General bacteria colony question

[capewind]

This is a question about our 750 gallon basement pond ,,, As been posted previously in various other posts, the filtration on this pond is a hodge podge of spare parts, old filters etc ... Pond is stocked with 103 koi babies 3 - 6" in size... always tests great.

Hubby added a 35 gallon ???prefilter/sediment tank??? with a 2150 gph pump ... I dont know what to call it ... but there is also some good surface area in there too for bacteria growth (sort of like a skippy, but less media, and this is simply bonus space).

My question is without actually seeding this filter with existing bacteria (or from a bottle), but on an established pond, how long does it take to get a good bacteria colony going in this filter?

 

[HTH]

Given that the old filter is already handling the full bio load seeding the new with purchased bacterial would not help.

Over time the new filter will mature and pick up some of the load now handled by the other filter. What I think you should gain is a system that is more resilient to spikes in ammonia production.

 

[capewind]

Thanks Howard, I guess I wasnt very clear:-( What I meant is we didnt put any established media into the new filter, and are not adding bacteria from a bottle either. how long does it take, in an establish pond, for new bacteria to grow in the new filter ... old filters are still running the pond. No ammonia spikes to date, the present filters are handling the load.

 

[HTH]

I can not give you a hard number and unless you are moving one of the filters to another pond it does not matter. But I will give you what I think is a safe guess in a bit. Why do you care?

The new bacteria colony will compete with the old for nutrients so what you are doing is splitting the needed colony between 2 filters and then bacteria on the pond walls.. So you question is when will they reach their stable size.

This is something not easily measured. I did some looking on the net and the numbers were all over the place.

My GUESS is that within 2 weeks you should have a decent colony going. The bacteria doubles every day or two so once it gets to where it can support one fish it can rapidly expand to handle 2 then 4 then 8 then 16 you get the idea.

 

[DrCase]

It took my new pond and filter about 4 weeks to get going right. if that helps

 

[capewind]

Thank you both ... I do understand in a brand new pond, with a brand new filter, that it takes time ... The reason I am asking the question is the QT has a hodge podge of filters, and a fair load ... after a reasonable period of time, with the new filter running, I would like to see some of the scrap filters removed. Save a bit of electricity for starters. I dont want to remove anything too soon, and risk an ammonia spike because I got impatient.

 

[HTH]

It will transfer the load faster if you remove existing media over time. But you need to watch the ammonia/nitrites

 

[capewind]

With 103 fish in 750 gallons of water, I am nervous about rocking the boat. Two of the filters are crappy canister filters .. one is a Fluval FX5 (925 gph) and I dont remember what the other is, but about the physical same size ... the other is an old wet/dry from a marine aquarium that is plumbed from the unknown (to me) canister filter ... **I THINK** the wet/dry was likely the most effective filter on this pond. Eventually hubby is going to put a skippy filter on this pond, but other projects ahead of it ...

 

[HTH]

The nice this is that the colony in the new filter will not be maxed out. Should one of the others crap out for some reason the bacteria colony in the new filter can pick up the slack in a day or less. I have always been a fan of multiple filters where it is practical.for this reason.

If you want I would give it a few weeks to colonize then remove the unwanted filter.

 

[capewind]

If it is going to be weeks, Im guessing I shouldnt be impatient and just wait for the next pond to go in. Sort of down tonight on ponds.

This will sound like I am complaining, which I guess I am, but hubby is getting "too busy" fast ... I dont think he is going to be able to get our next pond in (which is for these babies) as fast as he was thinking ... he is already backed up (next week is a pond for a repeat client) ... two more calls came in this morning (one a repeat client), got the mail, which included an unexpected diagram of what another regular but nonlocal client wants (patio, walkway, drywells AND new driveway w/cobblestone apron) ... and this afternoon, two more calls (another repeat client) for estimates tomorrow (which I cant do either of) ... I would say spring is officially here.

 

[Waterbug]

I don't think this concept of "bacteria colony" is being grasped. You press for a guess even after it is explained why there's no way to know how long, and once you get the guess you take it as some kind of answer. If you press me for a guess on when I'm going to be President of the US I might guess "in ten years". That shouldn't then be used to think I will ever be President.

Cow Colony
Let's use cows as an example. Say you have a million acre pasture and a single barn. And say 1 bale of hay is delivered to the barn every day and the barn. Say 1 bale of hay feeds 3 cows and one bull nicely.

Now we build a nice new barn at the other end of the pasture, 1500 miles away. No cows are there yet.

Now every day the hay delivery guy first looks to see if there's any left over hay, and if there is, takes it to the new barn. But there never is any because 1 bale is what the animals eat everyday.

Two or three years later thanks to the birds and the bees there are now 6 cows and one bull all having to share 1 bale of hay per day. Will there be 12 cows in another 3 years? No, because while 1 bale might be able to keep the cows alive it isn't enough for them to reproduce. Food = reproduction. Plus the birds and the bees of course.

Question: How long before a heard of cows appear in new barn?

Answer: No way to know.

Question: But I really, really want an answer that's simpler to understand than all that other super confusing numbers and reading stuff.

Answer: I'm sorry, there is no answer to your question.

Question: NO, I WANT AN ANSWER!

Answer: Two weeks.

Thanks. Why do people always make simple answers so difficult?

 

[capewind]

Thanks for your opinion WB. I asked and received an appropriate guess. I wish it was quicker than it is, but the explaination Howard and Dr. gave were helpful.