My version of doc bio Filter

[lugger007]

As the title says I decided to build my own version of the doc bio filter. I followed his directions preety much but with a few modifications.

It has been running for about a week now and it total everything cost me about $100.

Any ideas to make it better let me know.

It is sucking air it the line running to the pond so any suggestions on that are welcomed.

-What the inside looks like and general idea. I used a 33 gallon garbage can rather then a 50 gallon drum due to size restrictions.

-outside plumbing showing line in, line out and drain

-area where UV filter is and new bio filter will go

 

[lugger007]

-spider web of plumbing behind waterfall

-doc bio filter filling with plants in it

-another pic of the pond

Thanks for looking

 

[lugger007]

A lesson that I learned tonight regarding my design; is that I forgot to put a union between the out line from the UV filter going into the bio filter. What I learned is when I go to clean the UV filter the water from the bio filter wants to drain to the bottom of the bio filter until the levels are even.

Will need to add a union tomorrow.

 

[koikeepr]

Help us understand what it means when you say it is sucking air. Describe the problem a bit more....

 

[lugger007]

I am able to control the water level in the bio filter with a union that I installed to control the flow and I set it so the water was about 1.5 inches above the out line to the pond.
Well I went out there a day or so ago and noticed the water level is just below the top of the out line and is sucking in air constantly.

You can hear a sucking sound as if you are sucking threw a straw.
I opened the union to full for the water flow and the water level didn't change at all.

I do not know it maybe the uv filter is clogged which I need to clean tomorrow or if there is something else going on.

 

[koikeepr]

I see. Ok. got it.

This means that you still have not found what I call "the sweet spot" setting. What's happening is that the water isn't flowing fast enough INTO your filter as it is exiting. I see you have ball valves in a number of spots in your piping. From the photo, it appears that all your valves are fully open, so what you need to do is play with them until your water enters the barrel a bit quicker than it exits, so you prevent that sucking or draw down.

I don't see the pump in the photo, so I'm assuming you have a submersible. You don't mention what size your pump is, but it appears it's not big enough to push the necessary amount of water into the barrel to keep pace with how fast it is coming out. To fix this, begin pinching back the ball valve that is AFTER the barrel so that water stays in the barrel a longer time and exits more slowly. Move the ball valve in small increments until you see what kind of effect it's having in the barrel. At the point where the sucking stops and you are happy where the water level is, just get a marker and make a mark on the ball valve so you will always remember where your sweet spot is.

Don't get frustrated as this can take some time to figure out. On my pond, I have 8 or 9 ball valves, so every time I turned the knob on one even a fraction, it would affect all my other lines. It literally took me nearly three days of hours of turning to find the sweet spot on all my lines. Luckily, your situation is much simpler.

If your barrel was overflowing, for example, it would be the opposite ball valve you'd need to play with. You'd turn the one BEFORE the barrel lower because this would mean that water is entering it too fast for the exit to keep up.

But you have the reverse problem, in that water is not entering fast enough to keep up with how fast it wants to exit the barrel. So, therefore, if you slow down how fast it exits, then the water will have a longer dwell time in the barrel and will exit more slowly. Then, poof!, no more sucking sound!

Give it a try and let us know what happens. Let me know if I haven't explained it well enough for you to understand.

 

[DrCase]

I would put a tee in your outlet line were it turns down vertically,
And put a vent on the line.
On top of the tee i would have a pipe come straight up to a level about 1" above your filter top..This will let your filter water level stay at about 1/2 of your outlet pipe
I would just reconnect the black line that ties on to the outlet line a little further down
Watch your floating plants so they dont get in front of your filter outlet

 

[lugger007]

Koikeep,
I thought I had found "the sweet spot" over the weekend, but when I got home today and had only 2 inches of water in the 3 foot deep pond I knew I had a problem. Luckily I do have a submersible pump that is sitting on bricks so it did not run the pond dry. I was able to fill her back up in time and only lost 1 baby fish.
I tried adding a ball valve to the out line from the bio filter, but it would not stay in place so I'll have to get a new one tomorrow.

I added a ball valve inside the bio filter to slow the water, see pic below.

Koikeep, your explanations were very helpful and clear thank you.

Drcase,

I followed your instructions for the vent and I put that in tonight also. The water level is staying pretty constant for now. But I will keep a much closer eye on it.

Thanks for all the help and guidance.

Brian

 

[DrCase]

Gravity drains need to breathe !!
Thats why your house has a vent on top

 

[lugger007]

Gravity drains need to breathe !!
Thats why your house has a vent on top

That I did learn the hard way. Trying to find the "sweet spot" now which is a pain

 

[DrCase]

Remember you drum filters incoming water flow is limited to the water it could get rid of at the outlet...Slow down the incoming water ..or add a second outlet and tie your black line to it

 

[koikeepr]

Right, pinch back your pump a bit with a ball valve. You don't pinch back the inlet side of a pump ever (as you can damage it), but you can pinch back the outlet of a pump. My pump is pinched back about 15-20% so that water in the stock tank can successfully exit at the right speed so there is no overflow.