Help with new filter system

[mykoi11]

I have a 3500 gallon pond with an above ground aquabead 4.25 filter going into two 150 gallon bio chambers filled with japanese filter matt. There is a manual bottom drain at bottom of pond. I have 20 kois ranging from 8-30inches. I know I am overstocking my pond and I still not happy with the clarity of the pond and the frequency on cleaning the japanese filter matts. I am still getting at least one koi with ulcers each year. Do you have any susgestions to improve the filtration. I have some ideas:

1. dump the japanese filter matts and change to a different media
2. after the aquabead filter, add a nexus system followed by the 150 gallon bio chamber. I am not familiar with the nexus system but I have heard good things. Does the nexus system have to be gravity only?? I can only use above ground filters.

Thanks for any input.

[MikeM]

First, do what you know needs to be done. Reduce your fish population.

Second, if the water is first being filtered through the bead filter before going to the mat filters, I am very surprised you are getting gunk caught in the mat. It should be caught in the bead filter. Please explain your filter system in more detail.

[mykoi11]

I don't think the bead filter is capable to filtering out all the gunk, am i supposed to open the bead filter and swirl the beads around to prevent them from being stuck together? The two 150 gallons containers/barrels each has a bottom drain, 1/3 from the bottom is empty, top 2/3 is filled with japanese filter matts, water enters from the bottom and drains from the top into the next barrel then out into the waterfall. I haven't rinsed out the filter matts since 11/07 since I haven't fed the kois until 3/08. During the summer months, I would have to rinse the 1st barrel filter matts every 1-2 months since it builds up with gunk pretty fast. I activate the aquabead cleaning system on a weekly basis. I manually drain the bottom drain from the pond daily and my orp reading consistenly runs in the lows 150s.

[gcuss]

Agree with Mike. Also....

The daily dumping of the bottom drain; equates to a 10% change?

Aeration? Only the waterfall for this?

Is there any way you could plumb your current manual bottom drain to make it part of the filter circuit? ie. - Connect a vortex, then pipe to your barrels, then to your bead filter then finally to the waterfall? If this is plausible, you might want to consider a static filter in the first barrel followed by a moving bed in the second barrel, then use your bead filter to deal with the fines and slough off from the moving bed. (also, by using a moving bed your O2 would improve). Could be a fairly inexpensive improvement to your system.

Of course, the fish load is the easiest/cheapest fix for the immediate problem. Others here would be able to give you an accurate target for the number of fish you should have, but as an example, my main pond is 6K gals, and my goal is 6 fish total. (currently at 5, but anticipating a showa soon )

Anyway, good luck.

Grant

[mykoi11]

i use a dolphin av-150 with scattered aeration thoughout the pond
the manual pond bottom drain is connected to a 5 inch PVC pipe opening, with a vertical PVC pipe on top. I just pull the vertical PVC pipe and the water drains from the bottom. I think it only drains probably less 5% of total volume daily. Because of the location it would be difficult to connect the bottom drain to the another vortex.

by the way, what is static and moving bed? thanks

6 thousands gallons and only 5-6 fish, i have major reduction in the number of kois to do

[gcuss]

Quote: Originally Posted by mykoi11 i use a dolphin av-150 with scattered aeration thoughout the pond the manual pond bottom drain is connected to a 5 inch PVC pipe opening, with a vertical PVC pipe on top. I just pull the vertical PVC pipe and the water drains from the bottom. I think it only drains probably less 5% of total volume daily. Because of the location it would be difficult to connect the bottom drain to the another vortex. by the way, what is static and moving bed? thanks 6 thousands gallons and only 5-6 fish, i have major reduction in the number of kois to do

Ahh, so the bottom drain just feeds into a sump type deal in the bottom of your pond? Won't work then.

Am I correct then in assuming you use submersible pump and pump from the pond to your filter system?

A static bed is simply a filter with media in it that doesn't move. A moving filter bed is a filter with buoyant media that typically uses air to keep the media "boiling" in it's container. Great for bio filtering, no mechanical filtration whatsoever.

Grant

[Lam Nguyen]

I use the Nexus filters in my ponds and am very pleased with them. You might want to consider this type of filter as it has both a mechanical component and a fluidized K1 biological component. Plus it's extremely easy to clean. The downfall is it's a little pricey. If money is an issue, then I would consider a few 55-gal fluidized K1 barrels. But first you need a mechanical component to separate out the large wastes/particles. Hope this helps.

[mykoi11]

i don't have a submersible pump, the bottom pond drain is separate from any other system, it is manually drained by gravity. I have a 1/2 horsepower waterpump that that takes in water from the side of the pond.

someone has recommended me to replace the japanese filter mats with K1 media and use a blower to clean.......or a NEXUS, any recommendations as to where to obtain a nexus at a reasonalbe price?? I was thinking if I use a nexus, I would put the nexus system after the bead filter.

[MikeM]

I am concerned that the bead filter is not being cleaned well, or has insufficient beads. These filters are very good at producing mechanically clean water. They can readily clog and create serious issues if being fed direct from the pond, because algae glarf and such do not get removed when the filter is backwashed. A bead filter should be preceded by a mechanical filtration stage that will remove all large debris.

Backwash your bead filter like normal. Then close off the lines to and from it. (Hope you have valves.) Then open it up and see if the beads are truly clean. They should be yellowish, but there should not be any algae or sediment in the besd filter chamber. Reach down to the bottom of it to check for sediment etc. on the bottom. There should not be any. While you are at it, verify that the beads are at the correct level for the model you have. Folks lose a few beads from time to time, which is no big deal. Over an extended period of time, however, it can add up.

You will not have good water quality until you reduce the population.

[mykoi11]

ok thanks, I will open and check the bead filter.