Gordy's Bait Tank Filter Design Question

[Catfishnut]

Addy,

You must have a really good sized pond, I take it, if you are setting this aerator out 25 feet from any side. Is it a natural pond or something you excavated or created with a dam?

Gordy

 

[addy1]

Addy,

You must have a really good sized pond, I take it, if you are setting this aerator out 25 feet from any side. Is it a natural pond or something you excavated or created with a dam?

Gordy

Built by me pond, gordy and the tractor my honey bought for me.

The pond is around 11k , 27 feet long around 20 foot wide more or less, deepest 5 feet. I needed the 25 feet of hose to get from the air pump, around 4 feet from edge of pond to the middle of the long edge of the pond, then about 2 feet down into the pond.

I wanted the air to be on the bog wall shelf, not the bottom of the pond.

I took a skewer (for food lol) and started poking holes, with the pointed tip, started with just barely poked to about a 1/8 or smaller hole, tip of skewer size. Kept adding holes and testing by sticking under the water. I put one aerator on a piece of line, used that as my test, I added holes until it seemed the aerator was slowing down in air flow. I didn't want to make a lot of back pressure on the pump.

With this irrigation tubing, it does not seem to matter if level or not, I just tied it to rocks to hold it down in the water.

Just to the right of the net and pole is where I put the air ring in, just not running right now. It came with a diffuser, I could just use that but it seemed to really boil the water. If the ring does not keep the ice open I will use the diffuser.

 

[Catfishnut]

I belive that I have made up my mind regarding what to do with the zeolite and the activated carbon portions of my filter design.

After reading your replies to this subject so far and researching the zeolite mineral and all of its possible applications, I have decided that I want to use both the zeolite and the activated carbon.

This is how I intend to structure it into my filter system.

The last of the three filtration barrels will contain my PondMaster 9.5 mag pump. The output of the pump will feed into a sealed PVC tube which is 36" in length and 6" in diameter. This tube will be set in a vertical position. The output of this tube will feed another tube, constructed identically (same dimensions). The first tube will contain the Zeolite and the second tube will contain the activated carbon. The water path will be as follows:



Water exits the main fish tank at the bottom, center of a 1,000 gallon bait tank through a lake strainer ►

gravity feeds down ► enters bottom of sediment filter ►

percolates up through crushed marble ► river pebbles ► river gravel ► pea gravel ► exits via a lake strainer at top of tank ►

gravity feeds down ► enters bottom of bio-converter tank ► is heated if necessary ►

circulates with the aggressive aeration and Kaldnes K3 media ► rises up and exits top of bio-tank via lake strainer ►

gravity feeds down ► enters near bottom of pump/aeration tank ► circulates and obtains fine aeration ►

rises up and exits though lake strainer ► enters pump (overage diverts back to same barrel) or ►

exits out top of pump/aerator tank ► enters top of 6" dia PVC Zeolite filtration tube under pressure from pump ►

filters downward under pump pressure through zeolite media ► exits bottom of Zeolite filter tube ►

rises under pump pressure via external 3/4" PVC pipe ► enters top of 6" dia PVC Carbon filtration tube ►

filters down under pump pressure through carbon media ► exits from bottom of carbon filter tube ►

returns to fish tank under pressure and above high the water line ► circulates around the 1,000 gallon fish tank ►

exits near the bottom, center of the tank via a lake stainer ► the water repeats the entire trip.



This all looks good in the picture that I have in my mind and I think that the theory is good. Unless I or someone else changes my mind, I will go with this. Let's see how well it works when I get there and put this all in operation and start monitoring the water quality. Sound fun and interesting to you? It does to me. I am very eager to get it operational and start filling it with fish. Bare with me on the latter two excercises, it's going to be a while.

Gordy

 

[Catfishnut]

Addy,

That is just beautiful! That is... AN AWESOME POND!

I am very glad that you took the time to load up that picture of your pond! Thank you!
You won't believe this, but that is the concept of what I have in my mind of what a pond should look like. Many years ago, I saw something in raw nature that looked very much like this. It was created of nature's own hand, but it was so similar to what you have done that it is quite eerie to me (not scary eerie, but phenomenally eerie).

I must tell you that just looking at your photo brings back memories of the natural place I used to go to. I have set your photo as my PC's wallpaper background to remember that place and spur me on to create my own pond (not my bait tank thing but a pond-pond). There are many pond designs out there, but yours hits home for me. Thank you, Addy.

Gordy

 

[addy1]

Well thanks for the nice words............if it is going to be a wall paper let me send you a nicer on with out a pool cleaning net in the picture lol

I would love to comment on your filtration set up, sounds like it would work, but you can see my filter............the bog. So my knowledge base is just what I have read and gathered from the forums I am on And a my previous ponds, but they to were filtered with up flow bog type filters.

I like all ponds, but I really lean towards as natural looking as possible. With our slope this was the best I could do, but I think it turned out pretty nice.

I like this one, it was last fall before we had the bog growing or even fish, well did have 5 we did not know about.

This is this spring the plants really add something to the view

 

[Catfishnut]

Glad you got my RO joke.

I think the only thing missing from your system is flexibility. You said this was a one time build deal. The first filter system I ever built was a 12' long, 2' wide, 1' deep sand filter, 3' off the ground. Days to design, days to build, about $150 in wood and sand, but it was all going to be worth it when I saw that crystal clear water flowing out the end. I turned it on and reality destroyed my fantasy world in about 10 minutes. That's how long it took for the sand to clog. I torn it down the next day. It was many months later, many filters later, that I started to understand just a tiny bit and even then there always seemed to be exceptions.

For me the best way (unfortunately it seems the only way) to learn is by doing, but that also means expecting some things to not work perfectly.

I do look forward to your results because you do have a different system designed. If I had a cheap source of zeolite I would totally use it just to see what happened.

Waterbug,

I do believe that I understand what you mean regarding "flexibility". I find that I am altering my design and plans often now. Even though I wanted to adhere to my physical construction that has been completed (constructed) so far. I hate backtracking, but now is the time to do it (change or alter) it if I do so at all. Keep in mind that this is my prototype system. If this works very well for my purposes, I can build another one and make all the adjustments and refinements that are necessary to the second setup.

Like you already stated, I am doing something completely unique and my results will have to be found through trial an error and a learning experience. I won't know what I am doing until I actually do it and put it into operation. But, to be honest, I truly enjoy this aspect of the design. This hobby has me addicted already, much more than you realize and much more than I expected.

Regardless of anything technically orientated, I have to tell you that I am just having a lot of fun with this avenue and I am learning a great deal with every step. Not to forget to mention, I am meeting all of you folks and that is great!

One of the most accurate and wonderful quotes that I know of is the autograph of the book Tom Sawyer at the end of the movie "It's A Wonderful Life" with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. One of my favorite movies... The quote, from the angel Clarence states something akin to

"Remember, no man is a failure who has friends. Thanks for the wings, Clarence"

You folks give me wings!

Thank you all!

Gordy

 

[Catfishnut]

Well thanks for the nice words............if it is going to be a wall paper let me send you a nicer on with out a pool cleaning net in the picture lol

I would love to comment on your filtration set up, sounds like it would work, but you can see my filter............the bog. So my knowledge base is just what I have read and gathered from the forums I am on And a my previous ponds, but they to were filtered with up flow bog type filters.

I like all ponds, but I really lean towards as natural looking as possible. With our slope this was the best I could do, but I think it turned out pretty nice.

I like this one, it was last fall before we had the bog growing or even fish, well did have 5 we did not know about.

This is this spring the plants really add something to the view

Absolutely Addy,

That is wonerful! Your mind's concept shows extremely well in what you have accomplished here. And you take very good photographs. You coud enter those photos in art and photography competitions or sell them to calender makers and what-not. People might even like them as reproductions for enlarged pix on their walls. I personally go nuts for pix like this.

Your pix are quite akin to what I take pix of. I mean that I don't take pix of people, just nature scenes. I will have to get get a new camera so that I can take really nice pix.

Gordy

 

[sissy]

do you know you can get zeolite at tractor supply that it is used for horse stalls to keep them fresh.Tractor supply it is called PDZ Cheaper that way and you can get activated charcoal there too it is used for farm ponds but that some tractor supplies do not sell it

 

[Waterbug]

Thanks for the zeolite link. Not what I expected. I thought it reacted with the ammonia more so. 1ppm ammonia after 5 days in their Beta test, I would have expected 0. So I guess biofilters would be needed.

 

[sissy]

this is why I know about pdz it is used in stalls to keep horse from have breathing problems

 

[addy1]

Here is the diffuser...when using it the water boils 4 inches up.

this is the ring in action, I may add a few more holes, the water movement is about an inch above surface

This is the ring the white tube is my test aerator.

Here is a sample of the holes opps out of focus

 

[sissy]

addy that first one is with your water pump and is the ring water and air

 

[addy1]

The first picture is a diffuser that came with the air pump, I would use it but it seemed to move too much water.
I have just a 3/4 drip irrigation tubing coming from the air pump to the ring than into the water. The ring is drip irrigation tubing with holes in it, no water in the tubing

 

[sissy]

ok I have some of that drip irragation stuff from my garden I wonder if you put the emiters on it that come with mine it would spread it out wider

 

[addy1]

ok I have some of that drip irragation stuff from my garden I wonder if you put the emiters on it that come with mine it would spread it out wider

It might, I have a bag of emitters, actually bought them for my veg garden next summer. I needed the 3/4 inch hose to run the air into the pond and remembered I had bought the irrigation stuff.

I just don't want to cause back pressure on the pump, the diffuser that came with it has 33 good size holes. I may add some more. I put in around 60 but if you look at overall hole size the amount of openings are less than the diffuser.