They use large prefilters that are rented to handle the chlorine. (maybe charcoal filters??) San Ant., OK City, Denver and our show I believe are the only shows currently that offer this in the US.

Actually it's not that hard to do. We used a syphon approach much like Denver does because our tanks were on loan to us so we could not put in bulkhead fittings last year. Now we own 12 tanks so hopefully we can modify those for our 2008 show. Our water source is from a well so no need to worry about chlorine thankfully. We used a "temper tank" outside and treated that for ammonia plus it warmed up the water some. Water temps were a wee bit on the chilly side, but the fish seem to enjoy that as the show is in August, our hottest time of the season.

Sue

[PapaBear]

We used Prefilters + metered dechlor injection at OKC, but I'll leave it to Michael or one of the other members to give you better details than I can.

[Michael K]

The OKC club owns the towers that do the initial filtration. They are filled with catalytic carbon, which lasts a very long time. From there, the water travels into a Dosatron, which proportionally injects Amquel or Clor-am-x, at a rate (1:1500) sufficient to remove the latent ammonia in the city water as well as overdosing slightly for the ammonia from the koi in the tanks. We mix about 24 gallons Amquel for each system (using dry Amquel). Usually, we run 4 identical systems.

Each system supplies 10 gallons per minute and feeds about 10 show tanks. This gives a good enough supply of constant fresh water exchange in each tank to keep the koi happy.The waste water exits the drain of each tank through a standpipe and goes to the sewer. Make sure your sewer lines can handle 40 gallons per minute of waste water - very important

That about covers the water system. Obviously, city water parameters will be different and require a different appropriate Amquel mixture.

Phew...
Michael

[Auntiesue]

The tank water at OK is always wonderful!! Fish are happy and come home looking better then when they got there!! These folks do a great job caring for the fish in their charge.