Rocks on the bottom?

[addy1]

koilady, maybe you would like to put your filter instructions in the diy section. There are always ??'s about filters, how to make them etc.

 

[pond maven]

koilady, I agree with addy that you should put your filter info and experience in the diy section. You sound like you have info we could all use at one point or another.

 

[koiguy1969]

koilady...a quick question and a comment...first the question..did your upflow filter have a flush valve assembly on it?
now the comment...i have used the same media in my upflow filters for 4 years now..i move it from my outside pond filter to the basement wintering pond filter in the fall and back outside in the spring...still have yet to clean it, still has yet to show signs of cleaning being needed. i use prefilters and flush my filters once a week or two.my water is always pristine and gin clear...and parameters great. in my opinion a properly built upflow filter is and should be virtually maintainence free. flushing takes less than a minute,and your hands stay dry doing it. but i believe this can be true on any filter thought out,and properly built.

 

[Koilady]

Hi KoiGuy. Yes, some of the filters did have flush valves but the algae was so sticky and slimmy that the flushing didn't do enough to remove the sludge. On the filters that had no flush valves, I had to dump them and I found that 1/3 of the lava rock at the bottom of the filter was just covered in this sticky, slimmy sludge and I can't tell you how long it took me to clean the lava rock of this algae.

So, for me, the upflow bio-filter was a disaster because of all the sludge. Now, with the downflow we are using, I never have to clean the bio-media (plastic scrubbies), the only thing that I have to clean is the window screening at the top of the filter where debris from the bottom of the pond is trapped and is very easily removed. On some of the filters with bottom drains, I just open that drain and flush everything out. The only thing that comes out of the filter is a find brown particulate which I suspect is very normal. I also used to by a product called Crystal Clear to start off my ponds in the spring and found that this product in it's freeze dried form was the same colour as the light brown particulate that is in my filters. I wonder if there is any connection.

Your's Koily, Lorraine

 

[Koilady]

Hi Maven. Yes, I would love to put this filter on the site but I have no clue on how to do that. What I could do though is to send it to someone else and they could put it on the site.
The only trouble I find with this filter is that people don't really understand how it's made and how it works. There is a pipe on the inside of the filter which brings water up to the top and out to the pond and many people forget to put this pipe in or think that it's not important when in actuallity, it's the most important part of the filter because it allows debris to be trapped at the top of the filter.
Also, with this filter you never have to use a chemical to rid your pond of algae or use u.v. lights or barley straw because the colonies in the filter are large enough and strong enough to remove those nutrients/toxins from the water to keep your fish healthy and happy.

Hugs, Lorraine

 

[koiguy1969]

koilady...the lava rock was likely the cause of the problem then.. its a known sludge holder...i use scrubbies myself. and like i said,, my media has been in use 24 / 7 / 365 for 4 years with no cleaning..... well, what works for one may not be ther best choice for another!
***i just saw your filter build..i use different scrubbies than you. but considered that type as well***

 

[addy1]

Hi Maven. Yes, I would love to put this filter on the site but I have no clue on how to do that. What I could do though is to send it to someone else and they could put it on the site.
The only trouble I find with this filter is that people don't really understand how it's made and how it works. There is a pipe on the inside of the filter which brings water up to the top and out to the pond and many people forget to put this pipe in or think that it's not important when in actuallity, it's the most important part of the filter because it allows debris to be trapped at the top of the filter.
Also, with this filter you never have to use a chemical to rid your pond of algae or use u.v. lights or barley straw because the colonies in the filter are large enough and strong enough to remove those nutrients/toxins from the water to keep your fish healthy and happy.

Hugs, Lorraine

POSTED in the diy section for her by me...........

 

[Koilady]

Hi Guy, your right. I think that the more information we can put out in these forums, the better because it gives people a choice.
I know people who have used scrubbies in upflow filters that also become covered in sludge and I would be very interested to know why your's do not become covered.

Do you cover your pump in some way that would stop sludge from forming?

Yours Koily, Lorraine

 

[koiguy1969]

i use large prefilters...filters before the pump that trap 90% + probably of the deris and clean them every week or so...plus i use larger 1&1/2" plumbng inside my filter to lessen the force in which the water swirls in the bottom of the filter, letting the debris that do make it into the filter settle quicker. before rising up into the media. and i dont over pump into the filters either ..1200 gph max.

 

[DrDave]

I use fencing material as media and have no issues with build up due to the efficiency of the vortex action in the bottom.

 

[Koilady]

Hi Dave, the pre-filters make sense as to why your scrubbies don't get sludge on them. With the filter I use, the sludge is trapped at the top of the filter for easy cleaning and I don't have to use so much water to hose the window screening when it becomes covered with sludge.


Yours Koily, Lorraine

 

[DrDave]

I don't use scrubbies or any other filter media, including pre-filters, my design is efficient enough so they are not required.

 

[blessedfamily]

I have rock on the bottom of my pond..have from the get go..no problems yet so I am leaving them. Good luck.

 

[Koilady]

Hey, as long as what you are using works for you, I say stick with it. I'm only going by what I've seen in other peoples ponds in my years in the hobby. I've always said, that the more information out there, the more people can decide and try for themselves what works.

Your's Koily, Lorraine

 

[santanman33]

Natural ponds have rocks, mud, sticks and all kinds of junk on the bottom so you pick! Rocks or no rocks, if you have the right balance of fish, filter and plants, you'll be good to go. Try adding some more plants that will cover the surface and feed off the water: hyacinth, water lettuce, pennywort.....also some underwater guys like anacharis or hornwort will all out-compete your algae and eventually clear your water.
I do have pebbles on the shallower ledges and they're great for stuffing oxygenating plants or clumps of marginal plants; both of which will help clean your water up. The sludge junk that builds up underneath is natural goo so it doesn't bother me. Good luck