CREATING THE ULTIMATE FILTRATION AND EVOLVING WITH YOUR FISH!!!!!!

[kendragon]

My newest installation. Only about 18 months old.
Evolution: Thought this 6000g pond was small enough that a pool style mechanical cartridge filter would work. Wrong..... clogs daily leaving cloady water. Cartridge was replaced with wlim element. Now runs the whole week with no change in flow. Be aware for those thinking about mech before bio. You should think about a bypass or no clog system.
This system take very little space and is very easy to maintian. For going green, all backwash water is keep for irrigation. Separate high pressure pump is used to push the water through the sprinkler heads.

Wave UV
Wave pump
Bead filter
Cartridge filter


Backwash water irrigation pump


Koi - pond is 6 feet deep and crystal clear. You can see the drain cover on the bottom.

 

[David R]

Loving these high-tech pond set ups!! A lot of good ideas for mega tanks. So I take it you do the installation and maintenance professionally Ken? How do you clean those cartridges you're talking about, how would they work on a large tank with messy fish like big panaques?

 

[kendragon]

Loving these high-tech pond set ups!! A lot of good ideas for mega tanks. So I take it you do the installation and maintenance professionally Ken? How do you clean those cartridges you're talking about, how would they work on a large tank with messy fish like big panaques?

haha......They're not high tech just bigger scale.
Cartridges are hose down with a nozzle. I would love to see someone try it on rays since I know it works on algae and koi. I hope to answer that in the next couple of months.
Common theme here as Jay mentioned is mechanical, mechanical, mechanical. Socks work great but is there an alternate for big messy tanks where socks is labor intensive? Is there a rapid filter (high flow)? Is settlement chambers with low flow good or bad? Efficient?
I'm pretty sure most have got the biological filter side down but nitrate and cleaning the bio waste are the main challenges. So let's hear what others are doing beside drip.

 

[DB junkie]

What exactly are these mechanical filter elements Ken ? Are they a screen?

My vote is high flow is a waste of electricity and only necessary cause we improperly design systems. If we designed them different I don't see why low flow wouldn't be more then adequate.

Electricity is only going to get more expensive.

I don't think a drip is the answer.

I recently started holding water for water changes.... Aerating for a day or 2 prior to use. I really don't know what's going on in those holding tubs but they are completely coated with crap after just a few weeks. Assuming it's scale/hard water deposits. It's literally like someone took a hand full of dust/sand and just dusted the tubs with it. I'm sure that whatever it is, it's better left in that tub then in my fish tank.

 

[HULON]

What exactly are these mechanical filter elements Ken ? Are they a screen?

My vote is high flow is a waste of electricity and only necessary cause we improperly design systems. If we designed them different I don't see why low flow wouldn't be more then adequate.

Electricity is only going to get more expensive.

I don't think a drip is the answer.

I recently started holding water for water changes.... Aerating for a day or 2 prior to use. I really don't know what's going on in those holding tubs but they are completely coated with crap after just a few weeks. Assuming it's scale/hard water deposits. It's literally like someone took a hand full of dust/sand and just dusted the tubs with it. I'm sure that whatever it is, it's better left in that tub then in my fish tank.

Good point DB and Just sit back and think on this one for a few Kens cartrige foe instance Now if we can collect a very large percentage Of the "WASTE" produced by the fish Lets say over 90% Just throwing numbers out there guys so don't go nuts on Me LOL!!! OK so we collected the waste now with a simple three way valve hooked to this Mechanical filter we bypass it diverting the water right back to the tank instead if through this cartrige filter !!! We can then drain this filter take the element out hose it down crystel clean return it to the chamber turn the three way back and VWAAAALAAA!!!!! Now we have eliminated Almost All OF THE WASTE THAT CREATES NITRATE RIGHT????? In theory this should work but i for one am going to give this a try in the near future

 

[DB junkie]

Good point DB and Just sit back and think on this one for a few Kens cartrige foe instance Now if we can collect a very large percentage Of the "WASTE" produced by the fish Lets say over 90% Just throwing numbers out there guys so don't go nuts on Me LOL!!! OK so we collected the waste now with a simple three way valve hooked to this Mechanical filter we bypass it diverting the water right back to the tank instead if through this cartrige filter !!! We can then drain this filter take the element out hose it down crystel clean return it to the chamber turn the three way back and VWAAAALAAA!!!!! Now we have eliminated Almost All OF THE WASTE THAT CREATES NITRATE RIGHT????? In theory this should work but i for one am going to give this a try in the near future

How many micron do we filter down to in our ray tanks? I have a hard time believing that anything that is simply "rinsed with a hose" is going to filter down very far. Could this filter take a huge hit in terms of catching the big poo? I'm sure, but I'm guessing you're still gonna need socks or even finer screen before it hits the bio. It's probably great for you guys with bead filters, but for us without beads can these mechanical filters really replace socks?

 

[HULON]

How many micron do we filter down to in our ray tanks? I have a hard time believing that anything that is simply "rinsed with a hose" is going to filter down very far. Could this filter take a huge hit in terms of catching the big poo? I'm sure, but I'm guessing you're still gonna need socks or even finer screen before it hits the bio. It's probably great for you guys with bead filters, but for us without beads can these mechanical filters really replace socks?

Now DB just think about this for a second you could play around with different micron mattings all day Looooong until you reach your sweet spot just think about that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Effectivley removing the waste before it is converted!!!!!!!Can it be done i am not sure but WOWWWWWW wouldn't that be something!!!

 

[cigars]

I am really liking this thread, much more informative and better than recent activity here this is why I love mfk. Although it was somewhat entertaining. I would like to thank hulon and kendragon for the valuable info here Thank you,

 

[kendragon]

Vault style filter. It over 12 feet long with the pump at the end.
This one truely is a monster size sump filter. Water gravity feed in one end via (3) 4" pipe. Goes through a maze of walls, mats and open cell foam (biological). External pump sends the water back to the waterfall. This filter has not evolved because this style is 20 years old. Foam when clean is great but once clogs or full, biological is degraded badly. Foam is so heavy I cannot lift it out for cleaning. Hose it and go. The sump vol is as big as the pond. Lots of settling because of width and depth of this chamber. Kois in the filter is from spawning in the pond. Pump leaf basket is full of dead koi. I've got rid of about a 1000 over the years. They tell me there is another batch in there again!

 

[pacu mom]

Now DB just think about this for a second you could play around with different micron mattings all day Looooong until you reach your sweet spot just think about that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Effectivley removing the waste before it is converted!!!!!!!Can it be done i am not sure but WOWWWWWW wouldn't that be something!!!

We've been doing that effectively for 6 1/2 yrs, sucking the crap and debris directly off the floor, running the water through two spa filters with 100 micron rating filter cartridges all via a hammerhead pump. I am sold on closed loop mechanical filtration. There is no way I could ever consider putting all my filtration eggs in one basket, i.e., a single sump. I know that a well designed sump can be fabulous effective filtration, unfortunately, tank maintenance is not our thing, and minimal maintenance is what we need. Even changing out a filter sock once a week is too much work. Hey, I'm not the one who picked up the fish at a yard sale.....changing out filter cartridges whenever they get too dirty is doable for us.

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