Our main system
is driven by Oase
products
Oase biotec5
Oase biotec 10
with 2" waste pipe
fitted
Oase biotec30
Hydroclean
our stock pond
Easy Pod
This is why I do not recommend flat foam
filters of any kind. Once blocked, as this one is, no filtration is taking
place.
Pressure filters
Vortex
Protein Skimmer
foam bucket
I
am often asked "are my filters large enough" - if your water not this good then
NO
Here at the Fish Helpline, we have a fully working
demonstration pond and quarantine tank.
We cannot stress too strongly
that you should:
Become a water keeper first, and a
fish keeper secondwhich is why we have built this
area.
See
our warning on filter containers on the filters pageThe Fish Helpline runs a full comprehensive maintenance scheme
for Koi ponds, which can include water changes and supply of food. We can also
source your Koi.The photos on the right are all from our
demonstration area, including the quarantine tank.
Go to our
Health pages to find out more about fish
health problems, and why we insist upon quarantining fish before they are
introduced to a healthy pond.
Filters.
Go to our Filtration page for a greater
understanding of this area.
There are so many on the market now of which
50% are just black section tanks like you have in your loft. The best way to
check one of these out is to put a white sheet down alongside your pond than
put contents on sheet and look what you are asking it to do you see them for
sale for a 3000 gal pond inside 3 rows of foam one bag of floccus this would
not support 300 gal to say 3000 even 10 in line would not support 3000 gal
When buying products for your pond find a fish keeper using one first
and ASK. Always remember a lot of these so called filters are the same as anti
ageing cream - rubbish!
A filter size is based on the water flow and
the kind and amount of media used. You can buy filters 6 foot long with so much
space taken up by up and down in and out there is no more media than a black
section tank - there's is one difference about £300. Just because its
advertised in the magazines as a Koi filter does not mean its any good. Like
cars, you can buy one at £200 and one at £2000 - they both may get
you to London once. With filters SIZE matters! A Koi filter needs to be 1/4 the
size of your pond. This does not mean all in one container, but at any one time
a 1/4 of your pond gallonage needs to be under filtration. There is no way
round this if you want GOOD water and that's what its all about. Keep the money
in you pocket and ask or come to see one working at the Fish Helpline. If I've
not got one I may have a client with one and with one phone call could arrange
for you to view.
Hydroclean are a good product range. Does what
it says on the tin, but you need a minimum of 1000g/hr and not an Aquamax or
similar design low wattage pump, as they have no back pressure. Many do use
these pumps, they're good, but will not drive any pressure filter, protein
skimmer, fluid bed or water polisher no matter what make.
A lot of
products for sale are tested in clean water void of fish and detritus such as
foam in filters - a complete waste of time. At no time with any test would I
put my fish's heath at risk so you may conclude that many products don't get to
be tested because they are not considered to be in the fishes best interests.
I can't fault
Easy Pod as a water polisher and removing water
bound sediments (see photo on the right). To clean with high blow 80:
- Drain down water so the level is 1" below the outlet pipe in the
centre of the Easy Pod
- Turn on blower leave 3 mins
- Give all k1 a good stir ( apart from this and the protein skimmer,
the only use for k1 I've ever found - as a filter media its rubbish)
- Open drain to waste.
- When empty turn on the pump to clean dirt from the outer base and
use a brush (soft), wet and rinse down the outside of s/s basket and inside of
Easy Pod and clean outer ring base and allow all to go to waste.
- Close waste and start pump - 5mins in all - first class!
However, as a pond filter not a chance. Unless you're a workaholic
or you have 6 fish in 10,000 gal and feed them once a
fortnight.
NettingThe netting around the pond in the
photos is to allow the fish to feed on aquatic insect life. You would be
surprised how many edible goodies fish find in there. The netting has to be
soaked for around 3 months in a rainwater barrel to allow debris to get into to
the net weave. It's a messy job to fit, and hydroclean gets some stick for
about a week from when installed, but once alga has grown and bound it all
together its a job in town. I got the idea from an Asian carp farmer who showed
me how. Over the last 4 years plant seeds have got stuck to it and I have a
good growth of plants and their leaves out of the fishes reach - their roots
also help to bind it all together.
The netting is rolled up like a
carpet around the sides also its a haven for eggs and fry after spawning you
can hear the fish sucking at the net 3 doors away and at night its sounds very
spooky!
Pressure FiltersPressure filters are fine provided
they are cleaned well and often with a complete strip down for driving a
waterfall> So called self clean by lifting handles to squash sponges and
running the dirt within the filter to waste is like selling snow to Eskimos.
Its just not going to happen.
VortexIf you have a vortex
filter and its under 6' across you do not have a vortex just a empty chamber
doing nothing so put brushes in.
Protein SkimmerFor the
purists out there foam = D.O.C. = Dissolved Organic Carbons.
I have
tried all types of pumps etc. and the best by far after 20 weeks trial is an
Amphibious 850 with 8" sponge on the front of the pump, which is suspended 12"
below the surface. In this way the skimmer does not take debris and works much
better off the bottom - also you only have a 1 meter lift, giving you 700 g/p/h
on 1" flexi piping.
Out of all the different ways I have tried, this is
by far the best, and removes more protein than any other method.
The
skimmer goes green, but only alga on inside of body, k1 stays clean, so there's
no need to clean for 4 weeks, and then only the inside, the k1 is free of
dirt.