We've had a pond for 10+ years, my wife has always bitched about how dirty it is, her life was an eternal struggle for clarity. Her filter was a grey box, about 16x16x16 with 2 small trays of barbecue rocks which were always slimed over. I was pretty much detached from it. I randomly found this, I like to build stuff, and followed your instructions. The pond is about 12:1300 gallons. Overnight. Clear, overnight. She thinks I am Superman. Thanks Brother.
I watched your video and built one, but used a trash can from home depot. Everything else done was as you posted. We used K1 and filled it to about 15" below the shower drain. The pond is about 4000 gallons and was a mess. It was the start of the season and in one week we had major improvements. The end of week 2 we could see the bottom of the pond. We just pulled the waterfall filters which have been in service the whole time and are amazed they are not too bad. They used to be our only filter. Your filter system filter is extremely easy to clean. We do it everyday typically 2 flushes of the K-1 and its good, done in about 5 minutes or so. This is a great filter and I would highly recommend it. This is a great video! Thank you! Jeff the Executioner!
@@jeffakamax We used it all last summer we live in Ct. It was amazing the best the pond ever looked and the least we ever did to maintain it. Cant wait for this spring!
Hi, I have had a four barrel filtration system for the last 27 years. With a fifteen hundred gallon above ground pond. I have a baffle setup at the bottom, with a 1/2 inch pipe at the top, an air nozzle for the compressor, with gravel as the media. It takes me thirty minutes to clean all four filters every six to eight weeks, and my water is crystal clear. I have about thirty kois , most are above six pounds, and have had them over eighteen years.. It is a great system. Good luck.
I just had to stop by and say I built this unit recently and it took me a second to get it dialed in as far as pump size and draining but once I got it flowing this is thing is amazing!! Crystal clear to the bottom. I have 7-8 ducks that use it and i would have to change it once a week before this thing! It works great
Good to hear. Me and my daughter have one duck in our backyard and we are putting in a 40 gallon pond for him to play in. I'm thinking about scaling this down to a 5 gallon bucket
@@jeffakamax Had another question about cleaning the K2 once its gets full of stuff. In the video you mentioned you have a car wash brush or something. Can you elaborate on that?
FYI if anybody questions this: I just built this design in a 3 barrel system. 1 swirl, 2 with K1. My pond was clear in 24hrs. I knew it work, however I'm shocked at the results. Thanks so much for this video! This design is perfect! I highly reccomend!
I can't figure out how to add a picture, but, I just cut a rectangle out of the top of the drum, then put it back with some hinges for a lid. Works fine...
I have been assembling parts and have watched more than a dozen videos looking for the best and most informative information...I just found it. I have spent the big money on Pressure filters and 4 stage mesh filters and all the other crap. I have had a change in my pond over the last few months and it has gone from clear to a green tub of pea soup. chemicals have not helped. Frequently cleaning and water changes are very temporary. I will roll with this for now. Thank you. Clear, concise and direct conveyance of information. Well done .
I built one using a Brute trash can. It was a mistake. They aren't sturdy enough for the weight of the PVC. I made it work but I would recommend a drum as he uses in the video. K1 is a good static media but fluidizing doubles the effective surface area. I added a 9" airstone to the bottom. If you add an airstone put more holes for the outlet pipe.
This works AWESOME. At first I thought one of the seals was leaking but I forgot to glue one PVC connection and had a slight drip. Talk about easy to clean. My current pump is very small so it has taken 2-3 days to mostly clear up my pond. The nasty smelling water coming out when you clean it and all the dirt this thing traps is really amazing. Only had it running about a week now on a 800 gallon pond with new pond syndrome and a small submersible UV bulb was just added I got off amazon cheap. Pressurized filters do work great but there harder to clean IMO. I had a few before. I ended up sanding and painting it a hammered copper color to better blend with the landscape. Also at least for now I used a combination of K3 and a bunch of course sponge and furnace filter material I had laying around I cut up into cubes of various sizes and shapes. I added 1 Cubic foot of K3 and also I used a 40 gallon tote. Super easy - if you put your hips into it!
Update - I can read the date off a dime on the bottom of my pond. cleaning the filter is so easy and combines water changes with filter cleaning in one step! I added UV and a couple aerating stones. Have a mix of media. And I found a really large shower drain I used that was heavy duty PVC and gave me a lot of surface area for holes. Not a problem or leak and super simple and robust construction. Some areas the K4 is static and some areas it moves. Seems to work fine so far for my needs.I think adding the large chunks of course sponge works well for mechanical. Most reside at the bottom but some float to the top too. I used a 40 gallon. My pond is 800 gallons
I built one of these using your specifications. This thing is no Joke. My pond is crystal clear. Seriously the best its ever been. I have a pad filter and a pressure filter for sale if anyone is interested. Pressure filter has UV too. LOL
Hey Jeff, great video thank you. I have a fish pond around 900 gallons. I don't have a lot of room to put 55 gallon filter. Would a 15 gallon work with the K1 Media ? Thanks in advance
@jessieschnell9919 biohome is a great media but better used as a static media. K1 strength is how easy it is to clean. It also harbors new strong bacteria growth through the tumbling action that dislodged dying bacteria and allows new bacteria to propagate. If you were doing a 3 barrel system, you could use a static media in the 3rd drum which would not need frequent cleaning.
I am not an untrained monkey but rather a girl with some tools and minimal knowledge. Currently running two of the pressure filters and you’re absolutely right I hate them! I hate them mostly because the cleaning is a nightmare. My pond is overstocked I admit but I can’t find people to give fish to. My question is do you have a list that someone could use to build this?
I am looking into building this for my mother in law and was wonder if this would work for turtle pond. Also I can only buy k1 media by liter you said 2-3 cu.ft. how does it convert
Wish id watched a few more videos before i built mine, ive had 2 £300 pressure filters on my 12000liter pond and ive never been able to see the bottom 😂. I built a large 200liter bin with brushes matts and aqau rocks works a treat but pulling the things apart once a week in the summer to clean is no fun 😂😂. Diy is defo the way to for filters unless you got like £3k you dont mind wasting on a drum filter 😂😂
Now that mines built I have some words of wisdom. I substituted from your list and found I'm not happy with my results because of it. So to sum this up shortly follow everything to a T and keep your connections simple. The main issues so far is mine leaks. What I found is Uniseals are awesome IF you are using plastic drums. If you are using a brute trash can or equivalent they suck. I had a hard time finding drums available in my area and because of this I figured I could sneak by with a trash can instead. I was wrong. The walls aren't even thick enough to keep the pvc in place. Next issue I ran into is to insure the over flow is A 6" minimum from the top of the barrel... 3" isnt enough. Ask me how I know. That sucked to clean up. 🙄 Although this isn't an issue in my case it may be in yours. I purchased a Doheny 3700 gph pool pump / strainer on a great sale and put a ball valve to reduce pressure down to around that 1500 ish range. I still don't think this is a bad option but some people may not like the added complexity. The final words of wisdom are to beware of Amazon pool fittings if you decide to use a hose to conect it to your pond. They are not NPT and you will Just waist a buch of time any money. I wanted to be able to easily drain and move my filter because we are building our house and everything will eventually have to move. That indever alone probably cost $100 just getting the hose, clamps, adapters, bushings, etc. It worked but I think if I where to do it again I'd just hard pipe the entire thing and cut it when I wanted to move it.
UPDATE: Well as the summer months have come to an end I have done a few things to make my life easier with this particular filter. First is a uv light. The algae created from 5 ducks was by far too much to be contained by a 2 barrel filter alone. I added a nice size uv light and additional pump. To help keep the pond more sterile and clear. The second is the plumbing. I first only had one back flow valve after my pump but that meant I had to prime the system every time I needed to clean the strainer. So I added a second one to the intake line... Which failed after a week. After some trial and error I found sewage valves work better than sump pump valves. Don't ask me why. They are built the exact same. Other than that I have been very impressed with this filter. I'd like to add a 3ed barrel to just have a second layer of static Media. But that's more just to see if it has any benefit not because it's a requirement. I strongly recommend trying to find buckets that have the ability to screw on a lid as mine just rest on top. Not the end of the world but bugs do get into it and reproduce even with frequent flushes.
Hey Jeff, I built mine at the beginning of summer, and it worked great until just recently when I moved the barrel to a new pond that I dug with a plastic liner, and now it just keeps overfilling and dumping all of my pond water out onto the ground Over the lid do you have any recommendations?
@@jeffakamaxdo you think I need to swap the pvc check for a 2”? My pump only supports up to 1.25” tubing, so I’ll have to go from 1.25” to 2” back down to 1.5” for my current check valve setup
Hey Jeff, another question. I'm in the process of building this bio-filter. You used uniseals on all except you mentioned in the video you used a 1 1/2" bulkhead on the discharge. Do you prefer a bulkhead over a uniseal on the discharge. Thanks again
I use uniseals on all drum openings. The input is 1.5 inch and all other piping is 2 inch. Bulkhead work fine too but are significantly more expensive.
Initially I saw a video to do rock in stead of K1 media, but I'm planning on using the K1 media instead. I really like the idea of using it due to more surface area. I'm doing a bit of upgrade on my pond since I was stupid last year and left the damn water on over the weekend and killed all my Koi.....ugh!! Thought it would be a good time to upgrade my filtration. I think my pond is 1500 gallons. I'm planning on using a 1000 gph Laguna inside of a home made skimmer and output to the waterfall. I also purchased a 3000 gph Atlantic Tidalwave TT3000 pump to pump into a 2 barrel filtration system like the one you have. What I'm thinking is I will use the first barrel for mechanical filtration and the second barrel as a biological filtration. My questions are: 1) Should I use K1 media for both? 2) For the 2nd barrel biological filtration, should I put a small aerator in it?
You can absolutely run K in both. I use K3 in my first filter as it's mainly mechanical . Yes, an aerator is a great idea for your moving media. I have videos showing my fluidized barrel with aeration.
@@jeffakamax One more question. When I go to clean the barrels, I'm guessing I just more city water in the pond to replace the water that was removed from the barrels, right?
Cool. Think I'll do something like this as a pre-filter off my intake bay and bottom drain but have my return go to regeneration zones within the pond. I'm wondering if I'm pulling from both intake bay and bottom drain if my pump should be in the barrel or in another tank outside the barrel? And trying to figure out how to do my clean out if I bury the barrel.
I run a fluidized barrel as the last barrel on my 3 barrel system. I put an elbow pointed up on the feed and an airstone. Check out some of the videos on my channel and you can see it in action.
I can not find that kind of shower drain anywhere. I found a 2” plastic collar with a flat metal grates top that I might have to drill holes in the collar and maybe a couple around the top of the 2” return pipe. IDK. Links to the supplies used would’ve been helpful and time saving, but I do appreciate the video nonetheless.
Hi Jeff - Newbie over here. Going to build this single barrel filter for my 800 gallon pond but was curious if you can share the measurements of where to drill the holes. I don't know if I'm drilling low enough from the top and low enough on the bottom. Any shared wisdom is appreciated, thanks!
I have a submersible pump to 1.25" flexible pvc to the drums. Check my other videos for the bottom drain and leaf basket that are also a part of this system.
@@jeffakamax Thank you, I've watched 5 or 6 of your videos so far and couldn't find. I'll look around some more. But basically there's a flexible line that goes from the pump outlet to the drum filter inlet? (With a reducer since my pump outlet is maybe 1/2"-3/4" outlet hose and the inlet for the drum filter is 1 1/2") or maybe I need a new pump. Thanks again for the response.
Would throwing a uv light in the bottom of the barrel be effective ? Maybe something holding the media up a few inches about the clean out and uv light underneath ?
Love your filter videos. I just built a 4500 gallon duck pond, and just picked up a 4500 gph pump from Harbor Freight. Is that too high a flow, and how many barrels filters would you suggest I connect together?
Ducks are filthy, i would do a 3 barrel system. 4500 is a bit high but depending on head height and how much pipe you use your flow will be considerably less. You could always throttle it down a bit with a valve if needed.
I have a question regarding how high I can place the output into my pond. I would like the filter about 10 feet away from the pond and to have the plumbing underground then come back up and into the pond, the water level leaving the filter would be higher than the entry level into the waterfall/pond. Is that possible to gravity feed down a PVC pipe, across a span then gravity feed UP to the output IF it is lower than the filter output height? How much lower would it need to be do you think? Also another question if I add air to this to make it a fluidized/moving bed, will the mechanical filtration pretty much be lost and it would become more of a bio filter only? Thoughts? I painted the 40G food grade blue barrel a hammered brown and looks great! Less than one can of paint too.
As long as the output is below the running level of the drum, it will gravity feed. Minimal drop, long runs, etc. Will diminish it's flow...BUT this can be overcome to a point with larger diameter piping on the return. You may have to experiment a bit for your exact situation. Static media is mechanical. You will get some biological given properties the k1. Fluidized beds are strictly biological. The constant churning of media knocks off old dying bacteria and opens new real estate for young thriving bacteria. The constant churning makes it useless as a mechanical filter though. You can always add an additional barrel if you feel you need more dedicated biological filtration. You can reference my 3 drum system for an example. Keep me posted, good luck!
the height where the outlet exits the drum can be anywhere below the internal drain. Keeping it low just offers you more flexibility to adjust the water level height internally.
How big of a pump do you need. Seems like with where you have the entry line from the pump it would take a lot of pressure to fill the barrel up to the shower drain overflow.
Hi Jeff, I built your three barrel design for a small duck pond I’m working on. The pump I had sitting around does 2600 gph. When I turned it on all the barrels started overflowing. I just ordered a 1600 gph pump to try and I’m going to put some more holes in the shower drain. Do you have any more suggestions?
@@ianbrien1712 you can but you will lose a majority of your biological filtration. In a single drusm system id recommend putting your UV in the return line.
@@jeffakamax Thanks Jeff. The reason I asked I read the following: Also how many cu ft of K! did you use in the 55 gallon barrel The difference in K1 media quality primarily lies in the consistency of the plastic used, the surface area provided by the shape and size of the pieces, and the manufacturing process, which can impact how effectively it supports beneficial bacteria growth for water filtration in aquariums and ponds; generally, higher quality K1 media will have a larger surface area, consistent shape, and be made from high-density polyethylene for optimal bacterial colonization
@@mikrch3935 2.5 to 3 cubic feet per drum. Surface area is key to bacteria... If you go down that rabbit hole, you will also learn that different bacteria prefer different angles (allegedly) and that he smaller K1 with 90 degree spokes will lend itself to different bacteria than say K3 with the 45 degree spokes. (allegedly...) I have used everything you can think of over the years from plastic banding strap to a drum full of plastic forks, it ALL works! the K-media is one of the best when it comes to ease of cleaning though and that is important when used to remove solids. there are a lot of other media (alpha grog, etc) that have WAY more surface area but are impossible to clean and only used in biological filtration like bacci showers.
Does the cleaning process effect biological bacteria at all? What size pump do you recommend? What does water clarity look like with no using a floss media?
If flushing with pond water, no loss of beneficial bacteria. 2500 to 3000 gph seems to work well. Slower is always more effective than faster flow. The k1 media in my system is effective down to 50 micron which is incredible. I have a video testing this. Water clarity is excellent.
@jeffakamax awesome info. I'll be making this for my 1100 gallon cichlid pond. You just saved me lots of money I might just use that money to a prefilter box for my pump that has some course sponges in it. How often do you recommend flushing?
You can PUMP OUT to the waterfall if you have a GRAVITY IN FEED. Or PUMP IN and GRAVITY RETURN. Pumping in and out is impossible as you will never match both pumps exactly.
once the bacteria established=s with bacteria it will become neutrally buoyant and settle down. as long as you are not overflowing the barrel. you will be fine.
I talked to Jeff about 2 years ago and finally got around to replacing a Pondmaster pressure filter with a single barrel filter last month. I was hoping to post some pictures but I guess it can't be done here. I got a 55 gal. barrel for $20 here in NJ and filled with about 3 sq ft. of K1 (about 18" of media). I have an Oase 3700 Waterfall pump which has a flow of about 1400 gph when it reaches the barrel (close to 40 feet and 7-8 foot rise from pump to barrel). I used 11/2" all around because I didn't want to replumb the inflow and outflow connections to my waterfall container. I still have a Laguna pressure filter hooked to pump #2 and thinking about replacing that one next season. I'm still having ammonia issues and seeing fish poo get through to the waterfall so I'm not sure which filter is the issue, the Laguna or the barrel?
Check this ua-cam.com/video/Yy14pcG4jSI/v-deo.html Discharge should be as close to bottom as possible. The shower drain can be adjusted as needed. I usually set them up about 6" below the top rim of the drum so the media sits a few inches below the rim when in use.
"K" stands for Kaldness, the original name of the plasic bio-media. It's been copied a dozen times over and is readily available. check my other videos to see what it looks like.
Great design, I heard you say around 2500gph if you increase the inlet and outlet sizes would a stronger pump be ok? I have a 5000gph pump I was going to make one of these as pure mechanical and the the outlet feed into a if and attach to my shower for bio
I wouldn't recommend much more flow. Too high of flow reduces efficiency as the increases turbulence won't allow particulate to be cohesive and clump together. I have 3100 pump going through mine now with about 2700 actual flow
I'd like to know where your getting barrels so cheap I see them for like 70ish. If u could post a link or just tell me where I'd love to buy several lol cheers
enjoy the videos. with a single 50 gal drum for a 1000g raised tank would you go static or liquidized? the setup I'm building is a 2300 gph pump through a aquascape pressure with UV into a 50gal drum. curious what your advice will be. thanks,
Would this system work if submersible pump is placed outside pond in a 2nd barrel receiving the outflow of the mechanical filter, and then sending outflow water to pond? I want to use for 100 -200 gallon duck pond and want to reduce chance of pump being clogged with duck waste. Any help is appreciatrewd.
If I understand correctly, you want to pre-filter before the pump then send to the drums? You could also run a leaf basket before the pump. I do this on the submerged pump on my bottom drain that feeds my drums. Are you gravity feeding your pre filter?
@@jeffakamax Jeff, Yes I want a pre filter to pump due to excessive waste ducks produce. The leaf filter will probably work. If I go with a 2nd tank to contain submersible pump it would also be a gravity type container
So I have an estimated 90k gal natural retaining pond that I've put koi and goldfish in. For 2-3 years been getting by with vegetation to keep clean, but want to work on water clarity now. Would I need 5 of these in series to cover that size pond? I dont want to break the bank with trying to turn that volume of water daily.
Hello. I am interested in building this filter but I would like to add it to a 3 barrel system. My pond is about 1200 gallons so fairly small. Is it possible to make this filter on a smaller scale? I don't have the luxury of a filter room or large area out of sight for all of the filtration. I appreciate any suggestions.
How are the jebao pumps holding up in freshwater? I usually only get 1.5-2 years out of them in a saltwater environment. Also, best places to purchase K1? Appreciate your design Jeff!
So I have 6 ducks. Would I want one barrel or two or more? I'm only flitering 300 gallons currently but we will shortly have a 1500 gallon pond. Also if i do get a multi barrel set up is it better to do it in stages ( k3, k2, k1)?
Id do 2 barrels if you can. The media size is not super critical but the larger media will help with not clogging as fast, especially with ducks that produce more solids than koi.
@@jeffakamaxThank you for the help! I'll make sure to keep that in mind when purchasing Media! Would you recommend the second barrel be static or active? Also I know you say in the video that the UV light in the pressure filter isn't a very good option. Is that all the way across the board or is that just in the undersized filters?
@@bradleybauder9043 just in undersized filters as you never get enough dwell time to make them affective. Uv in your static drum would be ok. For ducks id start with 1 static and 1 fluidized. If your solids is too much for 1 drum its easy to make the 2nd drum static til you get things under control.
Good stuff. My only concern at this point is how the media may rise over the shower drain, impeded drainage, and eventually have water overflow the drum if you aren't watching it on a daily basis. I imagine you would need to be more vigilant in warmer months. Have you thought of some kind of media netting to control expansion of media or some kind of perforated barrier below the elevation of the shower drain? I'd like to design something vacation proof.
The media rises as it becomes clogged and exposes cleaner media to the drain. Early spring I clean daily and it's quite full. I've missed days and never had an overflow issue in years.
Hi Jeff, im planning on building your filter design for duck pond. This is purely for keeping the pond clean, would I be wiser to use K1 or K3. im looking to reduce flushing of the filter from a daily if possible, to weekly or longer.
Hi @@jeffakamax Thank you for taking the time to reply, it really is appreciated. My setup is for a duckpond. I'm guessing the water does not have to be as crystal as one would need for a fish pond quality, I'm looking to support more so the mechanical side of filtering (I think), if you have any advise that would be great.
@@paulrees-businessmindset the larger media might be a better option given the high amount of solids ducks produce. Dont get frustrated about cleaning frequency. I've built a few duck pond setups and the owners tell me... its always filthy.! I tell them yeah, because its working.
@@jeffakamax I'm thinking maybe a two drum option, first drum to take the load and second to fine tune, what's your thoughts on media option please Jeff. Also I have a radio show, would love to guest you on.
Thumb up. I plan my little pond for my turtles, but I have a question: a barrel filter will be good but I have to place the barrel at the basement the pond level. With water pump inside just above Inlet tube . The water come from bottom drain and pumped to waterfall. But I have an issue: how can I do the maintenance? All murky will drop off at the bottom but is underground....
Great video thanks.......the drain pipe....you drill holes through the 1 1/2 inch PVC but don't cap the end correct? Outside has the gate valve. Why are the holes needed in the drain pipe? Thanks in advance. I plan on using this design for a freshwater stingray tank......
@@monichippewa2232 could but I wouldn't recommend it. My testing shows these will effectively filter down to about 50 micron. Pool sand filters are effective down to 5 to 20 micron typically.
Hi Jeff - I built your great design but I keep overflowing. I drilled additional holes and made them slightly bigger, slowed the inflow a bit but still overflowing. Any thoughts on why I'm having this problem? Could it be I don't have enough media?
try lowering the shower drain. Also once the media colonizes with bacteria it will become neutrally buoyant and sit lower in the drum. You are using 2" returns correct?
What stops overflow from this filter? This video came up #2 on my search for home made pressurized biofilters. I am quite frustrated with my biofilter deciding that it is going to overflow, and then a few hours later my pond is empty. I'd love to stick with gravity drain biofilter, but it seems to me that overflow is always a risk.
If you were to neglect regular cleaning, the media is forced up and eventually out of the drum allowing the water to continue to return to the pond. When the media rises over my return drain I know its time to flush it. I've never heard of one overflowing although I suppose it's possible if severely neglected.
Absolutely. I've used single drum setups for up to 2000 gallons successfully. Of course your bio load is the main factor. Be sure to use 2.5 or so c.f. of media.
Do I need to have the input from the bottom or can I just drill a hole on the lid and run the hose from the pump directly into the barrel from the lid? I am building this right now. Thanks.
Thank you. I will finish setting it up and update since I’m using a solar pump. MNP SP25 POND PUMP from Amazon. 600gph max for my 600 gallon pond. Kinda took me a while, but I fully understand the concept now. Lol so technically I can put a layer poly fill or sponges to trap the bigger particles.
I got it done late in the day, so it only caught the sun for about an hour and the water has already cleared up a little. Thank you for the great idea. Can’t wait for put the goldfish in.
Hi Jeff ..I built one of your 55 gallon pumps with 4 kilogrammes of k1 media inside- I think I can add more. It's great. The problem is the pump has broken and I am going to buy a new one. What kind of flow is optimal for a one barrel filter please? Is 10,000-18,000 litre/hour too much? I really appreciate all the info that you post.
@@jeffakamax hi Jeff just wondering the barrel i have is curved at the bottom and getting a good seal for the waste pipe is going to be really difficult,as my barrel is going to be raised up on concrete blocks could I have the waste pipe coming out of the bottom of the barrel in a gap between the concrete blocks wide enough to put a valve in there instead regards Danny
This is awesome thank you so much !I This literally saved me a 1k. I was gonna drop on an AST filter. The biological filtration is no joke. I am running this in a way overstocked tilapia setup with just the one static 55 gallon filter about 3 cuft of media. Right now feeding a little over a half pound of feed a day and ammonia is zero and nitrites are zero! Im gonna add another one of these bad boys and I should be good for the rest of the grow out.
We've had a pond for 10+ years, my wife has always bitched about how dirty it is, her life was an eternal struggle for clarity. Her filter was a grey box, about 16x16x16 with 2 small trays of barbecue rocks which were always slimed over. I was pretty much detached from it. I randomly found this, I like to build stuff, and followed your instructions. The pond is about 12:1300 gallons. Overnight. Clear, overnight. She thinks I am Superman. Thanks Brother.
Thats great! Enjoy your new superhero status.
Hi great vid thanx! Can the outlet be placed higher, or there a reason why it is around the mid of the barrel? Thanx!
@@ladasse the outlet can be placed higher. I did it in the middle to allow for adjustment of the water level with the riser inside the barrel.
I watched your video and built one, but used a trash can from home depot. Everything else done was as you posted. We used K1 and filled it to about 15" below the shower drain. The pond is about 4000 gallons and was a mess. It was the start of the season and in one week we had major improvements. The end of week 2 we could see the bottom of the pond. We just pulled the waterfall filters which have been in service the whole time and are amazed they are not too bad. They used to be our only filter. Your filter system filter is extremely easy to clean. We do it everyday typically 2 flushes of the K-1 and its good, done in about 5 minutes or so. This is a great filter and I would highly recommend it. This is a great video! Thank you! Jeff the Executioner!
Awesome! Wait til the bacteria colonizes the K1, then then the clarity gets real.
@@jeffakamax We used it all last summer we live in Ct. It was amazing the best the pond ever looked and the least we ever did to maintain it. Cant wait for this spring!
@@rb91458 thats awesome!
How much of the K1 media do you need in a 55 gallon setup and do you know the best economical option to buy online?
@@rosediveservice6602 3 cubic feet
Thanks for putting this out there. Super simple to build and works even better than I expected.
Hi,
I have had a four barrel filtration system for the last 27 years.
With a fifteen hundred gallon above ground pond.
I have a baffle setup at the bottom, with a 1/2 inch pipe at the top, an air nozzle for the compressor, with gravel as the media.
It takes me thirty minutes to clean all four filters every six to eight weeks, and my water is crystal clear.
I have about thirty kois , most are above six pounds, and have had them over eighteen years..
It is a great system. Good luck.
Bird man filters work great but are harder to clean.
I just had to stop by and say I built this unit recently and it took me a second to get it dialed in as far as pump size and draining but once I got it flowing this is thing is amazing!! Crystal clear to the bottom. I have 7-8 ducks that use it and i would have to change it once a week before this thing! It works great
Excellent! Duck ponds are notoriously hard to keep clean, good to hear you got it fine tuned and working!
Good to hear. Me and my daughter have one duck in our backyard and we are putting in a 40 gallon pond for him to play in. I'm thinking about scaling this down to a 5 gallon bucket
@@jeffakamax Had another question about cleaning the K2 once its gets full of stuff. In the video you mentioned you have a car wash brush or something. Can you elaborate on that?
@@rupe1768 ua-cam.com/video/uTtiemydpqM/v-deo.html
Hey Jeff I was wondering if you had a amazon list of everything you used for this? Im hoping to build one for my duck pond!
Did you end up doing this for your duck pond? Did it work?
FYI if anybody questions this: I just built this design in a 3 barrel system. 1 swirl, 2 with K1. My pond was clear in 24hrs. I knew it work, however I'm shocked at the results. Thanks so much for this video! This design is perfect! I highly reccomend!
Excellent!
I'm trying a similar system...think imessed up cutting the lid off.cut into the side..not down into it..isn't round anymore
Look for drums with the removable lid
I can't figure out how to add a picture, but, I just cut a rectangle out of the top of the drum, then put it back with some hinges for a lid. Works fine...
Dannywhite how many gallons is your pond? I'm building a 4000 gal. pond and wondering if 2 55 gal drums would do the trick.
I have been assembling parts and have watched more than a dozen videos looking for the best and most informative information...I just found it. I have spent the big money on Pressure filters and 4 stage mesh filters and all the other crap. I have had a change in my pond over the last few months and it has gone from clear to a green tub of pea soup. chemicals have not helped. Frequently cleaning and water changes are very temporary. I will roll with this for now. Thank you. Clear, concise and direct conveyance of information. Well done .
I built one using a Brute trash can. It was a mistake. They aren't sturdy enough for the weight of the PVC. I made it work but I would recommend a drum as he uses in the video. K1 is a good static media but fluidizing doubles the effective surface area. I added a 9" airstone to the bottom. If you add an airstone put more holes for the outlet pipe.
This is awesome and it really works good. Watched this video for about 4 times and finally built it last week. Works awesome. Thanks for the video!
Fantastic. Let me know what you think after a few weeks once the bacteria establishes.
Hey Jeff, can you post a list of all the items needed for this build? (besides the barrel)
This works AWESOME. At first I thought one of the seals was leaking but I forgot to glue one PVC connection and had a slight drip. Talk about easy to clean. My current pump is very small so it has taken 2-3 days to mostly clear up my pond. The nasty smelling water coming out when you clean it and all the dirt this thing traps is really amazing. Only had it running about a week now on a 800 gallon pond with new pond syndrome and a small submersible UV bulb was just added I got off amazon cheap. Pressurized filters do work great but there harder to clean IMO. I had a few before. I ended up sanding and painting it a hammered copper color to better blend with the landscape. Also at least for now I used a combination of K3 and a bunch of course sponge and furnace filter material I had laying around I cut up into cubes of various sizes and shapes. I added 1 Cubic foot of K3 and also I used a 40 gallon tote. Super easy - if you put your hips into it!
Awesome! Thanks for the update.
This is great, plan on using this design for a freshwater sting ray tank. Simply yet extremely effective. Thanks for sharing.
Hello fellow =w= fan!
Update - I can read the date off a dime on the bottom of my pond. cleaning the filter is so easy and combines water changes with filter cleaning in one step! I added UV and a couple aerating stones. Have a mix of media. And I found a really large shower drain I used that was heavy duty PVC and gave me a lot of surface area for holes. Not a problem or leak and super simple and robust construction. Some areas the K4 is static and some areas it moves. Seems to work fine so far for my needs.I think adding the large chunks of course sponge works well for mechanical. Most reside at the bottom but some float to the top too. I used a 40 gallon. My pond is 800 gallons
Fantastic! Glad you're happy with it.
Thank you for the video. Threw out the useless pressure filter and repurposed the sponge filter on the output. Water cleared in 2 days.
Pressure filters have no place in a pond environment, they cannot handle the amount of solids produced... as you well know.
Thx pond is much clearer. Glad I found your vid.
Wait a few weeks until the bacteria colonization the media, that's when the water clarity will really become noticeable.
I appreciate the input on the filter, but I love the fan! I've got a few just like it!
I built one of these using your specifications. This thing is no Joke. My pond is crystal clear. Seriously the best its ever been. I have a pad filter and a pressure filter for sale if anyone is interested. Pressure filter has UV too. LOL
Thank you! I still argue with people regularly who tell me these will never work... Wait til your bacteria colonizes, then you will see real clarity!
Trying your filter method, waiting on media to ship in. I’ll let you know how it works. Thanks for the idea!!!
Keep me posted!
Hey Jeff, great video thank you. I have a fish pond around 900 gallons. I don't have a lot of room to put 55 gallon filter. Would a 15 gallon work with the K1 Media ? Thanks in advance
15g might be fine depending on your bio load. It surely won't hurt adding it.
@@jeffakamax Thanks Jeff for the response. I'll give it a try
*Wow what a great video. I am 99.2% sure that I'm going with this. I still have to plan other things out first before I commit. Thank you Sir.* 😃👍
I am going to Build a pond 1100 gallons and I was planning to buy Nexus 220 which is $1800. Thanks for sharing
Nexus makes a decent filter but the price it outrageous. Let me know how it turns out.
Do you have a pump size recommendation for a 3000 gallon duck pond. Thanks for all the videos
2500 GPH is an ideal flow rate, or less. More will sacrifice efficiency.
@@jeffakamax Thank you Jeff
watched all your videos.. tks for all the tips!!
Fantastic filter good content buddy 💯 iv got a d.i y system apart from my vortex 😁 iv made everything simple and easy runs a 7,000 liter pond 😎👍🐟
3 cubic feet of K1 contains about 860 square feet of surface area for bacteria, if anyone was wondering.
Thats kool for a moveing media bed but as static it dose nothing
@@wardraven8755 Moving media beds simply improve the environment for aerobic bacteria, turning off the air supply will not stop it working.
Do you have to use K1 media, or can I use BioHome media? It will make it super heavy and slow the flow, but I love the Biohome!
@jessieschnell9919 biohome is a great media but better used as a static media. K1 strength is how easy it is to clean. It also harbors new strong bacteria growth through the tumbling action that dislodged dying bacteria and allows new bacteria to propagate.
If you were doing a 3 barrel system, you could use a static media in the 3rd drum which would not need frequent cleaning.
I am not an untrained monkey but rather a girl with some tools and minimal knowledge. Currently running two of the pressure filters and you’re absolutely right I hate them! I hate them mostly because the cleaning is a nightmare. My pond is overstocked I admit but I can’t find people to give fish to. My question is do you have a list that someone could use to build this?
I have another video with a parts breakdown. If you still have questions, let me know.
I am looking into building this for my mother in law and was wonder if this would work for turtle pond.
Also I can only buy k1 media by liter you said 2-3 cu.ft. how does it convert
Wish id watched a few more videos before i built mine, ive had 2 £300 pressure filters on my 12000liter pond and ive never been able to see the bottom 😂. I built a large 200liter bin with brushes matts and aqau rocks works a treat but pulling the things apart once a week in the summer to clean is no fun 😂😂. Diy is defo the way to for filters unless you got like £3k you dont mind wasting on a drum filter 😂😂
Wanting to make this on a 100l waterbut how much k1 do I put in
1/3 full is a good starting point.
@@jeffakamax thank you
You just saved me hundreds of dollars ty
Now that mines built I have some words of wisdom. I substituted from your list and found I'm not happy with my results because of it. So to sum this up shortly follow everything to a T and keep your connections simple.
The main issues so far is mine leaks. What I found is Uniseals are awesome IF you are using plastic drums. If you are using a brute trash can or equivalent they suck. I had a hard time finding drums available in my area and because of this I figured I could sneak by with a trash can instead. I was wrong. The walls aren't even thick enough to keep the pvc in place.
Next issue I ran into is to insure the over flow is A 6" minimum from the top of the barrel... 3" isnt enough. Ask me how I know. That sucked to clean up. 🙄
Although this isn't an issue in my case it may be in yours. I purchased a Doheny 3700 gph pool pump / strainer on a great sale and put a ball valve to reduce pressure down to around that 1500 ish range. I still don't think this is a bad option but some people may not like the added complexity.
The final words of wisdom are to beware of Amazon pool fittings if you decide to use a hose to conect it to your pond. They are not NPT and you will Just waist a buch of time any money. I wanted to be able to easily drain and move my filter because we are building our house and everything will eventually have to move. That indever alone probably cost $100 just getting the hose, clamps, adapters, bushings, etc. It worked but I think if I where to do it again I'd just hard pipe the entire thing and cut it when I wanted to move it.
UPDATE: Well as the summer months have come to an end I have done a few things to make my life easier with this particular filter.
First is a uv light. The algae created from 5 ducks was by far too much to be contained by a 2 barrel filter alone. I added a nice size uv light and additional pump. To help keep the pond more sterile and clear.
The second is the plumbing. I first only had one back flow valve after my pump but that meant I had to prime the system every time I needed to clean the strainer. So I added a second one to the intake line... Which failed after a week. After some trial and error I found sewage valves work better than sump pump valves. Don't ask me why. They are built the exact same.
Other than that I have been very impressed with this filter. I'd like to add a 3ed barrel to just have a second layer of static Media. But that's more just to see if it has any benefit not because it's a requirement. I strongly recommend trying to find buckets that have the ability to screw on a lid as mine just rest on top. Not the end of the world but bugs do get into it and reproduce even with frequent flushes.
Never mind Jeff I just found your other video showing the 2 1/2 and 3 inch hole saws.
You rock bro!!! Very informative! Thank you!
Hey Jeff, I built mine at the beginning of summer, and it worked great until just recently when I moved the barrel to a new pond that I dug with a plastic liner, and now it just keeps overfilling and dumping all of my pond water out onto the ground Over the lid do you have any recommendations?
You either need to raise the drum to increase gravitational force or increase the size of your return to lower resistance.
@@jeffakamax thanks for the advice!
@@jeffakamaxdo you think I need to swap the pvc check for a 2”? My pump only supports up to 1.25” tubing, so I’ll have to go from 1.25” to 2” back down to 1.5” for my current check valve setup
@@kurtiscummings565 the pump is feeding the 1st drum!, correct? Your problem is too much restriction on the return.
Hey Jeff, another question. I'm in the process of building this bio-filter. You used uniseals on all except you mentioned in the video you used a 1 1/2" bulkhead on the discharge. Do you prefer a bulkhead over a uniseal on the discharge. Thanks again
I use uniseals on all drum openings. The input is 1.5 inch and all other piping is 2 inch. Bulkhead work fine too but are significantly more expensive.
Initially I saw a video to do rock in stead of K1 media, but I'm planning on using the K1 media instead. I really like the idea of using it due to more surface area. I'm doing a bit of upgrade on my pond since I was stupid last year and left the damn water on over the weekend and killed all my Koi.....ugh!! Thought it would be a good time to upgrade my filtration. I think my pond is 1500 gallons. I'm planning on using a 1000 gph Laguna inside of a home made skimmer and output to the waterfall. I also purchased a 3000 gph Atlantic Tidalwave TT3000 pump to pump into a 2 barrel filtration system like the one you have. What I'm thinking is I will use the first barrel for mechanical filtration and the second barrel as a biological filtration. My questions are: 1) Should I use K1 media for both? 2) For the 2nd barrel biological filtration, should I put a small aerator in it?
You can absolutely run K in both. I use K3 in my first filter as it's mainly mechanical
. Yes, an aerator is a great idea for your moving media. I have videos showing my fluidized barrel with aeration.
@@jeffakamax One more question. When I go to clean the barrels, I'm guessing I just more city water in the pond to replace the water that was removed from the barrels, right?
@@JeffreyMacon correct. just turn off pump, agitate media, drain barrel and top pond back off.
Cool. Think I'll do something like this as a pre-filter off my intake bay and bottom drain but have my return go to regeneration zones within the pond. I'm wondering if I'm pulling from both intake bay and bottom drain if my pump should be in the barrel or in another tank outside the barrel? And trying to figure out how to do my clean out if I bury the barrel.
You would need a pre filter or leaf basket if the pump is in the barrel. Cleaning the pump might be difficult in the barrel.
Hi, could you put an air pump in to make it a fluidised bed filter? Or would it need other modifications?
I run a fluidized barrel as the last barrel on my 3 barrel system. I put an elbow pointed up on the feed and an airstone. Check out some of the videos on my channel and you can see it in action.
Jeff, or anyone who knows,
How much K1 media is needed for a 35 gallon barrel? The video is very helpful- thanks
1.5 cubic feet should be plenty
I can not find that kind of shower drain anywhere. I found a 2” plastic collar with a flat metal grates top that I might have to drill holes in the collar and maybe a couple around the top of the 2” return pipe. IDK. Links to the supplies used would’ve been helpful and time saving, but I do appreciate the video nonetheless.
Similar principle to the Evolution Aqua Easypod but less than 20% of the price. 👍
Hi, great video. I was wondering if you can/should add a UV light to this build?
You could add a UV to the first drum or in the return line to the pond.
Hi Jeff - Newbie over here. Going to build this single barrel filter for my 800 gallon pond but was curious if you can share the measurements of where to drill the holes. I don't know if I'm drilling low enough from the top and low enough on the bottom. Any shared wisdom is appreciated, thanks!
Anywhere close within reason is fine as you can adjust the height and drop internally.
How does the pump attach to the barrel filter?
I have a submersible pump to 1.25" flexible pvc to the drums. Check my other videos for the bottom drain and leaf basket that are also a part of this system.
@@jeffakamax Thank you, I've watched 5 or 6 of your videos so far and couldn't find. I'll look around some more.
But basically there's a flexible line that goes from the pump outlet to the drum filter inlet?
(With a reducer since my pump outlet is maybe 1/2"-3/4" outlet hose and the inlet for the drum filter is 1 1/2") or maybe I need a new pump.
Thanks again for the response.
@@MRGUN143R how big is your pond?
@@jeffakamax About 600 gallons
@@MRGUN143R you should be running a 1200-1500 gph pump ideally.
Would throwing a uv light in the bottom of the barrel be effective ? Maybe something holding the media up a few inches about the clean out and uv light underneath ?
I wouldn't on a single barrel system as you would sacrifice all your good bacteria in the drum.
Love your filter videos. I just built a 4500 gallon duck pond, and just picked up a 4500 gph pump from Harbor Freight. Is that too high a flow, and how many barrels filters would you suggest I connect together?
Ducks are filthy, i would do a 3 barrel system. 4500 is a bit high but depending on head height and how much pipe you use your flow will be considerably less. You could always throttle it down a bit with a valve if needed.
@@jeffakamax Thanks Jeff! To be clear, how many barrels should I use in my system? For that pond, 13 ducks and 4 geese use it...
@@3CWare edited my typos above.
I have a question regarding how high I can place the output into my pond. I would like the filter about 10 feet away from the pond and to have the plumbing underground then come back up and into the pond, the water level leaving the filter would be higher than the entry level into the waterfall/pond. Is that possible to gravity feed down a PVC pipe, across a span then gravity feed UP to the output IF it is lower than the filter output height? How much lower would it need to be do you think? Also another question if I add air to this to make it a fluidized/moving bed, will the mechanical filtration pretty much be lost and it would become more of a bio filter only? Thoughts? I painted the 40G food grade blue barrel a hammered brown and looks great! Less than one can of paint too.
As long as the output is below the running level of the drum, it will gravity feed. Minimal drop, long runs, etc. Will diminish it's flow...BUT this can be overcome to a point with larger diameter piping on the return. You may have to experiment a bit for your exact situation.
Static media is mechanical. You will get some biological given properties the k1. Fluidized beds are strictly biological. The constant churning of media knocks off old dying bacteria and opens new real estate for young thriving bacteria. The constant churning makes it useless as a mechanical filter though. You can always add an additional barrel if you feel you need more dedicated biological filtration. You can reference my 3 drum system for an example.
Keep me posted, good luck!
Jeff, can the output line be further towards the top if you keep the inside shower head in the same position
the height where the outlet exits the drum can be anywhere below the internal drain. Keeping it low just offers you more flexibility to adjust the water level height internally.
hi, nice job. if you fix a reducer to your 90 degree inlet it will increase pressure causing the whirlpool effect. 40mm to 32mm
How big of a pump do you need. Seems like with where you have the entry line from the pump it would take a lot of pressure to fill the barrel up to the shower drain overflow.
2500 to 3000gph is the most efficient. I run a 3100gph submersible pump that flows about 2500 in reality.
Hi Jeff, I built your three barrel design for a small duck pond I’m working on. The pump I had sitting around does 2600 gph. When I turned it on all the barrels started overflowing. I just ordered a 1600 gph pump to try and I’m going to put some more holes in the shower drain. Do you have any more suggestions?
send a few pics if you can to jeffakamax@gmail.com and I will take a look
@@jeffakamax sent! Ty
Could you skip the lid and add plants to make a bog filter?
@@fredwyese you could. Youd just have to stay on top of keeping the roots trimmed as to not take over the drum
@@jeffakamax Thought so but just wanted to check. Great design and project.
You had me when you said an untrained ape could do it! I'm building one.😅
Where do you buy your K-1 media?
@jeffakamax how you fit a up light into this system?
You can either do a submersible light in the first drum or a UV light in the return line to the pond.
@@jeffakamax just to clarify, if you only have the one drum then you can submerse in that?
@@ianbrien1712 you can but you will lose a majority of your biological filtration. In a single drusm system id recommend putting your UV in the return line.
Jeff. I've read there's different quality K1 media available . What brand do you recommend. Thanks
I've used the cheap knock-off stuff on a dozen filter builds with great success. Bacteria doesn't care about brand names ;)
@@jeffakamax Thanks Jeff. The reason I asked I read the following: Also how many cu ft of K! did you use in the 55 gallon barrel
The difference in K1 media quality primarily lies in the consistency of the plastic used, the surface area provided by the shape and size of the pieces, and the manufacturing process, which can impact how effectively it supports beneficial bacteria growth for water filtration in aquariums and ponds; generally, higher quality K1 media will have a larger surface area, consistent shape, and be made from high-density polyethylene for optimal bacterial colonization
@@mikrch3935 2.5 to 3 cubic feet per drum. Surface area is key to bacteria... If you go down that rabbit hole, you will also learn that different bacteria prefer different angles (allegedly) and that he smaller K1 with 90 degree spokes will lend itself to different bacteria than say K3 with the 45 degree spokes. (allegedly...) I have used everything you can think of over the years from plastic banding strap to a drum full of plastic forks, it ALL works! the K-media is one of the best when it comes to ease of cleaning though and that is important when used to remove solids. there are a lot of other media (alpha grog, etc) that have WAY more surface area but are impossible to clean and only used in biological filtration like bacci showers.
Can you give me a list of items needed for this pond filter please???????
I used this idea but used rock as my media different sizes, a lot cheaper and does the same thing I feel
@@NicholasKoenig-l3d just harder to clean.
Thanks Jeff great vid
Does the cleaning process effect biological bacteria at all? What size pump do you recommend? What does water clarity look like with no using a floss media?
If flushing with pond water, no loss of beneficial bacteria. 2500 to 3000 gph seems to work well. Slower is always more effective than faster flow. The k1 media in my system is effective down to 50 micron which is incredible. I have a video testing this. Water clarity is excellent.
@jeffakamax awesome info. I'll be making this for my 1100 gallon cichlid pond. You just saved me lots of money I might just use that money to a prefilter box for my pump that has some course sponges in it. How often do you recommend flushing?
If my waterfall is above the tank a few feet, is there anyway to set this up without needing a second pump ???
You can PUMP OUT to the waterfall if you have a GRAVITY IN FEED. Or PUMP IN and GRAVITY RETURN. Pumping in and out is impossible as you will never match both pumps exactly.
Good morning, thank you for the video. Can I use the same system in a 30 gallon plastic barrel instead of a 55 gallon.
Sure can
So I built this system but my k1 media goes above the overflow section
once the bacteria established=s with bacteria it will become neutrally buoyant and settle down.
as long as you are not overflowing the barrel. you will be fine.
I talked to Jeff about 2 years ago and finally got around to replacing a Pondmaster pressure filter with a single barrel filter last month. I was hoping to post some pictures but I guess it can't be done here. I got a 55 gal. barrel for $20 here in NJ and filled with about 3 sq ft. of K1 (about 18" of media). I have an Oase 3700 Waterfall pump which has a flow of about 1400 gph when it reaches the barrel (close to 40 feet and 7-8 foot rise from pump to barrel). I used 11/2" all around because I didn't want to replumb the inflow and outflow connections to my waterfall container. I still have a Laguna pressure filter hooked to pump #2 and thinking about replacing that one next season. I'm still having ammonia issues and seeing fish poo get through to the waterfall so I'm not sure which filter is the issue, the Laguna or the barrel?
What size media did you use? K1 will filter down to 50 micron or so.
Yes…K1. I’ll send ya a few pics.
Thanks I love it works great
Good to hear!
@@jeffakamax how long do you let your barrel sit before you drain some of the water out of the bottom of it
@@stevenruppe for cleaning? Just agitate it like crazy and drain.
Jeff, how far from the bottom of the barrel is the discharge pipe, and how tall is the pipe from the the 2" elbow to the shower drain?
Check this ua-cam.com/video/Yy14pcG4jSI/v-deo.html
Discharge should be as close to bottom as possible. The shower drain can be adjusted as needed. I usually set them up about 6" below the top rim of the drum so the media sits a few inches below the rim when in use.
Would 1 1/2" bio-balls work for the media instead of the K 1 media?
@@garystewart6650 bio balls would be about 15% as effective
Jeff theExecutioner Thank you.
Great videos man can’t wait to see more
Would mosquitoes get in the top with drilled holes on the top? Sorry I’m not knowledgeable in this stuff.
Mosquitoes will only hang around stagnant water, the only think you might get is a few gnats.
Do you have one in a video that shows it working?
ua-cam.com/video/dD-TETPOzd0/v-deo.html
What is K1? Is this ok for a 300 gallon duck pond to help get ruck poop out?
"K" stands for Kaldness, the original name of the plasic bio-media. It's been copied a dozen times over and is readily available. check my other videos to see what it looks like.
Great design, I heard you say around 2500gph if you increase the inlet and outlet sizes would a stronger pump be ok? I have a 5000gph pump I was going to make one of these as pure mechanical and the the outlet feed into a if and attach to my shower for bio
I wouldn't recommend much more flow. Too high of flow reduces efficiency as the increases turbulence won't allow particulate to be cohesive and clump together. I have 3100 pump going through mine now with about 2700 actual flow
I'd like to know where your getting barrels so cheap I see them for like 70ish. If u could post a link or just tell me where I'd love to buy several lol cheers
Facebook marketplace. I pay $20 to $25 a drum.
@@jeffakamax thanks
Hi Jeff. Can you post the link to where you got the drain. Can't find that anywhere!
Search on Amazon. sioux chief 841-2a
enjoy the videos. with a single 50 gal drum for a 1000g raised tank would you go static or liquidized? the setup I'm building is a 2300 gph pump through a aquascape pressure with UV into a 50gal drum. curious what your advice will be. thanks,
Static if only a single drum
@@jeffakamax thanks. I'm having great luck going back and forth giving the air pump a break mid-day during the heat of the day. Built a mini bog too.
Would this system work if submersible pump is placed outside pond in a 2nd barrel receiving the outflow of the mechanical filter, and then sending outflow water to pond? I want to use for 100 -200 gallon duck pond and want to reduce chance of pump being clogged with duck waste. Any help is appreciatrewd.
If I understand correctly, you want to pre-filter before the pump then send to the drums? You could also run a leaf basket before the pump. I do this on the submerged pump on my bottom drain that feeds my drums.
Are you gravity feeding your pre filter?
@@jeffakamax
Jeff,
Yes I want a pre filter to pump due to excessive waste ducks produce. The leaf filter will probably work. If I go with a 2nd tank to contain submersible pump it would also be a gravity type container
Can you run multiple of these in either series or parallel for a bigger pond?
Absolutely. I have videos on my channel showing my 3 barrel setup.
@@jeffakamax Oh, I see those now. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly!
what size of hole saws do you use to cut the holes for the 2 inch and 1 1/2 inch pipe?
So I have an estimated 90k gal natural retaining pond that I've put koi and goldfish in. For 2-3 years been getting by with vegetation to keep clean, but want to work on water clarity now. Would I need 5 of these in series to cover that size pond? I dont want to break the bank with trying to turn that volume of water daily.
For a pond that size i would use IBC containers and adapt accordingly.
Hello. I am interested in building this filter but I would like to add it to a 3 barrel system. My pond is about 1200 gallons so fairly small. Is it possible to make this filter on a smaller scale? I don't have the luxury of a filter room or large area out of sight for all of the filtration. I appreciate any suggestions.
You already have a 3 barrel system? Are you just wanting to add a fluidized barrel or?
@@jeffakamax I do not have a 3 barrel system yet. I'm looking to increase my filtration. I currently only have a pressurized filter.
How are the jebao pumps holding up in freshwater? I usually only get 1.5-2 years out of them in a saltwater environment. Also, best places to purchase K1? Appreciate your design Jeff!
So I have 6 ducks. Would I want one barrel or two or more? I'm only flitering 300 gallons currently but we will shortly have a 1500 gallon pond. Also if i do get a multi barrel set up is it better to do it in stages ( k3, k2, k1)?
Id do 2 barrels if you can. The media size is not super critical but the larger media will help with not clogging as fast, especially with ducks that produce more solids than koi.
@@jeffakamaxThank you for the help! I'll make sure to keep that in mind when purchasing Media! Would you recommend the second barrel be static or active? Also I know you say in the video that the UV light in the pressure filter isn't a very good option. Is that all the way across the board or is that just in the undersized filters?
@@bradleybauder9043 just in undersized filters as you never get enough dwell time to make them affective. Uv in your static drum would be ok. For ducks id start with 1 static and 1 fluidized. If your solids is too much for 1 drum its easy to make the 2nd drum static til you get things under control.
@@jeffakamax Thank you! I really appreciate it!
Would you recommend another form
Of Biological such as Pumic or Lava rock
Both are good options but much harder to clean. Surface area to ease of maintenance kaldness is hard to beat.
Hi Jeff what size drill bit do you use to drill the shower drain and for the bottom drain pipe? TY for the vid
If memory serves they are 3/8" holes. You can go as big as you want as long as your media is larger then the holes.
Good stuff. My only concern at this point is how the media may rise over the shower drain, impeded drainage, and eventually have water overflow the drum if you aren't watching it on a daily basis. I imagine you would need to be more vigilant in warmer months. Have you thought of some kind of media netting to control expansion of media or some kind of perforated barrier below the elevation of the shower drain? I'd like to design something vacation proof.
The media rises as it becomes clogged and exposes cleaner media to the drain. Early spring I clean daily and it's quite full. I've missed days and never had an overflow issue in years.
Hi Jeff, im planning on building your filter design for duck pond. This is purely for keeping the pond clean, would I be wiser to use K1 or K3. im looking to reduce flushing of the filter from a daily if possible, to weekly or longer.
K1 will capture smaller particles but plug up Quicker. K3 is easier to clean but doesn't polish as well and holds less bacteria.
Hi @@jeffakamax Thank you for taking the time to reply, it really is appreciated. My setup is for a duckpond. I'm guessing the water does not have to be as crystal as one would need for a fish pond quality, I'm looking to support more so the mechanical side of filtering (I think), if you have any advise that would be great.
@@paulrees-businessmindset the larger media might be a better option given the high amount of solids ducks produce. Dont get frustrated about cleaning frequency. I've built a few duck pond setups and the owners tell me... its always filthy.! I tell them yeah, because its working.
@@jeffakamax I'm thinking maybe a two drum option, first drum to take the load and second to fine tune, what's your thoughts on media option please Jeff. Also I have a radio show, would love to guest you on.
@@paulrees-businessmindset 2 barrel id definitely go with k3 into k1. Both static beds for solids.
Thumb up. I plan my little pond for my turtles, but I have a question: a barrel filter will be good but I have to place the barrel at the basement the pond level. With water pump inside just above Inlet tube . The water come from bottom drain and pumped to waterfall. But I have an issue: how can I do the maintenance? All murky will drop off at the bottom but is underground....
I use a sump pump in mine at times to water the gardens. You could do the same for cleaning if you are limited to that configuration
@@jeffakamax thank you Jeff
Great video thanks.......the drain pipe....you drill holes through the 1 1/2 inch PVC but don't cap the end correct? Outside has the gate valve. Why are the holes needed in the drain pipe? Thanks in advance. I plan on using this design for a freshwater stingray tank......
The bottom drain for flushing and cleaning has slits in it so you don't lose the media while draining
@@jeffakamax I see, so is the opposite end of the gate valve capped?
@@GregGosney correct.
Can this be used on a swimming pool ?
@@monichippewa2232 could but I wouldn't recommend it. My testing shows these will effectively filter down to about 50 micron. Pool sand filters are effective down to 5 to 20 micron typically.
Hi Jeff - I built your great design but I keep overflowing. I drilled additional holes and made them slightly bigger, slowed the inflow a bit but still overflowing. Any thoughts on why I'm having this problem? Could it be I don't have enough media?
try lowering the shower drain. Also once the media colonizes with bacteria it will become neutrally buoyant and sit lower in the drum. You are using 2" returns correct?
@@jeffakamax I think the return is my mistake. I did the 2inch return but used a 1.5in reducer to fit existing tubing.
@@Peter-xx4be That will make a big difference
BRILLIANT!
What stops overflow from this filter? This video came up #2 on my search for home made pressurized biofilters. I am quite frustrated with my biofilter deciding that it is going to overflow, and then a few hours later my pond is empty. I'd love to stick with gravity drain biofilter, but it seems to me that overflow is always a risk.
If you were to neglect regular cleaning, the media is forced up and eventually out of the drum allowing the water to continue to return to the pond. When the media rises over my return drain I know its time to flush it. I've never heard of one overflowing although I suppose it's possible if severely neglected.
Great video Jeff! If I made this, would it be able stand alone and be my only source of filtration for my 500 gallon pond?
Absolutely. I've used single drum setups for up to 2000 gallons successfully. Of course your bio load is the main factor. Be sure to use 2.5 or so c.f. of media.
Jeff theExecutioner Awesome! I’ll give it a shot. Thanks for the help.
Do I need to have the input from the bottom or can I just drill a hole on the lid and run the hose from the pump directly into the barrel from the lid? I am building this right now. Thanks.
needs to be bottom fed to work correctly
Thank you. I will finish setting it up and update since I’m using a solar pump. MNP SP25 POND PUMP from Amazon. 600gph max for my 600 gallon pond.
Kinda took me a while, but I fully understand the concept now. Lol so technically I can put a layer poly fill or sponges to trap the bigger particles.
@@TanThan1983 you could.... but it will make cleaning much more difficult. The k1 will catch everything.
I got it done late in the day, so it only caught the sun for about an hour and the water has already cleared up a little. Thank you for the great idea. Can’t wait for put the goldfish in.
@@TanThan1983 fantastic!
Do you have a build that does more mechanical filteration?
You can add barrels with static media if additional mechanical filtration is required.
Hi Jeff ..I built one of your 55 gallon pumps with 4 kilogrammes of k1 media inside- I think I can add more. It's great.
The problem is the pump has broken and I am going to buy a new one. What kind of flow is optimal for a one barrel filter please? Is 10,000-18,000 litre/hour too much?
I really appreciate all the info that you post.
2500-3000 GPH is the most efficient.
@@jeffakamax Thank you Jeff...week 2 and the filter has been cleaned twice. The water quality has improved hugely.
Thank You!
Hi jeff just watched your video just wondering mate how many litres of K1 do i need please.
I have 8 cubic feet between all 3 drums
@@jeffakamax hi Jeff just wondering the barrel i have is curved at the bottom and getting a good seal for the waste pipe is going to be really difficult,as my barrel is going to be raised up on concrete blocks could I have the waste pipe coming out of the bottom of the barrel in a gap between the concrete blocks wide enough to put a valve in there instead regards Danny
@@danielcarpenter6338 you can put it wherever works for you, uni seals however are pretty good dealing with the curvature of the drum
This is awesome thank you so much !I This literally saved me a 1k. I was gonna drop on an AST filter. The biological filtration is no joke. I am running this in a way overstocked tilapia setup with just the one static 55 gallon filter about 3 cuft of media. Right now feeding a little over a half pound of feed a day and ammonia is zero and nitrites are zero! Im gonna add another one of these bad boys and I should be good for the rest of the grow out.
Good to hear!
Any recommendations on a pump for a small pond? Around 300-400 gallons? No real experience with pond filtration and my ducks make a mess.
Jaebo DC series. Very efficient relaible.
Do you have a link to where i can buy these supplies in one place or can you sell one? All i have is the drum. Thanks
Where are you located?
@@jeffakamax Houston, Texas