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  1. #1
    Senior Member Rank = Yonsai jphamill's Avatar
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    Profidrums, combi drums etc

    I'm researching all I can about the profidrum combi 15 to replace a nexus 220, ea 24 bead and inline uv.
    Can I hear anything from anyone that has an opinion on one or similar they are running please?
    Warts and all if necessary.
    I can't fit a Burton or a Filtreau in as easily to filtration house.
    Thanks


    Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk


    2700 G Above ground, Nexus 220, EA 24 bead, 1m 2 tier custom Evolve shower 9kW Thermotech ASHP

  2. #2
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Koiz's Avatar
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    After looking at many Combi Drum options, I've recently moved from a 220 with Draco Drop In and in line UV to an Oase Proficlear Compact M with Bitron Gravity UV. I wanted to reduce pipework to improve flow, have a drum that was easily bypassed during powdered fluke treatment if necessary (ie you can remove the screens), had a small footprint and was easy to manage by myself (cos I'm a weedy girly!). I've added additional media (10L Pondpads + 10L K1 to the original 40L HelX13), and I'm hoping I'll be out of NPS soon after returning my 9 koi to the pond on 24th June. Love my new set up compared to the old.

    Are you gravity fed and what size pond and stocking levels do you want to get to? What is your reason for changing your current set up?

    Wendy Profidrums, combi drums etc

    Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk
    11,440L Raised Pond, BD, Oase ProfiClear, Bitron 55W, 2x10k Aquaforte Varios, Skimmer to Waterblade

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  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by jphamill View Post
    I'm researching all I can about the profidrum combi 15 to replace a nexus 220, ea 24 bead and inline uv.
    Can I hear anything from anyone that has an opinion on one or similar they are running please?
    Warts and all if necessary.
    I can't fit a Burton or a Filtreau in as easily to filtration house.
    Thanks


    Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
    i can custom build you something to fit your filtration house, however your location will be an issue for you to collect .

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  6. #4
    Senior Member Rank = Hassai big h's Avatar
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    I have the profidrum combi 15. Build quality is superb.Its bombproof.Well designed ,efficient .You will struggle to get 20000 l per hour through it...I had a synergy 35 and it looks like a toy next to the profi

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  8. #5
    Senior Member Rank = Yonsai jphamill's Avatar
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    Thanks for the reply, I have 12500 l above ground gravity fed Nexus 220 . EA 24 bead EA 55 UV.

    Water is crystal clear and good apart from a nitrite trace but the pond is only 6 months 10 koi <4 in, 2 bigger fish between 15-20 inches, the smaller ones are grow on and see and swap out when we see what they do.

    My pump house was built a bit too small for what I stuffed in, my flow is terrible EA 20000 at 100% gets me c6500 lph from barrel testing. Exactly like you , simplify pipes improve flow.

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  10. #6
    Senior Member Rank = Yonsai jphamill's Avatar
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    Thanks , but I think geography and the Irish Sea are against us ! Regardless of what ever happens with brexit !!

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  12. #7
    Senior Member Rank = Yonsai jphamill's Avatar
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    20,000 My pond would be empty in 35 min! with that as opposed to 4 hrs with what I put in Thanks

  13. #8
    Moderator Rank = Supreme Champion Feline's Avatar
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    When I was planning filtration for my current pond I chatted to Mike from Yume Koi about the Profi combos.
    His opinion was that the bio section of all the sizes was disproportionately too small for the size and flow capacity of the drum.
    In other words you would need an additional bio filter unless you massively over spec your filter size to the pond volume.

    It was having spoken to him that I decided to go for the Aqua combi from Coastal Koi because it has a way bigger bio compartment.

    The only problem with that is that you end up with one very big unit, which will be harder to fit into smaller filter houses perhaps than a separate drum and bio container would be. My combi is 2.2m long and 1m wide for example. Not an issue for me because I just built the filter house to fit it, but for a retro filter change would be more of a problem. I did have to get a UPVC french door for the filter house though just in case the filter ever needs to come out of there

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  15. #9
    Senior Member Rank = Yonsai jphamill's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Feline View Post
    When I was planning filtration for my current pond I chatted to Mike from Yume Koi about the Profi combos.
    His opinion was that the bio section of all the sizes was disproportionately too small for the size and flow capacity of the drum.
    In other words you would need an additional bio filter unless you massively over spec your filter size to the pond volume.

    It was having spoken to him that I decided to go for the Aqua combi from Coastal Koi because it has a way bigger bio compartment.

    The only problem with that is that you end up with one very big unit, which will be harder to fit into smaller filter houses perhaps than a separate drum and bio container would be. My combi is 2.2m long and 1m wide for example. Not an issue for me because I just built the filter house to fit it, but for a retro filter change would be more of a problem. I did have to get a UPVC french door for the filter house though just in case the filter ever needs to come out of there
    I did think the bio seemed small admittedly. Thanks

    Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
    2700 G Above ground, Nexus 220, EA 24 bead, 1m 2 tier custom Evolve shower 9kW Thermotech ASHP

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  17. #10
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Koiz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jphamill View Post
    I did think the bio seemed small admittedly. Thanks
    The bio size really worried me too, but I was hard pushed to find something that would fit my filter house and the existing pipework, electric and water points - whilst being affordable. After mocking up various options in 3D, the ProfiClear Compact won hands down. I talk about this here:https://www.koiforum.uk/welcome-extreme-koi/26530-hi-guys-oxfordshire.html#post347751 This Oase has fitted perfectly with the addition of the Bitron Gravity UV. I now have very little pipework and all bends are sweeps so the flow has increased exponentially from what it was before and the problems I was having with debris collecting on the floor has largely been solved by this.

    By adding Pond Pads to the system I have managed to get the g/day 'theoretical' processing capability up to 537g of food, (something I'll never get remotely close to with 9 koi in a little under 11,500L), without over cramming the bio section with media. I talk about that decision and the process of maturing and adding the Pond Pads here: https://www.koiforum.uk/water-treatment-protein-skimmers-filtration/24876-ki-media-look-5.html#post339585
    I prevously had 100L of K1 in my 220, that could process 500g/day and that coped fine with my pond and feeding regime before.

    The fish were put back into my pond on 24th June, so I've been having the joy of NPS. Having said that, my Ammonia has never been higher than 0.25 occasionally, and Nitrates 1.0 very briefly. Nitrates are a nightmare up to 80ish, but then they are high from the tap (20 - 30). I therefore decided to add six biocenosis baskets to my pond to sit on the shelf to help more with the Nitrates than anything else as I don't have any plants in my set up. See this thread for that: https://www.koiforum.uk/water-treatment-protein-skimmers-filtration/26896-washing-cat-litter-biocenosis-baskets.html?highlight=litter

    The baskets look pretty innocuous and I have my light bar sitting on them:

    Biocenosis Baskets on Pond Shelf.JPG

    Params currently with feeding lightly 4 times per day (approx 90g total) are Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0.1, Nitrate 40, PH 8.3. I'm pretty happy with that and have a little bit of salt (to 0.05%) in the water to buffer against the effects of the Nitrite till I'm down to zero. The baskets will not yet be mature enough to be having an effect so we can safely assume that these readings are down to the Oase alone, which means by the time the Anoxic kicks in too, things should be gold with a nice diversity of bacteria helpers in the system. All fish are feeding with gusto and look happy. So far, I'm really pleased with my decision to switch to the Oase setup as it has given me huge amounts of room in my filter house compared to the Nexus, so it is now a joy to carry out my daily tasks as opposed to a dreaded nightmare! Jury is still out on how well it will cope when I feed as I'd like to in summer next year, but I have high hopes all will be fine.
    11,440L Raised Pond, BD, Oase ProfiClear, Bitron 55W, 2x10k Aquaforte Varios, Skimmer to Waterblade

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  19. #11
    Senior Member Rank = Hassai big h's Avatar
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    The bio looks small but you do get 100l in easily. 20000L is the maximum flow rate quoted for the Profi bio 15.Mine doesnt handle that well.I only bang it up to 20000 to flush the drain.Its normally on 6000-8000l/hr

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  21. #12
    Senior Member Rank = Yonsai jphamill's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by big h View Post
    The bio looks small but you do get 100l in easily. 20000L is the maximum flow rate quoted for the Profi bio 15.Mine doesnt handle that well.I only bang it up to 20000 to flush the drain.Its normally on 6000-8000l/hr
    Thanks for that, very helpful.
    Jim

    Sent from my SM-G973F using Tapatalk
    2700 G Above ground, Nexus 220, EA 24 bead, 1m 2 tier custom Evolve shower 9kW Thermotech ASHP

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  23. #13
    Junior Member Rank = Fry AndrewT's Avatar
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    I was worried about the small bio section in the profi combi unit. When I set mine up last year I saw that they do one with a double bio section. I have 100l k1 in the first and have filled the second with jap matting but could convert that to k1 also later on if need be. For now I am happy it processes the food well enough until they grow bigger. I'm happy enough with the build quality and it is direct drive and all stainless steel workings. I looked at the Burton but was put off by the plastic gears which I would think could wear in time. I also have an amalgam UV in the drum section and had heard that the black plastic in the oase may not be UV stable. Not sure how true that is.

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  25. #14
    Moderator Rank = Supreme Champion Feline's Avatar
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    Yeah the black plastic ones are often ABS which is definitely not UV stable.

    Being able to have an amalgam UV installed was an important feature for me.
    The bypass bungs in my drum are actually not UV stable- they become brittle and crack after around 18 months use. I’m currently on my 3rd set of 4 of them. Next time I change them I’m going to glue a disc of thick pond liner onto the UV side surface of them to hopefully protect them for longer. It does go to show though how much damage a submersible UV can do to some items. You definitely wouldn’t want it being able to damage the actual sides of the filter.

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  27. #15
    Senior Member Rank = Hassai big h's Avatar
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    Profi are expensive,no doubt,but sit them alongside any other drum and you can easily see why.

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  29. #16
    any drum and combi's i make will be deliberately oversized to allow some adjustments later on ,

    combi will have significant sized bio chambers around 50% larger than most including profi which have tiny bio's for the high cost.

    utilising the space you have with wider drum diameters intern shortens the length of the space needed, and much deeper bio units to allow more space for media .

    then you have the variables that effect water level in the bio chamber from the drum, my latest design is running 10k and 15k pumps, over 1 hour between cleaning cycle and the water level in the bio chamber doesnt drop at all. , same on the clean side of the drum,

    but then my drum is sized to cope with 65,000 litres per hour

    i have given myself scope to change the mesh from current 50 micron to 30 micron if i wish , that will be amazing for the bakki shower , water clarity , and reducing chances of outbreaks

    or i can delay the cleaning cycle even more, and the mesh becomes clogged it will trap smaller particles the longer its left between cleans, but id rather not have a caked in shit mesh . as that then increases risk or parasites ect .

    its easy to service this drum , compared to my first build.

    1, i can take the drum out as the shaft has a coupler/joiner.
    2, i have a 1 way clutch bearing fitted , so the drum rotates by hand with ease so you can easily change the mesh with the drum still on.

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  31. #17
    Moderator Rank = Supreme Champion Feline's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by big h View Post
    Profi are expensive,no doubt,but sit them alongside any other drum and you can easily see why.
    Sit one beside my drum and it will be an inferior product I didn’t choose to buy because its bio was too small, and the probe and control panel features of the Aqua were actually superior. Just saying

  32. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by big h View Post
    Profi are expensive,no doubt,but sit them alongside any other drum and you can easily see why.
    sit one along side mine then try justify the price difference

  33. #19
    Senior Member Rank = Hassai big h's Avatar
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    Im not justifying price difference.Everybody chooses how to spend their money as they see fit ,and everybody has a budget .Regarding the aqua drum,ive seen plenty,they have been around a long while.I would put them in the same class as synergy with the siemens control panel .Just my opinion.If im wrong,it wont be the first time Its only like car buying .All cars get there but sometimes its not enough
    Last edited by big h; 13-09-2020 at 07:57 PM.

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  35. #20
    Moderator Rank = Supreme Champion Feline's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by big h View Post
    Im not justifying price difference.Everybody chooses how to spend their money as they see fit ,and everybody has a budget .Regarding the aqua drum,ive seen plenty,they have been around a long while.I would put them in the same class as synergy with the siemens control panel .Just my opinion.If im wrong,it wont be the first time Its only like car buying .All cars get there but sometimes its not enough
    The Aqua has a high quality direct drive gearbox. No element of its design is of a poorer quality than the profi.
    However at the time I directly compared the 2 (in the flesh) the waste chute and nozzle design of the Aqua was superior.
    There was no aspect of the sensor control that needed setting up by the user, and yet all was adjustable.
    Plus every component of the drum was `(and is) available for instant shipping within the UK should any fault develop. I therefore chose the Aqua over the Profi as it fitted my needs best.

    Price didn’t come into it- I actually didn’t look at the price tags until I had chosen the product that met my needs. My partner had promised he would buy the drum filter in any case as a Christmas present that year, so it was a non-issue (he didn’t also buy the Bakki shower and Flow Friend pump unfortunately haha)

 

 
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