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    Thread: New greenhouse pond with the pinnacle in filtration

    1. #1
      Marilyn's Avatar
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      New greenhouse pond with the pinnacle in filtration

      I am so excited to share this thread with the Koiphen family. It's been years in the making by way of lessons learned on what filtration was working on previous models, what products were available and what technologies were emerging and viable.

      This project, my greenhouse with qt/grow out tank, is the culmination of all of the preceding. I've been accused of being OCD about my ponds and koi but it has served me in good stead.
      I'm sharing the results here.

      I'll do most of the text and then go back and add pics so please be patient. And I just realized I have no pics of the completed greenhouse from the outside so those will have to wait until tomorrow. I'll have most of the inside and construction covered in posts and pics though.
      Last edited by Marilyn; 01-26-2015 at 12:07 AM.

      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

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    2. #2
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      Living in California where electrical and water costs are beyond exorbitant, anything that works well for filtration and efficiency has previously come at the cost of higher utility bills. That ends today.

      This system (tank is 3100 gallons and filters are just at another 700 gallons) is a total of 3800 gallons. The wattage to run this system is 179 (water pump) + 83.4 (80 lph air pump) for a total of 262.4 watts. It has one water pump and one air pump and the turnover is roughly every 40 minutes.

      My existing pond is almost precisely the same size at 4300 total gallons (pond and filters) and was moving roughly the same amount of water, possibly a little less. It had two different circuits plus I had a FF running and additional air running in the pond.
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      Last edited by Marilyn; 01-26-2015 at 12:41 AM.

      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

    3. #3
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      Aerated bd (80lph/56.6watts) > Cetus > 4900gph pump/317watts > Nexus 300 (with a 120lph air pump/126watts) > tprs
      Skimmer > 6600gph pump/355watts > Sac5 bead filter > 110watt UV/79.9watts > showers > waterfalls/tpr
      Skimmer > 3600gph pump/127 > FF > waterfall
      Additional 120lph air pump/100watts


      The total wattage for the pond was a whopping 1165.5.

      I'm koi kichi but this was killing me in utility costs. Plus I had been running a quarantine tank. I've since shut that down but will list what the components were for a rough estimate of energy consumption in another post.
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      Last edited by Marilyn; 01-26-2015 at 12:00 AM. Reason: add pics

      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

    4. #4
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      The overriding change was going with two products...

      The first and most impressive by way of R & D was the Blue Eco rotary drum filter.

      This amazing unit uses no electricity to operate. It uses water pressure.
      Let me say that again. Zero energy cost for this unit to prefilter my new tank down to 10microns. And as with all of the RDF's, it uses very little water to perform its functions. This single stainless steel RDF can handle a flow of 16,000gph. For further specifications on this beauty, check out the BlueEco thread here:

      https://www.koiphen.com/forums/showth...co-Drum-Filter
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      Last edited by Marilyn; 01-26-2015 at 12:39 AM.

      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

    5. #5
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      Because it uses it no electricity it means it has no electrical components to go wrong.
      Nothing to program, nothing to worry about resetting in the event of a power failure which is all too common in my area. The last one was this past October and 11 hours long. I ended up renting a generator to try and power enough things around here to keep the fish safe and healthy.
      If my power goes out now, once it resumes, everything returns to normal operation with nary a hiccough.
      No additional pump is needed for it to do the cleaning of the drum. This is done with water pressure from the tap. That is a huge benefit. That is one less component to potentially have to replace at some point. We've all had to replace pumps so that is one less for me to worry about in the future!

      I am such a convert to this advancement in the rotary drum filtration design that I went ahead and purchased a second one in anticipation of redoing my current pond.

      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

    6. #6
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      The second product was an axial flow pump by Jebo.

      One must design a pond to utilize this type of pump but it sure seems worth the effort. They must operate on very low head. This means they do lifting quite poorly or rather with limited success. The same would be true of any restrictions in flow due to plumbing. Think long sweeps and over-sized pipes to minimize restrictions.
      It's worth noting that this pump is rated by the place I purchased it from to fuction at roughly 140 watts at zero head/lift and flow 10,000gph.

      I chose to compromise on its energy draw and efficiency to accommodate the type of filtration I prefer: showers.

      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

    7. #7
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      By having the pump push water a little over 2' up for my showers I am now getting a draw of 179 watts and a flow of between 6,000-7,000gph. I'm fine with that considering I can still do showers and not have oodles of pumps running, lol.

      Those so inclined could implement a zero lift design for their ponds. The measured draw in watts at zero (we removed the pipe extending up to my showers to test it) was 137 watts, a little less than the supplier of the pump had indicated, and flowing the full 10,000gph and perhaps a bit more.

      Anyone looking to discuss a zero lift design can start a thread and I'd be happy to discuss what I consider to be good options. I'll keep my showers.

      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

    8. #8
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      So now that I've outlined the changes I have implemented for filters and water pump, let me now go on to the crowning jewel.

      All of this is enclosed in my greenhouse. It's long been a dream of mine to build one, first for gardening and then once the koi bug bit, I wanted one in the worst way for a qt.
      Self realization hit and while I still use a qt, the previous versions had morphed into more of grow out tanks. I love picking up a lot of tosai and following their progress then moving on those I decide not to keep and graduate to the pond.

      Btw, I notice that the pics aren't loading in the proper order of construction but you'll get the idea.
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      Last edited by Marilyn; 01-26-2015 at 12:16 AM.

      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

    9. #9
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      This greenhouse enables me to continue that enjoyable path without breaking the bank. It essentially eleminates the need to heat the tank and is much more energy efficient than any of the previous versions. It provides almost four times the water and uses far less electricity.

      Here are the specs for the last qt/grow out tank I had in operation.
      It had two circuits:

      Aerated bd (40lph/watt air pump) > ADR (airlift operated filter (80lph/watt air pump) > over edge return
      midwater intake > 4200gph water pump > showers to tank return
      800 watt heater (OMG, lol)

      Again, check out the numbers on the new greenhouse tank for comparison. The difference is staggering.

      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

    10. #10
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      I no longer have to worry about prepping the koi for a tremendous change in water temperature for winter.
      Although I live in California, last year and the previous year we had a week long period of air temps in the upper teens to low 20's. I had prepped the koi starting in the fall; they were still getting enough food to keep them off the bottom and thus they were still active but it will be nice not to have to do that in the future.
      For the record, it doesn't take a special brand of food to do this but it does take some prep work as the temperature is changing. It's no different than has been discussed at length on various threads by long-time hobbyists, dealers and breeders.

      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

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    11. #11
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      Since filling the greenhouse tank on Friday, the water temp has been increasing about a degree every 3 hours. With the greenhouse unheated I expect it will stay about 65 and I can always bring out that 800watt heater should I chose to raise it higher.
      Night time temps have been in the upper 30's according to me thermometer. I have a little space heater I wired to a thermostat if I need to use it to maintain the temperature in the greenhouse.

      The greenhouse has ventilation for warmer summer temps and a sliding door with screen should I opt to open it up even further.

      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

    12. #12
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      As you can see by the pics, the tank is raised. This makes it ideal for viewing and frankly, due to some health issues, a raised tank is far easier for me to net from with a pond net and lift from with a sock net. The interior dimensions are 9x9x5'.

      One 4” bottom drain, one water intake near the surface of the tank, also 4”. I chose not to do a skimmer as the tank is inside and surface debris will be at a minimum. I used a pool water intake and though the model I bought has a 4” exit, they are available with a 6” exit too. I wanted most of the draw to come from the bottom drain and can adjust floe with that monster ball valve.
      Both intakes feed that lovely, stainless steel RDF which then goes on via a 6” pipe to a large (interior dimension 4x4x5') chamber which houses 5 cubic feet of Lithaqua. This works as partly a media for bio filtration but is there primarily as a buffer to balance the pH of the tank and prevent a pH crash.

      The water is then pumped via the axial flow pump up to a large bin of Bakki media. True Bakki shower media from Momotaro. I had added some of this to my pond and qt last year and noticed a difference in water quality and clarity. This media doesn't seem to break down with the pressure of water hitting it nor hold as much mulm as previous ceramic media I had used.
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      Last edited by Marilyn; 01-26-2015 at 12:11 AM.

      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

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      You'll see that I am using a Medo 80lph pump. I had it plumbed directly to the bottom drain but the output was creating too much turpidity for viewing in the tank. I didn't want to use any less for the system. I then used one of my air manifolds to drop an airstone into the Lithaqua tank. This bleeds off enough air to view the koi easily in the tank. It also has the benefit of increasing the water contact time with the Lithaqua media similar to a moving bed.

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      Last edited by Marilyn; 01-26-2015 at 12:13 AM.

      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

    14. #14
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      Here are some more of the construction pics, sorry if they are not in sequence.
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      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

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      I opted to use the triple paned 10mm polycarbonate for the greenhouse. I'm not sure it was truly warranted in my climate but one of the things I liked was each channel was just wider than the twinwall type which I felt was more aesthetically pleasing and I thought the added insulation wasn't a bad deal since the goal with this entire project was to maximize energy efficiency.
      Also, there is a booster pump I added to the system. It is currently offline but as mentioned earlier, I will be adding more of these BlueEco drum filters and I wanted to be ready to maintain a water pressure to make sure I didn't interfere with the units' performance.

      You'll see a wonderful four-legged delight in some of these pics doing her best to supervise and participate. This charming girl's name is Kiwi.
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      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

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      Here are some more of the construction pics...
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      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

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      I currently have my old pond shut down and thus have moved all the koi into the greenhouse.

      Here are a couple pics of the happy residents:
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      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

    18. #18
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      I will do a thread in Main with quick pics of the fish tubbed right before they made the move to their new and improved digs.
      They were done a lot as documentation of which koi made the big move.

      Still learning as I go but y'all can call me Marilyn

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      ...........WOW. This is amazing and everything is so organized and neat. That equipment pit is soooo nice! Well done! You are going to have some BEAST koi!!
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