Ki problem

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john5555leonard
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Ki problem

Post by john5555leonard »

Hi , I finally got around to redoing my pond and filter , my last 2 chambers are k1 ( called kk2 over here ) and put the new k1 in yesterday 50 litres split between 2 chambers , each chamber has a 20 cm air disc supplied by a 120 ltr air pump , and I added pp , but all that's happening is the k1 is not moving and a large space about 60cm with no k1 above the air stones . What am I doing wrong ? Or will it settle down ? Thanks John ( Thailand)
john5555leonard
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Re: Ki problem

Post by john5555leonard »

Sorry that should read 100ltr between each chamber
Manky Sanke
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Re: Ki problem

Post by Manky Sanke »

Hi John,

With aerated K1 the placement of the airstones will determine how the individual wheels distribute themselves and move. It sounds like you have too much air in one place and that the upwelling of the air and water stream is causing the wheels to be pushed outwards. Try reducing the supply and/or having more airstones more evenly spaced.
john5555leonard
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Re: Ki problem

Post by john5555leonard »

Thank you
john5555leonard
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Re: Ki problem

Post by john5555leonard »

Still having problems , I,v changed the air discs to 10 large ordinary air stones 5 in each chamber the chambers are 1 m square but same problem now 5 holes and discs not moving around I even tried halving the air supply but it did,not help . I wondered if not enough media ? 50 litres in each bay gives me about 3 inch depth when no air . Thanks John
Manky Sanke
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Re: Ki problem

Post by Manky Sanke »

I didn't realise that your chambers were so large. Correct distribution and the rate of flow of the air is important, as I said, but so is the depth of the media. I have a smaller chamber in my aerated K1 bay but I have a much greater depth, about 150 mm (6 inches) iirc. In order to not allow space for the air/water upflow to move the K1 towards the sides in a larger bay you may need an even greater depth. You could try to move all your K1 to one bay and see if a 150 mmm (six inch) depth is sufficient and then buy more K1 as necessary.
john5555leonard
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Re: Ki problem

Post by john5555leonard »

Thanks again , I,d thought about moving it all into 1 bay so I,m definitely going to try it tomorrow ,then if it works I,ll get more , it's about £70 for 100 ltr here so not expensive, I,v just done a refurb on the pond retro fitting 2 extra bottom drains and another set of filter chambers giving me 6 cubic metre chambers and used izeki nets in 2 which is so cheap and seems to work well thanks again John
john5555leonard
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Re: Ki problem

Post by john5555leonard »

I,v put all k1 into one chamber and changed air stones into 10 individual ones and it seems to be working , now I need to rig up some sort of grid to hold the air stones in place , tried making an air ring out of semi rigid pipe the that did,not work . I read somewhere that k1 needs a few days to become semi buoyant ?
Manky Sanke
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Re: Ki problem

Post by Manky Sanke »

I've never heard that K1 needs time to become semi buoyant and I can't see any reason why the plastic they are made from should change it's specific gravity and therefore it's buoyancy in a few days. K1 wheels can sink if they build up a microfauna (protozoa, nematode worms, arthropods etc.) that are feeding on the biofilm and accumulated organics that build up over time. But normal buoyancy is returned if the wheels are swirled in a bucket of water which will remove the accumulation of organic matter in the centres of the wheels and the creatures that are feeding on it. This doesn't affect the biofilm of the nitrifying bugs that we want to keep, just the extra passengers who are hitching a free ride on the insides of the wheels.

The airstones can be easily positioned and moved, if necessary, to improve the distribution of the air flow if they hang by their air lines from above. You can have a common solid air pipe above the water with the air lines connected to nipples drilled into it. Or, alternatively, from a solid support with the air lines connected straight to the air pump but passing over the support and fixed to it by some convenient method such as cable ties.
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