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  • Results 1 to 18 of 18

    Thread: Thoughts on a moving bed filter.

    1. #1
      Zoomiah is offline Junior Member
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      Thoughts on a moving bed filter.

      Okay so A little back story. I have a 1500 gallon pond with a bottom brain and skimmer both feeding a Eazy Pod. Ive been dealing with having a hard time getting it cycled. I believe it to be because it doesn’t have enough bio filtration. I want to add a moving bed filter after the Eazy Pod but don’t have much room at all. Is it still worth it if all I can fit is a 5-10 gallon moving bed filter. Also how much micro k1 would I need for a smaller moving bed like that? As you can see space is very limited in the filter pit. Name:  3DFD1BDF-7388-43D3-A8BB-B5767A9BF052.jpg
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    2. #2
      ricshaw is offline Senior Member
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      What about using a 15 gallon poly barrel?



      with 6 - 8 gallons of K-1?


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    3. #3
      Zoomiah is offline Junior Member
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      Hmm something like that may work because it’s slimy enough. Now where do I get one? lol so 6-8 gallons of k1 micro would be a appropriate amount for that size? Any idea how tall those a poly barrel is?

    4. #4
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      Hi Zoomiah, just to clear up a little something from your original post, you mentioned having a hard time getting it to cycle. The best way to determine if it is cycled is to check for the presence of nitrates. If you have a nitrAte reading of 5ppm or greater, then yes, it has cycled and is not keeping up with the bio load you are asking of it.
      That would be the place I would start because that will determine a course of action. Let's start with a nitrate reading and go from there IMO.

      There are a lot of options for increasing bio capabilities and they can be small and reasonably priced, too.

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

    5. #5
      ricshaw is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by Zoomiah View Post
      Hmm something like that may work because it’s slimy enough. Now where do I get one? lol so 6-8 gallons of k1 micro would be a appropriate amount for that size? Any idea how tall those a poly barrel is?
      craigslist

      DIMENSIONS:
      Height: about 26 1/4"
      Diameter: about 14"


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    6. #6
      Zoomiah is offline Junior Member
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      Thanks so much guys. And Marilyn I guess it is cycled and just not keeping up. I had a ph crash about a week ago that I am still in the middle of sorting out. I’ve brought up the ph significantly and have also brought up the kh as at its worst there was ph6 ammonia 4 kh of zero. My readings are now
      Ph 7.8
      Ammonia 2
      Nitrite .25
      Nitrate 5
      Kh 4 drops

      I’ve been doing water changes and adding prime and baking soda to raise it back up every 2 days. Just can’t seem to get the ammonia to 0 and keep it there. It’s not over stocked and I haven’t been feeding at all since the crash only 3 Koi 15-20 inches in a 1500 gallon pond.
      Last edited by Zoomiah; 11-18-2017 at 03:31 PM.

    7. #7
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      Okay, I don't want to step on any toes since the issue brought you to the forum and I'm sure you've been given a lot of advice on how to address the water quality issue. If I'm repeating what others have said, and I likely am, I apologize but the goal is to get the water issue sorted out before changing too much on your system IMO.

      - a KH of 4 drops with a pH of 7.8 indicates you still don't have enough alkalinity (baking soda) in there to do all you're asking it to do so...
      1) test your source water and if the KH is lower then you will have to add more baking soda when doing water changes, especially when a pond is cycling.
      2) always bind any ammonia present before adding baking soda as the higher pH makes the ammonia more toxic to your fish
      3) while the pond is cycling, keep your KH no lower than the 150 range. That means you will have enough alkalinity for the bio bacteria to make the conversions on the pond (ammonia to nitrite to nitrate)
      4) rain and water changes may be lowering your KH level and again, it needs to be in the 150ppm range. That is twice the number of drops, you want it to be 8 drops, IOW.

      3 15-20" koi on a 1500 gallon pond most likely do not need an immediate addition of more bio material.

      I think you are still dealing with a water quality issue, water chemistry issue. Before you shift things on your filter I would strongly suggest we help you iron those out.

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

    8. #8
      Zoomiah is offline Junior Member
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      Thanks so much for the info Marilyn. Yes I plan on getting this all sorted before making any changes to he filtration. I will bump up the amount of bs I am adding. I appreciate all the help.

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      i had a hard time getting my 300 gallon tanks to cycle out the ammonia. I used ki nitrifier and finally got the ammonia to 0. it is not cheap but imo it is the best bacteria you can get..you need higher kh for sure but the bacteria works great at getting through that hump In ammonia.

      just my opinion and dont want to get jumped for it.

      bill at cascade sells it and they dry freeze the bacteria as needed, i talked to an employee and after 30 minutes of talking to him i was amazed what they have done.
      Last edited by kevin32; 11-18-2017 at 09:04 PM.

    10. #10
      kevin32 is offline Inactivated
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      ive never added any baking soda to my ponds since i didnt have a problem with kh. i just had problem getting the dang ammonia cleared.

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    11. #11
      dragonfly1976 is offline Senior Member
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      Just as another option, you could also add a shower on the side of your pond instead of cramming a small moving bed in your filter pit. Jimfish98 has one for sale in the trader forum in your area.

    12. #12
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      There are a certain combination of things that come together to facilitate a pond to cycle through to a full nitrate stage with zero ammonia. Pardon me if I miss any but those that have been doing this longer than I have will supplement as needed.

      1) biological demand (ammonia present)
      2) KH/alkalinity or carbon hardness. Essentially, this feeds the bio bacteria trying to convert the ammonia
      3) water temperature plays a major factor in this equation and cycling a tank in the winter is least ideal. They prefer to be in the 75 degree zone, IME
      4) disruption of a steady environment challenges an establishing tank. That is why small water changes more frequently is more desirable than large water changes less frequently.
      5) my own experience showed that a minimum of 60ppm GH was also advantageous. It's not as commonly referenced and not critical but for slow establishing ponds, it made a difference for me to boost my GH level while cycling.

      When I first started up my pond many years ago, I ran similar nitrIte levels to the OP. My water temp was in 60's and didn't raise to the 70's until the following spring. My pond also didn't cycle until my water temp was above 72 and I added some epsom salts to raise the GH. As soon as that happened, my pond cycled within a week. Mind you, it ran at the .25 nitrites for a little over 4 months in the California winter.

      Zoomiah, I am sure it's been mentioned but I would add enough salt to protect your koi from them. If it takes a while for the pond to cycle, it would be best. You want to raise the salt and maintain it at .12 until the nitrites are gone. Koiphen has an excellent calculator to determine how much salt. Make sure it is the untreated pure salt which can be found at Home Depot or Lowe's. It looks like you would need about 15lbs to achieve that level. Btw, you can also calculate how much baking soda to add with the calculator function, just click on the KH tab.

      https://www.koiphen.com/forums/koicalcs.php?do=calcsalt

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

    13. #13
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      And I concur on the showers. They are very effective, your climate is conducive to them and they can be very inexpensive and provide a great bang for your buck in the filter department.
      I don't recommend adding them yet because of the water chemistry issue but if you are still dealing with ammonia while not feeding, etc. it won't be worse to add showers. I added showers to my old pond and it did generate another filter cycling which is why I would try and do it in the spring, if you can.

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

    14. #14
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      So glad you’re around Marilyn with your awesome posts!
      Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. ---- Marthe Troly-Curtin

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      https://youtu.be/72iiuRXY2Wk

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      kdh is online now Senior Member
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      This is fairly accurate but depends on what research papers you read in regards to numbers. Kinda splitting hairs. But good information. I keep this one book marked as it covers many things and is simple for my pea brain to understand.

      http://www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html

    16. #16
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      Quote Originally Posted by KoiRun View Post
      So glad you’re around Marilyn with your awesome posts!
      Thank you, that is very kind of you to say. I don't post as much as I would like but we've got a lot going on with our move. I gave up some pieces of furniture for the move to keep costs down and have scored in a big way in replacing them. I have a substantial family collection of Victorian glassware.
      I don't mind buying antique furniture that need TLC, in fact, I rather enjoy the process of bringing them back to a semblance of their original beauty. Russ has been awesome being willing to drive some distance to retrieve the new finds but it is keeping me very busy.

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

    17. #17
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      hi Marilyn can you help me where can i buy blue eco drum filter please.thanks happy holidays all....

    18. #18
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      Quote Originally Posted by Love koi View Post
      hi Marilyn can you help me where can i buy blue eco drum filter please.thanks happy holidays all....
      not Marilyn but tom at seaside aquatics had a used one for sale for $1000 plus shipping

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