hi vip,
i will be putting sheets of perspex over the filter to protect it from anything falling through the decking as for smelly water there would be no difference between my filter and a nexus because they will be doing the same thing? bakki shower i might add later on as a feature/filter but am worried about what i have heard about them cooling down the water?
cheers
stuart
block built filter
Moderators: B.Scott, vippymini, Gazza, Manky Sanke
It seems strange that this forum seems pro nexus and a little anti block built filters.
Im now getting towards the end of my rebuild and after a lot of reading and investigation I decided on block filters , reasons were I wanted the best quality water I could and also I have the space and could do most of the work myself.
The Nexus is a fantastic bit of kit and for a ready made filter I would say from what people have said and advised is the best for the majority of people, but for me I feel I will have made the right decision, I have a 4m x .650mm x 1.00m deep settlement with the same dimensions for bio chamber of which will be K1 and Jap matt but will have the space to add anything I want to aid in giving my koi the best water possible.
A lot of unbiased info can be gained on the ****** forum and advice from Rich himself who uses both Nexus and Block filters
Im now getting towards the end of my rebuild and after a lot of reading and investigation I decided on block filters , reasons were I wanted the best quality water I could and also I have the space and could do most of the work myself.
The Nexus is a fantastic bit of kit and for a ready made filter I would say from what people have said and advised is the best for the majority of people, but for me I feel I will have made the right decision, I have a 4m x .650mm x 1.00m deep settlement with the same dimensions for bio chamber of which will be K1 and Jap matt but will have the space to add anything I want to aid in giving my koi the best water possible.
A lot of unbiased info can be gained on the ****** forum and advice from Rich himself who uses both Nexus and Block filters
Hi,
The thing with block filters is that they work really well when you get them right.
There are a few things that you must try and work into the filter.
1) A long settlement area.
2) Large transfer ports to minimise head loss, and only have 1 set of these, between settlement and Biomedia.
3) Static K1 in a block built can cause head loss
Everyone builds their block built filters differently so it can be a bit hit and miss, depending on how well you construst them.
Thanks,
Daniel
The thing with block filters is that they work really well when you get them right.
There are a few things that you must try and work into the filter.
1) A long settlement area.
2) Large transfer ports to minimise head loss, and only have 1 set of these, between settlement and Biomedia.
3) Static K1 in a block built can cause head loss
Everyone builds their block built filters differently so it can be a bit hit and miss, depending on how well you construst them.
Thanks,
Daniel
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Gazza
- architeuthis moderator
- Posts: 5306
- Joined: Sat Aug 13, 2005 7:24 pm
- Location: Essex,UK
- Contact:
Jackal.
I would like to think on Koi Quest we give information on what we have either tried and tested or used ourselves and are not pro or anti anything
There have been many many debates over the years on block built or not block built and as i think i have said on my post with small gardens like mine i have no chance of a block built filter and have to have what works so no choice for me........and i don't run a Nexus either
I have seen many ponds over the last few years who have had lots of differing views on filtration and IMHO over the last few years filtration has come froward with new technology and innovations which are there to help which i believe are a good thing.
I would like to think on Koi Quest we give information on what we have either tried and tested or used ourselves and are not pro or anti anything
There have been many many debates over the years on block built or not block built and as i think i have said on my post with small gardens like mine i have no chance of a block built filter and have to have what works so no choice for me........and i don't run a Nexus either
I have seen many ponds over the last few years who have had lots of differing views on filtration and IMHO over the last few years filtration has come froward with new technology and innovations which are there to help which i believe are a good thing.
Well Iv took on advise through my rebuild on more than 1 occasion,
im reliably informed a 4m long settlement will be long enough, with 2 4" transfer pipes to the bio chamber, with aireated k1 im starting with 200litres of it and 10square meters of jap matt.
The upside is I can increase this by a lot and still have room for additions if I need.
Any advise would be great
im reliably informed a 4m long settlement will be long enough, with 2 4" transfer pipes to the bio chamber, with aireated k1 im starting with 200litres of it and 10square meters of jap matt.
The upside is I can increase this by a lot and still have room for additions if I need.
Any advise would be great
Good topic this....
Well done gazza think you've got that about spot on,
the thing to remember is with these forums it is a mind of information.
those of us who do post only want to help and not confuse, as jackel has said Rich at ****** koi uses both, mite be worth a call to him...(mind you thinking about it has this topic been posted on koihelp by yourself ? I can't remember now
)
Anyway Stuart...I'm not sure about those sheets of perspex mate, i did think about over my filter bay, but what will happen to all the rain water ? it's gotta go some place matey.......
Well done gazza think you've got that about spot on,
the thing to remember is with these forums it is a mind of information.
those of us who do post only want to help and not confuse, as jackel has said Rich at ****** koi uses both, mite be worth a call to him...(mind you thinking about it has this topic been posted on koihelp by yourself ? I can't remember now
)Anyway Stuart...I'm not sure about those sheets of perspex mate, i did think about over my filter bay, but what will happen to all the rain water ? it's gotta go some place matey.......
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Bob Hart
- Site Admin
- Posts: 2292
- Joined: Sun Aug 14, 2005 8:53 am
- Location: Maidstone, Kent, England
- Contact:
The key to all filtration is to get the turnover correctly sized. With Nexus's the flowrates are listed, so you know what's possible. With block built filters each one is different and therefore you just need to make sure that you gte the settlement correct. If fines (especially blanket weed) gets through this settlement, your K1 will end up with it in there. I recently saw some pictures where the K1 on a block built filter got inundated with blanket weed, it pushed the back edge of the K1 section over and the K1 was then in with the matting.
Personally I dont like the design of the matting on the end to 'polish' the water. What this means is that the dead bacteria from the K1 phase get trapped in the matting. I dont want any muck 'held' in my filtration.
My block filter was built over 12-years ago and designed un a upflow/downflow principle, with transfer pipes. The difficulty was with the settlement phase. I even knocked out some of the bio filtration earlier this year to make this longer, but it was still too small at nearly 4-metres. This meant that I always had issues with some fines getting through and the subsequent issues and concerns with this. I even reduced the turnover rate by half to less than 2500 gallons/hour, but it still wasnt enough. This is why I'm always concerned when people say a few metres will do. I would expect with an 8000 gallon pond to maybe want to turn the pond over every hour and therefore need settlement for 8000 gallons/hour. This would be a massive settlement area, which would then be very expensive. I also just didnt like the weekly hoovering, but maybe that was just me!
8000 gallon pond, I'd have 2 x 300 Nexus's on it. In fact I'd have 2 of these on a 5000 gallon pond.
With filtration dont have the minimum designed for, always have more 'room'.
Personally I dont like the design of the matting on the end to 'polish' the water. What this means is that the dead bacteria from the K1 phase get trapped in the matting. I dont want any muck 'held' in my filtration.
My block filter was built over 12-years ago and designed un a upflow/downflow principle, with transfer pipes. The difficulty was with the settlement phase. I even knocked out some of the bio filtration earlier this year to make this longer, but it was still too small at nearly 4-metres. This meant that I always had issues with some fines getting through and the subsequent issues and concerns with this. I even reduced the turnover rate by half to less than 2500 gallons/hour, but it still wasnt enough. This is why I'm always concerned when people say a few metres will do. I would expect with an 8000 gallon pond to maybe want to turn the pond over every hour and therefore need settlement for 8000 gallons/hour. This would be a massive settlement area, which would then be very expensive. I also just didnt like the weekly hoovering, but maybe that was just me!
8000 gallon pond, I'd have 2 x 300 Nexus's on it. In fact I'd have 2 of these on a 5000 gallon pond.
With filtration dont have the minimum designed for, always have more 'room'.
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norfythenorf
- Lemon Shark
- Posts: 33
- Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2007 1:05 pm
Just seen this thread and I'd like to add my own comments. First of all, I have been away from the hobby "proper" for quite a few years although I now have some small koi in a big aquarium and will be transferring them to my new fibreglass QT when I move house, hopefully in the next 5 or 6 weeks. A pond will hopefully be started in 5 or 6 months time. It won't be huge, maybe up to 4000 gals but as there's plenty of space at the new house who knows what we might end up with.
Anyway, I built a blockwork filter on my last pond mainly because back then (about 19 or 20 years ago), there wasn't much off the shelf stuff available. It never really worked very well, and by it's very nature it was impossible for me to alter the thing, and when I decided to fill in the pond I had to destroy it. If you get it wrong, it's hard to put it right. If you move house you can't take it with you for the next pond. If you alter your pond, chances are you'll have to rebuild it. If you give up the hobby, you can't sell it on Ebay.
I agree that something like a Nexus or a bead filter or indeed any of the multibay filters readily available will probably cost more initially, but they are portable and saleable and proven to work within the manufacturer's parameters. Personally I don't expect to use anything other than one (or 2) of these when I build. It's not just the cost to consider, it's how much time you have too. Knowing how much back breaking time it took to build, render and paint the block filter, I don't feel inclined to do it again - just building the pond will be bad enough. Available space surely must be a consideration too. Also, these things turn up on Ebay etc regularly, so the cost can be kept much nearer to blockwork if you are lucky.
At the end of the day, if a block filter works for you, that's great. If it doesn't, consider how easily you can improve it. I learned the lesson when I built my last pond that trying to save money invariably costs more in the end. Do it once, do it right. If your block filter is being built on what you feel are the right dimensions etc, be sure that your estimations are right otherwise you'll waste a lot of effort and money.
Anyway, I built a blockwork filter on my last pond mainly because back then (about 19 or 20 years ago), there wasn't much off the shelf stuff available. It never really worked very well, and by it's very nature it was impossible for me to alter the thing, and when I decided to fill in the pond I had to destroy it. If you get it wrong, it's hard to put it right. If you move house you can't take it with you for the next pond. If you alter your pond, chances are you'll have to rebuild it. If you give up the hobby, you can't sell it on Ebay.
I agree that something like a Nexus or a bead filter or indeed any of the multibay filters readily available will probably cost more initially, but they are portable and saleable and proven to work within the manufacturer's parameters. Personally I don't expect to use anything other than one (or 2) of these when I build. It's not just the cost to consider, it's how much time you have too. Knowing how much back breaking time it took to build, render and paint the block filter, I don't feel inclined to do it again - just building the pond will be bad enough. Available space surely must be a consideration too. Also, these things turn up on Ebay etc regularly, so the cost can be kept much nearer to blockwork if you are lucky.
At the end of the day, if a block filter works for you, that's great. If it doesn't, consider how easily you can improve it. I learned the lesson when I built my last pond that trying to save money invariably costs more in the end. Do it once, do it right. If your block filter is being built on what you feel are the right dimensions etc, be sure that your estimations are right otherwise you'll waste a lot of effort and money.