my 70 gallon skippy filter

[koiguy1969]

the one i had hooked up was only 27 gallons, contrary to some peoples beliefs there is no certain height requirement for a good filter the only factors that matter are the time the water spends in with the media. so the bacteria can do its thing. and oxygen so it doesnt encourage the growth of anaerobic bacteria. skippy media is not sponges as some say it is,sponges fill with water and loose their bouiancy then clog realitivly quick fail,scrubby pads provide the most surface area for the bacteria to colonize, they DO NOT REQUIRE frequent cleaning; i built the outdoor pond last mothers day my skippy was added in july i have never cleaned, backflushed, or even saw anything that indicated my little 27 gallon filter has needed cleaning. and its coming up on 9 months of continuous running. and i have about 40 fish in a 450 gallon pond 35are over 6" 15 are 12" . by any definition my pond is over stocked yet my fish are desease free, my water is crystal clear, and its parameters are perfect. i dont run a seperate pump for circulation as some do.i dont need to construct any big monstrosity to hide my filter in the falls with the two foot high profile of this tank basically run the liner up and attach, pile dirt around it cover the dirt with plants and rocks. now i use prefilters, some will say this is a bad thing...IT IS NOT...heres a couple reasons why...
submersable pumps draw in water easier than they push it out so you can locate your pump close to your filter and run hose to where you want to draw water from to lessen the workload on your pump...
you can run 2 or 3 or 4 if you like, and locate them around the pond to eliminate dead spots, and NOT run a seperate pump for circulation as some people do
its true they will eventully need cleaning but the once a month 5 minutes it takes is worth it. i have mine tied to black nylon string with a simple washer on the end to pull them out of the pond for cleaning. and actually slowing the flow to your filter increases the hang time so increases the ability of the bacteria to feed, that is within reason.
now my filter can sit at the edge of the pond, it doesnt need all the extrs hoses to hide it somewhere creating more head heigth. i run an air pump and one gph pump 1000, costs less than $15.00 a month and accomplish what others run two pumps have multiple large filters to do. must be doing something right.

 

[koiguy1969]

it should read one air pump and one 1000 gph pump, costs less than $15.00 a month to run.

 

[koiguy1969]

i just wanted to say that i am by no means taking away from anyones design, but for me to hide my filters if i used 55gal drums i would have to run 40' of hose to go behind my wood shop shed, and 40' back, that is alot of additional head height, so i would have to buy alot bigger pump and pay alot bigger electric bill to run that pump. if i had a privacey fence or something close by to hide them it would be a consideration, but to use them at ponds edge would cause me to build a waterfall disproportionate to my ponds size.

 

[jameskoi]

i just wanted to say that i am by no means taking away from anyones design, but for me to hide my filters if i used 55gal drums i would have to run 40' of hose to go behind my wood shop shed, and 40' back, that is alot of additional head height, so i would have to buy alot bigger pump and pay alot bigger electric bill to run that pump. if i had a privacey fence or something close by to hide them it would be a consideration, but to use them at ponds edge would cause me to build a waterfall disproportionate to my ponds size.

Cool! Thanks for the info. As you know, I'm still in search of an above ground pool for my basement. After everything I read here, I plan to use two 55G barrels with 900G rated Eheim pump. One for sweeping up debris using those long flat sheets of poly filter and the other one full of scrubby pads. 12ft might be too big. I'll settle for 10ft, 30", which is almost 1000G, I think.

Sounds like this type of DIY filter is the best kept secret and there's no need to buy a commercial $1-2k pond filter with UV. LOL! I'll go an extra step and give my koi 2x250W metal halides. aquatrader.com selling 250W HQI units for $99USD. I never heard of such a cheap fixture before and replacement HQI lights are under $10 if bought in pairs. Insane. I'm used to the $$$ stuff for my reef tank.

BTW, 40+ koi with 27G filter is impressive! How often do you change the water?

 

[c2c7390]

Cool! Thanks for the info. As you know, I'm still in search of an above ground pool for my basement. After everything I read here, I plan to use two 55G barrels with 900G rated Eheim pump. One for sweeping up debris using those long flat sheets of poly filter and the other one full of scrubby pads. 12ft might be too big. I'll settle for 10ft, 30", which is almost 1000G, I think.

Sounds like this type of DIY filter is the best kept secret and there's no need to buy a commercial $1-2k pond filter with UV. LOL! I'll go an extra step and give my koi 2x250W metal halides. aquatrader.com selling 250W HQI units for $99USD. I never heard of such a cheap fixture before and replacement HQI lights are under $10 if bought in pairs. Insane. I'm used to the $$$ stuff for my reef tank.

BTW, 40+ koi with 27G filter is impressive! How often do you change the water?

could you provide a link to aquatrader...when i type it in i get directed to scubatrader...or some boating website...

 

[jameskoi]

could you provide a link to aquatrader...when i type it in i get directed to scubatrader...or some boating website...

Oops.. it needs a 's' at the end... sorry... Here's the direct link:

http://aquatraders.com/aquarium-lightings/odyssea-24-250w-metal-halide-system-basic.html

People have mixed reviews about this unit. The website is sketchy to me since it doesn't even have an address of tele # (as far as I know). But it has been around for years. I'm tempted to order two of these units from there or else where.

I've sent them email out of curiosity about not being able to find their address... if they don't reply... NEXT!

 

[c2c7390]

be careful about their fixtures...i just did some quick research and found that they arent UL listed and a lot of the ballast have burned out within a year...and have almost burned down houses...basically it sounds like you get what you pay for...oh and getting a hold of them once you do find their number is "impossible"

 

[koiguy1969]

BTW, 40+ koi with 27G filter is impressive! How often do you change the water?

45 gallon water change every monday... i plumbed a spicket right to the indoor pond, marked the change levels right on the liner with a paint marker and use a 450gph pump to remove water plumbed right to my sump pump basin. takes about 5 minutes to pump out then i trickle it back in so theres no temperature shock from the ice cold water coming from our faucets.

 

[jameskoi]

BTW, 40+ koi with 27G filter is impressive! How often do you change the water?

45 gallon water change every monday... i plumbed a spicket right to the indoor pond, marked the change levels right on the liner with a paint marker and use a 450gph pump to remove water plumbed right to my sump pump basin. takes about 5 minutes to pump out then i trickle it back in so theres no temperature shock from the ice cold water coming from our faucets.

Wow, that's pretty impressive too! 45G is really not a lot of water.

I just changed 45G of water in my established 70G tank with 8 koi 3 - 4.5" and 5 - 2.5". Water was basically new a week ago but they're eating like pigs and making a mess of the under gravel filter. The under gravel performs VERY well but too many debris for obvious reasons. I just changed out about 90G out from my 130G due to ammonia spiking. Brand new setup a week ago with 5 - 3.5" koi.

 

[jameskoi]

be careful about their fixtures...i just did some quick research and found that they arent UL listed and a lot of the ballast have burned out within a year...and have almost burned down houses...basically it sounds like you get what you pay for...oh and getting a hold of them once you do find their number is "impossible"

Yeah. I don't know much about these lights, except that it has worked for others and some have caught fire too. LOL! I have a very good fixture at home for my reef tank. I would even use a sodium bulb but it's too yellow. Hmm... maybe I'll try it out.. I have a 400watter. It's REALLY bright, that'll make Koi think they're really outdoors forsure. lol Okay.. forget the good MH for now, i'll try out the sodium bulb since I already have it. I'll set it up high enough so koi won't splash it and low enough so i won't see it. That thing is really bright!!


That said, the ones that caught fire maybe of the older models. This newer one is suppose to be electronic ballast. But that doesn't mean it wont' melt or catch fire. At any rate, if it works for a few years, I'll be happy. I doubt the fixture itself would self destruct. I'll be putting the ballast on some bricks on a concrete floor in the basement, so i won't be worried if it does burn. It's so cheap, it's worth a try. I can't believe 250W HQI bulbs cost only $10.

 

[Baraccus]

Hey Koiguy...Filter setup looks great..I've been doing my research and I will definitely be building something similar. My plan is to kinda dig a hole/build up rocks around the filter to conceal it. I plan to you use it as a waterfall too..... I have couple questions though..

Do you put rocks or some sort of lid on the top of the filter??? (to hide it)

You said something about a spillway for your waterfall. Are you mounting something to the outside of the filter to direct the water out of the "shower drain exit" ?

I was wondering about waterflow for the waterfall too...How did you find that happy medium for ...enough waterflow for your waterfall yet slow enough for the filter to work properly. ...I imagine there is some guessing involved. I'm afraid I get 1000gph pump and its either trickling out of the filter or it's shooting out like a firehouse....

Also some pics of how it looks installed would be great....Thanks...BA

 

[Baraccus]

hey ...sorry re-read and you already answered my waterfall spillway Q....:goldfish: I'm a jacka$$

 

[jameskoi]

Yeah. I don't know much about these lights, except that it has worked for others and some have caught fire too. LOL! I have a very good fixture at home for my reef tank. I would even use a sodium bulb but it's too yellow. Hmm... maybe I'll try it out.. I have a 400watter. It's REALLY bright, that'll make Koi think they're really outdoors forsure. lol Okay.. forget the good MH for now, i'll try out the sodium bulb since I already have it. I'll set it up high enough so koi won't splash it and low enough so i won't see it. That thing is really bright!!


That said, the ones that caught fire maybe of the older models. This newer one is suppose to be electronic ballast. But that doesn't mean it wont' melt or catch fire. At any rate, if it works for a few years, I'll be happy. I doubt the fixture itself would self destruct. I'll be putting the ballast on some bricks on a concrete floor in the basement, so i won't be worried if it does burn. It's so cheap, it's worth a try. I can't believe 250W HQI bulbs cost only $10.

Okay... I can scrap the sodium bulb idea. It's only 2000K... :-( LOL!

Probably most economical way is beam eight 4ft T8 lights onto pond. That should be enough light for 'em Koi, I think...

 

[c2c7390]

how high above the pond would these be

 

[jameskoi]

I've been brain storming this idea on and off for a week now. I'm coming close to a final design... Right now, i'm anticipating in building a 11x7x3.5ft (deep) pond built with horizontal 2x6 frames (4 frames in total with 1/2 plywood for backing). So 15x20ft pond liner is required. Inside dimensions would give me about 1300G. I plan to hang the light as low as possible, meanwhile still looking okay to the eye.

I'll start up a new thread about this really soon. As soon as i render some stuff in 3D.