hi wright u do a fantastic job on your pond and it just shows u can have super water quality with home made filter equipment with out buying the expensive stuff thanks for all the videos keep up the good work and roll on summer
Your ponds are amazing Terry. Very inspirational watching all your ponds and how they have evolved in each new location. You have inspired me and I'm currently building my first pond thanks to you!
Hi Thinus, thank you for your kind comments. I really hope your pond build goes well for you. Don't forget that 90% of people that build a koi pond, end up making it bigger within the first 2 years. That's a true fact mate. I wish mine was bigger but the wife said I couldn't have any more garden lol. Thanks again, Terry.
Hello, Well I had a slight problem with your video's yesterday, now I managed to get them back, but I find them really interesting and informative, you have a great setup . Brilliant.
Hi Timothy, thank you for your kind comments. Glad to here you've managed to re-join my channel, and I hope to bring you more videos. Thanks again, Terry.
Hi Leigh, I know what you mean about the fish. I'm with them all the time and don't really notice, but I'm sure they've put at least 2 inches on this summer. Thanks mate, Terry.
Evening Mate, looks like your all set for the cold season, fish look happy and healthy and filter house is a absolute Pipe Dream, amazed your not sponsored by a Solvent weld company :) you should give yourself a pat on the back for this years achievements.. anyway you take care yourself and keep em coming bud speak soon Kev
Good evening mate, that's right lol, I do use a lot of solvent weld. I've only ever had one company offer free goods if I mentioned them. Unfortunately I told them I had used there goods before and found they didn't work. They emailed back saying I didn't use them correctly, and I never heard from them again lol. Do you think it was something I said lol. Thanks mate, always appreciated. Take care. Terry.
Your ponds definitely ready for winter! It’s funny some of my fish like yours seem to like the camera and other fish stay clear of it! lol I always enjoy underwater footage my friend! Eric
Wrighty yes I bet! I have a catfish that loves the camera! I think sometime soon I may make a pond cover like yours! How much of a temperature difference does it make? Have a great day! Eric
HI mate, through all those cold nights and frosty mornings, the pond only varied half a degree. It does really help stop the rapid temperature drops which are not good for the fish. it also keeps the pond 3 or 4 deg above what it would normally be. It also means I get no falling leaves in the pond and I have no worries with herons in the winter which is when they come looking at ponds for food as river fish are hard to get. Terry.
Wrighty I know that when I finish putting down wall blocks around my pond that I will be building covers similar to yours my friend! That’s awesome how great they work! Thank you for sharing! Eric
Last night in Cheltenham it was rather bad weather and very windy so I'm sure you probably got more leaves to pick up today. It's never ending with the leaves at the moment and so many are still on the tree's refusing to budge. As always the underwater camera work is great and the music worked well. If only you had a live stream of it 24/7 that would be brilliant. Everything looks fantastic as always :)
Hi Terry. I have run my rotary filter using 35 micron since January and it is working great with a flow of 3000 gallons per hour, I have a settlement chamber with brushes before my rotary filter the water is extremely clear as you could imagine. Also I have fitted a old cctv camera in my pond ( after fully sealing ) and now watch my fish any time I want while the covers are on this may help in your ideas for seeing your fish. keep up the good work. John.
Hi John, I am thinking of reducing my mesh size now I have the pre pump filter fitted. I wasn't thinking of going as low as 35 micron. Does the mesh stay clean? I was thinking of dropping to around 50 micron to see how that goes. I was given a link to an underwater camera for the job, I'll see if I can find it. Glad to here all's well mate. Thanks, Terry.
Hi Terry. My drum filter flushes in mid summer approx every 45 minutes with heavy feeding and I have a uv inside next to the mesh and have never had to clean the mesh. Hope that helps.
It's whats called a Bakki river. the water flows through the ceramic media and it develops a bacteria that thrives on and removes the nitrates in the water. Terry.
Do you have a video on how to make the prefilter? Is that all I need for a koi pond? Prefilter, UV filter, skimmer, and 55 gallon drum homemade filter?
Hi, I have plans on my website diypondfilters.com on how to build the pre filter, but your filtration depends on your pond size and what the water volume is, also what fish stock you have. The pre filter is only for removing the larger dirt and algae before it gets into the main filter. Terry.
Wrighty thanks, will purchase those once I’m ready to Build the filters. Do you know if I can install a bottom drain if I have a submersible pump? Was going to make the skimmer you made with the pump inside but not sure how the bottom drain will work? I know I might need a settlement tank but do you have plans for that on your website on how I can build and connect the settlement and the skimmer to a submersible pump? Is a bottom drain necessary if I want a koi pond about 2500 gallons?
Hi mate, The only way you could pull from a bottom drain with a submersible pump is to have a barrel outside the pond in the ground. Pipe the bottom drain to the bottom of the barrel (keeping below the water level of the pond) so that the water level of the pond was equal to just below the top of the barrel. Place your submersible pump in the barrel, then you can pump from there to the filters. you could also connect the skimmer to the tub so you were pulling from both the bottom drain and the skimmer. You would need to have slide or ball valves on each to regulate the flow from each unit. Once the pump was turned on the water would gravity feed to the barrel from both. Hope this helps, Terry.
Can I connect the bottom drain to the barrel from the bottom side of barrel or does it have to be from the bottom? The barrel water level will be match the ponds water level depending on how deep is it buried? Should the submersible pump be a little elevated so that all the junk from the bottom drain sinks to the bottom or will it grind it up and the filters take care of all that? What is the smallest pipe I can use for the bottom drain to barrel, skimmer connections?
You really need the water to fill the barrel, then you can have your pump higher in the barrel. This will allow a lot of the dirt from the pond to settle on the bottom. You will need something like a pond vac to clean the dirt from the bottom now and again. You can have the bottom drain connected half way up the tub as long as it's below pond water level so the pond can keep it full. Your pipe size will depend on how much water your pump moves. Don't forget that your pump is pushing the water and the water from the pond is only a gravity flow, so the pipe size will need to be bigger. I would look to something like 3" (89mm) from the bottom drain, and 2" from the skimmer, but like I said they will need regulating. Terry.
What a great video Terry, I'm glad you showed us your pipe work, what a fantastic job, you have done thanks for showing us in such detail it explains a lot. Our pond has nothing like all the pipe work, but it seems to be running ok. It does require a lot of cleaning though, we have 2 pumps in the pond itself ,one 5000 and one 7000, I see you clean yours possible my fortnightly, I expect mind should be clean the same also how often do you vacuum your pond , it's coming into summer here??? Thanks again Terry. Also what product do you use for blanket weed or string alge, the heat certainly make it grow.
Hi Patrick, Thank you for your kind comments. When I had the Pro filter with K1 media I use to clean it once a week. I do get a lot of waste from my pond because of the lilies and plants in the pond. The RDF filter I run now has no media and is self cleaning. The moving bed is also self cleaning. The pre-pump filter I have just fitted I do have to clean every 2 or 3 days but it only takes 4 or 5 minutes and it's done. It does depend on the amount of waste coming up from the pond, but if you are using filter media in a mechanical filter they do say it should be cleaned once a week so it doesn't contaminate the water. I use my pond vac about once every 3 to 4 weeks in the summer. I can use it as often as I like now since I designed and fitted the filter that returns the pond water from the vac back to the pond. You may have seen me using it in previous videos. If I have to use an algae killer, I use Cloverleaf Blanket Answer or the Aqua Source Resolve algae treatment. I must admit since I've added the plants to the pond they use up the nutrients the algae needs to grow. I've had very little algae showing this year and we've had a really hot summer this year. I show me using the Cloverleaf in this video: ua-cam.com/video/Az5W49qQPy8/v-deo.html Hope this helps, Thanks, Terry.
Hi John, I am trying to put one together but it's very difficult as there's not much going on this time of year as you know. Will do my best mate. Terry.
I've been admiring your drum filter. A couple of questions before I leap at the plans. (1) How much water (liter/hour) have you been running, or what flow range would you be comfortable running through your filter? (8000 lph?) (2) What is the surface area of your mesh? I can approximate it based on the drum dimensions if that's easier for you. (I'm trying to decide whether I could adapt your plans to make it out of materials appropriate for saltwater and scale it down for my needs.)
Hi Seth, thank you. I run 8000 lph through my RDF which is plenty for my 2500 gallon pond, but the filter would take a lot more. I have the 22" long drum on mine but it is easily reduced in length. The mesh size I use is 160cm x 61cm. Hope this helps. Terry.
@@Wrighty-- Thanks Terry! So that's 9760 square centimeters of mesh filtering 8000 lph of water. That's around 1.2 square centimeters for every liter per hour. I only need to run 600 lph through mine which is around 14 times smaller than yours (hence my interest in scaling it down.) Let's see if I can remember my geometry lessons! * We know that the circumference (c) times the height (h) of the cylinder we want is (600*1.2=720) square centimeters. (c x h = 720) * We know that the circumference of a circle is equal to π (pi) times its diameter (d). (c = πd) * A reasonable profile seems to be a drum that is roughly square in profile. (d = h) With a little substitution, that means a drum about 15 cm in diameter/height might be functionally the same at my flow rates. That means a mesh fabric that's 47 cm by 15 cm (705 square centimeters). That's pretty close. That's _much_ smaller than yours! Do you think it would be sensible to use your plans as a baseline to scale down to this?
Hi Seth, That's pretty small, so I don't think my plans would be any good for you to be honnest mate. You'd have to alter just about everything in the plans. You might as well start from scratch. Terry.
@@Wrighty -- I appreciate that Terry. I might still end up grabbing your plans if not just for the instructions on the electrics, plus the details on forming a good seal. You're probably right that I'll probably be designing the rest from scratch though. I thought I remembered watching you show the details of the controller and sealing the drum to the box and so on last year. I'm either misremembering or maybe those videos are now part of the plans package.
Hi Seth, The best way to reduce the size of the RDF would be to shorten the drum. That could be done quite easily. Also the box would be shorter as well. Every thing else could stay the same. There are 16 videos that go with the instructions showing every step, to make the build easier. plus a list of parts and links of what to buy and where. Hope this helps, Terry.
Hi Terry great educational video. They all are! I just got my steel 45gall drum for a pre pump vacc sieve delivered today but I’m having trouble deciding where to put the bulkheads and how decide where the water level should be. Do you have any videos of the build? I think a nice vacuum gauge like the ones on the fire engines would be very-interesting mounted on the bakki river bench Glenn
Hi Glenn, Thank you. Wow! that's a big drum for a pre pump filter mate, and a big area for your pump to create the vacuum. I used a 110 ltr open top drum. I do have video's of the build, but I haven't got them edited and uploaded to UA-cam yet as I'm still testing and making sure it all works. I do have a vacuum gauge to fit to the drum, but not got round to fitting that yet. I don't know what the measurements for the bulkheads would be on your size drum mate, sorry. I would hate to tell you wrong mate. Terry.
Aye a know I would have Paid for a stainless 100 ltr drum but couldn’t find any so I got a refurbished 45 gal one cheep so I thought I’d play and test this one and see how it copes. I’m looking forward to see your build though. You’re garden looks nice and tidy the koi look fantastic. Just wish I had more time :-)
Hi Terry just dropping a link to my pre pump sieve I’ve done all the pipe work only to the sieve for testing for a vacc gauge and viewing window with a light inside I’m going to fit a small 1/4” valve to the top and let some air in in order to try get a fixed level before I put in my drain bulkhead. Just ordered my mesh so that’s my next task thanks again for your ideas Glenn
Hi terry a quick question regarding your mega pump ss model. Will it pull water from pond if fitted above water level or must it be below water level only asking because I have not got bottom drain going to fit retro one thanks Carlo
Hi Carlo, My pump and filters are all above the pond level. I do recommend fitting a oneway/check valve in the main line from the pond so you can easily prime the pump. They are supposed to be self priming, but it's not a problem having it above pond water level. Hope this helps mate. Terry.
why is the prefilter a steel drum and not plastic? I have 4 40gal plastic ones from the old pro series that keep my pond crystal clear and even the bottom is rubbish free. But that first drum gets hammered from all the dirt coming in from that pond I tried a filter sock that didn't turn out to good keep filling up and over flowing some times it only took a few hours after cleaning it to fill up and over flow again. Have you any ideas on how to prefilter a plastic drum that is all ready inline from your pro series. Thank you for a great video From US Dale
Hi Dale and thank you. You could add a vortex/swirl filter as the first tub. The idea is that the water coming in from the pond enters the tub around 2/3's of the way up the tub and on the inside of the tub has a 90 elbow attached horizontally. this will constantly circulate the water in the tub. this throws all the dirt to the outside and eventually it drops to the bottom where it can be drained off. You will find videos here on UA-cam of vortex/swirl filters. Terry.
Morning Terry What thickness polycarbonate sheets are you using? My pond build is coming on it’ll be up and running next spring... It’s a damn good idea to have open days to the public for educational purposes amazing pond pal
Hi mate, I'm only going to drop the mesh 10 micron to 60 micron. Any smaller than that is a job to keep clean. Thanks mate, very much appreciated, Terry.
Hi Humphrey, I do test my pond water quite a lot in the summer. About once a week usually. I use a Colombo Pro Master Lab Test Kit which I find very good. Terry.
Hi Tom, yes, The Beast From The East did that last year. I've had them 2 trees 6 years and moved them twice with no problems and that happens. Just shows how cold it got. Thanks mate, Terry.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
hi wright u do a fantastic job on your pond and it just shows u can have super water quality with home made filter equipment with out buying the expensive stuff thanks for all the videos keep up the good work and roll on summer
Hi Tom, thank you, very much appreciated. I'm with you mate Roll On Summer lol. Thanks, Terry.
his things are a lil costly (for me) but well worth the $$$... my thing is getting them put together...lol!
Great video as usual. Your fish look amazing. I have been keeping koi for a couple of years and I hope that one day I have a set up like you.
Hi David, Thank you. It's all about water quality as you will know. Be patient mate, your's will come. Thanks again, very much appreciated. Terry.
Hi Terry, thanks so much for sharing your plumbing layout in detail.
Hi Tony, your very welcome. I'd love to take it all out and re-plumb the filter house, but the task would be massive. Thanks mate, Terry.
Your pond is amazing .
Your setup is equally amazing.
Three thumbs up to you!!!
Thank you for your kind comments. really appreciated, Terry.
Your ponds are amazing Terry. Very inspirational watching all your ponds and how they have evolved in each new location. You have inspired me and I'm currently building my first pond thanks to you!
Hi Thinus, thank you for your kind comments. I really hope your pond build goes well for you. Don't forget that 90% of people that build a koi pond, end up making it bigger within the first 2 years. That's a true fact mate. I wish mine was bigger but the wife said I couldn't have any more garden lol. Thanks again, Terry.
Thanks once again for an excellent video. Particular thank you for the piping walk about! Rick
Hi Rick, thank you. your very welcome mate. Hope it explained things a bit better. Terry.
Hello, Well I had a slight problem with your video's yesterday, now I managed to get them back, but I find them really interesting and informative, you have a great setup . Brilliant.
Hi Timothy, thank you for your kind comments. Glad to here you've managed to re-join my channel, and I hope to bring you more videos. Thanks again, Terry.
Great video terry. Koi are growing very nicely. Can't believe how much they have this year . Keep up the good work mate
Hi Leigh, I know what you mean about the fish. I'm with them all the time and don't really notice, but I'm sure they've put at least 2 inches on this summer. Thanks mate, Terry.
Everything looks great my friend. Another wonderful video 👌🏻👌🏻
Thanks Jim, always appreciated mate, Terry.
Evening Mate, looks like your all set for the cold season, fish look happy and healthy and filter house is a absolute Pipe Dream, amazed your not sponsored by a Solvent weld company :) you should give yourself a pat on the back for this years achievements.. anyway you take care yourself and keep em coming bud speak soon Kev
Good evening mate, that's right lol, I do use a lot of solvent weld. I've only ever had one company offer free goods if I mentioned them. Unfortunately I told them I had used there goods before and found they didn't work. They emailed back saying I didn't use them correctly, and I never heard from them again lol. Do you think it was something I said lol. Thanks mate, always appreciated. Take care. Terry.
Bit of class , as always ... gold
Thanks mate, very much appreciated, Terry.
Great video and sound advice as always. Would love to some day visit your pond. Well done mate 😀
Hi David, thank you. your welcome to come anytime, not much to see at the moment with the covers on. so summer would be best. thanks, Terry.
Hi terry, great video , as always 👍
Cheers
Ben
Hi Ben, thank you, it's always appreciated mate. Terry.
Your ponds definitely ready for winter! It’s funny some of my fish like yours seem to like the camera and other fish stay clear of it! lol I always enjoy underwater footage my friend! Eric
Hi Eric, Thank you. I did have to cut some out as they kept knocking the pole the camera was on lol. I think they play with it. Thanks mate, Terry.
Wrighty yes I bet! I have a catfish that loves the camera! I think sometime soon I may make a pond cover like yours! How much of a temperature difference does it make? Have a great day! Eric
HI mate, through all those cold nights and frosty mornings, the pond only varied half a degree. It does really help stop the rapid temperature drops which are not good for the fish. it also keeps the pond 3 or 4 deg above what it would normally be. It also means I get no falling leaves in the pond and I have no worries with herons in the winter which is when they come looking at ponds for food as river fish are hard to get. Terry.
Wrighty I know that when I finish putting down wall blocks around my pond that I will be building covers similar to yours my friend! That’s awesome how great they work! Thank you for sharing! Eric
Thanks for the update my friend I really enjoyed it your friend Gman
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it. Terry
Last night in Cheltenham it was rather bad weather and very windy so I'm sure you probably got more leaves to pick up today. It's never ending with the leaves at the moment and so many are still on the tree's refusing to budge. As always the underwater camera work is great and the music worked well. If only you had a live stream of it 24/7 that would be brilliant. Everything looks fantastic as always :)
Hi Chris, thanks mate. yes, the leaves are a real pain. Still it keeps me busy. Your right mate, the leaves are as bad again today lol thanks, Terry.
Very nice. We also do a GoPro underwater
Hi mate, The cameras are really good for keeping an eye on your fish. If there's anything wrong you can spot it straight away. Thanks, Terry.
Hi Terry. I have run my rotary filter using 35 micron since January and it is working great with a flow of 3000 gallons per hour, I have a settlement chamber with brushes before my rotary filter the water is extremely clear as you could imagine. Also I have fitted a old cctv camera in my pond ( after fully sealing ) and now watch my fish any time I want while the covers are on this may help in your ideas for seeing your fish. keep up the good work. John.
Hi John, I am thinking of reducing my mesh size now I have the pre pump filter fitted. I wasn't thinking of going as low as 35 micron. Does the mesh stay clean? I was thinking of dropping to around 50 micron to see how that goes. I was given a link to an underwater camera for the job, I'll see if I can find it. Glad to here all's well mate. Thanks, Terry.
Hi Terry. My drum filter flushes in mid summer approx every 45 minutes with heavy feeding and I have a uv inside next to the mesh and have never had to clean the mesh. Hope that helps.
Thanks mate, just what I wanted to know. Terry.
What are the black rectangular tote bins on the left for? It looks like the water flows thru them horizontally ??? Thank you.
It's whats called a Bakki river. the water flows through the ceramic media and it develops a bacteria that thrives on and removes the nitrates in the water. Terry.
Do you have a video on how to make the prefilter? Is that all I need for a koi pond? Prefilter, UV filter, skimmer, and 55 gallon drum homemade filter?
Hi, I have plans on my website diypondfilters.com on how to build the pre filter, but your filtration depends on your pond size and what the water volume is, also what fish stock you have. The pre filter is only for removing the larger dirt and algae before it gets into the main filter. Terry.
Wrighty thanks, will purchase those once I’m ready to
Build the filters. Do you know if I can install a bottom drain if I have a submersible pump? Was going to make the skimmer you made with the pump inside but not sure how the bottom drain will work? I know I might need a settlement tank but do you have plans for that on your website on how I can build and connect the settlement and the skimmer to a submersible pump? Is a bottom drain necessary if I want a koi pond about 2500 gallons?
Hi mate, The only way you could pull from a bottom drain with a submersible pump is to have a barrel outside the pond in the ground. Pipe the bottom drain to the bottom of the barrel (keeping below the water level of the pond) so that the water level of the pond was equal to just below the top of the barrel. Place your submersible pump in the barrel, then you can pump from there to the filters. you could also connect the skimmer to the tub so you were pulling from both the bottom drain and the skimmer. You would need to have slide or ball valves on each to regulate the flow from each unit. Once the pump was turned on the water would gravity feed to the barrel from both. Hope this helps, Terry.
Can I connect the bottom drain to the barrel from the bottom side of barrel or does it have to be from the bottom? The barrel water level will be match the ponds water level depending on how deep is it buried? Should the submersible pump be a little elevated so that all the junk from the bottom drain sinks to the bottom or will it grind it up and the filters take care of all that? What is the smallest pipe I can use for the bottom drain to barrel, skimmer connections?
You really need the water to fill the barrel, then you can have your pump higher in the barrel. This will allow a lot of the dirt from the pond to settle on the bottom. You will need something like a pond vac to clean the dirt from the bottom now and again. You can have the bottom drain connected half way up the tub as long as it's below pond water level so the pond can keep it full. Your pipe size will depend on how much water your pump moves. Don't forget that your pump is pushing the water and the water from the pond is only a gravity flow, so the pipe size will need to be bigger. I would look to something like 3" (89mm) from the bottom drain, and 2" from the skimmer, but like I said they will need regulating. Terry.
What a great video Terry, I'm glad you showed us your pipe work, what a fantastic job, you have done thanks for showing us in such detail it explains a lot. Our pond has nothing like all the pipe work, but it seems to be running ok. It does require a lot of cleaning though, we have 2 pumps in the pond itself ,one 5000 and one 7000, I see you clean yours possible my fortnightly, I expect mind should be clean the same also how often do you vacuum your pond , it's coming into summer here??? Thanks again Terry. Also what product do you use for blanket weed or string alge, the heat certainly make it grow.
Hi Patrick, Thank you for your kind comments. When I had the Pro filter with K1 media I use to clean it once a week. I do get a lot of waste from my pond because of the lilies and plants in the pond. The RDF filter I run now has no media and is self cleaning. The moving bed is also self cleaning. The pre-pump filter I have just fitted I do have to clean every 2 or 3 days but it only takes 4 or 5 minutes and it's done. It does depend on the amount of waste coming up from the pond, but if you are using filter media in a mechanical filter they do say it should be cleaned once a week so it doesn't contaminate the water. I use my pond vac about once every 3 to 4 weeks in the summer. I can use it as often as I like now since I designed and fitted the filter that returns the pond water from the vac back to the pond. You may have seen me using it in previous videos. If I have to use an algae killer, I use Cloverleaf Blanket Answer or the Aqua Source Resolve algae treatment. I must admit since I've added the plants to the pond they use up the nutrients the algae needs to grow. I've had very little algae showing this year and we've had a really hot summer this year. I show me using the Cloverleaf in this video: ua-cam.com/video/Az5W49qQPy8/v-deo.html Hope this helps, Thanks, Terry.
Any more vids terry
Hi John, I am trying to put one together but it's very difficult as there's not much going on this time of year as you know. Will do my best mate. Terry.
I've been admiring your drum filter. A couple of questions before I leap at the plans.
(1) How much water (liter/hour) have you been running, or what flow range would you be comfortable running through your filter? (8000 lph?)
(2) What is the surface area of your mesh? I can approximate it based on the drum dimensions if that's easier for you.
(I'm trying to decide whether I could adapt your plans to make it out of materials appropriate for saltwater and scale it down for my needs.)
Hi Seth, thank you. I run 8000 lph through my RDF which is plenty for my 2500 gallon pond, but the filter would take a lot more. I have the 22" long drum on mine but it is easily reduced in length. The mesh size I use is 160cm x 61cm. Hope this helps. Terry.
@@Wrighty-- Thanks Terry! So that's 9760 square centimeters of mesh filtering 8000 lph of water. That's around 1.2 square centimeters for every liter per hour. I only need to run 600 lph through mine which is around 14 times smaller than yours (hence my interest in scaling it down.)
Let's see if I can remember my geometry lessons!
* We know that the circumference (c) times the height (h) of the cylinder we want is (600*1.2=720) square centimeters. (c x h = 720)
* We know that the circumference of a circle is equal to π (pi) times its diameter (d). (c = πd)
* A reasonable profile seems to be a drum that is roughly square in profile. (d = h)
With a little substitution, that means a drum about 15 cm in diameter/height might be functionally the same at my flow rates. That means a mesh fabric that's 47 cm by 15 cm (705 square centimeters). That's pretty close.
That's _much_ smaller than yours! Do you think it would be sensible to use your plans as a baseline to scale down to this?
Hi Seth, That's pretty small, so I don't think my plans would be any good for you to be honnest mate. You'd have to alter just about everything in the plans. You might as well start from scratch. Terry.
@@Wrighty -- I appreciate that Terry. I might still end up grabbing your plans if not just for the instructions on the electrics, plus the details on forming a good seal. You're probably right that I'll probably be designing the rest from scratch though. I thought I remembered watching you show the details of the controller and sealing the drum to the box and so on last year. I'm either misremembering or maybe those videos are now part of the plans package.
Hi Seth, The best way to reduce the size of the RDF would be to shorten the drum. That could be done quite easily. Also the box would be shorter as well. Every thing else could stay the same. There are 16 videos that go with the instructions showing every step, to make the build easier. plus a list of parts and links of what to buy and where. Hope this helps, Terry.
Hi Terry great educational video. They all are!
I just got my steel 45gall drum for a pre pump vacc sieve delivered today but I’m having trouble deciding where to put the bulkheads and how decide where the water level should be. Do you have any videos of the build? I think a nice vacuum gauge like the ones on the fire engines would be very-interesting mounted on the bakki river bench
Glenn
Hi Glenn, Thank you. Wow! that's a big drum for a pre pump filter mate, and a big area for your pump to create the vacuum. I used a 110 ltr open top drum. I do have video's of the build, but I haven't got them edited and uploaded to UA-cam yet as I'm still testing and making sure it all works. I do have a vacuum gauge to fit to the drum, but not got round to fitting that yet. I don't know what the measurements for the bulkheads would be on your size drum mate, sorry. I would hate to tell you wrong mate. Terry.
Aye a know I would have Paid for a stainless 100 ltr drum but couldn’t find any so I got a refurbished 45 gal one cheep so I thought I’d play and test this one and see how it copes. I’m looking forward to see your build though.
You’re garden looks nice and tidy the koi look fantastic.
Just wish I had more time :-)
Hi Glenn, Thank you. I know what you mean, that's my problem. I just don't get enough time to do everything. Good luck with the build mate. Terry.
Hi Terry just dropping a link to my pre pump sieve I’ve done all the pipe work only to the sieve for testing for a vacc gauge and viewing window with a light inside I’m going to fit a small 1/4” valve to the top and let some air in in order to try get a fixed level before I put in my drain bulkhead. Just ordered my mesh so that’s my next task thanks again for your ideas
Glenn
ua-cam.com/video/E27dS3zC21U/v-deo.html
Hi Terry, love the videos, can you please explain how you have fixed your covers to the frames, is it screwed into the polycarb? Cheers Kev.
Hi Kev, yes mate, I screwed with some long screws through the frame into the polly carb about 2 1/2 inches. Terry.
Thanks for the reply, it's something I've been thinking about doing with my covers to stop any sagging, thanks Terry.
Your welcome mate, Just make sure the screws won't go rusty. Use stainless steel or similar. Terry.
Good advice mate, I will certainly be looking into It, thanks again Kev.
What a gentleman! Just saying. 😎🤘👍
Hi terry a quick question regarding your mega pump ss model. Will it pull water from pond if fitted above water level or must it be below water level only asking because I have not got bottom drain going to fit retro one thanks Carlo
Hi Carlo, My pump and filters are all above the pond level. I do recommend fitting a oneway/check valve in the main line from the pond so you can easily prime the pump. They are supposed to be self priming, but it's not a problem having it above pond water level. Hope this helps mate. Terry.
Thanks terry
why is the prefilter a steel drum and not plastic? I have 4 40gal plastic ones from the old pro series that keep my pond crystal clear and even the bottom is rubbish free. But that first drum gets hammered from all the dirt coming in from that pond I tried a filter sock that didn't turn out to good keep filling up and over flowing some times it only took a few hours after cleaning it to fill up and over flow again. Have you any ideas on how to prefilter a plastic drum that is all ready inline from your pro series. Thank you for a great video From US Dale
Hi Dale and thank you. You could add a vortex/swirl filter as the first tub. The idea is that the water coming in from the pond enters the tub around 2/3's of the way up the tub and on the inside of the tub has a 90 elbow attached horizontally. this will constantly circulate the water in the tub. this throws all the dirt to the outside and eventually it drops to the bottom where it can be drained off. You will find videos here on UA-cam of vortex/swirl filters. Terry.
Morning Terry
What thickness polycarbonate sheets are you using?
My pond build is coming on it’ll be up and running next spring...
It’s a damn good idea to have open days to the public for educational purposes amazing pond pal
Hi Graham, I used the 10mm Polycarbonate sheets, you can get thicker as you'll know but It seems to work fine. Thanks mate, Terry.
What micron mesh you using now Terry and what do you plan on going too? Great update, and loved the footage of the koi. 👍🏻
Hi mate, I'm only going to drop the mesh 10 micron to 60 micron. Any smaller than that is a job to keep clean. Thanks mate, very much appreciated, Terry.
You should open to the public. Mrs W could make scones and tea.
Not a bad idea. the only thing wrong with it is, her tea is rubbish lol. That's why I make my own lol. Thanks, Terry.
@@Wrighty hope she doesn't read this. 😁
Hi mate, she might do. She's a wonderful woman lol 😊😊😉 Terry.
hi have you ever tried test strips for nitrite etc
Hi Humphrey, I do test my pond water quite a lot in the summer. About once a week usually. I use a Colombo Pro Master Lab Test Kit which I find very good. Terry.
Hi terry , do u switch your UV off over winter ?
Cheers Ben .
Hi Ben, I have my UV on a timer during the winter and just have it on during the day. Thanks, Terry.
Cheers terry 👍
Your tree 🎄 is dying
Hi Tom, yes, The Beast From The East did that last year. I've had them 2 trees 6 years and moved them twice with no problems and that happens. Just shows how cold it got. Thanks mate, Terry.