This is my diy sieve https://youtu.be/XHj9eWQhNxM. Lol
This is my diy sieve https://youtu.be/XHj9eWQhNxM. Lol
Stopped by Sacramento Koi today for their big unveiling. Very big turnout, lots of nice fish at reasonable prices. I was #14 in line for the bigger fish and several that I was eyeing sold before it was my turn. Also lots of the good fish were also already sold through pre-order. Definitely need to do that next year!
Ended up with a Goshiki and Gin Rin Showa and using their boarding service since these are too big for my small QT tank.
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~ Jose
Small update - With the daylight savings time change and holidays, it's been hard to find any spare time to work on the pond aside from a few hours on the weekends. As of today I finally have the waterfall framed out along with the filtration. All I have left to do in this area is connect the pump to the RDF and connect pump to shower filters. Then on the opposite end of the yard I can do the 2nd circuit which is skimmer-->pump-->TPRs (no filtration on this side). And then I can finally install the liner and get her filled up! I won't be doing any rock/brick work until everything is filled up and running so it shouldn't be too much longer now. Just need to get past the year-end chaos at work.
As mentioned in my earlier posts, the pump after the RDF will feed to the top of these showers. The main bio filtration will be 6x totes that each hold approximately 1.4 cu.ft or 8.4 cu.ft total. The shallow top trays are mainly there to help distribute the water more evenly before it hits the media. I may throw some ceramic media in these top trays (main trays will hold feather rock).
There are then 4x 3" outlets that will spill into the waterfall reservoir. Because I'm limited on space on the pond is semi-raised, I had to opt for a more formal looking setup; I simply don't have the room to create a large natural looking waterfall. I have a few ideas so hopefully this will look decent once the rock work is in and I hide the totes. Plan to hide the totes behind a bamboo/reed screen and fill the top waterfall chamber with aquatic plants.
Happy New Year!
Happy new year to you as well. Which angle doesn’t this waterfall sit to you house? We want more photos.
Here's the only other photo I have on my phone at the moment. You can see where the waterfall sits in relation to the house and viewing area. I would have liked it to be more angled into the back corner but I needed to leave room for the RDF, pump, and filtration...and at least some room to get back there for maintenance. It's gonna be a tight squeeze!
Epic
Had a few hours yesterday to start getting the pump in place (Evolution ESS6400). Because I'm so close the fence and corner of the yard, I decided to not dig out more for a pump pit and instead placed it above ground and above water level. Therefore I'll need to run a check valve near the RDF outlet. Ordered a 3" Valterra swing check valve which should be here by the end of the week. All plumbing is 3" to help get full flow with as little back pressure as possible.
Your neighbors are cool with the RDF+shower sound?hahaha
Haha—my neighbors would go to the city if they heard anything.
I guess we'll find out! I do plan on covering the totes somehow to help with UV exposure. Hopefully it helps with the sound. There is no side neighbor where the shower is, only a back neighbor and their house is set back a good distance from the fence so we'll see.
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~ Jose
You should give them a heads up before you run it. A stream or waterfall is soothing to hear but bakki showers literally sound like a heavy rain storm. Even I wouldn't want to listen to one running when I go to sleep!
better to ask for forgiveness then permission
Back with a couple more updates! I should have known better than to think I was close to having the pond up and running A few days after my last post I was involved in pretty bad car accident that put me out for several weeks. That along with the relentless rain means I really haven't done much to the pond.
I did finish all the plumbing between the RDF, pump, and shower filter.
I also made this doohickey for the RDF waste line. Waste water will flow down this 3" pipe into a small tote buried in the ground. The stainless steel grate will serve to catch all the larger debris and can easily be cleaned out. Inside is a sump pump on a float switch. When the water level rises, it will send the water to the other side of the fence to irrigate the landscaping on my side yard. The sump pump will empty this tote in 4-5 seconds when full.
I know earlier I mentioned that my 2nd pump circuit (skimmer and TPRs) would not have any filtration but decided to go for it anyway. Can't have too much filtration right? So off I went to build a Birdman fluid bed filter. This filter will be supplied by a Periha PB-23000 pump which is supposedly rated for 4600~5000gph. Based on tests we've seen I'm estimating actual flow rates will be about 30% lower than what is advertised which probably works to my advantage because I'm not sure if the filter can handle all this flow. The 3 outlets feed my 3 TPRs. I'd like to run the outlets under full siphon controlled via ball valves so they can flow a lot more. I'll test it out a bit and see if it requires an emergency drain during pump startup. I've used this system before in aquariums and full siphons can flow crazy amounts of water. In the aquarium world they refer to this as the "Bean Animal" overflow system.
I didn't want to pay for 4x hamster balls and the 3" conduit fittings so I made my own inlet/outlets using a miter saw. The depth adjustment tool makes it easy to cut repetitive slices quickly. Air will be supplied by a Hakko 25lp. All the piping was buried but I don't have a more current photo on my phone:
Over the last few days I did coat the concrete blocks in SBC (surface bonding cement) to give them more strength. It's really not going anywhere now!
Then yesterday I started laying some old carpet down on the bottom to serve as additional underlayment. Was trying to do the other half but then another massive storm rolled in again. I now have another 10" of muddy clay water in the hole again and it's not suppose to let up until the end of the week I really should have covered this hole with a huge tarp in the summer. Would have avoided this mess I'm in now where I can't even walk in the hole without sinking several inches. I just need a few dry days so I can finish the underlayment and drop the liner in!
And last thing for now, quick update video of my growouts. They have really put on some size and were only supposed to be in here for a short time. Really fighting my water parameters lately but I'm managing to keep them in check while grossly overstocked. I did pick up 2 little goshiki from Genki - you can catch them in the video. Enjoy!
Last edited by jcardona1; 02-26-2019 at 02:52 PM.
I'm glad you're ok after your car accident and wish you full recovery.
Neat little doohickey for sure! I've also YT-subscribed.
Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. ---- Marthe Troly-Curtin
KoiRun on YouTube, latest video:
https://youtu.be/72iiuRXY2Wk
Nice work . Since You have so much Bio in that large shower , if You make the moving filter as a static filter instead (same media ) You will gain some mechanical filtration for Your skimmer to TPR circuit.