My Skippy Filter

[mew5280]

Just wanted you all to know that I had a dream last night that we had torrential rain and it cleared the pond. Unfortunately, it was only a dream but in my dream I was wondering how the rain cleaned the pond.

Maybe I need to do more water changes?

Also, there was foam around the filter, I just read up on this, never seen it before but maybe the algae being "killed off" by the UV is causing extra organic decomposition? Should I turn it off and add more bacteria or barley extract, I just got some.

 

[mew5280]

A small update:

I left the skippy as it was, didn't make it bigger. I hooked up my old Tetra filter to a 900 GPH pump with filter media and quilt batting that I change daily. The water coming out of this filter is very clear and though it's meant to be a bio filter, that's not my intent so I can wash the filters out daily. It's mechanical filtration while the skippy is biological.

I used the UV for one week and then unhooked it as I was getting lots of foam and I have NEVER seen that in my pond and could only see the UV as being the difference. The foam has gone down. We are having VERY unusual weather here, cloudy and rainy for 2 week, expecting another week of this, so no sun which is good to keep algae down.

The water seems a teeny weeny bit clearer but still looks green, but no longer soupy. I can see the fish about 3 inches into the water which is an improvement. I think if I keep up with the filter cleaning, let the skippy alone (btw, I have plants on top of the skippy that should eventually grow nice cleaning roots down into the filter media) and hook up the UV if I notice more algae when/if the sun comes out, I might get some clear water in a some weeks. Not expecting anything quick and will post photos if it gets better.

 

[vertigo72]

(white) foam is usually the result of excessive DOCs (dissolved organic stuff). That can happen when overfeeding, or when starting a new pond with not enough plant growth. I suppose an UV unit killing algae could do that too. Just stick with it, keep it running, let it foam. Better to have some foam temporarily from dead algae while those dead algea are feeding your other plants than live algae competing with your plants for the same DOCs.

If you have a skimmer, it can do wonders to collect the foam, and just skim it off. Or use a fine net. Very good stuff for your non aquatic plants. It should go away eventually by itself.

If you cant wait, you could try a foam fractionator, but they tend to be relatively expensive and not that easy to build yourself.

 

[mew5280]

Thanks Vertigo72. I don't mind the foam, it's not too much, I just was afraid it was a sign of something bad that I needed to take care of immediately. I'll wait until the sun comes out again to put it on.

 

[vertigo72]

Keep the UV running 24/7. Algae dont just die off as the sun sets.
Foam is not per se a sign of anything bad, but I would definately test your water parameters to make sure your biological filters are able to cope with the increased load. Test for ammonia and nitrite. Mass die off of algae can cause spikes in those, and these can kill your fish. Also make sure there is enough oxygen in there.

 

[ocracoke]

My "Twin Peaks Skippy" Filter. I upgraded the pond from one of those fixed liners, to a real liner, doubling the size of the pond. I balked at buying a pump twice the size of the old one. Instead I purchased a second pump the same size as the old one. This does a couple of things, I can place the 2 pumps in a way to help out dead stops in the pond, I can shut one down to clean the prefilter of the pump and not have to worry about the bacteria in the filter, I can use one pump to feed a spitter to control the flow thru the Skippy filter, aka get the correct "hang time" for the water in the filter. The placement of the "twin peaks" to the side of the tub also makes it easier to place the bag of filter material and the filtting of a grid at the bottom.

Too fast of flow and the bacteria can not do their work or you just blow the "crap" you want the bacteria to work on right back into the pond, bascially too much of a good thing.

I went back and installed a bottom drain after the pictures where taken. It is clear to me that the bottom of the filter needs "back flushing" a few times during the season. I don't plan on cleaning the pads.

I also drilled two 1/8 holes, one hole in each tower, just below the water line. This is to break the siphon when the pumps get turned off. We have a lot of "lights" blinking during the summer aka power goes out long enough to empty half the filter. I have not had the holes clog up and I clean/check them with a paper clip every so often. They do create a little current on top of the surface of the water. I open the drain while the pumps are running then quickly turn the pumps off to drain off a few gallons. This helps get the water line below the hole in the towers fast. Turning the pumps off first works, but you get a small backflow until those holes get uncovered. As I say, mine are just under the water line, measured before drilling with the tank filled with clean water and the tank leveled.

Note I used the PVC to create a platform for the bag of green scubs filter material. Each leg has been as an elbow pointing in the same direction. These were glued on with a slight toeing out from the sides of the wall in the bottom of the tub. The tub had a a channel in the bottom and this allowed the 4 feet to set in well in that channel plus giving an angle to allow the water to slightly miss the leg in front of it.