Welcome to Koi Forum. Is this your first visit? Register
Results 1 to 14 of 14
  1. #1

    advice with diy filter

    Hi, I'm new to the pond game and could do with a some advice please.

    I was looking into diy filters and have seen people using kitchen bin type containers.
    I was thinking I could use bins inside a larger container, holding vat or something.

    My idea was to connect the bins together, bottom to top. Have brushes jap mat in 1st, plastic stuff 2nd k1 moving 3rd and alfagrog in 4th
    Then have the 4th spill out into the holding vat and have a spillway back into pond ?

    Any ideas and advice would be welcomed



  2. #2
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Sansai sparkapuss's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Loire Valley France
    Posts
    142
    Thanks / Likes
    52
    I'm no expert but I thought a lot of this multichamber filtration went out of the window years ago, I bought two of the big Nexus over 16 years ago, and looking at them now they just seem so antiquated, large, take up loads of room and I'm not sure they are that efficient. Plus this is not a pastime you can do on the cheap.

  3. #3
    What filters do people use ? Instead of the one I was thinking of
    As I say I'm new so have no idea what to look for

  4. #4
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Nisai harryc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Posts
    72
    Thanks / Likes
    53
    Most people if they can afford it are moving to Rotary Drum Filters with extra bio added on.

  5. #5
    So what would be suggested if I didn't want to spend 1000+ on a drum, surly people are using older style filtration without issues? What would that be

  6. #6
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Nisai harryc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Posts
    72
    Thanks / Likes
    53
    Yes I’m sure there is a lot of multi bays still in use along with the nexus range.
    All depends on the size of your pond and planned stocking levels.

    What you want is good mechanical filtration and it doesn’t really matter how you achieve that alongside good bio - moving bed or a bakki

    I personally started off with a diy eazy pod which was fun to make but cleaning in the winter months got a bit tiresome.

  7. #7
    I only have a small pond 3000L and will now only be stocking shubunkin.
    Unfortunately I was sold the wrong pomd for keeping koi but I had already brought it and have it in the garden so don't really want an empty pond sat in the middle doing nothing.

    I was looking to DIY a filter as described above using plastic pond media and a moving bed of k1

    I'm just after some advice on how to build it

  8. #8
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Nisai harryc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2011
    Posts
    72
    Thanks / Likes
    53
    Quote Originally Posted by Ajcwpond View Post
    I only have a small pond 3000L and will now only be stocking shubunkin.
    Unfortunately I was sold the wrong pomd for keeping koi but I had already brought it and have it in the garden so don't really want an empty pond sat in the middle doing nothing.

    I was looking to DIY a filter as described above using plastic pond media and a moving bed of k1

    I'm just after some advice on how to build it
    I tried sending you the file of one that I copied unfortunately the system has a limit on the size of the document you can send.
    Youtube is a good place to start.

  9. #9
    Senior Member Rank = Gosai KevT's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2018
    Location
    W Yorkshire
    Posts
    291
    Thanks / Likes
    331
    Hi

    My pond is 2000 gallons - I have an Easy Pod and two home made Bakki showers both with 3 trays each - I have a 11w UV and pump 6k gallons through the filter - all seems to work great - 8 fish ranging from 4 inches to 16 inches at the moment. Always had good water readings as the bakki showers matured very quickly. I usually clean the Pod every three days and it's really simple - no wet hands - water is always clear. There are videos on YouTube about building a replica Easy Pod

    KevT

  10. #10
    Senior Member Rank = Sansai Point's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2021
    Location
    Birmingham
    Posts
    110
    Thanks / Likes
    102
    Koi produce far more waste that shubunkin so as long as you don't put 100's of them in your pond you probably don't need a full on koi filtration system. With an old style filter system you mentioned, you will need to do more maintenance to keep the various filters clean whereas drum filters do most of that for you. I'd love a drum but my budget doesn't stretch that far unfortunately.

    I'm planning a pond at the moment, which won't have the stocking densities of the serious koi keepers on here, and my plan is a homemade sieve filter for the muck and an anoxic pond for the bio side of things, with space for any future UV to sort out any algae issues. The sieve will need cleaning fairly often but it will have a low level drain so simple to do. The anoxic pond is very low maintenance and you can add more baskets if/when you need to.


    My original (outdated) idea was to have a similar system to yours but after delving a bit deeper into it on this forum and elsewhere there are modern alternatives to simple systems, without spending £1000's.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Ajcwpond View Post
    I only have a small pond 3000L and will now only be stocking shubunkin.
    Unfortunately I was sold the wrong pomd for keeping koi but I had already brought it and have it in the garden so don't really want an empty pond sat in the middle doing nothing.

    I was looking to DIY a filter as described above using plastic pond media and a moving bed of k1

    I'm just after some advice on how to build it
    As a person with a DIY system that is antiquated by today's standards- it's not terribly difficult. If you have a little bit of mechanical acumen the physical work is simple. I built a pressurized filter using matala, bio balls, and whole oyster shells (soft, acidic water out the tap here). I use a 58 gallon screw top pickle barrel that has a bung in the lid. I'm moving about 2000 gph through it and I clean it once a month. I have a semi-solids handling pump that will move anything smaller than 1/4" that gets inside the cage. I clean the cage twice a year. I stop feeding on November and I don't clean the filter until I start feeding again (water temp >55F). My UV bulb is 13W and it is on my fountain pump that sits elevated off the bottom and it turns 900gph and keeps the water Algae to nil.

    It works. It's not the best system, but it suits my needs ft or now and I'll expand it to two barrels in the fall with mechanical in one, biological in the other. You can surely use a moving bed if you want, but a barrel with K1, with a swirl in the bottom of it will suffice. Add a UV light somewhere and you're set. Will it be the best system? No. Will it work? You bet.

    Here's a great example : the media is the most expensive part.

    https://youtu.be/b9ceM5p1Wn0

  12. Thanks dbs Thanked / Liked this Post
  13. #12
    I started years ago with a small pond and goldfish/shrubs I stuck a water barrel on the end of a line pump fed to bottom of barrel I put a bread basket in the bottom then large beech rocks then egg crate then smaller pea gavel for about 10inches then some net curtain and finally sand with the return coming out of top and down a waterfall back into pond and it worked mint . No UV but water was always crystal clear .

  14. #13
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Sansai sparkapuss's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Loire Valley France
    Posts
    142
    Thanks / Likes
    52
    No matter what you employ it seems as if five minutes after you have shelled out and installed it, something superior appears on the market. Sieves seemed to be in vogue not so long ago, but don't get mentioned much now, all drum filters, but christ at what cost, I've spent loads on UV to try and eradicate all those little bits of green floating around, all to no or little avail.

  15. #14
    I watched a video on you tube a couple of days ago the guy was complying of fines on a year old pond when the guy went to check it out it was infact an algae that the koi kept pulling off the walls he stuck some cloverleaf in and it cleared up after a couple of days .

 

 

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:52 PM. Online Koi Mag Forum
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.3
Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.

vBulletin Improved By vBFoster® (Lite Version), © UltimateScheme, Ltd.