filtration

[longboardpete]

Picked up some new koi from Chris at ACM yesterday and we got talking about the Nexus filters. I'm now thinking possibly about changing my 4 bay filter unit for one of these, but which one? my pond is 2350 gallons (including filter at 200 gallons)and i don't want to be running at maximum, the eazy pod is a great size and will fit in a lot better than the 200, does anyone see a problem with running 2 eazy pods together, or should i waite and try to get the 200? Stocking levels will be increased to hopefully 15 fish this year so there will be a good load on the filter.

[Gazza]

Hi Pete,

Nexus 200 easy will win hands down mate as some are saying the pod is not very good a a single filtration unit.

[herbie]

Pete

If I were you I'd wait & get either
a 200 or if your thinking maybe a 300
you could ron 2 pods but its not a good
idea cause the pods arn't as good as the easy
and take more time.

Best Regards

[Gin Rin]

I have an EasyPod running on my skimmer line and a Nexus 200 Easy as the main filtration. With out a doubt you'd be better off getting the Nexus 200 as the main filtration as it is best of both worlds, ie a good mechanical filter and a good biological filter as well. I'd say that the pod would be stretching it a bit and isn't as flexible as its bigger brother.

[Thorny]

Two pods will not cope with that size pond, on there own. Pods are great mechanical filtration, but as sole mechanical and biological I would have to hang a question mark over them. AS Brian says running along side a Nexus 200 on the size of pond You have, you will have a great little setup. For You Koi to thrive in not just survive in.
Justin

[kayoss]

Hi pete

I agree with others above when they say that 2 pods will not do the job on your pond - but if you've already got a pod running, and your mechanical filtration is OK, why not just converty your multibay to fluidised K1?

Same effect as the 200 (probably very close to the 300) but at afraction of the cost!

Here's the link to how I did mine - and it works! http://www.koiquest.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.p ... ion#p68552" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are also other methods to convert existing filters explained on the board - just search for "k1 conversions".

Cheers

[longboardpete]

well, looks like the 200 wins hands down. I have converted my multibay to run static and fluid already, it's the ease and much smaller footprint that i liked. As my multibay is already converted do you think it would be of benefit to change then?

[kayoss]

Hi Pete

Without knowing your exact set up, I can't say. How much of a chore is your current maintenance routine? How much easier would it be with a Nexus? My system is no harde or easier to clean than a Nexus would be.

With regard the footprint, that's a matter for your own choice - is the smaller footprint worth the bigger cost?

However, if you want to look into it a bit more, I'd compare the the maximum quantities of K1 you can have in your current system with the maximum you can get in a Nexus (static and fluidised chambers) and any difference in flow rates between your current set up and the Nexus - they're the factors that will determine how effective your filters are for any given demand placed on them.

But, if you've already converted your multibay, it's fairly easy to maintain and it's working OK, personally I'd leave well alone - if it ain't broke, dont fix it!

Cheers

[MikeH]

we have a 2300 gal pond excluding the filtration system. We have a nexus 300 on ours and its certainly kept things in shape. If you are going down the nexus route then I would certainly go for the 300 as this way you will certainly be providing plenty of scope for filtration. Depending on your setup I would also consider the bakki shower from Mike at Yume Koi, if we were re-doing our pond this would be the route we would have gone down however you would have to consider your own circumstances. To sum it up from my opinion Nexus 200/300 and/or Bakki shower would be the options I would look at. I dont have any affiliation to yumekoi however I would speak to Mike before making your decision.

[MikeH]

sorry forgot to add that an easy pod in my opinion is only really useful for a QT or in the skimmer line of your pond, I certainly wouldn't use it as the main filtration for a 2300 gal pond even if you use two.

[longboardpete]

My filter is easy to clean since putting a air line in the static bay, done in minutes. Each bay holds 50 gallons of water and i have 100 ltrs of K1, split 60/40. I'm running a Aquamax 12000 through the filter and clarity has never been a problem, last year was awful with problems for me after finding no KH (new water after pond increased) had led to filter crashing so fish were very poorly last year and never realy got on the feed, the K1 was added back in july and even the fluid K1 didn't realy get to that browny/orangey colour it should when mature. The mechanical stage worked fine. Just that smaller footprint is very tempting but is it worth the extra cost?

[Gazza]

Hi Pete,

I wouldn't worry about the colour of the K1 to be honest it doesn't have to be brown and as long as the pond doesn't get any high readings you will be OK with the filters so it may well be worth while sitting tight this year and seeing how it goes through the winter

[MikeH]

well you maybe better off looking at using the money it would take to buy a new filter into improving your water chemistry particulary if you have problems with kh. Is it your supply water that has low KH or your pond water?

Regarding your k1 many people including myself have soaked their media in potassium permanganate which helps to improve the medias surface for bacteria to adhere.

[kayoss]

Hi Pete

Unless you want to reduce your flow rate, it looks like the only option is the 300 - both the pod and 200 have a maximum flow rate of 10,000L.

Also, the 300 has a smaller water capacity than your existing filter (only 185 gallons to your 200 gallons.)

I've heard that the maximum amount of K1 you can use in an fluidised chamber is 60% of the water capacity. Therefore, at 50 gallons per chamber, you can put up to 30 gallons (about 130 liters) - that's a total of 260 liters of fluidised K1. However, if you have a 4 bay filter, one of which is static, you could fluidise the other three chambers and get 390 lires of K1 in there - the maximum in the 300 is only 300 liters!

You can check the capacities on the EA site http://www.evolutionaqua.com/acatalog/Nexus ... 0_300.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Finally, I've seen ponds running fluidised K1 (both Nexus and conversions) where the K1 looks very clean, i.e. no bacteria build up on the media, so no brown colouration. All the ponds have had "0" ammonia and "0" Nitrite when the water is tested - so don't worry about the media not being "brown"!

I'm sure your dealer won't be too worried whether you spend your hard earned cash on a new filter or new koi.

Good luck whatever route you choose.

[longboardpete]

May be better off converting last bay of jap matting to fluid k1 then, as you guys say i can then get another 100ltrs in the filter easily. As for spending my money on new fish that will be very easy. I've just found Chris of ACM Koi about 45 miles away from home and he has some stunning fish. Picked up 4 new fish the weekend and will go back again in 4 wks for some more when q/t filter has matured abit more. we have no real choice of koi down this neck of the woods and have always made do with garden center stuff, until now!!!!!!! cracking fish and a nice guy with plenty of time, his mums lovelly too . they both said how lucky i am that the wife is as keen on buying koi as i am especially as she wanted the more exspensive stuff, apparently thats what i'm getting when we go back

The water from the tap has no KH, and i am using Lithaqua in the filter now