awesome looking filter u built
My first Skippy Filter Ultra 2.0
- Thread starter gustofusion
- Start date
Nice barrel.
Nice barrel.
Q: gusto, got a few questions for you. Have you decided on media? And do you plan to put in a grid of some kind to keep the media from getting into the outlet? Do you think you'll set this on some blocks and install a bottom drain, or just skip that for now?
A: I have made a selection on media and have ordered 3 rolls of this stuff located at Ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/BONDED-FILTER-M...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5cdecda2
I based my choice on media for a few reasons, it’s similar to scrubby pad media with the exception that it’s less dense however from my experience it being less dense does not impact its ability to capture small particles and establish its own beneficial biology.
My plan is to put as much of the 3 rolls into what should be described as nylon mesh laundry bags cut into pieces about 4x4x1 I don't imagine that all 3 rolls that measure 1" x 12" x 10ft will fit in the barrel however with what’s left over Ill keep for future replacement.
As far as a grid in the bottom, I've not yet made my mind up on that, In my opinion the grid "egg crate" is used to keep filter media off and away from the return plumbing,
My water from the pond is indeed coming into the filter from the top and feeding down thru the media, now in a perfect world this would be true but in reality waters going to take the easiest route down... so a majority of water will slide past media never encountering it however over time all water will eventually re-circulate and pass thru the media and bacteria.
Ill, in the future, probably the day my media arrives, put in a 2 inch gate valve at the bottom to flush any sediment out from time to time.
The barrel is under pressure just a touch, I have no way of measuring the pressure but if the lid is removed water would overflow the barrel. My example: if the barrel was full to within 1 inch of the top and the pump was running it would overfill within about 3 minutes or so. So the pressure is not too much. The lid has a really nice seal that keeps any water from leaking out and also has what appears to be a vent cap in the center of the lid that you can screw on and off.
Regarding the bottom flush valve, my thought is because the barrel is curved down Ill install pass thru’s like where my water inlets are and simply aim UP my gate valves to avoid having to put the barrel up on blocks. The water should be under just enough pressure when purging debris out of the gate valve that it pointing up shouldn’t matter.
I got the idea of putting media in nylon laundry bags from somewhere online from reading various How-To’s, seems like a good idea when it comes time to rinse filters from time to time. I believe that its ok to rinse media occasionally to remove the bulk of contaminants and also believe that bacteria will remain to continue its purpose.
The concrete pond was straight forward in design in that I didn’t want to break the bank and that my previous pond was constructed with a pond liner. My placement is under oak trees here in central Florida and the trees are ALWAYS trickling leaves into the water.
Back to the pond, I poured areas of concrete as the floor of the pond each day maybe 6-8 bags per day, small areas that I could level and screed smooth and the following day I would do the same until I had the floor completed. Then I laid in the traditional way concrete blocks 4x8x16 around the perimeter of the pond making sure I was nice and level all the way around. I didn’t want the pond when filled to be near overflowing at one end while being low on the other so I took some time to make sure things were level.
I went 2 courses high and overlapped blocks when laying them because when i was completed I poured all the cells with concrete. When all wad cured I took a rubber float and mortar mix and gave the surface a smooth sanded finish and when looking at it completed you have no indication at all that is a block construction I simply appears as solid concrete.
I filled the pond to check for leaks and there were none, let the water sit in the pond plenty of time so any leeching that might take place would then drained the pond. Then rinsed it really good as well as rinsing the river rock I put in the bottom. Next i filled the pond and let it set a few weeks before putting in fish. BTW: concrete gets harder the longer it takes to cure and keeping it wet while it cures makes it take longer to cure so its pretty hard and pretty cured... :lol: All the walls are backfilled with 4-6 inches of leftover concrete from each days pours so I’m pretty confident the walls are there to stay no rebar or wirs of any type Its only 16 inches in height.
I figured the pond is for me to enjoy not the fish to enjoy I didn’t want it really deep I wanted it so I could easily see the fish everywhere, Don’t want to sound like an Ahole here I do care for the fish and want them to be healthy "but" I still wanna see them rather than have to search for them in the deep, My previous pond had some deep spots and they really love to hide out there.
I got the barrel at a local hardware store they had about 40-50 like this one that came from a food supplier, mine had Italian peppers in it, some has tomato sauce, and other foot stuff. I cleaned it out really well before putting it into the mix. Got a good price on it $30.00 and figure it will last a dozen years or more.
Here’s a video of the pond in its early stage, now we have lots of plants and lilies.
[ame]
A: I have made a selection on media and have ordered 3 rolls of this stuff located at Ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/BONDED-FILTER-M...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5cdecda2
I based my choice on media for a few reasons, it’s similar to scrubby pad media with the exception that it’s less dense however from my experience it being less dense does not impact its ability to capture small particles and establish its own beneficial biology.
My plan is to put as much of the 3 rolls into what should be described as nylon mesh laundry bags cut into pieces about 4x4x1 I don't imagine that all 3 rolls that measure 1" x 12" x 10ft will fit in the barrel however with what’s left over Ill keep for future replacement.
As far as a grid in the bottom, I've not yet made my mind up on that, In my opinion the grid "egg crate" is used to keep filter media off and away from the return plumbing,
My water from the pond is indeed coming into the filter from the top and feeding down thru the media, now in a perfect world this would be true but in reality waters going to take the easiest route down... so a majority of water will slide past media never encountering it however over time all water will eventually re-circulate and pass thru the media and bacteria.
Ill, in the future, probably the day my media arrives, put in a 2 inch gate valve at the bottom to flush any sediment out from time to time.
The barrel is under pressure just a touch, I have no way of measuring the pressure but if the lid is removed water would overflow the barrel. My example: if the barrel was full to within 1 inch of the top and the pump was running it would overfill within about 3 minutes or so. So the pressure is not too much. The lid has a really nice seal that keeps any water from leaking out and also has what appears to be a vent cap in the center of the lid that you can screw on and off.
Regarding the bottom flush valve, my thought is because the barrel is curved down Ill install pass thru’s like where my water inlets are and simply aim UP my gate valves to avoid having to put the barrel up on blocks. The water should be under just enough pressure when purging debris out of the gate valve that it pointing up shouldn’t matter.
I got the idea of putting media in nylon laundry bags from somewhere online from reading various How-To’s, seems like a good idea when it comes time to rinse filters from time to time. I believe that its ok to rinse media occasionally to remove the bulk of contaminants and also believe that bacteria will remain to continue its purpose.
The concrete pond was straight forward in design in that I didn’t want to break the bank and that my previous pond was constructed with a pond liner. My placement is under oak trees here in central Florida and the trees are ALWAYS trickling leaves into the water.
Back to the pond, I poured areas of concrete as the floor of the pond each day maybe 6-8 bags per day, small areas that I could level and screed smooth and the following day I would do the same until I had the floor completed. Then I laid in the traditional way concrete blocks 4x8x16 around the perimeter of the pond making sure I was nice and level all the way around. I didn’t want the pond when filled to be near overflowing at one end while being low on the other so I took some time to make sure things were level.
I went 2 courses high and overlapped blocks when laying them because when i was completed I poured all the cells with concrete. When all wad cured I took a rubber float and mortar mix and gave the surface a smooth sanded finish and when looking at it completed you have no indication at all that is a block construction I simply appears as solid concrete.
I filled the pond to check for leaks and there were none, let the water sit in the pond plenty of time so any leeching that might take place would then drained the pond. Then rinsed it really good as well as rinsing the river rock I put in the bottom. Next i filled the pond and let it set a few weeks before putting in fish. BTW: concrete gets harder the longer it takes to cure and keeping it wet while it cures makes it take longer to cure so its pretty hard and pretty cured... :lol: All the walls are backfilled with 4-6 inches of leftover concrete from each days pours so I’m pretty confident the walls are there to stay no rebar or wirs of any type Its only 16 inches in height.
I figured the pond is for me to enjoy not the fish to enjoy I didn’t want it really deep I wanted it so I could easily see the fish everywhere, Don’t want to sound like an Ahole here I do care for the fish and want them to be healthy "but" I still wanna see them rather than have to search for them in the deep, My previous pond had some deep spots and they really love to hide out there.
I got the barrel at a local hardware store they had about 40-50 like this one that came from a food supplier, mine had Italian peppers in it, some has tomato sauce, and other foot stuff. I cleaned it out really well before putting it into the mix. Got a good price on it $30.00 and figure it will last a dozen years or more.
Here’s a video of the pond in its early stage, now we have lots of plants and lilies.
[ame]
Q: gusto, got a few questions for you. Have you decided on media? And do you plan to put in a grid of some kind to keep the media from getting into the outlet? Do you think you'll set this on some blocks and install a bottom drain, or just skip that for now?
A: I have made a selection on media and have ordered 3 rolls of this stuff located at Ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/BONDED-FILTER-M...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5cdecda2
I based my choice on media for a few reasons, it’s similar to scrubby pad media with the exception that it’s less dense however from my experience it being less dense does not impact its ability to capture small particles and establish its own beneficial biology.
My plan is to put as much of the 3 rolls into what should be described as nylon mesh laundry bags cut into pieces about 4x4x1 I don't imagine that all 3 rolls that measure 1" x 12" x 10ft will fit in the barrel however with what’s left over Ill keep for future replacement.
As far as a grid in the bottom, I've not yet made my mind up on that, In my opinion the grid "egg crate" is used to keep filter media off and away from the return plumbing,
My water from the pond is indeed coming into the filter from the top and feeding down thru the media, now in a perfect world this would be true but in reality waters going to take the easiest route down... so a majority of water will slide past media never encountering it however over time all water will eventually re-circulate and pass thru the media and bacteria.
Ill, in the future, probably the day my media arrives, put in a 2 inch gate valve at the bottom to flush any sediment out from time to time.
The barrel is under pressure just a touch, I have no way of measuring the pressure but if the lid is removed water would overflow the barrel. My example: if the barrel was full to within 1 inch of the top and the pump was running it would overfill within about 3 minutes or so. So the pressure is not too much. The lid has a really nice seal that keeps any water from leaking out and also has what appears to be a vent cap in the center of the lid that you can screw on and off.
Regarding the bottom flush valve, my thought is because the barrel is curved down Ill install pass thru’s like where my water inlets are and simply aim UP my gate valves to avoid having to put the barrel up on blocks. The water should be under just enough pressure when purging debris out of the gate valve that it pointing up shouldn’t matter.
I got the idea of putting media in nylon laundry bags from somewhere online from reading various How-To’s, seems like a good idea when it comes time to rinse filters from time to time. I believe that its ok to rinse media occasionally to remove the bulk of contaminants and also believe that bacteria will remain to continue its purpose.
The concrete pond was straight forward in design in that I didn’t want to break the bank and that my previous pond was constructed with a pond liner. My placement is under oak trees here in central Florida and the trees are ALWAYS trickling leaves into the water.
Back to the pond, I poured areas of concrete as the floor of the pond each day maybe 6-8 bags per day, small areas that I could level and screed smooth and the following day I would do the same until I had the floor completed. Then I laid in the traditional way concrete blocks 4x8x16 around the perimeter of the pond making sure I was nice and level all the way around. I didn’t want the pond when filled to be near overflowing at one end while being low on the other so I took some time to make sure things were level.
I went 2 courses high and overlapped blocks when laying them because when i was completed I poured all the cells with concrete. When all wad cured I took a rubber float and mortar mix and gave the surface a smooth sanded finish and when looking at it completed you have no indication at all that is a block construction I simply appears as solid concrete.
I filled the pond to check for leaks and there were none, let the water sit in the pond plenty of time so any leeching that might take place would then drained the pond. Then rinsed it really good as well as rinsing the river rock I put in the bottom. Next i filled the pond and let it set a few weeks before putting in fish. BTW: concrete gets harder the longer it takes to cure and keeping it wet while it cures makes it take longer to cure so its pretty hard and pretty cured... :lol: All the walls are backfilled with 4-6 inches of leftover concrete from each days pours so I’m pretty confident the walls are there to stay no rebar or wirs of any type Its only 16 inches in height.
I figured the pond is for me to enjoy not the fish to enjoy I didn’t want it really deep I wanted it so I could easily see the fish everywhere, Don’t want to sound like an Ahole here I do care for the fish and want them to be healthy "but" I still wanna see them rather than have to search for them in the deep, My previous pond had some deep spots and they really love to hide out there.
I got the barrel at a local hardware store they had about 40-50 like this one that came from a food supplier, mine had Italian peppers in it, some has tomato sauce, and other foot stuff. I cleaned it out really well before putting it into the mix. Got a good price on it $30.00 and figure it will last a dozen years or more.
Here’s a video of the pond in its early stage, now we have lots of plants and lilies.
[ame]
A: I have made a selection on media and have ordered 3 rolls of this stuff located at Ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/BONDED-FILTER-M...tem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3a5cdecda2
I based my choice on media for a few reasons, it’s similar to scrubby pad media with the exception that it’s less dense however from my experience it being less dense does not impact its ability to capture small particles and establish its own beneficial biology.
My plan is to put as much of the 3 rolls into what should be described as nylon mesh laundry bags cut into pieces about 4x4x1 I don't imagine that all 3 rolls that measure 1" x 12" x 10ft will fit in the barrel however with what’s left over Ill keep for future replacement.
As far as a grid in the bottom, I've not yet made my mind up on that, In my opinion the grid "egg crate" is used to keep filter media off and away from the return plumbing,
My water from the pond is indeed coming into the filter from the top and feeding down thru the media, now in a perfect world this would be true but in reality waters going to take the easiest route down... so a majority of water will slide past media never encountering it however over time all water will eventually re-circulate and pass thru the media and bacteria.
Ill, in the future, probably the day my media arrives, put in a 2 inch gate valve at the bottom to flush any sediment out from time to time.
The barrel is under pressure just a touch, I have no way of measuring the pressure but if the lid is removed water would overflow the barrel. My example: if the barrel was full to within 1 inch of the top and the pump was running it would overfill within about 3 minutes or so. So the pressure is not too much. The lid has a really nice seal that keeps any water from leaking out and also has what appears to be a vent cap in the center of the lid that you can screw on and off.
Regarding the bottom flush valve, my thought is because the barrel is curved down Ill install pass thru’s like where my water inlets are and simply aim UP my gate valves to avoid having to put the barrel up on blocks. The water should be under just enough pressure when purging debris out of the gate valve that it pointing up shouldn’t matter.
I got the idea of putting media in nylon laundry bags from somewhere online from reading various How-To’s, seems like a good idea when it comes time to rinse filters from time to time. I believe that its ok to rinse media occasionally to remove the bulk of contaminants and also believe that bacteria will remain to continue its purpose.
The concrete pond was straight forward in design in that I didn’t want to break the bank and that my previous pond was constructed with a pond liner. My placement is under oak trees here in central Florida and the trees are ALWAYS trickling leaves into the water.
Back to the pond, I poured areas of concrete as the floor of the pond each day maybe 6-8 bags per day, small areas that I could level and screed smooth and the following day I would do the same until I had the floor completed. Then I laid in the traditional way concrete blocks 4x8x16 around the perimeter of the pond making sure I was nice and level all the way around. I didn’t want the pond when filled to be near overflowing at one end while being low on the other so I took some time to make sure things were level.
I went 2 courses high and overlapped blocks when laying them because when i was completed I poured all the cells with concrete. When all wad cured I took a rubber float and mortar mix and gave the surface a smooth sanded finish and when looking at it completed you have no indication at all that is a block construction I simply appears as solid concrete.
I filled the pond to check for leaks and there were none, let the water sit in the pond plenty of time so any leeching that might take place would then drained the pond. Then rinsed it really good as well as rinsing the river rock I put in the bottom. Next i filled the pond and let it set a few weeks before putting in fish. BTW: concrete gets harder the longer it takes to cure and keeping it wet while it cures makes it take longer to cure so its pretty hard and pretty cured... :lol: All the walls are backfilled with 4-6 inches of leftover concrete from each days pours so I’m pretty confident the walls are there to stay no rebar or wirs of any type Its only 16 inches in height.
I figured the pond is for me to enjoy not the fish to enjoy I didn’t want it really deep I wanted it so I could easily see the fish everywhere, Don’t want to sound like an Ahole here I do care for the fish and want them to be healthy "but" I still wanna see them rather than have to search for them in the deep, My previous pond had some deep spots and they really love to hide out there.
I got the barrel at a local hardware store they had about 40-50 like this one that came from a food supplier, mine had Italian peppers in it, some has tomato sauce, and other foot stuff. I cleaned it out really well before putting it into the mix. Got a good price on it $30.00 and figure it will last a dozen years or more.
Here’s a video of the pond in its early stage, now we have lots of plants and lilies.
[ame]
Didn't you post this same video a few days ago?
Didn't you post this same video a few days ago?
yes but in a seperate posr, Just added it here seemed appropriate to show the concrete
yes but in a seperate posr, Just added it here seemed appropriate to show the concrete
I've actually found more filter media That I Orderd in addition to the other I ordered, Its the more firm media that works well with the shippy type filters, Found a good deal online at ebat, heres a link for anyone interested. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230500952587