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  1. #21
    Senior Member Rank = Adult Champion Twhitenosugar's Avatar
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    I use 110mm black waste pipe to connect my drum to bio and bio to the ball valve for pond returns. I then just use rubber connectors to join them to the outlets on the drum and inlets on the bio. That way you dont need to weld any pipework onto either the drum or bio unit. Plus if you ever need to change pipe configuration. It's simply a case of unscrewing the jubilee clips on the rubber connectors and off you go.

    Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk
    13,000L fibreglassed raised pond with window

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  3. #22
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion NickK-UK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mcwatson1974 View Post
    Hi, I'm about to order a Draco Solum 16 and Bio so good to read your experiences. I'm glad I did as I've just noticed the outlets on the Bio are 2" and not 4" which is better for what I want but I was filling my shopping list with 4" bits.

    My DIY skills are toilet and I'm getting a little confused on the pipework required as 4" doesn't convert to 110mm! I don't want to spend on Pressure Pipe (unless someone says I must) but can I assume that where Draco says it's 4", it's 110mm if I'm buying solvent weld pipe? And where it's 2", I need 50mm?

    My pump is currently 1.5" flexi hose so do I get a 4" to 1.5" reducer boot for the inlet of the Draco 16, then a bit of 1.5" solvent tube and then slide the flexi hose over that?

    And finally, I intend to use the house hose pipe to connect to the cleaning bar, not use a pump. When I've played the video's, it comes across as very loud/noisy but this maybe the smartphone microphone exageratting it. But how loud is it really? My drum will sit in filter house made of sleeper sides and a slatted top but is not far away from the neighbours fence, would it be intrusive? I've not got the opportunity of visiting anywhere for obvious reasons and don't want to wait to order one especially as I have so much time on my hands.

    Many thanks,

    Hi.

    So the first thing to know about pipes (not to sound like Fightclub)...

    Imperial pipe diameter measurements are the approximate bore diameter. So the thicker the pipe the inside bore remains the same which is very confusing getting things to connect together.
    Metric pipe diameter measurements are the outside diameter. So the thicker the pipe, the outside diameter remains the same but the bore gets smaller.

    Once knowing that.. flex boots seemed a far more intelligent answer to the problem (my set up is to be moved and I will re-evaluate boots vs pipes at a later date).

    So I am using flex boots and I will probably continue to use flex boots for this reason - the boots allow you to mix and match. I have 4" flex boots on the 110mm outlets - no problems as they tighten up on the outlet and seal. The beauty is that you don't need to solvent weld and so you can fiddle to your heart's content!

    As the setup is temporary the pipe I have from the pump goes via hose adaptors, so my 1.5" pipe on the host adaptors (just cut the adaptor to match the pipe and tighten with jubilee screw up clips.

    I used a 4" to 2" flex boot then simply used a hose adaptor (stepped hose tail) that can take up to 2" pipes (or 50mm) . I was advised on a 50-40 reducer shim but I found the host take was calmped in hard enough by the boot anyway. The pipe just then connected onto the host tail and secured with jubilee clips.

    My bio came with the drum-bio Interconnects, so check with the supplier if they're providing them.

    Next up is that S-bend after the bio - if you've not looked at that, you will need something there as it keeps the water level in the bio & drum. If you don't have that the water simply flows out and you'll not have a water level in the bio with pump fed. Of yours is gravity fed then that's different.

    Lastly - are you pump fed or gravity fed? There is a different sensor and position for each and by default the Draco doesn't come with both sensors (optional extra I was told) - I need that because of the switch I'll make when the filter moves.

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  5. #23
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion NickK-UK's Avatar
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    On the noise.. It depends.

    I have full pressure on the spray bar from the tap. Once the supplied filter lid is on the noise isn't too bad. Also the drum triggers only when it needs to. For the final location it will be in an insulated filter pit with a lid mainly for cold but it will deaden any further last noise. The phone was probably about a foot from the spray bar itself with lid off..

    Next-door to me is an NHS nurse. Due to Covid I've not had chance to ask - but initially I had the pipe just going into the chamber so more noise. Now it's no louder than the water fall - just intermittent for a few seconds.

    You will need to raise the drum up - the drum filter and bio sit at different levels (they can't sit on the same level of floor). Have a look at the dimensions as the drum sits above the bio filter a little.

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  7. #24
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    Great review mate, very interesting read, thank you for posting
    4600 Gallon Concrete Block and Fiberglass
    2100 mm x 710 mm Infinity Window 32mm thick glass
    2 x Aerated Bottom Drains and Skimmer
    Filtreau HiFlow 30 Drum Filter
    Bio Chamber - 140 litres K1
    Bakki Shower - 30 KG Sakura Far Infrared Media
    2 x 18,000 lh pumps
    Heated from house boiler through a heat exchanger
    Idealseal MS290

    My Pond Build

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  9. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by Twhitenosugar
    I use 110mm black waste pipe to connect my drum to bio and bio to the ball valve for pond returns. I then just use rubber connectors to join them to the outlets on the drum and inlets on the bio. That way you dont need to weld any pipework onto either the drum or bio unit. Plus if you ever need to change pipe configuration. It's simply a case of unscrewing the jubilee clips on the rubber connectors and off you go.

    Thanks for this info, its the way I'm going to do it too.

    Quote Originally Posted by NickK-UK

    Imperial pipe diameter measurements are the approximate bore diameter. So the thicker the pipe the inside bore remains the same which is very confusing getting things to connect together.
    Metric pipe diameter measurements are the outside diameter. So the thicker the pipe, the outside diameter remains the same but the bore gets smaller.

    Once knowing that.. flex boots seemed a far more intelligent answer to the problem (my set up is to be moved and I will re-evaluate boots vs pipes at a later date).

    That clears so much up for me - never realised the differences in ways to measure!

    Quote Originally Posted by NickK-UK

    I used a 4" to 2" flex boot then simply used a hose adaptor (stepped hose tail) that can take up to 2" pipes (or 50mm) . I was advised on a 50-40 reducer shim but I found the host take was calmped in hard enough by the boot anyway. The pipe just then connected onto the host tail and secured with jubilee clips.

    Ok, so one 4" to 2" flex boot reducer and a stepped hose tail. Sorted.

    Quote Originally Posted by NickK-UK

    My bio came with the drum-bio Interconnects, so check with the supplier if they're providing them.

    Oooo, good point. I'll check this tomorrow as was going to order a length of 4" just to get the link between the drum and bio but if it comes with it. The only thing that may scupper this is I may need to put a 90 degree corner between the two in order to make it all fit into my filter house, very limited on space.

    Quote Originally Posted by NickK-UK

    Next up is that S-bend after the bio - if you've not looked at that, you will need something there as it keeps the water level in the bio & drum. If you don't have that the water simply flows out and you'll not have a water level in the bio with pump fed. Of yours is gravity fed then that's different.

    I never even thought or knew of this and have been wondering for days how the water level was achieved and didn't just run straight out. So is this an upright S so to create a water level higher in the bio or is it a S laying on its side so to just slow the flow rate? Sorry if this doesn't make sense, does in my head but probably not as I write it.

    Quote Originally Posted by NickK-UK

    Lastly - are you pump fed or gravity fed? There is a different sensor and position for each and by default the Draco doesn't come with both sensors (optional extra I was told) - I need that because of the switch I'll make when the filter moves.
    I'm pump fed, I assumed if I specified that when I order it, they will supply but I will check with the supplier tomorrow.

    Quote Originally Posted by NickK-UK
    On the noise.. It depends.

    I have full pressure on the spray bar from the tap. Once the supplied filter lid is on the noise isn't too bad. Also the drum triggers only when it needs to. For the final location it will be in an insulated filter pit with a lid mainly for cold but it will deaden any further last noise. The phone was probably about a foot from the spray bar itself with lid off..

    Next-door to me is an NHS nurse. Due to Covid I've not had chance to ask - but initially I had the pipe just going into the chamber so more noise. Now it's no louder than the water fall - just intermittent for a few seconds.

    You will need to raise the drum up - the drum filter and bio sit at different levels (they can't sit on the same level of floor). Have a look at the dimensions as the drum sits above the bio filter a little.

    Regarding noise, I'll just see how it is and then will work out a solution if its a problem. On the levels, yes, I've seen the drum needs to sit higher than the bio and I assumed that it doesn't matter what levels the entire set up sits providing the output of the bio is just above the pond water level so to enable the water to return by gravity - except I don't understand how the S bend works so that may influence what I need to do.

    THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE COMMENTS AND ADVICE RECEIVED.

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  11. #26
    Senior Member Rank = Adult Champion Twhitenosugar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by NickK-UK View Post
    That does look like a flow issue given the height on the inlet side. Also I don't see much water appearing on the drum sides so it looks like perhaps it needs a little clean. It looks to only by about an inch and looks like the level is quite low even then.

    Do all the sprays operate? Worth a check before removing the drum for a clean..

    October to now about 6 or seven months. Hmm..
    Hi Nick. The water tends to come out of the drum on the side furthest away from the float switch as that is the part of the drum that's been cleaned most recently (I'm guessing it doesn't do a full rotation on setting 1?). I'm not sure if that's normal but it seems to be how my drum has operated since I installed it.

    In terms of nozzles, I checked and they all work.

    In terms of flow I use an airlift made out of 110mm black waste pipe to return water to the pond. So its hard to know just how much water is being pulled through the drum. But based on what I've read when doing my research my current set up, when on full blast, can do about 24,000lph. And I did have more air diverted to my air lift than normal. So i might've upped the flow to more than the drum can handle.

    I've turned the air down now and will see what intervals I get between cleans. If that doesn't sort it then I'm guessing it'll need a clean.

    Just out of interest how does the drum come out? I've not seen any instructions on how to remove it. Has anyone done it? Is it a difficult job?

    Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk
    13,000L fibreglassed raised pond with window

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  13. #27
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion NickK-UK's Avatar
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    Getting the drum out.. I’ve not done - I assume that two of the wheels that push the drum against the seal need to come off..

    You could ask Tony@draco the best way. I just thought removing it may be the way to clean it.

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  15. #28
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion NickK-UK's Avatar
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    Successfully stopped the dripping. I found these hard plastic washers (possibly a hard teflon washer), opened up the bore to fit the brass thread and then used that for the brass adaptor to solenoid connection. Worked really well.

    w.jpg


    Also the bio is maturing nicely.. I still haven't bought a new air pump yet to replace the old 8lpm pump but.. Day one left.. with a couple of interim shots (you can see the patching of dirt rather than biofilm.. till today on the right which is all biofilm after giving it a stir up:

    a.jpgb.jpgc.jpgd.jpg

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  17. #29
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion NickK-UK's Avatar
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    I found one 'down side' of drum filters yesterday. I have a large bucket under the waste pipe initially to understand how much water on average is being used, to understand the effectiveness of extraction and because the Mrs didn't want it plumbed in the current position

    In the bucked I found lots of small tadpoles that managed to make it through the pump only to be filtered out by the drum. So the downside of a drum filter is that it filters everything including pond wildlife. I've not seen any larger animals but given it's pump fed I suspect they became part of the ever-produced monster mash waste.

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  19. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by NickK-UK View Post
    I found one 'down side' of drum filters yesterday. I have a large bucket under the waste pipe initially to understand how much water on average is being used, to understand the effectiveness of extraction and because the Mrs didn't want it plumbed in the current position

    In the bucked I found lots of small tadpoles that managed to make it through the pump only to be filtered out by the drum. So the downside of a drum filter is that it filters everything including pond wildlife. I've not seen any larger animals but given it's pump fed I suspect they became part of the ever-produced monster mash waste.
    I'm pump fed but I have a surface skimmer running to it before it goes off to my filter. Yesterday, I rescued a newt from the skimmer basket, fortunately it hadn't made it through to the pump where it may have got mashed up before making its way to the filter - not that my filter would have done anything as its a rubbish pressurised one that let's everything through. But got a Draco Solum 16 and BIO chamber on order, arriving end of this week or early next week hopefully.

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  21. #31
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    I’m gravity fed and I’ve had frogs in my drum filter, not sure how they got in the pond because it’s 900mm above ground, so that’s on hell of a jump


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    4600 Gallon Concrete Block and Fiberglass
    2100 mm x 710 mm Infinity Window 32mm thick glass
    2 x Aerated Bottom Drains and Skimmer
    Filtreau HiFlow 30 Drum Filter
    Bio Chamber - 140 litres K1
    Bakki Shower - 30 KG Sakura Far Infrared Media
    2 x 18,000 lh pumps
    Heated from house boiler through a heat exchanger
    Idealseal MS290

    My Pond Build

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  23. #32
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion bowsaw's Avatar
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    they are very good climbers
    the slow pond build thread

  24. #33
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion NickK-UK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Twhitenosugar View Post
    Hi Nick. The water tends to come out of the drum on the side furthest away from the float switch as that is the part of the drum that's been cleaned most recently (I'm guessing it doesn't do a full rotation on setting 1?). I'm not sure if that's normal but it seems to be how my drum has operated since I installed it.

    In terms of nozzles, I checked and they all work.

    In terms of flow I use an airlift made out of 110mm black waste pipe to return water to the pond. So its hard to know just how much water is being pulled through the drum. But based on what I've read when doing my research my current set up, when on full blast, can do about 24,000lph. And I did have more air diverted to my air lift than normal. So i might've upped the flow to more than the drum can handle.

    I've turned the air down now and will see what intervals I get between cleans. If that doesn't sort it then I'm guessing it'll need a clean.

    Just out of interest how does the drum come out? I've not seen any instructions on how to remove it. Has anyone done it? Is it a difficult job?

    Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk
    On 1 - the drum doesn't seem todo a full 360. There is typically a portion of the drum that sits outside of the water between the water level and the nozzles - the drum seems to rotate enough to cycle up 360-that portion.
    On 2 - I found the drum seems to have a better clean than with 1.

    I've found that sometimes after a period of '1' washes the drum doesn't look as clean. I get the twitch and feel the need to manually clean with a 4. A lot more water but the drum seems visibly cleaner.

    I normally leave the drum on 1 however I wish there was a way of triggering a 2 or a 4 every N cleans or perhaps once a day the drum does a 2 or 4. Perhaps an aftermarket Arduino-controlled controller could be programmable.

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  26. #34
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion NickK-UK's Avatar
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    Summer is almost here.

    Also the Mrs was interested in how much water is used per wash. At a lower pressure (my water hose keeps popping it's Gardena connectors) a '1' wash is about 1.6-1.7l of water. It's more expensive to put a water meter in (£23) vs paying £3-4 per 1000l of water!

    So for about £4 I get 588 washes - let's say 500 washes given I like a 2 or 4 manual flush high pressure wash every week or so. So if the system washes say 6 times in a 24h period that's basically 5p a day or £18.25 per year.

    I've noted that I'm not getting any algae in the pond water. Then I looked at the flush:

    IMG_7644.jpg
    IMG_7643.jpg


    Happy spending £20/year if it's removing that much from the pond!

    The water is still crystal clear - the fish are sunbathing at the moment

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  28. #35
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion NickK-UK's Avatar
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    This morning - this is with 8lpm air from an old Oxy500:


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  30. #36
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion NickK-UK's Avatar
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    Almost killed the fish day before yesterday. I came down and the pond was 1/2 full it was less than an hour. What had happened is that I'd unplugged the mains water supply to make use of it to clean some DIY soldering (the temp setup uses a single tap). Unfortunately I forgot to reattach. Drum mesh clogged and the overflow flowed to waste.. the pump kept pumping. So now I have a pond level cut out water level switch ordered for the pond. It will cut out the pump should the pond level drop for whatever reason.

    Also I noted elsewhere on the forum that Teanteosugars has had issues with 20 minute washes using a solum 16 on a 12,000 litre pond. With a 4-5l wash (the pressure turned up) that uses a lot of water. I thought it would be good to bring that experience into the review for anyone reading up prior to a purchase.

    On the subject of keeping a drum clean - this s the official way that DracoDum have stated on their Facebook page:
    DracoDrumthe best way to clean these is drain the filter down so the drum isn't in water and paint some brick acid cleaner onto the screen, whilst rotating the drum manually (flip the motor up out of the way). You'll only need a small amount. Leave on for 10 minutes and then hose off. Don't forget to wear protection. Acid will get rid of limescale and biofilm at the same time and leave the screen looking new. No need to take the screen off at all.
    So I think there's also the need to ensure that none of that acid gets into the pond.. but looks like something todo at least once or twice a year. I live in a very hard water area so descaling is important if I'm using water from the mains supply in the wash.


    In other news I've finally modelled my Pond 2.0 in sketchup for a more accurate volume. The new volume will be 11,900 minus some corner curves rather than the 8-9K originally envisaged so the design may have to have a sieve/bypass should the flow rate be too high for the Solum 16.

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  32. #37

    Draco Drum Solum 16 + Standard Bio review

    Instead of messing around with adding a sieve to possibly assist with extra flow why don’t you flog the 16 and get the next size up or see if Tony would do you a trade in?
    Might save you a whole world of pain and take up less space/less additional plumbing etc.
    Just a thought.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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  34. #38
    Senior Member Rank = Gosai Jampot's Avatar
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    I have used the search function to read as much as I could about the Draco kit and failed to find this thread. Glad you posted today Nick as it popped up under new posts!

    I have an appointment with the nearest Draco stockists tomorrow with a view to using exactly this setup so very timely

    Overall length with bends was one of the things on my check list and there it was right at the beginning

    Jim
    I don't keep fish, I keep water. I don't keep fish, I keep water. I don't keep fish I kee........

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  36. #39
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion NickK-UK's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jampot View Post
    I have used the search function to read as much as I could about the Draco kit and failed to find this thread. Glad you posted today Nick as it popped up under new posts!

    I have an appointment with the nearest Draco stockists tomorrow with a view to using exactly this setup so very timely

    Overall length with bends was one of the things on my check list and there it was right at the beginning

    Jim
    I'd give it space so you can (a) undo the boots and remove them easily but more importantly - if you need to remove the waste chute for the drum then you will need to slide it out from the face plate. So have a look amount that once you're looking at them.


    Quote Originally Posted by bigcarpchaser View Post
    Instead of messing around with adding a sieve to possibly assist with extra flow why don’t you flog the 16 and get the next size up or see if Tony would do you a trade in?
    Might save you a whole world of pain and take up less space/less additional plumbing etc.
    Just a thought.
    Brand new the difference is £300. I can design the additional 130mm into the filter floor plan. I'll explore that option. I've been very happy with the performance so far

    Nick

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  38. #40
    Quote Originally Posted by NickK-UK View Post
    So now I have a pond level cut out water level switch ordered for the pond. It will cut out the pump should the pond level drop for whatever reason.
    Hi, I've just installed a Solum 16 and Bio Chamber but I'll do a post on it in the coming days. In the meantime, I note you've ordered a cut off if the water level drops and I'm trying to find one as I'm pump fed and need to ensure I don't drain the pond if something goes wrong. Is it possible to put a link up of what you've gone for as I've done a search but can't find anything that is plug and play rather than switches that you then need to be all electrical with. Thanks

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