Block built filter debate

Moderators: B.Scott, vippymini, Gazza, Manky Sanke

Norge
Sandbar shark
Sandbar shark
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Sep 16, 2005 6:06 pm
Location: Norway

Post by Norge »

dho

What l meant is as mentioned earlier in the thread it 'can' be left for a few weeks without having to clean, unlike the smaller footprint cousins where mechanical stages soon get blocked. Towards the end of our hols l'm always thinking about filters blocking up ( sad but true ).

As regards filling up with blankett weed , l wouldn't know how these filters are affected by the stuff as l don't have one.

Mike
User avatar
dho
Hammer Head shark
Hammer Head shark
Posts: 275
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 7:50 am
Location: London

Post by dho »

Got yer.

I don't feed my fish whilst I am on holiday so there is no problem there regarding cleaning!

BTW how did the fludised bed K1 conversion go?
Norge
Sandbar shark
Sandbar shark
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Sep 16, 2005 6:06 pm
Location: Norway

Post by Norge »

dho

Oh yea, that little project. It didn't, the k1 doesn't fluidise, it just compacts at the top of the fluidbed, you live and learn.

Instead l got 5kg of silica sand to replace the 5kg of coral sand that eroded down to 1.5 kg, the silica sand is fluidising just perfectly and is not getting dumped back into the pond.

Mike
User avatar
dho
Hammer Head shark
Hammer Head shark
Posts: 275
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 7:50 am
Location: London

Post by dho »

I did say you will have to run the water in the reverse direction to the way it normally runs, i.e. water in at top and out at the bottom, otherwise it will act like a bead filter or static K1. But you did said you have non-return valves that would need ripping out!

Anyone else for large settlement chambers?
greg
Hammer Head shark
Hammer Head shark
Posts: 271
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 9:28 am

Post by greg »

Removed.
User avatar
Gazza
architeuthis moderator
architeuthis moderator
Posts: 5306
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2005 7:24 pm
Location: Essex,UK
Contact:

Post by Gazza »

Hi Greg and welcome to Koi Quest :D

Its great to get you guys with these filters to give us some insight into how they work and what you've got,by the way any pictures :D

You say you have never cleaned your brushed how long has the pond been running and surly they must have some waste on them :?:

I think as has been said before one of my worries is having any build up of waste in the system which obviously isn't a good thing.

Have you ever thought about testing the TDS/ORP as this would basically tell you how clean the system is and how well the filters are working :?:
greg
Hammer Head shark
Hammer Head shark
Posts: 271
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 9:28 am

Post by greg »

Removed.
User avatar
Bob Hart
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 2292
Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2005 8:53 am
Location: Maidstone, Kent, England
Contact:

Post by Bob Hart »

Hi Greg,

Vacc'ing once a week seems fine and what a lot of people do with their vortex type settlement chambers anyway. That's good to hear and a guess what most people do with these types of filters? I wouldnt want to leave a load of much in a filter for weeks on end and you've confirmed that with this design the once-a-week clearout is still the preffered option.

The big settlement is to settle out 'all' solids and suspended muck - yes?

So as long as you have room for the settlement chamber and clean it regularily the design is 'sound'.
greg
Hammer Head shark
Hammer Head shark
Posts: 271
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 9:28 am

Post by greg »

Removed.
User avatar
Gazza
architeuthis moderator
architeuthis moderator
Posts: 5306
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2005 7:24 pm
Location: Essex,UK
Contact:

Post by Gazza »

Hi Greg,

Just looked at the pictures and looks very good and you've even got a settlement system on the skimmer do you have to clean this :?:

I see what you mean about th settlement chamber don't you get a build up in the corners from the flow of water of is this the stuff you vac out :?:
greg
Hammer Head shark
Hammer Head shark
Posts: 271
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 9:28 am

Post by greg »

Removed.
User avatar
dho
Hammer Head shark
Hammer Head shark
Posts: 275
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2005 7:50 am
Location: London

Post by dho »

Hi Greg,
14ft x 2.5ft x 3ft - settlement
3ft x 1.5ft x 3ft - 200lts K1 (Fluidized)
4ft x 1.5ft x 3ft - 26 layers Japanese Matting.
The problem I have with the design is that it takes up such a large amount of space. I have a square top vortex 3ft across filled with static K1 (cheap black version) that does the same job very efficiently. Never have to clean it other than the flushing, i.e. turn the air on then pull the valve. So it takes about 10 minutes to clean with about 30 seconds of actual work. It costed about £200 for everything to fit it all together took a day.

To sum up as I see it my vortex has the following advantages over a settlement chamber:
1) it is cheaper and faster to build;
2) takes up less space, less effort in cleaning; and
3.) it has no build up of waste (I pull the valve on the vortex twice a day).


For me those are 3 very good reasons for not going with a settlement chamber design. There are numerous ways to skin a cat but some are better than others. Granted that if your settlement is big enough then a settlement chamber will work. To scale up your design up to 10,000 what size settlement are we looking at? For me it would be just adding another vortex and the required piperun.


David.
greg
Hammer Head shark
Hammer Head shark
Posts: 271
Joined: Tue May 30, 2006 9:28 am

Post by greg »

Removed.
Dave T
Sandbar shark
Sandbar shark
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2005 3:04 pm

Post by Dave T »

Hi David

agree there are a few ways to skin a cat.

As previously posted I run a block/settlement filter , I also use a static k1 filter on my QT, for me flushing the static k1 once a day is a pain.
Thankfully the k1 filter is indoors, if it was outdoors it would not get flushed often enough in the winter.I will say this theres nothing as bad as having to attend to filters in the wind & rain at the height of winter.
With a settlement filter you can wait for a dry sunny day and attend to the filter at your leisure.

Yes your system maybe cheap less work to put together and does the job for you , also you can take it with you if you move house...but it constantly needs baby sitting.
Big block filters = less maintenace=a filter that doesnt dictate your lifestyle.

Dave
Jules
architeuthis moderator
architeuthis moderator
Posts: 882
Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2005 10:10 pm
Location: Kent

Post by Jules »

Some interesting points coming out and I would like to see a few to see how much space can be hidden and how to make them not look so intrusive. This also shows how many different ways we choose from initial planning to final construction with the universal aim of keeping Koi. It is so good to see such a good discussion on what some find a touchy subject.

How many heat their pools with block uilt filter? Would you choose to insulate the filter and not the pond? Do you find you loose a lot of heat from the chambers because of their size?
Who is on a water metre?

Jules
Post Reply