Deepwater Koi's Gravity Fed Zakki Shower

[Zac Penn]

This post will be continually updated as I make time available, but for now I figured I would post a few pictures of the one I brought to the Central Florida Koi Show that is matched perfectly for the ProfiDrum Rotating Drum Filters (RDF). This is the only shower that can be installed at water level and have the water pump sucking out of the shower filter. This allows you to have all of the benefits of a standard Zakki Shower (high flow rates, extremely efficient nitrification, small footprint, etc...) but with the added benefit of pressurized return lines that can feed small underwater return jets or waterfalls which was not really an option with standard showers.

This particular unit has a max flow rate of 11,000 GPH, but we can customize the size to meet any flow requirements that you have.
This filters body is 30" wide x 38" long x 48" tall, and you only need 1" of the filter body elevated above the pond water level.
The spillway has a little more than 7" of total travel, so you do not have to be extremely careful when planning your in drawdown, but if you have 3" of water level difference between the pond and the RDF when the pump is running, you will still have 4 more inches of travel left in the spillway to accommodate the cleaning cycles of the RDF.

Here is a rough video that I shot at the CFKS explaining the booth setup and how the filter operates in conjunction with the RDF filters...

[icu2]

Nice!

[jnegr]

Nice indeed

[catfish whiskers]

Ingenious

[abuchi123]

Questions:

1. Is the water level difference between the pond and shower created by the pump suction alone?
2. What happens during power outage?
3. Does the pump have to be variable speed so it doesn't pump too much or too little water?

[Zac Penn]

Questions:

1. Is the water level difference between the pond and shower created by the pump suction alone?
2. What happens during power outage?
3. Does the pump have to be variable speed so it doesn't pump too much or too little water?

1 - This shower is a gravity fed filter just like a Cetus Sieve or an Ultrasieve. All of them have a spillway that floats up or down based on how much water is sucked out of the lower reservoir. The second picture gives you a good view of the two pistons that are connected to the spillway up top and the float at the bottom. That picture shows what the water level in the lower section of the shower looks like when the pump is turned off.

2 - During a power outage the water flow will stop because the pump is no longer sucking water out of the filter.

3 - The water pump does NOT need to be a variable speed pump. A standard pump is just fine.

[abuchi123]

1 - This shower is a gravity fed filter just like a Cetus Sieve or an Ultrasieve. All of them have a spillway that floats up or down based on how much water is sucked out of the lower reservoir. The second picture gives you a good view of the two pistons that are connected to the spillway up top and the float at the bottom. That picture shows what the water level in the lower section of the shower looks like when the pump is turned off.

2 - During a power outage the water flow will stop because the pump is no longer sucking water out of the filter.

3 - The water pump does NOT need to be a variable speed pump. A standard pump is just fine.

I guess I am still not visualizing the physics behind a pond level shower that is not filled with water.

[Jaymeseywaymsey]

I guess I am still not visualizing the physics behind a pond level shower that is not filled with water.

Replace the wedge wire screen with a basket and a distribution tray.



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[mplskoi]

Zac, great looking outfit. I sure like your contributions to the koi community. Thanks for pushing the envelope.

[Zac Penn]

I'm considering this. If it doesn't work as planned it could be a huge mistake. I'm willing to take the risk but I'm pretty straight forward and have a pretty big mouth. I would probably do another diy shower after this and return about half via tprs. so 5500 to tpr and 5500 to another shower. i'm all for gravity as it is free power and flow. and well axial and semi axial flow like less resistance on output

WHAAAAAATTTTTTTT.... You? hahaha j/k

I can appreciate your skepticism, and I am like that myself with new products. The very first Gravity Fed Zakki Shower had a different style of piston connection to the spillway which didn't allow for it to operate as silky smooth as the version I have shown in this video. When you first started the water pump the spillway would go up and down a few times before it settled into the proper position. This doesn't cause any problems with performance, but it was the only thing that wasn't the way I wanted it. The new version has a solid connection to the spillway and has almost zero resistance to travel. This allows for a very smooth action and the settle down period has been eliminated. The spillway settles into exactly the correct position right away and travels smoothly as the water level varies.
There really isn't anything that could go wrong with this filter, but as with all of my products I stand behind the workmanship and warranty everything for 2 years

Replace the wedge wire screen with a basket and a distribution tray.



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Thanks James,
Also eliminate the ameba looking particles, because you can only have completely clean water flowing into all Zakki Showers. All mechanical filtration much be before the shower filter. That being said, the illustration does show the general concept of the floating weir very well. When the pump sucks water out of the bottom of the filter the float will drop down. As the float drops it will pull the spillway down and start to flow water over the media. The same amount of water that is being sucked out of the filter is being replaced by gravity so there becomes an equilibrium.

Zac, great looking outfit. I sure like your contributions to the koi community. Thanks for pushing the envelope.

Thank you. I am always trying to find solutions to problems and sometimes they work out, and other times the solution is just too complex to be a feasible product. Case and Point is my Direct Suction RDF that I came up with. It was an ingenious idea, and had a few completely new designs built into it. But overcoming the issues associated with vacuum pressure and the need for an RDF to periodically clean itself presented an issue that hasn't been fully solved to my satisfaction. The size of the drum was limited to the size of the vacuum container it could be placed in which made the cleaning cycles happen too quickly. This made the filter empty the waste chamber too often (not a big problem but an issue for me), and it burned out the pressure pump due to over cycling. The one and only installation of this filter was a failure (not for a lack of trying) and the whole thing was replaced with a Zakki Sieve and Bead Filter Plug-N-Play system at no cost to the customer. That is how I stand behind my work and my customers. I replaced a $7,500 failure with a $8,500 success.

Luckily the Gravity Fed Zakki Shower has a very simple solution to a problem that has been around for a long time. Everything that is a moving item can easily be replaced including the rubber seal that is attached to the spillway and shower body. The rubber is compressed onto the shower body with a clamping flange and butyl-rubber sealing tape so the rubber can be replaced if it ever gets damaged by clumsy pond owners. I see no reason for that seal to ever wear out due to usage, but I wanted to make it an easily replaceable item either way.

[abuchi123]

Replace the wedge wire screen with a basket and a distribution tray.



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Thanks, I see it now. It was a big duh on my part.

Zach, have you calculated the energy saving when compare to a regular elevated shower system? I assumed that a low head/high volume pump should be used in this application.

[Zac Penn]

thanks for further explanation Zac. I'm assuming that was the r2d2 filter you were referring to.seems easier to set sensors on gravity or pump fed setup.

Yes that is the one!

Thanks, I see it now. It was a big duh on my part.

Zach, have you calculated the energy saving when compare to a regular elevated shower system? I assumed that a low head/high volume pump should be used in this application.

I am glad James was able to set you straight. Unfortunately I have NOT defied the laws of physics with my new shower filter. In order for shower filters to be as efficient as they are...All of the media must be open to the air which requires a water level difference. So the majority of the static head height will remain the same whether you are using my standard pump fed Zakki Shower, or my new gravity fed Zakki Shower. Please refer to this CRUDE drawing to illustrate my point...


The top example shows a standard Zakki Shower with a waterfall spillway returning the filtered water back to the pond. The water pump is sucking directly from the pond so the static head is calculated from the top of the pond water level to the top of the Zakki Shower.

The bottom example shows the Gravity Fed Zakki Shower which has the reservoir in the bottom of the shower. This is where the pump is sucking from so you calculate the static head from the top of the shower reservoir to the top of the pond water level.

NEITHER of those examples shows mechanical filtration before the shower filter, so do not expect to use either shower in this way!!!!!!!

However I did overcome a big problem with the gravity fed shower that not only eliminates excessive*** static head, but also makes the plumbing much easier on the hobbyist. Seeing as how the water pump is after the gravity fed shower, you get to return the water back to the pond under pressure so you can power waterfalls and small underwater return jets, which were very difficult to do with a pump fed shower. If you wanted to power underwater return jets with a standard shower you would have to elevate the base of the shower much higher than the pond in order to get enough water pressure to gravity flow that water back to the pond. So this is the static head that we are eliminating.

***We are only eliminating the EXCESSIVE head from the equation. With a pump fed return going through the same underwater return jets you still have to overcome the same dynamic head pressures to flow the same amount of water. The excessive head i am referring to is the GUESSING at how high you need to elevate the shower in order to gravity flow the water back to the underwater return jets. If you install the shower too high then you are wasting electricity pumping the water higher than necessary. If you install the shower too low, then the bottom layers of your media are being submerged and the shower efficiency goes down a little.

[abuchi123]

Thanks for the explanation, Zac. I wasn't thinking about Zakki shower which is usually set slightly higher than pond level. I guess Zakki shower already very efficient. Most showers are a lot taller than Zakki shower.

[Zac Penn]

I am going to use this filter again at the North Florida Koi Show so I wanted to cut away one of the sides of the filter so people can see how the water is showered down on to the media baskets. It really does provide some perspective as to how well the distribution manifold works. Being able to evenly split up 9500 GPH into 900 or so individual streams of water without creating any real back pressure is just one of the reasons that Zakki Showers are the best biological filters available.

[Zac Penn]

I decided to fill one of the media baskets with Cermedia yesterday and recorded a short video...


This is 9500 GPH of water being showered down onto one of the media baskets filled with 2 cu ft of Cermedia MP2C. Notice how easily the water passes through the media instead of splashing around it like other ceramic medias.

[Jaymeseywaymsey]

Having never seen one of your showers in person, I have always wondered. Just exactly how loud are they? With your submerged one, I'm sure being in an insulated pit would quiet it down, but over all, how would you describe overall noise factor?


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[Zac Penn]

In all honesty they are practically silent. The water is broken up into so many streams of water, while those streams only fall 2" down onto the Cermedia, and the water is absorbed instead of splashing so there really is no noise created. The reason those videos are so loud is due to the lack of media inside the filter. The water is showering down about 16" into a pool of water.

[koiman1950]

Having installed several of the standard Zakki showers I can attest to the "quietness" of these filters. You really don't know they're there. The waterfall will make more noise than any Zakki shower could ever produce.

Geez, Zac, another great product!

[jimfish98]

I will echo Mike's response. My shower makes more noise with the waterfall than the manifold showering the water. It is only really distinguishable when you are right next to it.

[ccna101]

Hi Zac,

I was hope to see this in person, and understand how can I incorporate this Grav. Feed shower into my US3 ... what it is gonna cost me ? PM me the price /feature is fine

Dong