The pond dig has begun!

[CountryEscape]

Thanks, JW, I wondered if they would eat flakes, and I also have turtle pellets could try.
Now, here's something funny! Neighborhood beagle (you know, someone dumped him, neighbors all adopted him, I had him neutered) was howling at something, went to see, and HUGE bullfrog in ditch by culvert. This sucker is like one and a half of my hands side by side big! Going to have to try to get a good pic of him if I see him on the shore again. Went looking, there were 4 of them! Guess the ditch is more appealing than my farm pond? LOL Anyhow, went looking for bullfrog tadpoles, didn't see any in the overflow area. The tiny tadpoles are little frog types, and they are the size of a pencil eraser, or smaller. Very cute. Might just have to scoop me up a few, clean their water, put them in the 5 gal aquarium had turtle in, give pond time to cycle, then give them a try. But, I know those are the loud mouthed ones, too.

 

[addy1]

They will wander into your pond country. I have no water nearby but sure do have frogs. The green frogs moved into the pond within two weeks of water hitting the liner. This year a zillion tadpoles and at least one frog per pond, by the noise more than one!

 

[CountryEscape]

Yes, you're so correct, Addy, I need to quit worrying about adding frogs. They will come on their own! Just found another painted turtle in the ditch on the back side of my property this evening. Seems they are everywhere BESIDES my farm pond.
OK, I went to Rural King farm store, was very excited to find a filter (with furnace filters) that looks like a huge scrubbie! It is about 1" thick, too, and about 20x30". Now, my question is I built a Skippy, using a heavy duty tote. The tote is only about 16" deep. 2" PVC pipe bring water to the bottom. So far have not found light "grid" to put under filter media. But, what I'm wondering is should I cut this huge "scrubbie" to fit the area, or cut it up in small pieces? I also bought 2 blue filters, at 79 cents, I figure try them first, if I like them, then I can buy the roll of it for the future.
Assuming that the scrubbie goes first, at the bottom with the water coming up, then should I alternate scrubbie, blue, scrubbie, blue, or just use one of each? What else should I put in there? I also have 1" pieces of clear tubing I've cut up to go in the bottom, but will put it in a mesh bag so it stays in the box! I know I also need something to put on top of the filter media, to keep it all in the tote, and then my plan is to have plants on the top as well.
So, any suggestions for the filter media, if what I have will work, if I need more or other things, please direct me! Thanks!!!

 

[addy1]

When I have watched the threads on the builds, there is larger medium at the bottom of the filter working up to smaller medium at the top. some leave the blue filters in once piece, some leave in once piece with others cut up.

Just want to have a lot of surface area.

Our home depot has the light grid.

 

[CountryEscape]

I think I will leave the open stuff that looks like scrubbie at the bottom, then the blue filter as last filter media, not sure what I will put in the middle yet. Will look for the light grid at Menards today. Found flagstone at Rural King, small amount but looked like MAYBE enough for my waterfall. Probably will need 2 of the small skids though. I'm sure I'll never have enough rock. LOL Daughter is bringing some from UT when she drives here with my horse trailer in June, and we will pick up more in So. IL when we go riding while she's home, but there will be lots more needed, I'm sure.

 

[fishin4cars]

CE, you want to use big at the bottom and work your way upward to catch finer stuff. The best way I can expalin this. You want what you may have to manually clean at the top(what gets clogged the worst) Scrubbies, matting and such. You don't want it at the bottom because if if clogs that means you have to get to it and clean it, UGH, imagine having to empty all that out to get to matting or scrubbies at the bottom.:yikesu::fish:
a layer of cut up PVC or Bio-balls in the bottom layer would probably work best, the idea is you want to have something that will self clean there when you backflush it out. Then again working smaller to the top with your furnace filter being the last or at least near the last. I found I needed a pice of grating last to hold it all in place as the matting and scrubbies want to push upward as they get more clogged.

 

[CountryEscape]

Fishin, I think I have it, let me try to explain what I have better, and see if I'm going to do it right.
My tub will have 1" OD tubing cut into pieces and put in a mesh bag on the very bottom, where the water will be pushed in and then up. The next layer will be a light grid (finally found them). Then I think the next most "open" material I have is the scrubbie. What I found is more like those expensive ones that people were talking about, can't remember the name, begins with an "M"??? Anyhow, it's pretty open meshed, about 1" thick, so it will go on the grid. Then the only other thing I have so far is the furnace filter, which is blue fiberglass. Will that be enough, or should I put in several layers of the blue filter? If it is what I need, I will buy the roll of the blue stuff, which is cheaper, although what I bought is only 79 cents. I figure I will set the top so that it has some type of a handle to raise the stuff out if/when I need to clean it better. So, the only thing in the bottom will flush very well, but also has lots of surface for bacteria to grow, which is good. I should take a picture of the scubbie stuff I found. It's very similar to the stuff the landscape store had for filters, but much cheaper!

 

[addy1]

country, you might want to have your light grid on a stand at the very bottom. The pvc piping going below the grid. This is where heavy junk will collect. Then start your layers. When I have built bottom fed filters all of them have had a empty space where the water comes in, then the filter layers. Look at fishin's and some of the other builds for filters.

 

[CountryEscape]

OK, here are the layers of stuff for the filter. The white grid is at the back. The darkest part is what I'm calling a scrubbie, but it's not like the ones you use to scrub your dishes with, it's more "open celled". I'm attaching the blurry pic, too, because it shows how you can in fact see through it. The light blue is the fiberglass furnace filter, which I will remove the outside cardboard edge and cut it to fit.
Would you suggest that I add several layers of the light blue filter, or more than one layer of the dark blue open mesh filter?

 

[addy1]

I used the fiberglass stuff, for ac system, it fell apart, needs a frame work. That might be different, then what I used. I think i would stay away from it Make sure it has some structure before using.

The more layers the more filtering. Most start with larger stuff then working to the finer filter material so it does not clog as often.

Your dark "scrubie" filter stuff will work great.

 

[CountryEscape]

Oh, good point! That light blue filter is VERY flimsy. I think the stuff that I saw in rolls at Menards might have been more substantial. I'll return the 79 centers and see about other stuff. So, I could use 2 of the same dark blue filter things, and what should I use for smaller stuff, or does it really need smaller stuff? I think the systems the landscape place has only has the white foamy looking stuff, and that's it. So, maybe I'm trying to create this three tier filtering and it's not really necessary.

 

[addy1]

imho only if you are trying to filter fine dirt out of your system. The scrubies will grow good bacteria. The larger items will knock out the big stuff that will collect on the bottom. See if they have rabbit fence, the plastic stuff, that works good to, put below the scrubies.

 

[CountryEscape]

Oops, missed your other post, Addy. Yes, I'm having a hard time describing what I'm doing, but I do understand. LOL Bottom is only the PVC pipe, and the mesh bag of clear tubing cut up in 1" pieces for bacteria to gather on. Is that right? Then, on TOP of the PVC pipe is the grid for the "shelf" the filter media, then another grid on top to keep it all in place. I'm even thinking of connecting the 2 grid layers, to make it like a sandwich. That way I could take the whole thing out, if need be, and spray it off. BTW, remember, I have well water, so that will be ok to spray off filters with, right? I know pond water is better, just wondering. No chlorine in my well water.

 

[addy1]

Only the pvc pipe that is bringing in the water to the filter on the bottom, then the grid shelf, then the layers of stuff.

 

[CountryEscape]

Ooo . . . so my little mesh baggie of tubing pieces should go somewhere besides the very bottom. Gotcha... finally, I know, I tend to be pretty slow here. Thanks for staying with me on this. LOL