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  1. #1

    Best filtration set up

    Hi,
    looking for filtration advise. I currently have a 1700 gallon pump fed system. Filtered through a 4 tier Bakki style shower and 55w eaUV using a 9000lph pump. The trays contain Alfagrog which I will changing out for either bateria home media or crystal bio in the spring.
    Also next year I’m hoping at increasing the size of the pond to approximately 3000 gallon and adding a bottom drain .... this is where I become stuck! What filtration would work best .... drum / bead filter, Combi drum or something else. I will also be adding a duretec heater.

    Thank you



  2. #2
    what is your current mechanical filtration then ?

    I would just recommend a drum and a bio chamber returned over your shower.

    Not worth swapping out your existing grog imo, you won't gain very much of anything from just putting a different ceramic media in there, and you will have to wait for it to mature again.

  3. #3
    I have Jap matting in top tier of shower. It’s also getting pumped through a cheap canister filter as a pre filter before the UV. I forgot to mention that, apologies. So Alfagrog is good then? Just seems most people are using bhm. Thanks for the advise.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Rank = Nanasai Handy Kenny's Avatar
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    JayC,

    Put me down as a vote for an RDF. Wouldn't personally go for anything different having experienced one.

    Kenny

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  6. #5
    Cheers Kenny, been looking at the synergy 35 Combi drums!

  7. #6
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion Ajm's Avatar
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    Could be wrong but I think I've heard reports of the crystal bio putting shards in to the pond andikoi may be but don't quote me on it

    Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk
    Freddyboy the legend

    "we are water keepers first"

    Johnathan

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  9. #7
    Senior Member Rank = Nanasai Handy Kenny's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JayC View Post
    Cheers Kenny, been looking at the synergy 35 Combi drums!
    Yes, ideal but that is huge and pricey. I have an AEM Easydrum at less than half the price (same sieve as synergy) which keeps my 20,000 litre pond clear.

    Kenny

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  11. #8
    I’ll look into that thanks kenny

  12. #9
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion Davej's Avatar
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    Without biting the bullet and changing to a bottom drain / gravity fed mechanical filter you will always be compromised in terms of "best" filtration.

    Dave

  13. #10
    Hi Dave,
    yes set up now was only temporary, I was levelling the garden out so was a good excuse to dig a pond. I’m going to raise it with block work add a bd and skimmer early next spring. I’m pricing Combi drums up now. No point going the sieve/bead route as just end up changing it soon after. One expensive hobby!!!!

    Jay

  14. #11
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Kyusai TinyTony's Avatar
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    DONT use crystal bio it brakes down over time depending on flow and you ll get tiny shards of glass going in the pond and into the gills

    took my bakki off last week, threw out 20 / 30 kgs of c/b, the bhm was fine , you can see all the broken down and worn bits dried out in the shower which is sitting in the garden.

    this is after weeks of flashing and gill irritation and constant scrapes think it was gill fluke. the new media /shower and old bhm has been on a week now and the flashing has stopped


    single 4 tear bakki with bottom wier and lid and stainless spray bar for sale now btw

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  16. #12
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion john1's Avatar
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    [QUOTE=TinyTony;270185]DONT use crystal bio it brakes down over time depending on flow and you ll get tiny shards of glass going in the pond and into the gills

    took my bakki off last week, threw out 20 / 30 kgs of c/b, the bhm was fine , you can see all the broken down and worn bits dried out in the shower which is sitting in the garden.

    this is after weeks of flashing and gill irritation and constant scrapes think it was gill fluke. the new media /shower and old bhm has been on a week now and the flashing has stopped


    single 4 tear bakki with bottom wier and lid and stainless spray bar for sale now btwery

    Very interesting that Tony as i was thinking of getting some for my shower,think i will stay clear from it now,thanks.
    John

  17. #13
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Kyusai TinyTony's Avatar
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    its been in 7 yrs with the bhm . the crystal bio crumbled . loads of little bits in the shower

  18. #14
    That sounds horrible..... poor fish imagine breathing that in

    I’ve been looking through Drum Combi set ups and I’ve came across the Evolve 4000 (possibly 6000) with the Draco drum, much more affordable than the synergy. Says you can use jap matting as well as the k1 ?!
    Last edited by JayC; 07-07-2018 at 09:47 AM.

  19. #15
    personally speaking i wouldnt go with any static media, even after a drum, and i realise many people do and will have no problems at all, but you will have to remove and wash out jap matting that is pre filtered' even by a draco drum, as they wash, extra fine, fines somehow come through the screen and run down the clean side, a tiny amount, but it will collect on static media after it.
    All drums do this to some degree, im not picking on draco drums, I had one and it was good, but some how even with the finer screen mine let way more fines through than my qk drum.
    I used to have filter wool after my draco drum and it needed washing out fairly regularly.
    To me static media just mean places for muck to gather and bad bacteria to hide, if your medias aerated that cant happen.

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  21. #16
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Kyusai TinyTony's Avatar
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    imo jap matt is much better than k1 . the 1 thing i regret is replacing the matting for k1 in my chamber . cheaper, easier to remove and clean , matures quicker , doesn't take a knock back as much as k1 when using chemicles and doesn't goes everywhere

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  23. #17
    This is the problem I’m having, too many contradictions haha. Personal preference I think is key. I agree a moving bed has its benefits but removing fines is a definite must. I’ll take a look at qk, thanks familyman

  24. #18
    Moderator Rank = Supreme Champion Feline's Avatar
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    If you're after the best filtration, then IMO the one definite is to go for a drum for mechanical.

    I don't believe the choice of bio really matters all that much so long as you have enough of it for your fish load. I personally went for a combination of dancing plastic (Hel-X and K1 in my combi drum) and a shower with BHM. I don't have all my eggs in one basket basically. Just make sure whatever you get is well designed so can be easily dumped to waste and doesn't harbour crud anywhere.

    If you like jap mat then you could even go for an ERIC with draco drum fitted in the first compartment <------ controversial answer LOL.

    If you're a fan of anoxic then you could also go in that direction for bio. The bio world is your oyster

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  26. #19
    Thank you feline. I appreciate all the comments.... now to get saving !!!!

  27. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by TinyTony View Post
    imo jap matt is much better than k1 . the 1 thing i regret is replacing the matting for k1 in my chamber . cheaper, easier to remove and clean , matures quicker , doesn't take a knock back as much as k1 when using chemicles and doesn't goes everywhere
    of course I respect your opinion, but a couple of points id argue..

    a large sheet of jap matting is 69 quid, you can get a 50 litre of k1 for 52 quid. which has the largest surface area out of those 2 for bacteria to colonise I dont know, but id plump for k1.

    Your point about jap matting being easier to clean ?... you shouldn't have to clean k1at all, when its aerated its self cleaning.

    I think your other points are impossible to prove one way or the other, in my experience I found the exact opposite, I had aerated k1 and switched it out for jap matting in my multi bay at one point, it never ever coped after that, until I put k1 back in again. I think regarding being knocked back by chemicals, I think they will all be knocked back the same amount, jap matting Is plastic just the same, I reckon it depends how mature your filters and pond are to start with.
    When my pond was young treatments did knock the filter back a little bit, but now no treatments have any affect on my water test results at all, but I think that would be the case with any media as long as theres enough of it and your ponds mature enough, which I think takes 2 -3 years to be its own complete mature ecosystem.

    David

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