koiguys 55 gallon bio filter (skippy style)

[poodles-ponds and gardens]

usually people use the light diffuser grids for flourecent lights.

I used the grids off of a 20"floor fan that the motor burned out on. Cost =$0

 

[DrDave]

I used the lamp grids mentioned in a previous post. The problem with them is they are very brittle and break easily.

Koiguy has the best idea for durability and ease of manufacture I have seen so far. I buy that same fencing material to build cages for Koi so I can keep the ones for sale in the pond without having to catch them again.

Most of us don't have a fan to spare, but that is a great idea if you do.

 

[koiguy1969]

the hardware fencing is from Tenax comp. and its $11.00 a roll at Lowes and is 3' x15' but has so many uses in ponding.. plant cages, fish cages, filter media blocker for return output, sectioning off pond areas, etc... if your interested in some "floating planter rings" because your fish keep eating off all the roots and killing them or keeping them looking shabby. theres plans for some in this forum section.

 

[DrCase]

Nice job Koiguy !!

 

[koiguy1969]

I have made what i think to be, a nice improvement on my filter...i ran an air line down thru the plumbing in the filter and 2 airstones (each are1" round) setting just outside the outflow elbows at the bottom.. i am going to run an 1.5 watt pump to add additional oxygen to the system to maintain a real oxygen rich healthy enviorment for my AEROBIC bacterial colony to FLURISH in. and at 1.5 watts it should cost about a dollar a month to run.but should help immensly.......pic #1 the whole assembly.........pic#2 the $6.00 pump (you can see the small 1" air stone out the end of the elbow) ......pic #3 you can see the amount of air and movement from one of the 2 stones... with the water flowing and the media in place. it should perculate up thru the colony pretty good.
ANY THOUGHTS ON THIS ?

 

[koikeepr]

solid idea. wherever you can inject more oxygen into the filtration to enhance bacteria growth it's a plus. Splendid idea,.

 

[nc0gnet0]

Interesting concept koiguy, do you realize your about one step away from incorporating a DIY protein skimmer into your Skippy? Be carefull that you don't get to overzealous with your airflow as you will get alot of foaming from the DOC's (or take it that last step and provide a path for the foam to exit the filter.)

http://www.koi-bito.com/forum/pond-construction/4487-protein-skimmer-awesome.html

Is your bio-material completely submersed in your design? It is my understanding that you will have greater colonization if they are not submersed but subjected to a continual "spray". This knowledge I learned while researching on how to convert a 200 gallon aquarium with built in overflow/sump that was set-up for saltwater into a freshwater tank to overwinter a few select koi.

Incorporating such a design into a single barrel "skippy" filter leaves many challenges as you want gravity to help filter out as much of the solids as possible, before it hits your bio-material causing eventual clogging. I am thinking about using alot of the information you have posted here in designing my own filter, but I have been pondering the use of 2 30 gallon drums, this way I can bring the water flow from the bottom up on the first stage (prefilter) and then from the top down on my second stage utilizing a spraybar/drip grid over the bio-material then threw some finer filtration (polisher) and out the bottom. I would love to be able to accomplish this withing the confines of one barrel but to do so would mean I would have to partition the inside of the barrel.....not an easy task.

 

[koiguy1969]

i have run air into my filters all along..theyve been stock tanks and totes the heigth of the barrel is the only concern...but im running a pump for 5 gallon aquariums and the bubbles will travel thru the media dispersed into very small groups...a protein fractionator requires far more flow concentrated than whats here, and ive been using the same media for 18 months non stop, between outdoor pond and indoor.. never cleaned it nor had to...thats why i use 1&1/2" pipe..too slow the motion enough for everything to settle before hitting the media.

 

[nc0gnet0]

I agree. And I see the placement of your airstoones are actually outside the piping where in a Protein skimmer they would be inside the pipe, but it had me wondering "what if".As in if you placed a third stone inside your 1 1/2" pipe with more vigorous airflow and whala! Such a device would not have to run 24/7, only as needed. I hope you don't think I was being critical as that was surely not the case. I actually made one ot the protein skimmers I linked to on my prior post and it worked quite well, but I was using a much larger air pump and the stone was inside the tube. But it is so close in design to your pictures it has me wondering if such a device could be incorporated into the skippy filter itself..........

 

[koiguy1969]

i actually relocated the stones for a even better distribution of air... thias should lessen the amount slipping up along the sides!..and included a pic of the basement pond...800 gals

 

[charrold]

Koi Guy,

I noticed in your first pictures you left the stainless grate on the shower drain. i used the same thing for my return outflow "bulkhead" and the grate rusted solid inside of 7 days. Did you remove it after the pis were taken? Just curiosity...

 

[DrDave]

If it is magnetic, it is not stainless unless it is 400 series SS. That will get a rust color but last quite a while.

 

[koiguy1969]

as one of the post states i left the grid in the return port to keep in the media in and removed it for the flush valve assembly to avoid any slowing of water flow out. the grid would actually slow the water quite a bit and possibly cause some "poop soup" to not get flushed. i know this cause i timed the total drain of the drum with and without the grid on the dump.....

 

[charrold]

My concern was rust particles getting sloughed off back into the pond since it was over my outlet to the pond itself.

It was not rusted through, just 100% covered with it.

 

[DrDave]

If it is 400 series SS, then the rust is only superficial. 400 series has a small amount of iron in it.