help with filter mod

[koisupreme]

hi all
im a newbie to this great site
i am interesed in to converting my filters to static k1 and fulid k1. i was thinking of leaving the vortex in place then making three chambers in filter instead of the five that the filters have now so each filter chamber would be the size of the last chamber with jap matting in.i am thinking of vortex then static k1 the fluid k1 the jap matting in last chamber.does this sound a good idea as my water is clear at the moment but with fine particles floating in pond so hopefuly this would solve that problem
my pond is 10ft x 8ft x6ft deep which gives me 2000gal
i will post pictures of pond tomorrow

[ageinghippy]

Hi there,

First of all, welcome to the site, I think you`ll find that there is an absolute wealth of knowledge available here.

Regarding your filters, I think you`re on the right track with what you are thinking about, but can I suggest a couple of modfications to your plans?

To have a proper vortex action, the chamber needs to be a minimum of two feet wide and at least three feet deep, and ideally twice as much. Anything less is not really doing an awful lot of good as there just isn`t enough room for all the solids to settle out.

I would suggest that you put your brushes in the vortex to remove the larger solids, then the first chamber have as fluidised k1, second chamber have the static k1, and have your japmat cartidge in the third chamber.

The fluidised chamber will remove anything that gets past your brushes, the static will collect the majority of the `fines`, and then the japmat will give your water its final polish before it returns to your pond.

I hope that helps, and doesn`t put you off your mods.

If you have a look in the `historic`post section at the bottom of the main page, there should be quite a few posts there that will help you.

Chris (another one)

[koisupreme]

hi all
i still planning my filter conversion as of above but need some points clearing up
my vortex empities in to chamber one at the top would this be a problem for fluidise k1 then the water would empty at the bottom in to chamber two which would be static k1 then the chamber would enter chamber three at the top of chamber which would be japp mattting.i am thinking of cutting slots with a grinder at the top and bottom of weir walls.does anybody know how long these would need to be and how wide apart they need to be to to maintain a good flow rate.would this cause a problem with debris enetring chamber two with the slots being at bottom of chamber one
i have then decided to put air lines made out of push fit pipe to fuildise and to clean my k1
does this sound ok
any suggestions
thanks fred

[fishy hands]

i always thought the bio media k1 alfagrog etc was at the end of the media chain and the jap mats and brushes were at the front as more mechanical

[koisupreme]

hi all
ok finally starting filter mod this weekend but have already built air ring out of spped fit pipe
wot is the best size holes to drill in air line some say 1mm other say 2mm its going into square filter chamber
i have got EA 75ltr air pump just to run on static and fuild k1
any ideas cheers fred

[koisupreme]

Here is a picture of my pond
2000 gallon

[Gazza]

Hi and welcome to Koi Quest

Its a good idea to modify the filters to help your filters perform much better which is always a good thing

K1 is great stuff and works a treat in both mechanical & biological but one thing to remember is not to rip it all out in one go as the new stuff will need to mature so do it a section at a time and let it mature.

If its possible try to see you can convert your vortex to static K1 as this will catch all the waste and stop any getting into the bio stages which you could make one of them a fluidized K1 chamber and you could do these both together. You will need to make sure that the K1 can not move to the next chamber or get drained out the waste pipe or into the main pump as K1 gets everywhere so you will need to make sure it stays in the chambers where its supposed to be.