Bioballs instead of gravel

[Lisak1]

This is interesting to watch. You'll hear Brian say early on that one reason Aquascape Construction exists is R&D. They're constantly testing ideas and products on both their own projects and customer projects.

The part that caught my interest in this video was the wetland filter build with the bioballs inside the Aquablox. This is obviously an expensive way to go, but the concept is definitely intriguing.

I swear I learn a dozen new things every time Brian or Ed shares what's inside their head:

 

[Stephen Noble]

That's very cool! Let's see...50,000 bio balls x about 7 cents each, move the decimal point = Wow! But I agree, they are on the cutting edge. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Beercan31]

We are never to old to learn. What I do know about the use of gravel is over time it will change the PH and Hardness of your water as to where Bio balls will not. so if you are dealing with a water balance issue or acidic condition it would probably be best to stay away from gravel. With all of us here we do are best to work within a budget, sometimes we "cheep out" too much and it bites us in the behind. I watch and follow a LOT of online pond builders for different methods and designs build ideas. I also I feel like I'm fresh meat in a sharks tank when it comes to PRODUCT PLACEMENT and you have to do it "my way" . that's what I like about this forum here we all have our ideas of what works for us. we don't shy away from new ideas and processes. I read, Think, Research (sometimes to the point of confusion) all types of water purification methods and processes and find something that requires the least amount of hands on and maintenance free as possible and work that into my build.

 

[Tula]

Whoa......$75,000.00 to redo the pond they built a long time ago......some serious bucks!

 

[Stephen Noble]

I read, Think, Research (sometimes to the point of confusion) all types of water purification methods and processes and find something that requires the least amount of hands on and maintenance free as possible and work that into my build.

Well stated @Beercan31. The sign of great research (and publication) is that it is reasonably replicated. I am with you, the least amount of 'hands on' is the way to go.

 

[Lisak1]

Whoa......$75,000.00 to redo the pond they built a long time ago......some serious bucks!

I did hear a bit of wavering about whether that was actually an original Aquascape pond - I've seen some of the early versions and none of them look anything like that one. But in any case - that is a bit of a shocking price tag for sure! I do know what we spent for components and rocks for our DIY pond though so I can see where it would quickly hit that point. One thing you'll know for sure - they'll get a gorgeous one of a kind pond!

 

[addy1]

I think, If I add, rocks, liner, a few stock tanks, I have around $6000 invested in our 11 ponds.

I would never put that much money into one, but it sure could be beautiful.

 

[GBBUDD]

This is interesting to watch. You'll hear Brian say early on that one reason Aquascape Construction exists is R&D. They're constantly testing ideas and products on both their own projects and customer projects.

The part that caught my interest in this video was the wetland filter build with the bioballs inside the Aquablox. This is obviously an expensive way to go, but the concept is definitely intriguing.

I swear I learn a dozen new things every time Brian or Ed shares what's inside their head:

That's what happens when you have money . If you come up with an idea that could double business whats 26 grand worth of bio balls.

Heck if it fails they can sell them to reef aquariums.

It's the basic principle of a k1 fluid bed, like Nexus, except the media is not moving, like a Tempest.

With the two filter areas the show room volume of water has to more than triple.

 

[combatwombat]

Haven't been keeping up with the Aquascape videos lately. Very cool idea. I've actually seen this discussed a few times over on koiphen. The gist was usually, "I'd never do a bog. But if I did, I'd use lightweight plastic materials instead of gravel."

So much less weight/material than your standard Aquascape wetland. Less labor and less transportation cost/logistics. And if you ever needed to repair or replace a liner, that would be a heck of a lot easier to disasemble than one full of gravel. Probably less prone to clogging/channeling as well.

I hope they see this as version one, though. They're building them the same size as their standard wetland and putting them inside aquablox. Seems totally unnecessary. What did they say the surface area is? 13x the gravel (watched the video a few days ago)? Why not just make a smaller wetland to achieve the same thing. Or have a big footprint, but dig it much shallower to reduce the need for structure. I understand the use of the aquablox to provide structure, but could probably do without in most circumstances.

I bet you could build an equivalently functioning wetland for less than a gravel one and a lot less labor. Would make the filter more accessible to more builders—pro and DIY alike. And with the volume of media were talking here, I bet you could get the cost down further with a bulk order from Alibaba or another local distributor.

Why didn't I think of this!?

 

[GBBUDD]

The surface area may triple over that of gravel but add the water dropping over them while surrounded by oxygen and now you have bacteria on steroids'. Over stocked tanks with the kings of poop and lots of organics will want all the oxygen it can get to thrive.

i would have taken 12 foot tall water silo's and filled those with the bio balls That would do the job. let the water shower over the bioballs

 

[Lisak1]

13x the gravel

3x the gravel - but that is one thing I thought of. More efficient = less space.

As for what some people will spend on a pond - I think that's a "to each their own" kind of thing. We have friends who spend 5K two or three times a year for a vacation. I'd rather just go hang out in my back yard and at this point I'm way ahead of the game cost wise. Some people love their boats, snowmobiles, jet skis, motorcycles, vacation homes, going to the casino, etc - gimme a beautiful backyard and a big budget for flowers any day!

 

[Beercan31]

Preaching to the choir brother

gimme a beautiful backyard and a big budget for flowers any day!

so over people drama.

 

[GBBUDD]

Preaching to the choir brother

so over people drama.

When everyone heads for the beach i go to the woods, thy head for the ski slopes i'll head for the beach. I do not enjoy traffic and crowds . I'm my teens i heard the average American spends 1/3 of their life waiting in line. when i heard that i said not this guy.

 

[seedsofnature]

I use bioballs inside aquablox for small, concrete features with limited budgets. Works great.

The problem here I think will be the sedimentation chamber. The aquablox are designed to allow sediment to settle before moving into the gravel layers.

It will be interesting to see the cleanout. Next pondo I'll check it out.

 

[combatwombat]

I use bioballs inside aquablox for small, concrete features with limited budgets. Works great.

The problem here I think will be the sedimentation chamber. The aquablox are designed to allow sediment to settle before moving into the gravel layers.

It will be interesting to see the cleanout. Next pondo I'll check it out.

I think they left the bottom layer of blox empty like normal.