Matala Biosteps II Filter

[Lisak1]

Is anyone currently using this filter? We bought one and have some issues with the connections - wondering if it's just us...

Matala Biosteps II Filter w/out UV-BSTPII

www.aquaticponds.com

 

[poconojoe]

Hopefully someone that has experience with it will chime in.
I don't know anything about that particular filter, but what are your issues?
Maybe we can figure it out.

Isn't it disappointing how so many products lack detailed instructions?
I'm putting one of those greenhouses together for my daughter and the instructions are terrible!
It's 99% just drawings without any explanation. I had to disassemble a lot of it to get things where I think they are correct. I spent the whole day on it and I'm still not finished. It's like a giant puzzle with little instructions. The only good thing was that most of the parts were numbered...most...
Sorry for the rant, but I feel your frustration.

 

[Lisak1]

We ordered one and actually returned it - that's how bad it was. (Luckily they sent us the wrong model, so they had to pay the freight to ship it back.)

Here's the thing - the outlet has a bulkhead fitting that they said would accept a 1 1/2 PVC pipe. HOWEVER it's actually a 60mm European sized fitting, so the 1 1/2 inch pipe is just slightly too big. We called Matala and they said "oh it will fit, you just have to REALLY CRAM IT IN. You may have to SAND IT DOWN a bit, but if you REALLY PUSH HARD it will go in. Perhaps you'll need a RUBBER MALLET. Oh, and you may never get it out again." Oh, well THAT'S CONVENIENT.

To me, it's just not acceptable to say it has a 1 1/2 inch fitting but it really doesn't. It's just kind of close. And since it's a bulkhead fitting and can be screwed apart and taken out completely, why not sell it with the US fitting in the US and the European fitting where they use that sizing? We came up with some ideas to retrofit it with a different bulkhead or a uni-seal, but it both annoys me that we have to do that to a product that we're paying several hundred dollars for, AND would void any warranty on the product if we did anything to alter the filter.

The filter also has a waterfall adapter, which might be OK, but that means we have to have the filter right at the edge of the pond all the time. We plan to use this as a fines filter - once we clear the water, we'll put it away and probably not use it again until next year. It would definitely be more flexible to be able to attach a hose to the outlet so we could move the filter away from the pond if we wanted.

We really want the gravity fed filter vs a pressurized filter and chose this one specifically because it has the Matala filter media (obviously) which to me - and, by everything I've read, to most people - is far superior to foam filter pads. It's such a simple design - basically a Rubbermaid tote with an inlet on one end and an outlet on the other, filled with filter media, a clean out valve on the bottom, and a lid. Super simple. How hard would it be to make the plumbing easy to use?

 

[Lisak1]

I should have added - my husband spent several hours in the plumbing section of two different big box stores looking for a solution. He actually ran into our plumber at one of them and he suggested a Fernco fitting. Then tried to make it fit and was like "yeah... something's not right". That's when we still thought we were working with a 1 1/2 inch fitting. THEN we learned the real problem...

 

[BKHpondcritters]

I'll just say it ----- Plumbing. It sucks all around (pond applications or otherwise) There is a reason we hire ALL plumbing related chores/repairs out to bonded/insured professionals -- my husband flatly refuses to do anything vaguely related to ***plumbing*** and we want to be able to call in someone ELSE that is responsible to fix things when the first 'fix' doesn't work. (shrug & lol)

 

[combatwombat]

How hard would it be to make the plumbing easy to use?

Probably about as hard as buying a a rubbermaid tote and just making your own with the bulkheads that actually fit. Haha.

If you decide to keep it (are they sending you a new model?) I can't imagine there's much value in the warranty. You could put your own bulkhead in—you probably wouldn't need to drill the tote at all. Just unscrew the one it came with and insert your own. You can also build your own bulkhead fittings with liquid-tight electrical PVC fittings.

Plumbing. It sucks all around (pond applications or otherwise)

I love plumbing! Been slowly ripping out all our 1960s galvanized plumbing and replacing with pex. It's almost as satisfying as the pond. I might hire out once it's time to do the waste lines, though. I draw the line at fish poop.

 

[Doctor mcboy]

We ordered one and actually returned it - that's how bad it was. (Luckily they sent us the wrong model, so they had to pay the freight to ship it back.)

Here's the thing - the outlet has a bulkhead fitting that they said would accept a 1 1/2 PVC pipe. HOWEVER it's actually a 60mm European sized fitting, so the 1 1/2 inch pipe is just slightly too big. We called Matala and they said "oh it will fit, you just have to REALLY CRAM IT IN. You may have to SAND IT DOWN a bit, but if you REALLY PUSH HARD it will go in. Perhaps you'll need a RUBBER MALLET. Oh, and you may never get it out again." Oh, well THAT'S CONVENIENT.

To me, it's just not acceptable to say it has a 1 1/2 inch fitting but it really doesn't. It's just kind of close. And since it's a bulkhead fitting and can be screwed apart and taken out completely, why not sell it with the US fitting in the US and the European fitting where they use that sizing? We came up with some ideas to retrofit it with a different bulkhead or a uni-seal, but it both annoys me that we have to do that to a product that we're paying several hundred dollars for, AND would void any warranty on the product if we did anything to alter the filter.

The filter also has a waterfall adapter, which might be OK, but that means we have to have the filter right at the edge of the pond all the time. We plan to use this as a fines filter - once we clear the water, we'll put it away and probably not use it again until next year. It would definitely be more flexible to be able to attach a hose to the outlet so we could move the filter away from the pond if we wanted.

We really want the gravity fed filter vs a pressurized filter and chose this one specifically because it has the Matala filter media (obviously) which to me - and, by everything I've read, to most people - is far superior to foam filter pads. It's such a simple design - basically a Rubbermaid tote with an inlet on one end and an outlet on the other, filled with filter media, a clean out valve on the bottom, and a lid. Super simple. How hard would it be to make the plumbing easy to use?

get some boiling hot water . set the hose end in the water let it heat up for a couple minutes. it should slide on much easier.

 

[Lisak1]

set the hose end in the water

It's not a hose - it's solid PVC pipe.

When the actual manufacturer tells you your best bet is a rubber mallet and a little luck, it's rather disconcerting. Plus the "you won't be able to get the pipe out again" bugs me - we want to be able to easily store this, which will be more difficult with a piece of PVC sticking out of the side. We'll probably just use a short piece and clamp a hose to it, but still. Ugh.

@combatwombat - I considered exactly that. The one difference is the quality of the box. This one is built to withstand sun, heat, cold, etc. I've used off the shelf rubbermaid for other outdoor projects and find I get about a year out of them before they start to fall to pieces.

This filter also comes with 6 Matala filter pads - 2 green, 2 blue, 2 black. Price those out - it's about $200 just for the filter pads. The whole filter set up was $199. As annoying as this whole situation is, we will probably bite the bullet and buy it again. And yes - they are happy to send us the correct model. I'm just annoyed. They advertise this filter as "Plug and Play". Ummmm... no! haha!

 

[Doctor mcboy]

It's not a hose - it's solid PVC pipe.

When the actual manufacturer tells you your best bet is a rubber mallet and a little luck, it's rather disconcerting. Plus the "you won't be able to get the pipe out again" bugs me - we want to be able to easily store this, which will be more difficult with a piece of PVC sticking out of the side. We'll probably just use a short piece and clamp a hose to it, but still. Ugh.

@combatwombat - I considered exactly that. The one difference is the quality of the box. This one is built to withstand sun, heat, cold, etc. I've used off the shelf rubbermaid for other outdoor projects and find I get about a year out of them before they start to fall to pieces.

This filter also comes with 6 Matala filter pads - 2 green, 2 blue, 2 black. Price those out - it's about $200 just for the filter pads. The whole filter set up was $199. As annoying as this whole situation is, we will probably bite the bullet and buy it again. And yes - they are happy to send us the correct model. I'm just annoyed. They advertise this filter as "Plug and Play". Ummmm... no! haha!

missed that , i think adapters from mertric to standard are out there.

 

[combatwombat]

@Lisak1: Got it. Practically speaking, you can heat the end of your pvc pipe with a heat gun or hair dryer and that will make it easier to insert in the fitting. If this is living outside the pond, you should probably glue your pvc joints to prevent leaks, so you wouldn't be removing the pipe in the future anyway.

Maybe glue a very short piece to the bulkhead and then transition to a union so that when you want to put away for the season, there's just a little stub sticking out. Or you can just disconnect the bulkhead and remove it + the connected pipe for storage.

 

[brokensword]

It's not a hose - it's solid PVC pipe.

When the actual manufacturer tells you your best bet is a rubber mallet and a little luck, it's rather disconcerting. Plus the "you won't be able to get the pipe out again" bugs me - we want to be able to easily store this, which will be more difficult with a piece of PVC sticking out of the side. We'll probably just use a short piece and clamp a hose to it, but still. Ugh.

@combatwombat - I considered exactly that. The one difference is the quality of the box. This one is built to withstand sun, heat, cold, etc. I've used off the shelf rubbermaid for other outdoor projects and find I get about a year out of them before they start to fall to pieces.

This filter also comes with 6 Matala filter pads - 2 green, 2 blue, 2 black. Price those out - it's about $200 just for the filter pads. The whole filter set up was $199. As annoying as this whole situation is, we will probably bite the bullet and buy it again. And yes - they are happy to send us the correct model. I'm just annoyed. They advertise this filter as "Plug and Play". Ummmm... no! haha!

@Lisak1
Lisa; the diy filter I described to you would be a lot cheaper and work better (imo) without all this hassle. All you need is a drum (the external container), some 400 micron nylon mesh (from ebay, it's the filter), some plastic chicken wire (interior basket to hold the nylon sock), 3 bulkhead fittings (1-1/2") and a couple of unions. You sew up the 'sock' including a tube near the top to accept a rigid wire for keeping your sock open at the top, make a conical basket out of the chicken wire that is less in height than your drum, have one bulkhead at the top to which you attach your pump feed and this feeds into the sock, then 2 bulkheads at/near the bottom as your exit. You make the interior basket to give structure to your sock filter and it's less in height and diameter than your drum so if you get a clogged sock, it overflows and still exits into the pond instead of overflowing the top and draining your pond. The unions make it easier to detach all the tubing going to the filter. I used this for a few years and it works great plus with a 55 gallon drum, you get about 1800 sq in of filtering power that only takes about 5 minutes to rinse out with a hose.

I got a couple of drums, one $20, the other $50 used. If you want some sort of picture, let me know and I'll post it up. Really easy all the way around, imo.

 

[brokensword]

missed that , i think adapters from mertric to standard are out there.

I've never seen one in my part of the woods; I don't even see metric plumbing parts at all.

 

[Doctor mcboy]

I've never seen one in my part of the woods; I don't even see metric plumbing parts at all.

i ordered them from mcmaster carr , grainger real pricey

 

[Tula]

Well....put me into the hate plumbing club. I wish my Dad had taught me when I was a child, he could do anything. Fortunately hubby is good at teaching himself things.

The so called " plug and play" feature would appeal to me....sorry it isn't that simple

 

[Lisak1]

Yeah... I'm sure I could build myself one. But honestly for 200 bucks it was way too appealing to just purchase the ready to go set up. We also had $35 in "points" from the online seller, so it was even less than that. Throw in an inexpensive pump and a few feet of hose and you should be up and running in minutes... not hours, or worse, days. Last year I rigged up a janky homemade filter - drilled holes near the bottom of a medium sized trash can, stuffed it with quilt batting and pumped water into the top. Worked great. I was trying to demonstrate to my husband that we could clean the fines without emptying the pond. At this point, I'm ready to get a pump and pump the whole thing down. But that means rent a sump pump, get a pool for the fish, get them safely out, spend a day pumping, hosing and pumping and hosing and pumping, refill the pond (with $$$$ water) and hope I don't end up with a green pond. Or we could pay the local pond outfit $1700 to do it for us... that $200 filter looks way too good to this frugal girl! Way better ways to spend a couple grand!

Ugh. I just wish someone had a product that was comparable. Oase makes a very similar filter, but it has foam filter pads and the online reviews that I've read complain about - you guessed it - the plumbing. One guy detailed the steps he had to go through to get it rigged up to work without leaking and I was like "no thanks". And yet... here I am.