Aqua Ultraviolet Ultima II Pond Filter- what's your experience?

[tanyaclick]

Wow. Looks like they have ALL of the filters and everything I've been looking at in one place. Nice! I'd love to know which they think is the best. One of my pond guys gets 40% off W. Lim. I'm leaning towards the Aqua Ultraviolet Ultima II though as Arthur, the pond guy who seems the most knowledgeable, loves those. The W. Lim filter does look compelling though. I don't know if it's super easy to service like the Ultima. Arthur also likes the Aqua Ultraviolet UV as well. Logan says W. Lim pumps are the absolute best in the industry & likes their UV systems. He says their wave UV units are almost identical to the Aqua UV units & have better components as well as more potent UV bulbs. They say they have a higher mercury count compared to the Aqua bulbs & he's completely switched to using their bulbs in the Aqua units that need replacement bulbs. What do you use? I'd be soooooo grateful if I could get a hefty discount on some of this stuff. I wonder if they'd allow me to become an authorized dealer as I do have a business and EIN. I could use it to help everyone in our community afford this stuff. Thoughts? I'm definitely obsessed with koi keeping. I intend to do the CKK courses with K.O.I. and learn as much as I can. You have been the best source of information, help, and positivity. I really appreciate it.

 

[GBBUDD]

if your guy can get you 40% off no one is going to beat that. the lim looks taller than it is wide. i would think that would filter more as everything has to go through a narrower area which would be a benefit to do a thorough cleaning. but in the same breath i'd think it would need cleaning slightly more often. i do not know what media the lim uses that's the deal breaker to me . BEADS HAVE BEEN AROUND A LONG TIME KNOWN TO BE A GREAT MEDIA but its disadvantage was sticking together once it got dirty . That's where the air came about for cleaning.
Don't know if i have seen you mention that you looked into a bog filter or not . you sound like a designated koi pond person no rocks and general health. foremost. i do use a bog the water is pristine maybe not as polished as it could be but it is working very well. What i would like is to have a little mechanical to remove larger particles from the water. i did place matala mats within my bakki shower but it would be nice to have less drooping over that media. matala mats work well with algae and larger stuff I'm looking to get the fines out of the water column. I'm looking for the pristine planted environment that will keep the koi at their optimum. I feel i am very close just missing this last point.
It's a toss up between the rdf or a bead , rdf has lots of moving parts and i have seen they can be very trying to set up. and i just don't see how you can repair these without doing it your self. My local pond guy two of them actually i would not be calling . So say a resistor or something fails or a sensor to turn the unit on when it's time for a cleaning. I'm not High tech guy i can build anything but when it comes to electronics not my thing . Thus leaving me to ok a 50 cent part died but having no clue how to trouble shoot it i have to spend 1800 for a new brain or sensor. i see them as a ever ending money pit, AND AGRAVATION.
Bead filters don't have much to go wrong but a seal " proven reliable for a decade or more., the switch valve is really the only moving part besides the pump and blower but fortunately those are manually operated.
A third option is the sieve but in my layout / design its not practical.
If i was to drop down to a dozen koi instead of 30 this would probably eliminate the need or want for more filtration. I have between 15,000 and 18,000 gallons

 

[GBBUDD]

The thing I have with most beads is a down flow allowing sediment to work with gravity instead of against it. If sediment falls on to the media it will have gravity to aid it in clogging deep into the media. An upflow I can see the reverse where sediment will get trapped at first contact and maybe even fall to the bottom of the containment as it clumps and becomes heavier

 

[GBBUDD]

Heres another brand that i am looking at go to 1:40

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1118797219107839

 

[tanyaclick]

The W. Lim product has a brain you can setup with it and program to backwash itself however many days apart you want. Factory settings are 3 days. It also has the blower. The blower can be added to the Ultima II if it turns out that it needs it. Logan (2nd pond guy) likes the W. Lim media. He says it's far superior. See attached pic of the system set up and a bead compared to what he says are typical beads. Reading the literature on the W. Lim media is impressive. I don't have the space for a bog unfortunately. I'll put some plants in my waterfall.

 

[tanyaclick]

How deep is your pond? I was looking to go 4' deep as we need the water but I'm now considering 5 feet because that would give me 2,000 gallons more. I'll be at 7,000 gallons without going the extra foot.

 

[GBBUDD]

is the small bead what lim uses? the larger media has no appeal to me i have more bio then i could ever use i have two bogs and a 60" shower. the auto wash is intriguing but then requires and automatic water replacement system, The one thing i do not have as i have a cistern it will work witht he lim for multiple cleanings but when the water gets low from lack of rain it will be an issue

 

[GBBUDD]

How deep is your pond? I was looking to go 4' deep as we need the water but I'm now considering 5 feet because that would give me 2,000 gallons more. I'll be at 7,000 gallons without going the extra foot.

just shy of 6 feet.
did you see my show case and the building of it way down on the blog ?

Honored and Proud to have been chosen Aquascapes DIY pond of the year for 2023. 12,000 Gallon Koi Pond, Full Build

Large KOI pond with a Wetland filter, Negative edge and an intake bay. Start to finish, Building, Maintaining and expanding / seaming . https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=687652723148180

www.gardenpondforum.com

 

[tanyaclick]

The larger bead. I didn't see it. Can you share the link? Maybe I'll go 6 feet then, that would be awesome. My husband is concerned we'll never see the fish at that depth cause ours are always at the bottom but that's probably just because it's barely 2 feet.

 

[GBBUDD]

I can always see my fish and if you do a properly sized bead filter and a shower you'll see your as well

Honored and Proud to have been chosen Aquascapes DIY pond of the year for 2023. 12,000 Gallon Koi Pond, Full Build

Large KOI pond with a Wetland filter, Negative edge and an intake bay. Start to finish, Building, Maintaining and expanding / seaming . https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=687652723148180

www.gardenpondforum.com

 

[tanyaclick]

I can always see my fish and if you do a properly sized bead filter and a shower you'll see your as well

Honored and Proud to have been chosen Aquascapes DIY pond of the year for 2023. 12,000 Gallon Koi Pond, Full Build

Large KOI pond with a Wetland filter, Negative edge and an intake bay. Start to finish, Building, Maintaining and expanding / seaming . https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=687652723148180

www.gardenpondforum.com

I was about to build a trickle filter today to run on this temporary pool with lava rock. Exactly like this.

 

[GBBUDD]

wonder if i can get the smaller k1 you showed instead of the larger the larger is more of a i do both a little mechanical and a little bio

 

[tanyaclick]

You can buy just the media from any of these companies. They all of course claim theirs is the best.

 

[GBBUDD]

yes but you probably get stuck with what it comes with and then buy what you want

 

[tanyaclick]

yes but you probably get stuck with what it comes with and then buy what you want

Yeah. Can I get the link to your video?