Assistance with New Filter Setup

[JohnHuff]

You drew all that??? Wow!

"I'll need a separate mechanical filter for the moving media filter because this is just a bio filter."
It's all just semantics. A mechanical filter is just a screen that filters out solids. You can always include a screen in your moving media filter somewhere. I use a pre-filter (a glorified screen) on my pump and I think that's the best way to go because it prevents gunk from going into your pump and for such a small pond a pre-filter would be easy to do.

Good to know you have tank experience because the theory behind filters is all the same.

It's different from a fluidized bed filter. Sand is much more unforgiving, but the principle is the same, i.e. moving surfaces for the bacteria to colonize. The smaller the particle is, the higher the surface area, however sand is too small and can clog, whereas moving media such as K1, K2 or cut up drinking straws won't clog.

In your picture above, I would have the water drop in to allow for better aeration and mixing and just put a screen across the flow out.

The plant filter you have drawn is like a bog, again with it's inherent problems.

Moving Bed Filter
If I understand it correctly, I'll need a separate mechanical filter for the moving media filter because this is just a bio filter. I believe this is a similar design to the fluidized bed filter I had on my saltwater tank. It was a clear 2" acrylic tube that was fed water from the bottom through the sand looking media and out the top. It was so efficient at converting ammonia and nitrites that it quickly produced nitrates. Many nicknamed them nitrate factories. Maybe I'm wrong, but if it's the same thing, I'd rather stay away since I had bad luck on my tank.


Would I need a drain on either of these?

 

[falconut]

Yes, I drew them up. Thanks. I figured it might be easier with sketches.

If I understand you correctly, I should have both the inflow and outflow at the top, like this:


Again I'm guessing that since the media is lightweight, the water flowing downward, then upward will be enough to stir the media before it exits? Do these filters run without lids to allow for oxygen to be drawn in?

 

[sissy]

My filter is a down filter the water goes into a crate with quilt batting and furnace filter on top .Furnace filter catches the big stuff and quilt batting fine stuff .This pics up the fine algae cells .I put 1 filter on each end of my pond and that is all the filtering I use
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[falconut]

My filter is a down filter the water goes into a crate with quilt batting and furnace filter on top .Furnace filter catches the big stuff and quilt batting fine stuff .This pics up the fine algae cells .I put 1 filter on each end of my pond and that is all the filtering I use

So, crate has all the mechanical filters, then the stock tank has the biological filters. Are all the mess bags filled with just lava rock? Do you rinse them or just leave them? Do you empty everything out in the winter?

 

[JohnHuff]

I'm going to give you a few links. They'll explain it better than I can, but moving media is far better than batting or furnace filters for conversion. Also check out "Moving bed filter" on You-tube. They'll show DIY moving beds filters for indoor tanks. I use them in my freshwater tanks but they can also be used for salt water tanks.

http://evolutionaqua.com/acatalog/K1_Media.html

http://www.headworksinternational.com/biological-wastewater-treatment/mbbr.aspx

http://www.triqua.eu/Triqua/fs3_site.nsf/htmlViewDocuments/44EBED064A451595C12575200056BE33

The last 2 links are for commercial treatment, but it's the same theory.

Regarding your first drawing of the moving bed. I have several of them one on top of another and the outflow is at the bottom of the containers. This way, the water flows through multiple moving beds and because of the exposure to the air, an air pump is not needed. It has the benefits of both a moving bed and a shower filter. It's probably the best DIY filter possible for its size.

 

[sissy]

I just pull the lava rock bags out of the crate and rinse them off and put them back in and do that every 2 or 3 months .I have 2 bags of lava rock in the crate .People put it down but it is cheap and it works .I have no uv and really don't think I need one .I really don't need the crate but it does help the pump from getting clogged since my koi rip my plants apart it is easier this way .I want to put cascading plants in my filters this year ,something like the trailing petunias or potato vines

 

[sissy]

When you have limited space and need to hide the filter those fiberglass pots are really easy on the eye and some of them at lowes and home depot are cheap right now and also outlet stores like biglots and ollies has them .I found the small stock tank can really be planted up nice and look pretty also .They call that type planting thrillers fillers and spillers .

 

[Catfishnut]

Yes, I drew them up. Thanks. I figured it might be easier with sketches.

If I understand you correctly, I should have both the inflow and outflow at the top, like this:


Again I'm guessing that since the media is lightweight, the water flowing downward, then upward will be enough to stir the media before it exits? Do these filters run without lids to allow for oxygen to be drawn in?

Falconut,

This is my design of the same bio-tank that you are working on...

Just got to get the proper image loaded here... i will return.

Gordy

 

[Catfishnut]

In this setup, I have pre-filtered the water in another tank upstream. The water coming into this tank is gravity fed and flows down through some Matala filter media and a 200 micron SS filter screen for even more refined mechanical filtration. The water drops down into the water column within the lower barrel containing Kaldness K3 bio-media and is stirred by a Matala 9" aeration diffuser disc.

The water exits via the bottom of the tank and is pumped back into the pond. The Matala aerator sits upon a perforated platform designed mostly to prevent the Kaldness media from going out the drain, but allowing the water to be circulated with the most retention time within this bio tank. Pumps will take the water back to the pond.

Gordy

 

[sissy]

not easy to hide since his wife is against anything that looks ugly, I can't see him convincing her to do that .It may work but if your wife ain't happy you aren't happy ,a fact in marriage that lives on and on . :cheerful:

 

[JohnHuff]

not easy to hide since his wife is against anything that looks ugly, I can't see him convincing her to do that .It may work but if your wife ain't happy you aren't happy ,a fact in marriage that lives on and on . :cheerful:

In that case I would suggest the shower moving media filter since it's thin and easy to hide against the fence and has a high efficiency conversion rate.

 

[falconut]

So far, I'm leaning towards a system like sissy's. I can grasp how to set this up. Possibly a 70 gallon stock tank with the inlet flowing into a bucket w/bottom holes and batting. The others, I'm still not fully sure how I'd do them (what containers and how to mechanically filter them.

I was considering doing a modified sissy setup. Maybe putting some eggcrate to create an open area under the rocks, have the inlet enter into this open area and set some plants on top of the rocks, the outlet just above rocks. This way I could open the bottom drain to back wash the junk out.

 

[sissy]

I actually used a small dirty pump inside my stock tank and when it is time to clean I just plug it in and put the outlet hose into a bucket .As long as the quilt batting is not directly in the pond a crate works and gets hidden by plants .I do put a liner around my filter so if it ever over flows it goes into the pond .I try to think ahead so if there ever is a problem it won't be a leaking filter .Both of my filters are done the same way .
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[JohnHuff]

Oh well.

 

[falconut]

Oh well.

Did you have any photos of your setup? So far sissy's setup is the only one I can figure how to do.