Pressurised filters

[question]

Hi
I'm looking to replace my Hozelock pressurized filter with either an Oase or
Fishmate model. Does anyone have any useful feedback about these filters.
The single BIG advantage as far as I can see is that the spnges can be
flushed through in situ, so no more struggling to dismantle and reassemble
the filter!

Any comments would be appreciated!
Thanks.

[Rich L]

I purchased an OASE filtoclear 3000 (pondliner.com) for my 1800 gallon
koi pond. I left the UV light in the filter off initially to let the
starter bacteria get established. I'm using a Sequence 750 pump
(AZPonds.com) with a skimmer & leaf trap prefilter. The leaf trap has
already saved one of my baby koi when he investigated where the the
bottom drain led to. I figure with the line losses and waterfall I'm
pushing between 1500 to 2000 gallons an hour though the filter.

When the water starting turning green after about 2 or 3 weeks I
plugged the filter in which activate the 9 watt UV. Within 3 to 4
days the green water was gone and the water has been pretty clear ever
since. The pond is just under 4 feet deep and I can clearly see the
bottom.

Cleaning the filtoclear is about as easy as it gets. Just turn the
knob to backflush and crank on the handle. I backflush for about a
minute and that's it. I spent 2 years cleaning 'in pond' filters and I
had enough. I bought for pretty much one reason - clean the flter
without getting my hands full of you know what.

The quality of the Filtoclear is excellent, it's some kind of tough
plastic fairly thick. The mechanisms were stiff at first but once
it's in operation everything turn and pulls smoothly. There are two
types of filter media one more coarser that the other. Oase says this
is to foster the growth of different bacteria.

The filter comes with stepped adapters for hoses up to 1-1/2 inch
diameter. To increase my flow rate I chose not to go with the
provided adapters. Instead I threaded 1-1/2 inch PVC plumbing
(couplers) directly to the filter. It worked out pretty well.

I highly recommend it.




"question" > wrote in message >...
> Hi
> I'm looking to replace my Hozelock pressurized filter with either an Oase or
> Fishmate model. Does anyone have any useful feedback about these filters.
> The single BIG advantage as far as I can see is that the spnges can be
> flushed through in situ, so no more struggling to dismantle and reassemble
> the filter!
>
> Any comments would be appreciated!
> Thanks.

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

Just in case they didn't mention it in the literature. Pressurized systems
really eat up the buffering (KH) so you should have a test kit for that.
They also work best when the KH is at least 150 ppm. Put Baking Soda on the
grocery list. :o) ~ jan

>On 15 Aug 2004 13:36:35 -0700, (Rich L) wrote:

>I purchased an OASE filtoclear 3000 (pondliner.com) for my 1800 gallon
>koi pond. I left the UV light in the filter off initially to let the
>starter bacteria get established. I'm using a Sequence 750 pump
>(AZPonds.com) with a skimmer & leaf trap prefilter. The leaf trap has
>already saved one of my baby koi when he investigated where the the
>bottom drain led to. I figure with the line losses and waterfall I'm
>pushing between 1500 to 2000 gallons an hour though the filter.
>
>When the water starting turning green after about 2 or 3 weeks I
>plugged the filter in which activate the 9 watt UV. Within 3 to 4
>days the green water was gone and the water has been pretty clear ever
>since. The pond is just under 4 feet deep and I can clearly see the
>bottom.
>
>Cleaning the filtoclear is about as easy as it gets. Just turn the
>knob to backflush and crank on the handle. I backflush for about a
>minute and that's it. I spent 2 years cleaning 'in pond' filters and I
>had enough. I bought for pretty much one reason - clean the flter
>without getting my hands full of you know what.
>
>The quality of the Filtoclear is excellent, it's some kind of tough
>plastic fairly thick. The mechanisms were stiff at first but once
>it's in operation everything turn and pulls smoothly. There are two
>types of filter media one more coarser that the other. Oase says this
>is to foster the growth of different bacteria.
>
>The filter comes with stepped adapters for hoses up to 1-1/2 inch
>diameter. To increase my flow rate I chose not to go with the
>provided adapters. Instead I threaded 1-1/2 inch PVC plumbing
>(couplers) directly to the filter. It worked out pretty well.
>
>I highly recommend it.
>
>
>
>
>"question" > wrote in message >...
>> Hi
>> I'm looking to replace my Hozelock pressurized filter with either an Oase or
>> Fishmate model. Does anyone have any useful feedback about these filters.
>> The single BIG advantage as far as I can see is that the spnges can be
>> flushed through in situ, so no more struggling to dismantle and reassemble
>> the filter!
>>
>> Any comments would be appreciated!
>> Thanks.

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Nedra]

Hi Jan ... I have a PF3000 which is a pressurized filter. Now I know why
the KH was never a stable number. The things you learn on rec.ponds....
just incidently!
Thanks a million.

Nedra
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118

"~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
...
> Just in case they didn't mention it in the literature. Pressurized systems
> really eat up the buffering (KH) so you should have a test kit for that.
> They also work best when the KH is at least 150 ppm. Put Baking Soda on
the
> grocery list. :o) ~ jan
>
> >On 15 Aug 2004 13:36:35 -0700, (Rich L) wrote:
>
> >I purchased an OASE filtoclear 3000 (pondliner.com) for my 1800 gallon
> >koi pond. I left the UV light in the filter off initially to let the
> >starter bacteria get established. I'm using a Sequence 750 pump
> >(AZPonds.com) with a skimmer & leaf trap prefilter. The leaf trap has
> >already saved one of my baby koi when he investigated where the the
> >bottom drain led to. I figure with the line losses and waterfall I'm
> >pushing between 1500 to 2000 gallons an hour though the filter.
> >
> >When the water starting turning green after about 2 or 3 weeks I
> >plugged the filter in which activate the 9 watt UV. Within 3 to 4
> >days the green water was gone and the water has been pretty clear ever
> >since. The pond is just under 4 feet deep and I can clearly see the
> >bottom.
> >
> >Cleaning the filtoclear is about as easy as it gets. Just turn the
> >knob to backflush and crank on the handle. I backflush for about a
> >minute and that's it. I spent 2 years cleaning 'in pond' filters and I
> >had enough. I bought for pretty much one reason - clean the flter
> >without getting my hands full of you know what.
> >
> >The quality of the Filtoclear is excellent, it's some kind of tough
> >plastic fairly thick. The mechanisms were stiff at first but once
> >it's in operation everything turn and pulls smoothly. There are two
> >types of filter media one more coarser that the other. Oase says this
> >is to foster the growth of different bacteria.
> >
> >The filter comes with stepped adapters for hoses up to 1-1/2 inch
> >diameter. To increase my flow rate I chose not to go with the
> >provided adapters. Instead I threaded 1-1/2 inch PVC plumbing
> >(couplers) directly to the filter. It worked out pretty well.
> >
> >I highly recommend it.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >"question" > wrote in message
>...
> >> Hi
> >> I'm looking to replace my Hozelock pressurized filter with either an
Oase or
> >> Fishmate model. Does anyone have any useful feedback about these
filters.
> >> The single BIG advantage as far as I can see is that the spnges can be
> >> flushed through in situ, so no more struggling to dismantle and
reassemble
> >> the filter!
> >>
> >> Any comments would be appreciated!
> >> Thanks.
>
> ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Gareee©]

"Rich L" > wrote in message
om...
> I purchased an OASE filtoclear 3000 (pondliner.com) for my 1800 gallon
> koi pond. ...


Does this need an additional pump, or is one built in? We were considering
the UV solution, and this kind of integrates a UV and a filter, so might
actually be worth the shell out of cash...


--
Gareee© (Gareee "at" Charter "dot" net)
Homepage:
http://www.fortunecity.com/tattooine/ellison/86/mainframe.htm
Custom Figures, Wallpapers and more!

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

I just learned about it a year or so ago, so I don't how "out there" the
information is, or how good the dealers & manufacturers are about informing
people. It not like it is a flaw or anything, it is just something that one
needs to be aware of, as baking soda is an easy product to get and fairly
cheap. The unfortunate person is one who had a stable pond system before,
went to pressurized due to needing more filter, fish bigger, whatever, and
then have a pH crash because the KH, that they never had to worry about
before, is used up real fast. Especially if your fresh water doesn't have a
lot of buffering to begin with. Glad I could help. :o) ~ jan


>On Sun, 15 Aug 2004 22:37:38 GMT, "Nedra" > wrote:

>Hi Jan ... I have a PF3000 which is a pressurized filter. Now I know why
>the KH was never a stable number. The things you learn on rec.ponds....
>just incidently!
>Thanks a million.
>
>Nedra
>http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pines/4836
>http://community.webshots.com/user/nedra118
>
>"~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
...
>> Just in case they didn't mention it in the literature. Pressurized systems
>> really eat up the buffering (KH) so you should have a test kit for that.
>> They also work best when the KH is at least 150 ppm. Put Baking Soda on
>the
>> grocery list. :o) ~ jan
>>
>> >On 15 Aug 2004 13:36:35 -0700, (Rich L) wrote:
>>
>> >I purchased an OASE filtoclear 3000 (pondliner.com) for my 1800 gallon
>> >koi pond. I left the UV light in the filter off initially to let the
>> >starter bacteria get established. I'm using a Sequence 750 pump
>> >(AZPonds.com) with a skimmer & leaf trap prefilter. The leaf trap has
>> >already saved one of my baby koi when he investigated where the the
>> >bottom drain led to. I figure with the line losses and waterfall I'm
>> >pushing between 1500 to 2000 gallons an hour though the filter.
>> >
>> >When the water starting turning green after about 2 or 3 weeks I
>> >plugged the filter in which activate the 9 watt UV. Within 3 to 4
>> >days the green water was gone and the water has been pretty clear ever
>> >since. The pond is just under 4 feet deep and I can clearly see the
>> >bottom.
>> >
>> >Cleaning the filtoclear is about as easy as it gets. Just turn the
>> >knob to backflush and crank on the handle. I backflush for about a
>> >minute and that's it. I spent 2 years cleaning 'in pond' filters and I
>> >had enough. I bought for pretty much one reason - clean the flter
>> >without getting my hands full of you know what.
>> >
>> >The quality of the Filtoclear is excellent, it's some kind of tough
>> >plastic fairly thick. The mechanisms were stiff at first but once
>> >it's in operation everything turn and pulls smoothly. There are two
>> >types of filter media one more coarser that the other. Oase says this
>> >is to foster the growth of different bacteria.
>> >
>> >The filter comes with stepped adapters for hoses up to 1-1/2 inch
>> >diameter. To increase my flow rate I chose not to go with the
>> >provided adapters. Instead I threaded 1-1/2 inch PVC plumbing
>> >(couplers) directly to the filter. It worked out pretty well.
>> >
>> >I highly recommend it.
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >"question" > wrote in message
>...
>> >> Hi
>> >> I'm looking to replace my Hozelock pressurized filter with either an
>Oase or
>> >> Fishmate model. Does anyone have any useful feedback about these
>filters.
>> >> The single BIG advantage as far as I can see is that the spnges can be
>> >> flushed through in situ, so no more struggling to dismantle and
>reassemble
>> >> the filter!
>> >>
>> >> Any comments would be appreciated!
>> >> Thanks.
>>
>> ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~
>

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Crashj]

"~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
...
> Just in case they didn't mention it in the literature. Pressurized systems
> really eat up the buffering (KH) so you should have a test kit for that.
> They also work best when the KH is at least 150 ppm. Put Baking Soda on
the
> grocery list. :o) ~ jan
<>
Is that because of the new water you are putting in each time you flush, or
something else? Do you have to add dechlorinator?
--
Crashj

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 02:14:47 GMT, "Crashj"
> wrote:

>Is that because of the new water you are putting in each time you flush, or
>something else? Do you have to add dechlorinator?

The reason for adding Baking Soda? No, not because of the new water, (and
dechlor. is always wise when adding new) but something about the
pressurized system itself, beats the KH right out of the water. I'm sure it
is a chemistry related thing, but I can't tell you what or how.

I did send this question into the chemistry expert on the KHA board, so
I'll let you know. ~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[RichToyBox]

The KH is consumed to an extent with all filters. The bacteria use the
carbonates to help with the digestion/conversion of ammonia to nitrite,
giving off a Hydrogen ion, and then in the conversion of nitrite to nitrate,
2 Hydrogen ions are given off. These hydrogen ions are acid and they use
the carbonates to neutralize the acid and convert the hydrogen ions with CO3
to CO2 and water. The pressurized filters, bead filters are generally
associated with heavier fish loads than the garden pond with smaller
filters, and therefore more food to be converted, more acid, more demand for
carbonates/bicarbonates to prevent a pH crash.

--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/index.html
"~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
...
> On Mon, 16 Aug 2004 02:14:47 GMT, "Crashj"
> > wrote:
>
> >Is that because of the new water you are putting in each time you flush,
or
> >something else? Do you have to add dechlorinator?
>
> The reason for adding Baking Soda? No, not because of the new water, (and
> dechlor. is always wise when adding new) but something about the
> pressurized system itself, beats the KH right out of the water. I'm sure
it
> is a chemistry related thing, but I can't tell you what or how.
>
> I did send this question into the chemistry expert on the KHA board, so
> I'll let you know. ~ jan
>
>
> ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

Thanks for the chemistry explanation RTB, and is what was told to me by
those I asked, though they didn't have the reason why, nor had it come to
their attention, regarding pressurized systems using up the KH faster than
open gravity fed filters.

When you mentioned higher fish loads, I went Ah Ha, but than said, "Wait."
Case in point, one of our ponders started out with pressurized, and was
about ready to take out stock in Baking Soda the way he went thru it. He
has since converted to a gravity fed filter, and says it's a rare day that
he needs BSoda... and his fish have gotten bigger in the meantime. So there
has to be something directly to do with that type of filter, not the pond,
per se, imo. ~ jan

>On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 00:32:28 GMT, "RichToyBox" > wrote:

>The KH is consumed to an extent with all filters. The bacteria use the
>carbonates to help with the digestion/conversion of ammonia to nitrite,
>giving off a Hydrogen ion, and then in the conversion of nitrite to nitrate,
>2 Hydrogen ions are given off. These hydrogen ions are acid and they use
>the carbonates to neutralize the acid and convert the hydrogen ions with CO3
>to CO2 and water. The pressurized filters, bead filters are generally
>associated with heavier fish loads than the garden pond with smaller
>filters, and therefore more food to be converted, more acid, more demand for
>carbonates/bicarbonates to prevent a pH crash.

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Crashj]

"RichToyBox" > wrote in message
news:wmcUc.22180$mD.10813@attbi_s02...
> The KH is consumed to an extent with all filters.
<trim Chem>
> The pressurized filters, bead filters are generally
> associated with heavier fish loads than the garden pond with smaller
> filters, and therefore more food to be converted, more acid, more demand
for
> carbonates/bicarbonates to prevent a pH crash.
<>
Great explanation, thanks.
--
Crashj

[Rich L]

The Filtoclear as well as the Fishmate do NOT come with a pump. The
Oase comes with a 9 watt UV and I think Fishmate sells a model with
the UV included.

You'll have to buy a pump separately and connect to the filter using
tubing or PVC pipe.

I looked at the Fishmate also but I've learned that you get what you
pay for and decided to dish out the cash on the Oase.
- RL



"Gareee©" > wrote in message >...
> "Rich L" > wrote in message
> om...
> > I purchased an OASE filtoclear 3000 (pondliner.com) for my 1800 gallon
> > koi pond. ...
>
>
> Does this need an additional pump, or is one built in? We were considering
> the UV solution, and this kind of integrates a UV and a filter, so might
> actually be worth the shell out of cash...

[RichToyBox]

I just added a bead filter to my smaller pond this year. I have not found
that it needs any more baking soda than it used to require. I am very
diligent about measuring and maintaining a minimum of 100 ppm, but generally
don't measure how much I use. A 12 pound bag from the discount club is
cheap, and I dump in about 8 pounds into the larger pond and about 4 pounds
into the smaller pond and wait for the KH to fall, which could be 3 or 4
weeks. A veggie filter of the anacharis and other submerged plants will
actually increase the KH without addition of baking soda and help to
stabilize the pH significantly, but my koi love those types of veggies and
without a separate pond that form of filter would last only minutes.

--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/index.html
"~ jan JJsPond.us" > wrote in message
...
> Case in point, one of our ponders started out with pressurized, and was
> about ready to take out stock in Baking Soda the way he went thru it. He
> has since converted to a gravity fed filter, and says it's a rare day that
> he needs BSoda... and his fish have gotten bigger in the meantime. So
there
> has to be something directly to do with that type of filter, not the pond,
> per se, imo. ~ jan
>
> >On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 00:32:28 GMT, "RichToyBox" >
wrote:
>
> >The KH is consumed to an extent with all filters. The bacteria use the
> >carbonates to help with the digestion/conversion of ammonia to nitrite,
> >giving off a Hydrogen ion, and then in the conversion of nitrite to
nitrate,
> >2 Hydrogen ions are given off. These hydrogen ions are acid and they use
> >the carbonates to neutralize the acid and convert the hydrogen ions with
CO3
> >to CO2 and water. The pressurized filters, bead filters are generally
> >associated with heavier fish loads than the garden pond with smaller
> >filters, and therefore more food to be converted, more acid, more demand
for
> >carbonates/bicarbonates to prevent a pH crash.
>
> ~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Richard E. Steele]

I wish that I could have the submerged plants to provide some of my
buffering, but the fish would eat it all. Right now, I am using an upflow
filter of crushed oyster shell and baking soda.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/index.html

"Hal" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 20 Aug 2004 01:04:32 GMT, "RichToyBox"
> > wrote:
>
> > A veggie filter of the anacharis and other submerged plants will
> >actually increase the KH without addition of baking soda and help to
> >stabilize the pH significantly, but my koi love those types of veggies
and
> >without a separate pond that form of filter would last only minutes.
>
> I envy your success at increasing KH with submerged plants and wonder
> how do you anchor them to the bottom?
>
> The reason I ask, is because I tried gravel and it became a bed of
> yuck that had to be cleaned once a year and that got old about the
> same time I did.
>
> Regards,
>
> Hal

[RichToyBox]

Hal,

It sounds like your filter is working very well, and it does keep the large
debris out of the system. If you have enough limestone, as the pH starts to
drop, it will start to dissolve and buffer the pH. It is solid KH, and is
hard to measure with a test kit, since it is not in solution. If your pH is
relatively stable and you haven't crashed, you may have plenty of the
limestone. My importer uses oyster shell for the same purpose, and nearly
half of his filter chamber is filled with oyster shells. BTW his filters
are nearly as large as his tanks.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/index.html

"Hal" > wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 24 Aug 2004 01:18:36 GMT, "Richard E. Steele"
> > wrote:
>
> >I wish that I could have the submerged plants to provide some of my
> >buffering, but the fish would eat it all. Right now, I am using an
upflow
> >filter of crushed oyster shell and baking soda.
>
> I'm crushed! I thought I was on the brink of discovering something
> new and workable. I've been using garden lime for several years now
> and a couple years ago I added lots of baking soda and gypsum to raise
> the KH, but I created a great environment for string algae so I
> stopped the baking soda and gypsum. The limestone stops dissolving
> when the pH gets to 7.8 and my KH hardly gets up to 3 degrees. The
> rainfall has become so acid, every time it rains I wonder if this
> will be the incident that causes a pH crash. So far the limestone
> seems to be preventing a crash, but my KH readings are way below 100
> ppm. I could use some submerged plants.
>
> The wood box that I built for a plant pond is beginning to rot and sag
> so now I'm thinking about rebuilding it into two plant ponds, one for
> floaters and one for submerged plants, but that still leaves the
> problem of keeping the submerged plants from floating out and keeping
> the bottom clean. When I took out the gravel out of the plant pond I
> made a sweeper from a pipe I ran along one side of the bottom and it
> seems to keep the bottom pretty clean. The only thing there after
> several months is some empty black Japanese snail shells and the
> clinging algae.
>
> My filter isn't anything to brag about. It is, gravity flow, three
> barrels the first made to circle the water and settle the heavy stuff,
> the second has a few squares of 3/4 and 1/2 fence mesh backed by a
> window screen which needs cleaning every week and the third contains
> the pump, but my weekly readings are 0 ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.
>
> Regards,
>
> Hal