Block built filter debate

Gazza · Post by **Gazza** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:24 pm

I am on a water meter...but you already know that could you imagine my bill with a big settlement

andy p · Post by **andy p** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:50 pm

I think which way we go on the filter route depends upon who we are introduced to the hobby by, i happened upon Richdons site and so went down the BB route, water is fine fish are fine so am happy, did have an extremely nice fellow fit my BD and offer advice which i now see would have saved me work had i made a few adjustments, but you live and learn......... how did the yomping go Jules

Andy.

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 9:56 pm

Hi
Totally agree with what Dave T had to say, the main reason I built block filters was the low maintenance of them and to pick and choose the better days in winter when to flush them out.
Dave, your vortex is fine and has proved them to be very successful over the years.

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).

To sum up your quote Dave I only agree with (takes up less space)
As for No 1) if I had gone down the route of putting in vortexÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s or a nexus I would have still have to have them blocked in and put under decking, by putting in a dividing wall in the block work and some extra fibreglassing while at construction stage made more sense and worked out cheaper.
2) Block built is a lot less effort: Because I donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have to do mine every day.
3) I have no build up of waste ( I open the ball valve on the settlement once a week or fortnight, and even less in the winter.

So to sum up block filters:
There are tried and tested and do work.
Reliable.
And low maintenance if built properly.

Regards, Shaun.

stuart t · Post by **stuart t** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 10:16 pm

If you can purge fish waste from the system sooner rather than later it is of benefit. It begins to break down fairly quickly dependent predominantly on temperature and becomes more neutrally buoyant. The waste while it remains in the water/water column is detrimental.
In the general scheme of things most filter designs will be of considerable benefit. It's only when pushed that the respective limitations become more apparent. This can manifest itself not only in fish heath but also the ability of fish to grow and thrive to their full potential, ie desirable water parameters PH, TDS etc.

Stuart

Shaun · Post by **Shaun** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 10:28 pm

Hi
When I was planning my filtration out on the pond i visited many koi dealers around my local area and there are a few with block built, and it was these that I decided to go with block build on my own system.
Gazza:
There is a local dealer round here who has three 2,000 ponds/tanks with lots of koi in them each with there own settlement chamber ,He vacuums them out once a week and changes 40-50 gallon in each one and he is on a meter and his water looks great.

Regards, Shaun.

James Pond · Post by **James Pond** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 10:52 pm

Some really good posts here. I like a lot of others cannot really understand what advantages BB filters give, so it's good to see happy users explaining it from the horses mouth so to speak.

Gazza · Post by **Gazza** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 11:18 pm

Hi Shaun,

I do try to keep my system running to its best potential and sometimes perhaps a bit more as i have been playing with water and filtration for a couple of years striving for some good quality which i hope the fish like

I do use rather a lot of water and if i was to have a settlement chamber and me being me not wanting to see any waste in the system i would still be cleaning it out regularly and so my already increasing water bill could be even bigger

but thats just me

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 11:35 pm

Is it me or is there a north south divide, regarding filtration.

Down south I know of no one ( well apart from David H ) who have block built filters. And I must confess I knew very little about them until I visited ****** Koi for the first time about a month ago.

Interesting to know the pro's and con's though.

More info the better folks, thanks.

Regards

Andy

Bob Hart · Post by **Bob Hart** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 8:05 am

Hi Andy,

My filters are block built.

But I dont have a huge settlement chamber, which is the key to these block built filters. I used to have a large brush chamber (after a vortex)with a flat bottom to it, but it was a nightmare keeping it clean enough. Sure everything settled out in there, but constantly draining it was a chore and a huge use of water. I benched this chamber severly which made it far easier to clean. By doing this though it was nothing like the ****** settlement design then.

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 10:21 am

Hi Bob

DidnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t you make a number of changes this summer?

PS don't forget next Saturday is when the new fish at KWC go on show.

Regards

Andy

Taggy · Post by **Taggy** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 11:22 am

Ta muchy Andy,was wondering when.

Graham

Bob Hart · Post by **Bob Hart** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 12:26 pm

Andy,

I'm always making changes, never satisfied with the filters and am still not now. They are block built though and hold 1400 gallons in total.

Gazza · Post by **Gazza** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 12:57 pm

Hi Bob,

What is it your not satisfied with and why an easy question but its most probably a hard answer

Bob Hart · Post by **Bob Hart** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 2:03 pm

OK Gazza, here's the 'problem'

8500 gallon pond, 1400 gallon filter. The filter is a single stream pulling through 5100 gallons per hour.

Inlet chamber where the 3 x 4" bottom drains enter, then a 37" diameter vortex used as a static K1 chamber, then chamber with aerated K1, then large Jap matting chamber, then large K1 chamber, then finally a large Jap matting chamber. When I say the chambers are large, they are roughly 55" long and 42" wide.

The Vortex is really too small for a 5100 GPH pull though, so the first aerated K1 chamber used to be a brush chamber to trap more solids. Loads of water used up when cleaning both out each week. So converted the Vortex to static K1 and the brush chamber became aerated K1.

Problem is that the Vortex/Static K1 chamber is still too small. If it can be cleaned twice of more each week it is OK, as long as the RO water top up can catch up. But this time of the year it can be impossible to clean during the week. Dark when I leave in the morning, dark when I get home. The static K1 becomes blocked, leading to a drop in the chambers and the pumps sucking in air. The problem in reality has always been there, as the brush chamber used to sometimes do this.

I have some thoughts on making '2' filters out of the one. Big problem with block built filters is that they are not easy to move/change! To create 2 filters, I'd need to have some transfer pipes going through other chambers to the next one, if you see what I mean.

Gazza · Post by **Gazza** » Sat Nov 11, 2006 2:55 pm

OK Bob,

I can see what you mean and i seem to remember how big those chambers are....after being in one

So the new plan is to split the chamber in two and have two separate filtration systems which i think sounds a good idea.So its the civil works which will need sorting out like big holes for 6" transfer pipe to enable you to split the filtration.........better get our thinking caps on as we have about 6-7 month before we start