aerated,fluidised,static???

[Andy H]

Can someone exlain the differences in the title of K1? I have a CL2

[carlejo]

aerated/fluidised is the same thing..... K1 is aggitated by using lots of air underneath the media..... the air in the K1 is beneficial to the bacteria growth........

static is not aerated, it's left in a filter and basically it's there to remove fine particles in the water, ideally it's a mechanical stage and put before the bio stage....HTH

[Jules]

Carl has ben using the force I see The other thing about static is you have an air ring around the base too agitate it and ditch all the waste that collects. Excellent media for both applications.

Jules

[Andy H]

??? So am I set up correctly with the last hamber of CL2 is filled with flowcore and foam on top, the water passes through the 3 layers of foam and then down through the flowcore and out the bottom to the pond. So an airstone under the flowcore would dislodge all the crap and send it into the pond???

[GERRY5]

well firstly andy there should not be any crap in the final bay anyway , if there is then the mechanical side of the filter aint workin....on your cl2 you have the four bays ...can you tell us whats in each in rotation so we can help you more on this

[Andy H]

Hi

The first chamber is empty, 2nd is filter brushes, 3rd is chinese matting(I think) and the forth is 3 foam layers above lava rock type media. The chinese matting is what they called it but just now when I looked it up on koi quest it says cut it with angle grinder or circular saw!!!!!!!!!! I would have thought it could be cut with scissors??

[GERRY5]

ok andy, firstly the first bay is acting as a vortex to spin the particulates in a circle thus dropping them to the base of said vortex ready to be flushed away , the second bay with brushes is the next stage of the mechanical this traps all the mulm and bits that get through , the third bay is japanese matting ...or chinese matting as youve been told this bay is the first of the biological side , the last bay containing the alfagrog and sponges is the second bio stage the alfagrog acts as a bio and the sponges collect any fine particles returning to the pond ...so i would look at converting the empty vortex into a static k1 bay...the second bay i would fluidise with k1 and do away with the brushes....the third and fourth bays you could leave as they are or indeed covert to fluidised k1 again in the third bay leaving bay 4 alone or any combination ...but bay one must be fully mechanical to catch all the crud ....suggest you look at some of the posts on filter conversions in the diy section , in particular gazzas conversion to k1 bays is particularly good , if you have any other questions on this feel free to come back and ask away , good luck

[Andy H]

ok thanks for that, I will try and find a dustbin and make a static and fluid k1.

Need to find supplier of K1...

Will look at screwfix etc and probably use bendy pipe. got loads of 1.25 but may go get some 1.5 as the new pump handles this size.

so the fluidised bay would be ok with a 2" air ball in it or should I buy a ring nd also a rind for the bottom drain???

[GERRY5]

andy ....use 1.5 pipe it will give a better flow rate , secondly dont use stones or buy rings ...make em ...go to the plumbers merchant get some speed fit pipe in 1\2 inch .one tee in speed fit ...drill holes of about one and a half mill to two mill. in size every inch and a half along pipe , and affix in a ring (it bends easily) into the dustbin with cable ties attach to air pump , use this for flushing only on the static side ...do the same on the fluidised side left running all the time , k1 can be purchased second hand all the time on ebay , you can also use the black equivalent (cant remember the name but someone will)..some say its better due to being slightly bigger thusly having a bigger surface for the bio to form , its what is used in commercial filtration plants... as long as you can trap the k1 into the bays its supposed to be in and not allow it to escape to other bays it will improve your water quality no end....

[carlejo]

this stuff......

http://www.pisces-aqua.co.uk/acatalog/sub_section.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I've loads of it mixed in with 'genuine' K1......... it's cheaper an does the job just as well

[Andy H]

Thanks for that
Question: How do you fix airline to quick fix pipe?

Also, because my CL2 flows into the next chamber the bin in the vortex may be too high for the lid, so would this work...?
I cut a circle of plastic to a perfect fit at the top of chamber one which would hold the K1 down, the water would flow through the holes and flow into 2nd chamber.

Would holding the K1 under water work ok? or does it need to break the surface?

I would have a similar grid at the bottom with the air supply sitting on it to aggitate to clean.

This way I am using the whole vortex as a static chamber rather than using a bin in it and having a water space round the outside.

Hope someone can answer this quickly as I want to start getting bits together tomorrow. Does anyone near Gatwick have a similar home made set up that I could have a peek at???

[GERRY5]

have a look at this andy ....its all the ideas your looking for
[url]http://www.koiquest.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=6057[/url]

[Andy H]

Thanks Gerry5, alas it doesn`t really answer my question about holding down the K1 or if the cleaner air supply should be below the bottom grid or on it? Do you know what I mean?

you all seem to have separate vortex`s rather than CL2 with the lip.

My problems are being how to contain K1 from the next chamber and the height of inserting a "dustbin"

What use is the outer perimater in the vortex? or should I use all the vortex?

getting depressed now... dont seem to be able to find answers I need on this website.

Maybe I should just install new pump and hope that it works but something is wrog if I have to keep cleaning the sponges.

I have taken next week off in the hopes of sorting this out and being self employed means no income so I will have a scoth and coke and go to bed in the hopes that there is some help tomorrow. night all.....................

[B.Scott]

Andy,
My vortex had a similar problem with a weir to the next chamber. I blocked off the wier with a bit of scrap stainless steel and silicone mastic. The I drilled a hole between the two chambers and inserted a rubber seal ring with a gate valve.

[img]http://www.dutchkoi.com/pics/answerinstall2.JPG[/img]

[img]http://www.dutchkoi.com/pics/answerinstall5.jpg[/img]

An example of a rubber pipe seal in a 200 liter vat

[img]http://www.koi.excalibur-nw.com/images/pipe_seal2.JPG[/img]

[img]http://www.dutchkoi.com/picture-files/static.jpg[/img]

[img]http://www.dutchkoi.com/picture-files/rebuild09.jpg[/img]

The rubber seals can be used to either seal off a single wall or connect two vats (with or without a valve inbetween)

[img]http://www.dutchkoi.com/picture-files/wmini-easy15.jpg[/img]

B.Scott

[eds]

I'm sure there's a thread in the historic posts section where someone converted one of these filters to K1. I couldn't find it on a search, but will look again. I distinctly remember the pictures.

Edit - Can't find it either in the Historic Posts or the DIY section, sorry.