filtration help

[philip_g]

I've come to realize I need to redo my filtration, but looking through the threads in the DIY section I'm not sure how much I need. I only have about 800 gallons, some plants, and 3 koi. I shy away from the 55 gal builds because I'll have a hard time hiding the barrel, I thought about a little pressure filter but no one seems to have much good to say about them. Someone mentioned using a fiberglass flower pot, that might be OK but would it be enough? I'm lost.

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

Look into 7 inch filter socks, 200 micron will do the trick and you will have clear water. I use 2 on my 2200g pond and they do a better job than the pressure canisters. You do need to clean them weekly, I put mine in the washing machine with a little bleach and good as new.

 

[Mmathis]

Look into 7 inch filter socks, 200 micron will do the trick and you will have clear water. I use 2 on my 2200g pond and they do a better job than the pressure canisters. You do need to clean them weekly, I put mine in the washing machine with a little bleach and good as new.

What do you do with the filter socks? How do you use them in a filter?

 

[Tula]

I too am curious about these filter socks. As unpopular as they are, I use a pressurized filter, along with filters in my skimmer and am satisfied. My pond is 1700 gallons with 5 koi.....and their fry.

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

These are filter socks in action. It is a crappy set up, but for 12 dollars........ does better than my 500 dollar pressure filter. They need to be off the water surface or the water flows overtop and not threw. If someone comes up with a mounting idea, that would be great. I take the used ones out of my saltwater tank and use them out here. They last about 2 months with, I would say, heavier bioload. No algae, no chemicals, no problems! The picture is from right now and that is how my water looks all the time.

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

Here is my whole budget friendly pond. I pulled the waterfall out and made a shallow water/low flow to grow algae. It collects all the fall out from the pressure canister( which is alot) and keeps the pond clear. This works awesome, not here to promote anything, just spent tons of money on fancy bells and whistles. Come to find out, some disposable filters work and the canisters dont. ;-)

 

[philip_g]

I'll look into the socks. Right now I have my skimmer with the usual bag, some matala medium stuff and a uv sterilizer, I run algaefix once a week and the water stays clear, but I was hoping for a little better filtration to make sure the ammonia and nutrients stay down. I fight a little string algae and I've got some weird white stuff growing underwater in a few spots. The whole surface is covered in hyacinth so I'm hoping that's doing a good job of nutrient export but I think the system could be healthier for my fish, I don't like using the chemicals

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

I have a uv sterilizer and am not a big fan of it. It needs a certain flow rating on it for what you are trying to eliminate. Ie gph rating would be slower for parasite, medium for bacterial blooms and faster for algae control, but yet to see them on anything besides uv sterilizer. Algaefix is an oxygen deplete pos. It never fixes the problem, just the symptoms.
Keep an eye on phoshates and nitrates and that will keep your clear water.
Personal opinion, plants are kind of a waste for exporting nutrients. They are so slow to metabolize the waste that renders your main problem ( nutrients). Flow and filtration with a little husbandry is the key for clean water.

 

[philip_g]

Yeah I don't think the uv has done a darn thing for me.
I had an auto feeder that was overfeeding and made things worse.
Every time I use algaefix I see my koi at the surface breathing

 

[JohnHuff]

Look into 7 inch filter socks, 200 micron will do the trick and you will have clear water. I use 2 on my 2200g pond and they do a better job than the pressure canisters. You do need to clean them weekly, I put mine in the washing machine with a little bleach and good as new.

That's mechanical filtration only. Clear water ≠ healthy water.

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

That's mechanical filtration only. Clear water ≠ healthy water.

Correct. 'Mechanical'.
The ? Of the op was an idea better than a pressure filter (mechanical) solid answer imho.

 

[JohnHuff]

Correct. 'Mechanical'.
The ? Of the op was an idea better than a pressure filter (mechanical) solid answer imho.

He's talking about a 55g build. Does that sound like a mech filter to you?

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

He's talking about a 55g build. Does that sound like a mech filter to you?

you should reread the question. He doesn't want to add one because of size, hasn't had any good response from pressure filters.
If you have some ideas, feel free to add to it instead of taking away.

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

He's talking about a 55g build. Does that sound like a mech filter to you?

A 55g build is not a set in stone bio filter. It can be whatever you want to put into it too. Everything is open to one's ideas. I would love to hear your ideas, sound like your ready to jump.

 

[mariobrothersleeve]

Do you know anything about filtration? It's pretty obvious that OP wasn't asking about mechanical filtration. Your direct answer to his question was a sock filter which is a mech filter. Does your sock filter have a volume rating?

It's pretty obviously that the OP was asking about a generic filter. Your suggestion of a sock filter was not appropriate. That's all I was saying. It's also pretty obvious that you're sensitive to being corrected.

hahaha. I didn't see any pictures of your system that you speak of so much vast knowledge. Volume of a 50g on a 800 system is what in volume? Less than 10, right? What is the volume a pressure (mechanical) filter? The exact same 5g as the sieve. If you are trying to put me in my place, you should use surface area vs. volume.They do fill up, there is the pictures of my pond, I can't find yours for some reason. Are we going to discuss the 3 types of filtration or maybe the nitrogen cycle followed by anaerobic bateria? It's all the same, mechanical filtration is the biggest failure in this hobby. Getting the nitrates and phosphates removed stops your algae blooms. What is the quickest way to get rid of waste? Why rely on bacteria and plants to help with the absorption of this waste when they are so slow?
Instead of trying to make yourself high and mighty, try them, they were a total of 12 dollars.
It is as expensive as the algefix that the fish are choking on anyways.

I apologize to the op for the 'alpha fourm' banter. By all means I am trying to help you in the cheapest most effective way to keep that green algae water away.