cleanibf bio filter

[springknee]

I have a 100gal filter tank. I think its a skippy type. water enters at the base works its way through media and flows out the top into the waterfall. I also have the top planted with water cress and parrots feather. When I due water changes there is a lot of gunk that comes out of the valve at bottom of the tank. Also when I remove over crowed plants I notice a lot of gunk. So was wandering about removing and cleaning the plants and media. Will this mean the pond will have to cycle again. And if it's ok to clean these how often is advisable?

 

[JohnHuff]

The plants add gunk to your filter. If your water parameters are OK (no ammonia or nitrites), I'd leave everything as is and just flush using the bottom drain every so often. Every so often meaning flush out whenever there's a lot of gunk. I would not take the Skippy apart and totally clean it. Don't fix it until/unless it breaks.

 

[springknee]

my ammonia is .25

 

[JohnHuff]

Uh-oh. Having any ammonia is not good. I would do a small water change immediately and stop feeding. I would definitely not do a total clean out as removing and cleaning the media has been known to disrupt the cycle.

When was the last time you flushed the valve at the bottom? Perhaps you can do that now and flush with pond water to increase the water flow.

What is your pond like and what do you have in there?

Having said the above, the Skippy is one of the worst filter designs out there. You can probably make an improvement in it. What media do you have in it right now?

 

[sissy]

Feeding is always the problem and you just end up adding to your headache .I feed my fish 3 maybe 4 times a week and that is all they should need there is plenty in the pond for them to eat ,My water goes in the top of my tank through a crate with furnace filter and quilt batting and then into the tank with plants and lava rock and it has worked for me .I hate those big ugly barrels that are hard to hide and if they leak then you are in trouble .No offense to any one who likes there barrel filters but they are not my cup of tea .My neighbor wanted 1 and did it and a deer ran into and down the whole set up went .She had it pretty protected too .The shed behind it had a huge dent in it and guessing he hit the concrete slab for the carport also since there was hair stuck to it .We suspected hunters scared the deer .Carport slab is almost 3 ft above the ground on that side .I know just a fluke accident but it was enough to convince her she was not doing the barrel again .She lost her pump but not her fish at least .lucky once but maybe not a second time .I even posted it on here when it happened .I think it was 2 or 3 years ago .

 

[springknee]

Ok so I went ahead and cleaned my filter. Here's what I discovered. First let's describe the filter design. It's a 100g stock tank. The water from the pond is pumped into the bottom and swirled. There is then a grate across at about 8" off the bottom.Then there is a layer of approx. 6" of lava rock which is what I'm using for media. Then I have that blue reusable furnace filter covering the rock (Which is how the pond center recommended placing it. I had it under the rock.) and then the top is full of water cress and parrots feather. There is a drain in the bottom to allow the gunk to be flushed when I do a water change.
Now for what I discovered while cleaning it. Some of the rock had feel through the gaps and was basically blocking the solids from being flushed out when draining. Had a good 3-4 inches of muck in the bottom of the tank. So all of the water coming from the pond was being mixed in with the gunk water my water very yucky. So i disassembled the complete setup. Before putting the rock back I cut an over sized piece of bird net that was left over from the owl experience. I installed the net to keep all of the rock where it was intended to be, I then covered the rock with the filter material filled with water and added plants back. Waiting on my zeolite to arrive and will installed a netted bag in the filter for a little insurance. I just lightly rinsed the rock trying not to kill all the the bacteria.

 

[JohnHuff]

I think you can improve your filter a lot by removing the plants on it (which create waste) and add a bubbler hose or venturi valve at the bottom. Right now the media is submerged and the bacteria don't get as much oxygen as they should.

 

[Dave 54]

Ok so I went ahead and cleaned my filter. Here's what I discovered. First let's describe the filter design. It's a 100g stock tank. The water from the pond is pumped into the bottom and swirled. There is then a grate across at about 8" off the bottom.Then there is a layer of approx. 6" of lava rock which is what I'm using for media. Then I have that blue reusable furnace filter covering the rock (Which is how the pond center recommended placing it. I had it under the rock.) and then the top is full of water cress and parrots feather. There is a drain in the bottom to allow the gunk to be flushed when I do a water change.
Now for what I discovered while cleaning it. Some of the rock had feel through the gaps and was basically blocking the solids from being flushed out when draining. Had a good 3-4 inches of muck in the bottom of the tank. So all of the water coming from the pond was being mixed in with the gunk water my water very yucky. So i disassembled the complete setup. Before putting the rock back I cut an over sized piece of bird net that was left over from the owl experience. I installed the net to keep all of the rock where it was intended to be, I then covered the rock with the filter material filled with water and added plants back. Waiting on my zeolite to arrive and will installed a netted bag in the filter for a little insurance. I just lightly rinsed the rock trying not to kill all the the bacteria.

Could you take a photo of your filter please what your describing sounds more like a vortex filter filled with filter material, the blue furnace sounds as though it may be Jap matting seeing s your filter has a slide valve it wouldnt hurt to every few months purge the bottom of your filter of all the gunk at the bottom (where nasty bacteria can and does lurk
I have three of these filters in sequence one acting as a vortex to remove most of the solids then a filter full of Jap matting with a zeolite bag then quilt batting , then the same again but with a bag of lythaqua and finally a barrel filter with K1 aqua one bio balls , bio balls and bio chips.
Tell me do you have any air stones in your filter please .
Our vortex has non the next two filters have three airstones and the last and the barrel filter has 6 airstones supplied from a Airtec 40e pond air pump, we run another airtec 40e whic supplies air to our bottom drain bubbler .

Dave

 

[dieselplower]

To answer a couple of your questions... Your pond may have a bit of a bump in the cycle. Using chlorinated water will kill off some of the bacteria that process ammonia and nitrite. The longer the bacteria are explosed to cholorine, the more will die. The more you kill, the more of a cycle bump you will have. If you use well water or pond water, the bump should be less significant. I would backflush your filter as often as you want. If the water is coming out dirty, you have done a service. Once a filter gets dirty enough, the water flows around the filtration pads, rocks, etc, and ceases to be filtered. It always follows the path of least resistance.

 

[springknee]

Could you take a photo of your filter please what your describing sounds more like a vortex filter filled with filter material, the blue furnace sounds as though it may be Jap matting seeing s your filter has a slide valve it wouldnt hurt to every few months purge the bottom of your filter of all the gunk at the bottom (where nasty bacteria can and does lurk
I have three of these filters in sequence one acting as a vortex to remove most of the solids then a filter full of Jap matting with a zeolite bag then quilt batting , then the same again but with a bag of lythaqua and finally a barrel filter with K1 aqua one bio balls , bio balls and bio chips.
Tell me do you have any air stones in your filter please .
Our vortex has non the next two filters have three airstones and the last and the barrel filter has 6 airstones supplied from a Airtec 40e pond air pump, we run another airtec 40e whic supplies air to our bottom drain bubbler .

Dave

I had been purging the filter as this is how I drain pond down for changes. The problem I discovered was the lava rock had fell thru a crack and was basically blocking the gunk from being flushed out. I have repaired this now so it should work it's suppose to now. Fish are acting better now. I did check the water temp it's 86deg F at approx 1 1/2 ft pond is 3ft.

 

[springknee]

To answer a couple of your questions... Your pond may have a bit of a bump in the cycle. Using chlorinated water will kill off some of the bacteria that process ammonia and nitrite. The longer the bacteria are explosed to cholorine, the more will die. The more you kill, the more of a cycle bump you will have. If you use well water or pond water, the bump should be less significant. I would backflush your filter as often as you want. If the water is coming out dirty, you have done a service. Once a filter gets dirty enough, the water flows around the filtration pads, rocks, etc, and ceases to be filtered. It always follows the path of least resistance.

I don't have a well to use. However I due have a pump that I can put in the pond to avoid using tap water on media. I also rebuilt the filter so hopefully it will work right now.