Stainless Steel Koi Shower Filter / Trickle Filter
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- Опубліковано 21 лип 2016
- Click 'SHOW MORE' for full video description, links to gear featured in the video, other associated videos and time stamps - Watch in HD.
This video explains how a shower filter works and also talks through some of the suitable shower filter media. Although shower filters have been used for many years by Japanese koi keepers / growers they are relatively underused in other countries and that is a shame as they are extremely effective filters.
Obviously there are a nation of different filter media types which could be used for making a shower filter and I highlight only a few here. See video description for links to other related videos on filtration as well as 'how to' videos on pond building.
FACEBOOK PAGE: / globalkoi
UA-cam: / @globalkoi1607
TIME STAMPS:
00:10 Introduction
03:10 How to set up the shower filter and how it works
10:57 Types of shower filter media
16:35 Plastic media and summary
FEATURED MEDIA LINKS:
Crystal bio: geni.us/FgO8rN
Alfagrog: geni.us/Il899
Pumice filter media: filterpro.co.uk/
Biohome filter media: filterpro.co.uk/
USEFUL VIDEOS:
How to make a DIY shower filter: • DIY Shower / Trickle F...
How to build a koi pond: • How to Build a Koi Pon...
How to make a fish pond: • How to Build a Fish Po...
How to make a raised wooden fish pond: • How to build a raised ...
How to make a wildlife pond: • How to Build a Wildlif...
FILMING EQUIPMENT:
Panasonic HC-VX870 HD camcorder geni.us/3UwE
+Rode stereo microphone: geni.us/4OL
+Rode 'deadcat' mic cover: geni.us/1pmn
JVC Everio quad proof HD camcorder: geni.us/e09e
+Rode 'deadcat' mic cover (opened up and held between tripod and camera base) geni.us/dee24
Zomei Z666 tripod: geni.us/1a1af3
Manfrotto MTPIXI-B PIXI mini tripod: geni.us/87f7
If you've enjoyed this video please check out the playlists on my channel for hundreds more - on a variety of subjects.
Feel free to share or link any of my videos on facebook, twitter, forums etc. for the benefit of anyone you think may also enjoy watching.
See you next time.
Pondguru - Розваги
Great video and very instructive, would like a shower on my pond so this has been very helpful. 👍
been watching u for years... another great video Pondguru... l've learned so much from watching your videos... thanks for sharing...
fantastic video!!
Very cool.. I love the sound it makes.. lovely. I guess I need a bigger pond for that one. It's a really cool idea. I've never seen that style.
Although I have been in the aquatics trade for over 20 years it is really in the last 2 years that I have been made aware of the usefulness of shower filters.
I was wonderng.. at the lake I hiked around the other day there is a big drain like box about 4 meters off shore. It's like a cement box and the water flows into it. Is that actaully a filter? The pond is spring fed so why would it need that anyway. Just curious. Any ideas?
It could simply be an overflow or if it has screens on it then it could be there to prevent native / non-native fish which may have been stocked there getting into other bodies of water?
Oh that's interesting.. I learn so much from you. I canoe close to it and it does look like a over flow..of some sort. Or a fish-keep-outer!
Great video mate. I used your DIY method using plastic boxes for additional filtration. My basic setup is pump > oase filtoclear > trickle filter. I used Lava-rock as the media as I got a good deal. The filtoclear does a good enough job but my koi are now getting quite big and producing a lot of waste. After running for 2 weeks all my water parameters are perfect, and not sure how but my PH is now stable @ 7.5 . Usually my PH would swing between 8 - 8.5 depending on time of the day, but now its completely stable at 7.5. Cheers m8. I even managed to box it in with bamboo sheets. cant even see it
Sounds like a great set up as the filtoclear will do a good job of removing the muck while the shower gets to work on the biological side of things. I think the lava rock may have a buffering effect with it being new but not too sure about that - good to hear the pH is stable as that can really knacker the fish if it bounces. A pH of 8.5 is very high so 7.5 is much better for them.
Great video again my friend..!!
No worries, man.
SP guns i
Good work guru.
Glad you enjoyed the video, man.
Nice
good info, that thing is a beast!
agreed
It is a vision of beauty compared to the black box filters, that's for sure.
Very interesting..Thanks..
Glad you enjoyed the video.
I love this shower filter. I am wondering if you have done a video on how to maintain and clean the filter.
Not yet but I will probably do a 'strip down' video at the end of the year as i am incorporating the shower filter(s) I have into a much larger filter system. If the water is cleaned prior to entering the shower filter (e.g. by a pressure filter) the shower will never need cleaning.
oh cool this is awsome
yeah same here I have a 1m by 50cm trickle tower full of alfa grog on my skimmer turning pond over every hour.
so long as you have a good pre filter grog don't clog.
I was just talking to a mate yesterday about grog and we both reckon it is a criminally underused media which is more useful than many people think. Maybe they are put off by the very low price but the value has to place it top of the pile. Its one of the few media types which can still be effective in a traditional static box filter too since it has such low porosity (usually around 25%) that it doesn't matter if its is sitting in muck.
The low porosity is a down side if you're looking to reduce nitrate but it is a great way to fill a shower very cheaply and rapidly process the ammonia and nitrite.
For more effective media types (biohome and white pumice) they really do need to be operating in clean water to be most effective as they rely on their high porosity to support the anaerobic bacteria necessary for reducing the nitrate.
It would be interesting to see a really slow flow trickle filter filled with grog and what (if anything) it does for the nitrate level as the water should be quite de-oxygenated by the time it gets right through the filter. I may experiment by having grog in the large filter I will be building later this year.
Please see our blog at www.globalkoi.co.uk/category/blog/ for more information on the shower filter system.
Love your vids I have a fibre glass pond1200 litres I use the oase 12000 filter clear but it seems to struggle to keep water clear. What can I use to accompany my set up to keep water clear.
Good video Richard, Many thanks
You asked why they are not very popular?
Well you need a good, easy to clean mechanical filter before a shower filter as
It's no good having any solids getting to the media. This just clogs the whole thing up.
It's ok having the top tray with filter sponges and/or brushes which works very well but the cleaning!!
At least once a week in summer months, sponges and brushes out, pressure-washer on, cleaning each one in turn, not for me anymore after 10 years of it, fingers crossed.
Iv just come away from all this and using a Nexus as a mechanical filter first (nice and easy to clean) then into a Biotype media filter before returning back to pond.
Iv had to raise the nexis above the input of the Biofilter which is only 2ft which is another problem of shower filters, they are top fill of Course.
So far so good with mine, time will tell, but will be incontact with you soon for some more media
Thanks again
Yes the Nexus / shower filter combo is mentioned a couple of times in this video as that would be the perfect set up for exactly the reasons you outline here. Most people have Nexus filters as gravity fed so would have the pump after the Nexus making it easy to pump water up to a shower filter. On a smaller scale a decent pressure filter (e.g. Oase Filtoclear) could be used as the mechanical and UV filtration followed by a shower filter.
Cleaning out a good quality pressure filter or Nexus filter would be much less time consuming than cleaning out the foams in the top of a shower filter, plus it would free up that top section for more biological media too.
I've just built a shower filter with pumice that I bought from you. I've built it in a 120ltr wheely bin and it has about 35 - 40 kg of pumice in it. My water is first past through a barrel filter that has course, medium and then fine foams on top of the cheap plastic tube type media. I'm using this as a purely mechanical filter before the water goes to the shower. After two weeks my water clarity has improved tremendously but I dont seem to have that much improvement on the chemical quality of the water. Probably a bit too soon for anything to happen. I've searched high and low to try and find a comparison video for shower vs bakki river and havent been able to find anything. Could you please explain the pro's and con's of each? Is a Bakki river better than a shower filter?
A very good filter for ponds.
Ive added a Seive prefilter ( kinshi sieve 5 )
and then Ive filled mine with AquaKing, Bacteria House.
I think it works just great with the water quality.
The disadvantages are.
it produces alot of foam, maybe its because I feed ALOT at this time of summer.
it is pretty noisy, so if you cant hide and shield it, it can be annoying.
I have not added foam, to improve the mechanical filtration, but I will soon, since the Sieve doesnt filter the water perfectly..
Sounds like a decent set up. The foam will be caused by too much protein in the water (from fish food) thickening the water surface and preventing bubbles popping properly. That can also prevent proper gaseous exchange between water and atmosphere so it may be adding a treatment to reduce foam.
What is the nitrate like with that set up?
Its an ok setup for now, I also have a small tornado protein skimmer and Ive added a bubble catch at the inlet on the pond from the bakki, so I dont get to much bubbles out in the water.
- also, I got a surface skimmer so I reduce the bubbles on the surface by "sucking" them away.
Also Ive added a 4 meter long stream filled with Lava stone to get some extra filtration.
I do agree that the massive feeding will produce more protein in the water, but its summer and its short, so, they will need the food this time a year to grow and prepare for the long winter..
But, after wathing this video, Ive notice you talked about "white pumice"
- and the good thing was it should have PH 8, I cant really find alot of information of this produkt, and by that having a hard time finding the "danish word" for it, if I want to add it to my bakki.
The long lava stone stream sounds like a good idea.
The pumice is simply white lava stone and both the brown and white varieties are pumice, just one is generally called 'lava rock' and the other is called pumice - very strange.
The biggest seller of pumice unfortunately calls it something else and never confirms that what they sell is pumice (since they sell it at a sky-high price) but Seachem Matrix is basically a mediocre quality pumice - somewhere between the true white pumice and the brown pumice. Many pieces are very dense and useless but the majority of it is OK.
Therefore if you want to check out pumice try reading up on Seachem Matrix. They also do something called 'denitrate' which is a better quality pumice unfortunately crushed way too small.
I use lava rock in ever type of filter I own. in my koi pond and aquariums. it is very effective and inexpensive. I have pre filters ”quilt batting" to catch everything before it gets to the lava rock.
Lava rock is a decent filter media so you won't get any argument from me about using it.
Another great video.
I have two questions if you don't mind.
Do the inner pores clog up eventually on the better media you mention and if so would it have to be thrown away, i seem to remember from when i kept tropical fish that siporax never blocked up over the years i used it but it was thin walled sintered glass tubes.
I don't heat my pond and I'm concerned about this system chilling the water too much, do you think this could be an issue? I'm from Doncaster so don't get the warmest weather but not quite so cold as you probably get.
Ideally the pump would be moved to where the water pours back into a pond in the winter (when using any filter) as that will cut down the chilling effect. Yes all good media will eventually become clogged including siporax. The pores clog up and then it basically becomes useful only as a tube or pellet depending on what media is used with minimal outer surface area. Alfagrog is probably the best for a dirty environment due to its shape but more porous media like biohome and white pumice can be highly effective as long as they have good mechanical filtration before them to clean the water.
Click 'SHOW MORE' for full video description, links to gear featured in the video, other associated videos and time stamps - Watch in HD.
This video explains how a shower filter works and also talks through some of the suitable shower filter media. Although shower filters have been used for many years by Japanese koi keepers / growers they are relatively underused in other countries and that is a shame as they are extremely effective filters.
Obviously there are a nation of different filter media types which could be used for making a shower filter and I highlight only a few here. See video description for links to other related videos on filtration as well as 'how to' videos on pond building.
FACEBOOK PAGE: facebook.com/globalkoi/
UA-cam: ua-cam.com/channels/vHAZ0XK8z9c3YxE-tb5LlQ.html
TIME STAMPS:
00:10 Introduction
03:10 How to set up the shower filter and how it works
10:57 Types of shower filter media
16:35 Plastic media and summary
FEATURED MEDIA LINKS:
Crystal bio: geni.us/FgO8rN
Alfagrog: geni.us/Il899
Pumice filter media: filterpro.co.uk/
Biohome filter media: filterpro.co.uk/
USEFUL VIDEOS:
How to make a DIY shower filter: ua-cam.com/video/7eyoDB91Ps4/v-deo.html
How to build a koi pond: ua-cam.com/video/89KxdMPtla8/v-deo.html
How to make a fish pond: ua-cam.com/video/L63k5iZr42Q/v-deo.html
How to make a raised wooden fish pond: ua-cam.com/video/m2YkzoIx-cU/v-deo.html
How to make a wildlife pond: ua-cam.com/video/D8yY50brPvA/v-deo.html
FILMING EQUIPMENT:
Panasonic HC-VX870 HD camcorder geni.us/3UwE
+Rode stereo microphone: geni.us/4OL
+Rode 'deadcat' mic cover: geni.us/1pmn
JVC Everio quad proof HD camcorder: geni.us/e09e
+Rode 'deadcat' mic cover (opened up and held between tripod and camera base) geni.us/dee24
Zomei Z666 tripod: geni.us/1a1af3
Manfrotto MTPIXI-B PIXI mini tripod: geni.us/87f7
If you've enjoyed this video please check out the playlists on my channel for hundreds more - on a variety of subjects.
Feel free to share or link any of my videos on facebook, twitter, forums etc. for the benefit of anyone you think may also enjoy watching.
See you next time.
Pondguru
Duterrte
Hi I have a 3000 gal pound and I have 3filters trying to keep the water clean with minimal susses if I add a shower filters do you think that would help.
Learned a good bit here, thanks. My Trickle Filter is doing a amazing job, have 5 layers.. I turn the pump off and the water still comes out after 20 secs.
Excellent job and they definitely do great work on ammonia and nitrite (and nitrate under the right conditions)
Would this system be also good for aeration?
Yes rapidly falling water will mix with air but if the flow was very limited it would probably have a de-oxygenating effect (due to bacterial action using up dissolved oxygen)
Ah never would of thought of that. The more i learn, the less i know. I'm getting there though :)
We are all learning and every time I see a different container or material which sould be used for mechanical / biological filtration I'm running through all the filtration possibilities in my mind, lol
The best filter system is a bakki shower after a drum filter. I would not recommend pumping straight over a shower with no pre-filter. I know that is what Momotaro koi does but there are reasons why they can and we can't.
Adam
Yes I'm with you there and that is why I mentioned that a couple of times in the video.
im british but living in the philippines , all i can find here for the filter media is Lava rock , is that ok ?
What is this like to clean out
would appreciate some advice. i have a 100.000 ltr pond. the water is turning green with algae i guess. what kind of system will i need to process the pond. will i need a UV system or will the trickle filter system work just fine? how big a system a trickle filter system will be required and at what flow rate? cheers
You would need a nation of UV light to kill that off and keep it clear and it may take around 300w of UV to kill the algae for a 100,000 litre pond. The UV lights would be (inline) before the trickle filter and the trickle filter would need to hold around 200kg of pumice - flow rate of 20.000 - 30.000 litres per hour as a rough guide.
Have you heard of roto concept shower filter made by Koi Logic in essex
Yes, I may have seen one at my local koi dealer and they look nice - the same effect can be achieved with a 45 gallon drum and spray bar though, lol
A bit like the Nexus filters in the form over function angle but if a filter looked DIY or awful people wouldn't buy them.
I really like the good looking filters as everything is there to do a specific job, neatly laid out with easy clean facilities - it would certainly appease most wives having a ready made good looking filter instead of a few random 45 gallon drums with a mess of pipes connecting them so I can see why they are popular.
The trouble with pours media is it soon gets blocked up despite the mechanical filtering in the top section due to algae etc. I bet you don't get that flow rate in 6 months time and then all the faffing about empting the containers and washing everything out. I prefer plastic media like Kaldnes in a moving bed which is maintenance free. Also it looks like this filter has to be fixed in a high profile position over the water as I can't see any overflow system for when it blocks. Another interesting video thanks.
Yes as I mentioned in the video the perfect solution would be top have a nexus filter doing the mechanical and nitrification followed by the shower filter (operating in clean water) to do the denitrification.
In that situation it would be almost maintenance free as there would be no need for any sponges in the shower filter.
Thanks for responding to so many of our comments it does make it more interesting and worth while posting.
No problem, I genuinely like to see comments which add to the information in any video, question it or disagree with it as that encourages me to think more and investigate other options and solutions to potential problems.
golbal koi link doesnt work mate u may want to check it out
Thanks for that - looks like they have let the website lapse but the facebook link works so I left that one up.
Can you have Koi fish tank indoors? if yes what would you recommend? size, etc.
I'd say no as they are really a cold water fish which need excellent water quality to grow properly as well as lots of space.
interesting lecture on pond chemistry . where does the water come from to fill that big pond . do animals or birds of prey try to steal a fish or two. those water filters are they like filters used for human consumption. is pumice natural or man made. thank you for sharing.
The pond is spring fed and yes there are plenty of predators which have taking fish over the years including heron, mink, otter, cormorant and goosander. The only thing I don't mind eating the fish is the kingfisher as it only takes the fry. Mostly this type of filter would be seen in koi farms. Pumice is a natural volcanic rock.
thank you sir: on nova the kingfish bird can attack larger birds like ravens when threatened .
They are feisty little birds, that's for sure.
great video thanks for sharing.
Any thoughts on pumice vs alfagrog? also have you ever used seachem 'matrix'
Alfagrog is a great choice for budget filters or in situations where the water may not be perfectly clean but a good quality pumice will outperform Alfagrog in clear water conditions due to the better internal structure which enable it to support a better balance of aerobic / anaerobic bacteria.
As far as I can tell matrix is a mid range pumice.....
+Pondguru Outdoors cheers for the info
What pump did you use?
I wish you could send me that bakki lol!
Não tem problema ser de metal?? Não só por enferrujar mas também por mudar algumas propriedades da água??
Aline, é feito de aço inox, não enferruja nem altera as propriedades da água.
Hi mate I need your advice , I need you to design it for me I am willing to pay for your time , I just started to build my koi pond done the digging, it’s about 3 meter by 3 meter and 7ft deep 4ft below and 3ft above ground, should hold about 8000 Galen of water , I want the best filter system, I am thinking of using the drum filter combined with the Stainless Steel Koi Shower Filter / Trickle Filter, but I can’t find the link for the Bakki Shower,
personally I don't use one because you get quite a lot of noise and you need a really strong pump with a good head pressure which would also mean high electric bill could you dampen the noise by putting a layer of Japanese matting on the top of each tray
Daniel Merrell hi mate. I've seen a video on you tube called koi and morning coffee where a bloke has built a bamboo shed round his tower. hope that helps.
Also, I know you are busy, but could you talk about the nexus filters. I heard you mention them in this video and see some people using them, but I'm not completely sure how the filter exactly works and whether it is worth the money. Just a simple description video would be fine, but I know you are busy, so I understand if you can't.
I will do that at some point. Not sure if I have run through that on one of my koi pond building videos as they were uploaded ages ago but having a proper video showing how they work and what users can expect from them would be a great idea. I will try to shoot it at a pond store where I know the owners very well. I'm intending to go up and video their tropical set up anyway if they're open to that and I'm sure a mention in one of the pond videos wouldn't be something they'd shun.
Dont you think the pump should be farther away from the return flow ?
The main pong pump sits well behind the one for this shower and pumps water around flowing past the outflow for the shower filter so water is constantly moving away from the shower filter pump. Ordinarily the pump supplying a filter would be at the furthest point from the filter outlet so you're right there.
I want to add a uv filter to my pond to clear the algae, but am worried about it killing the friendly bacteria with it..can you give me any advice please
As long as UV is turned off for a couple of weeks on new filter system the bacteria will build up fine inside the filter and if your system is already mature you can add a UV no problem and leave it on 24/7 - your filter will hold all the necessary bacteria to process the ammonia, nitrite (and nitrate - under the right conditions) in the filter media.
thanks for the quick response and advice, cheers mate :)
Hi, I'd like some help. My country contains little information about Shower Filter, could it inform if before the shower filter I need to put another filter to retain the smaller particles or the shower filter can get the smaller particles of the fish? Thanks a lot for the help.
If you can fit a pressure filter before the shower filter that will do an excellent job of making the water clear allowing you to fill the shower up with only media (and maybe a fine pad on the very top)
shower fiter can not filter water? my idea and use the shower filter to filter water and then go through bacteria media, you think it possible to use the shower filter to filter water as I would like. thank you
Yes it can mechanically clean the water as long as you have foams and fine pad in the top section no problem.
Thank you so much for your time to help. thank you
another plant question, what is the elephant ear-like plant to the left of the filter at the end?
It is called Umbrella Plant, here is a link to the Wiki page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darmera
Thank you, I thought it might have been commonly called that, but papyrus plants are called that also. Just one reason I like scientific names better, lol, less confusion
I think you could filter your pond with enough money. You just need the commercial grade sand filters and large pumps they use for big public aquariums.
I spend enough money on my hobbies and I reckon my wife would kill me if I constructed some sort of mini-treatment plant for the pond although I did have plans drawn at one point for an awesome filter.
when are you going to make another metal detecting video also are you going to do a video with deep digger dan
Metal detecting videos are way down on my list of priorities as my work is extremely busy and I get very little time. Each detecting video takes many hours to shoot and edit so I have to have free time to make them.
Hopefully in a couple of weeks I will be going to a good coin shooting site as the landowner has been on the phone asking me to hunt there again.
I'll probably get time to hunt with other people as time goes on as I feel bad when I turn down their invitations due to lack of time and there are some really nice genuine guys on the list so it would be great to get out with them.
The guy you mentioned is not on the list.
Great filter. As you said about second hand media, what price would you sell for? I'd be interested.
I have a local guy wanting me to make a large trickle filter for his pond and I should be seeing him this coming week. If he wants to go for pumice I'll use this but he was talking about alfagrog so may turn up with bags of that. Feel free to send me an email to pondguru@btinternet.com and I'll let you know if it is available and what price it will be no worries.
What about the good old fashioned noodles everyone used to use, does that do the full cycle? We used to see those noodles every where but now no one seems to mention them
Even good quality noodles will support a real imbalance of aerobic and anaerobic bacteria massively in favour of aerobic so they end up being great for ammonia and nitrite removal but produce lots of nitrate. The bigger problem is that so many manufacturers are trying to manufacture them as cheaply as possible many of them are as smooth as glass with no real porosity so are next to useless. When I see videos of people comparing the noodles to other forms of media and favouring the noodles it makes me laugh when I see them using really crappy quality noodles which may as well be grapes or marbles for the available surface area they have, lol
If you can find good ones (e.g. Aqua One Bionood) they can be a good media.
+Pondguru Outdoors Ok so I've been using noodles for years, to the eye they look really pourus. I guess the real way to see if it's doing the full cycle is buy water testing. But if there not controlling all three then buy adding the media your recommending with what i already have could i still have an imbalance?
Potentially, yes but there will only be a finite amount of bacteria supported aerobically and anaerobically (due to the limited food source). As long as there is plenty good media in the filter it really should not matter how much other media is in there. Hope that makes sense.
Cheers
1:22 True dat
Hi, The Momataro bakki showers for a four tier system is around a £1000 so not cheap to say the least...then there is the cost of the media...the one you have reviewed is around £500 so a lot cheaper...have you ever seen the momataro ones? Is this just a case of paying double for the brand?...interested to see what you think..from pictures i would say the more expensive of the too probably looks better? you can see pictures on absolute koi...cheers Ross
Yes I have seen the 'proper' bakki shower on their website and it is slightly different. May be a bit better finished but essentially they do the same job. I'd like to see someone take a bakki shower and get it powder coated in a neutral colour as that would look very professional.
Hi Ross, would like you to come see one of our systems, we manufacture them in 316 stainless steel and they are equal in quality to the ones sold by Absolute Koi. They are cheaper as we manufacture ourselves.
Hi thanks for the comment. I am in leicester so not to far away. I have looked at your web site. Do you have any other photos of the shower? Thanks again Ross
Do you still have this shower, if so would you consider selling it, I’m local to you 👍🏻
Could I use 1 of theses alone
Yes as long as you had foams and fine pad in the top tray.
So what does it do? Degass?
It provides an environment for bacteria to process ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.
🖒
Gad you enjoyed the video.
Can I use a lava rock as a media?
Yes the red / brown lava rock is decent. White pumice (also lava rock) is the best natural rock available as the structure is excellent for supporting aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. It also has the benefit of buffering the pH up and mineralising the water for koi.
Thanks a lot. You are one of the few people that not only place videos but also respond them. Thank you very much!!!
I try to reply to every question even though it does take a couple of hours every day as I think it is important to share knowledge freely.
Can you show me how you made it or can you make me one
The video where I made one from plastic boxes is here: ua-cam.com/video/7eyoDB91Ps4/v-deo.html
I don't really get time to make filters now unfortunately but I used to enjoy making them for lots of people.
what about using it should be spelled useing it looks better natural sponge
Is that a blue peter cat lol
Well he seems to love being on film and if I want him to turn up all have to do is get the camera out, lol
Man I love this filter, but it is a bummer that the company is based in Europe. I need one from the United States to save some money.
not trickle butt bakki shower it should say.trickle is just what its says and should be pretty close to sealed
Pondguru il buy some media of you.
Awesome, thanks very much. If you're not in the UK check the website for suppliers around the world (flags at top of page) www.filterpro.co.uk
I thought you can't use metal with fish?
I know copper ions can stimulate / irritate the lateral sense line on the fish but apart from that I'm not aware of common metals affecting fish.
I know you know your stuff so I won't question that, but I think you are mistaken with this filter. Metal and water, with fish, in an enclosed area is not a good idea, which is why no filters are made from metal for aquariums. Even stainless steel will rust, rust in water with fish is toxic. Flowing rivers and the ocean are a different story but in home aquariums and small ponds I don't think using a filter like that is a good idea. I would think the company that makes those would know that. I know you said you're not using this filter in your pond and that's good.
That is why I love having intelligent viewers - throwing questions out like that forces me to do more research as now I have to get to the bottom of it.
I do know that in many of the koi farms in Japan they swear by stainless steel shower filters for their growing ponds but just because something is popular and has been used for years doesn't make it the right solution.
Back in the day people used to line ponds with lead but I doubt the fish were ever used as food. Fish store heavy metals in their fatty tissue and it does not harm them (only someone consuming lots of fish), just like shellfish, crustaceans etc. but I'm not sure what happens to non-heavy metals.
Personally I have never used anything metal in a tank so perhaps I'm wrong, I've just heard it's bad for fish, maybe it's a myth, but I can't imagine rust being ok in with fish.
I was just thinking about this and stainless steel heaters are very common for aquariums. The amount of steel per volume of water will be way more in an aquarium than it would be by having a stainless steel shower filter on a koi pond and I'm not aware of any reports of problems in aquariums. The bodies of pumps (and the strainers on expensive models) in ponds and sumps is stainless steel too.
there isn't that many on UA-cam because there so freaking expensive
You may have a point there (when they are made of Stainless Steel) but if you saw a recent video I did about a DIY shower filter they do not have to be expensive to be very effective.
+Pondguru Outdoors true
Your pump should be on the other side of the pond
In a normal pond it should be as far away as possible so the water travels a long way before being drawn back into the filter, yes - this is a demonstration though and behind the filter there is an outlet from a 40,000 litre per hour pump which shift water around the pond so even with the placement of the pump feeding the shower it is not handling the same water for a very long time.
made your plastic one today the bottom tray is filled with carbon
Are you on Facebook mate
No I avoid that crap like the plague. My email address is pondguru@btinternet.com or give me a ring on 07772848730 any time between 9-5 weekdays as the phone will be on then.
+Pondguru Outdoors Me to mate.... Only problem my landscape Business is on there. I'll drop you a email.
you can do the same thing with a plastic barrel ,......$5.- just saying !
Water looks nasty like a proper pond but the water looks like it isn't. filtered
4 plastic totes stacked on top of each other with holes drilled in the bottom will do the same... will probably set you back $20
Yes indeed - I mentioned that in this video and if you check the related videos you'll see the video I did where I made a plastic version from 5 boxes which were £1 each.
Well sorry but this video was like endless... I love your videos but this was beyond boring and yes I saw your other video
No worries, some people want lots of information so I put it in there but I do sometimes think I should make shorter videos. Thanks for the honest comment - I'd much rather have that than fake praise as I'm always looking to improve.
I have to disagree - plastic media has proven to be extremely effective in drip/trickle down (or wet/dry) filters. It's where bio-balls and even plastic pot scrubbers shine. Where non-moving plastic is somewhat of a waste is when it's totally submerged.
Yes, if the goal is to simply remove ammonia and nitrite from the water through aerobic biological action then plastic will do that all day once it gets colonised (after a slime builds up on it). Plastic is a low surface area, hostile media for bacteria but aerobic bacteria has no problem settling there eventually.
It will do half the filtering job (aerobic biological processes) as well as anything else.
However, if the goal is to complete the cycle and reduce nitrates no amount of plastic media will do that.
I am currently editing a video now where I go into great detail about the full cycle since 99% of fishkeepers think it ends with the production of nitrate and large regular water changes to prevent nitrate poisoning.