Ichabon - small and large

"~ janj" wrote in message
...
Jan, I did cut back a bit yesterday because the pads were clogging just
as
fast.

This could have nothing to do with feeding... We don't feed the fish at
the
Demon Pond at all, and I just heard today that the pre-filter needs
cleaning. Didn't even make it a month.s Whereas mine at home, w/fed
fish,
I've yet to clean since last fall when I went to slow MO. ~ jan

===================
What is your filter material made of? Ours is some very expensive thick
white material we bought at a LFS that caters to the pond crowd. He only
carries the best products. It's like white brillo but tougher and less
dense. It's about 2 1/2" thick and seems to be made of some kind of
extremely tough plastic.
--
Koi-Lo....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
Aquariums since 1952.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
*Note: There are several *Koi-Lo's* on rec.ponds.
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

What is your filter material made of?

I pre-filter with the screen door stuff.

Then it goes to open cell foam, that is only cleaned once/year.

Ours is some very expensive thick
white material we bought at a LFS that caters to the pond crowd. He only
carries the best products. It's like white brillo but tougher and less
dense. It's about 2 1/2" thick and seems to be made of some kind of
extremely tough plastic.

Sounds like Matala, I think it is called. Can you find a picture on the
web?

Maybe your filter isn't big enough? ~ jan

--------------
See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

Moments before taking that leap of faith into the pond ~ janj at
was heard opining:

What is your filter material made of?

I pre-filter with the screen door stuff.

Yes, I have that also. I wrap it around pumps to make smaller filters. It
does work well and hoses off easily.

Then it goes to open cell foam, that is only cleaned once/year.

I haven't seen that around here. The algae and other solids go through it?
My filter material seems to clog more with algae and plant bits than
anything else.

Ours is some very expensive thick
white material we bought at a LFS that caters to the pond crowd. He
only carries the best products. It's like white brillo but tougher
and less dense. It's about 2 1/2" thick and seems to be made of
some kind of extremely tough plastic.

Sounds like Matala, I think it is called. Can you find a picture on
the web?

I have the black Matalia for sure and it hoses out easily. I didn't see the
snow white filter material. It's as open as the black but the pads are much
thicker and don't hose out as easily. It's stiff and hard to work with.

Maybe your filter isn't big enough? ~ jan

I don't really know how large the filter *pad* should be per koi. I wish
there was a way to figure that out. But then there are other critters in
the ponds as well - small green frogs, tadpoles and loads of newts all
adding to the filter's burden. :0( There is never an ammonia or nitrite
reading in any of my ponds. Algae comes and goes even with the large number
of plants. Our homemade filters work as well as the Tetra filters but are
shallower and have a larger area to catch the solids. Again, even in the
less populated tanks the solids appear to be mainly algae and plant bits.

When I sold all those young koi (over 300) a few weeks ago and drained the
680g tank.... I couldn't believe my eyes! There was virtually NOTHING on
the bottom but a coating of algae,... no mulm, no plant parts... nothing!
There was nothing to clean.

--
Koi-Lo....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
Aquariums since 1952.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
*Note: There are several *Koi-Lo's*
on the pond and aquaria groups.
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

I haven't seen that around here. The algae and other solids go through it?

Not open cell foam, it doesn't let anything thru (the way I have my filter
set up). Thus you have to have a good (large) pre-filter prior to them
going to the bio-filter.

I have the black Matalia for sure and it hoses out easily. I didn't see the
snow white filter material.

I don't really know how large the filter *pad* should be per koi. I wish
there was a way to figure that out.

There is a formula at www.akca.com under the koi health advisor articles.
Unfortunately I can't remember where it is located, if in pond construction
or filtration.

How many gallons is your filter for the 2000 gallon pond and is the pump in
the pond? ~ jan
--------------
See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

"~ janj" wrote in message
...
I haven't seen that around here. The algae and other solids go through
it?

Not open cell foam, it doesn't let anything thru (the way I have my filter
set up). Thus you have to have a good (large) pre-filter prior to them
going to the bio-filter.

You must have a much different set up than I do then. My water pumps are
set in plant baskets wired together to keep the large debris from clogging
or damaging the impellers. There are no prefilters. What gets sucked up
goes into the filter and across the pads. Then down the bio-blocks and out
the exit pipe.

I have the black Matalia for sure and it hoses out easily. I didn't see
the
snow white filter material.

I don't really know how large the filter *pad* should be per koi. I wish
there was a way to figure that out.

There is a formula at www.akca.com under the koi health advisor articles.
Unfortunately I can't remember where it is located, if in pond
construction
or filtration.

For now I have to work with what I have - until they need replacing.

How many gallons is your filter for the 2000 gallon pond and is the pump
in
the pond? ~ jan

The pond is 2000g and is the largest Tetra filter we could find at the time.
I don't remember anymore since that was 10 yrs ago. It has a lot of blocks,
ammonia is zero but the pad's circumference is not large. It's a barrel
shaped filter. The pump is a BigVersa. I don't think they make them any
more. It's more than adequate to run the filter, the settling tank and a
bleed to keep water moving across the plants. The filters we made for our
680g tanks have less biofilter capacity but much larger pads to catch the
solids.

--
Koi-Lo....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
Aquariums since 1952.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

You must have a much different set up than I do then.

You can view it on my website, click on *My Filter* and there are more
pictures on the *Demon Pond filter* page also.

There are no prefilters.

That's why you're needing to clean the pads so often. Pumps in the pond
protected by screening or mesh baskets don't let the solids thru as solid.
Thus the muck is all fine.

The pond is 2000g and is the largest Tetra filter we could find at the time.

How many gallons of water do you think your Tetra filter holds?

I think that's just the nature of the beast. A smaller filter is going to
take more maintenance more often. Doesn't mean it isn't do the job of
filter conversion. ~ jan
--------------
See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

*Note: There are TWO "Koi-Lo's" on this NG*

"~ janj" wrote in message
...
You must have a much different set up than I do then.

You can view it on my website, click on *My Filter* and there are more
pictures on the *Demon Pond filter* page also.

I'll check it out. I haven't been to your website in awhile.

There are no prefilters.

That's why you're needing to clean the pads so often. Pumps in the pond
protected by screening or mesh baskets don't let the solids thru as solid.
Thus the muck is all fine.

When I used a prefilter back when I bought this pump it clogged constantly.
It was too much work pulling up the pump with it's heavy prefilters to hose
them off. I couldn't find anything that worked. It was almost a daily
chore (and became a real burden) so we switched to the plant baskets which
don't clog easily.

The pond is 2000g and is the largest Tetra filter we could find at the
time.

How many gallons of water do you think your Tetra filter holds?

Hummm.... hard to say. Maybe 40g? It keeps the ammonia and nitrites at
zero, so I'm sure it's doing it's job. I also have a 40 or 50g
settling-plant-tank that I flush of gunk every other month. I flush them
both with pond water, the filter every time I hose the pads and black gunk
comes out (and runs over the lawn). My husband thinks we need a filter with
a larger surface area. We don't want anything prefiltering the BigVersa
making it necessary to pull it up every other day.

I think that's just the nature of the beast. A smaller filter is going to
take more maintenance more often. Doesn't mean it isn't do the job of
filter conversion. ~ jan

We're trying to decide how to handle the problem. Right now we have to
finish the small pond and replace the liner in one of my 680g tanks........

--------------
See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website
--
Koi-Lo....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
Aquariums since 1952.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

On Sun, 30 Apr 2006 22:23:00 -0500, "Koi-Lo" wrote:

When I used a prefilter back when I bought this pump it clogged constantly.
It was too much work pulling up the pump with it's heavy prefilters to hose
them off.

You need a pre-filter before the bio-filter (out of the pond) not what is
wrapped around the pump, or anything more in-the-pond.

My husband thinks we need a filter with
a larger surface area.

Yup, that too. ~ jan
--------------
See my ponds and filter design:
www.jjspond.us

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website