Contact time in Bakki Shower

[Bancherd]

I have been wondering about contact time or more specifically the amount of media(BH or PMS[Hi, Luke ], etc.) withwhich water actually comes into contact while passing through the shower.

From what I have read, the shower should have at least 3 or 4 stages/trays; suggesting these possible requirements:

* Different zones for different critters(scientific term) residing on the media
* Minimum amount of media required for mineralization/nitrification etc.
* All of the above

Guessing from the widely used setups, the amount of media that the water sees is NOT much, only about 5~6 times the depth of each tray(for 4-trays setup).

Am I correct?


(I really like the concept of Bakki Shower, but would like to see more energy-efficient approaches. There has to be a better way! )

[LizardBreath]

I bought the large sized planters at HoDeePo and built a rack for them fairly similar to a bookcase. There are three of them.
I have a small water fall weir that feeds the "system." The weir had some fiber media in it, kind of like mandala only a lot cheaper. That takes out of the ick from the pump that comes directly from the bottom of my small fish pond. The pond is both small and for the little guys.
Earlier this year I didn't think the shower worked worth a darn. It may not have but that was because it wasn't "seasoned" or didn't have the necessary bacteria built up.
I was wrong about that. It works so well it shocks me. I stuck whatever I had lying around at the moment in those filters. I had some kaldess I got from Birdman and put that in one planter box. I used fiber matt in the other two and even tried the stuff you use to put over gutters to keep leaf debris out. It has a lot of surface area and is pretty inexpensive.
What my somewhat lengthy post is saying is that they work. It seems they work with just about anything in them. You just have to decide on something and give it some time.
Have lots of water going through it. Just try it and see.

Lbeth

[bip]

Procure two 55 gal. plastic drums (food grade). Cut drums in half, lengthwise, with an electric jig saw (follow the line left by the casting form). This gives you four trays. Drill five rows of 3/8" holes on the bottom of three of the trays. The holes should be 2" apart and should be staggered from row to row.Fit the bottom tray with three 2" exit pipes using 2" Uniseals, (Aquatic Ecco catalog) much cheaper than bulkhead fittings.
Make a four tier support rack out of 1.5" or 2" PVC pipe (sch 40). You will need 2 lengths of pipe, 12 ea. 90 degree elbows and 21 ea. "T"s. Make a supply distribution manifold loop out of the same pipe as above and supply it with 15 to 18 hundred gal/hr. Use plastic zip ties to strap down the manifold and to hold the trays level. Install a 14" wide plastic grid to bridge the holes and hold the media from clogging the holes.(I use flourescent lighting grid pannels.) Cover the grids with 3/4" thoroughly rinsed lava rock and plug it in and start the colonization. The benefits will start showing in a week to ten days.

[Steve Nguyen]

Hi BIP

nice design and cost effective. what are you using for media? how big is your pond and do you have other filter running besides this DIY Bakki shower?

inquiring mind wants to know,

Steve