Biofilters

[Meyer Jordan]

Meyer Jordan submitted a new article:

Biofilters - Sizing importance

All Water Features support life. We know that any surface that remains wet with water will support, at the least, a microscopic biofilm composed of bacteria, archaea and algae. In decorative Water Features such as formal fountains, water walls and rock bubblers, because of aesthetic considerations, the water is usually treated with chemicals to inhibit the growth of this biofilm.



The opposite is true in Water features that are purposely constructed to support life such as a Water Garden,...

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[RobAmy]

Very good info, this is one of the reasons I like the Savio filters. They do list with and without fish load. I have 1 waterfall filter and 3 versatile filters

Max. Effective Pond Volume (gallons) 5,000
Max. Effective Pond Volume for ponds with large amount of debris and/or heavy fish loads (gallons) 3,500
Max. Flow Rate at Filter Inlet (GPH) 5,000 for waterfall filter 3,000 for versatile filter

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Very good info, this is one of the reasons I like the Savio filters. They do list with and without fish load. I have 1 waterfall filter and 3 versatile filters

Max. Effective Pond Volume (gallons) 5,000
Max. Effective Pond Volume for ponds with large amount of debris and/or heavy fish loads (gallons) 3,500
Max. Flow Rate at Filter Inlet (GPH) 5,000 for waterfall filter 3,000 for versatile filter

But even Savio fails to adequately describe 'heavy fish loads'.

 

[RobAmy]

But even Savio fails to adequately describe 'heavy fish loads'.

Agreed but at least they down play their filters more then some when under load. Thus the reason I have 4 of them with only 3,500 gallons

 

[Troutredds]

I tend to err on the side of caution and chose filters with "rated" capacity far beyond our system size and bio-load, since no company adequately addresses fish load parameters.

 

[koiguy1969]

A manufacturer also has no way to know your feeding habits. 1 cup of food a day makes about the same amount of wastes wether 10 fish or 15 fish eat it. & 5, 2' fish make more of a nutrient load than 10, 5" fish as well.. too many variables. having and not necessarily needing is better than needing and not having.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

A manufacturer also has no way to know your feeding habits. 1 cup of food a day makes about the same amount of wastes wether 10 fish or 15 fish eat it. & 5, 2' fish make more of a nutrient load than 10, 5" fish as well.. too many variables. having and not necessarily needing is better than needing and not having.

Exactly the point. So without this information, how can a manufacturer correctly claim that a certain sized bio-filter is appropriate for a certain size pond?

 

[koiguy1969]

They can't... I think that's everybody's point.

 

[MitchM]

I think manufacturers of filters assign size rating for purely marketing purposes.
The retail public need a starting point from which they can make a purchasing decision.
One way to really determine your filter needs is after the fact - by performing regular water quality tests.
The best way to determine which filter you need is to have some educational background in the basics of water chemistry and/or ecosystems.

 

[Dave 54]

Great article Meyer I tend to agree with what everyone has said they arent you, Mitch, KoiGuy RobAmy troutreds or Val and I they dont know our maintenace proceedures feeding ratios anything.of what we do or dont do to our own ponds
They will give you a ball park figure on what they think the fish load is etc its then down to us guys to prove or disprove what the manufacturers say by reglar tests to our water and the sytem itself .
In our time weve seen filters come and go and many dont do what is claimed of them

Dave