my 70 gallon skippy filter

[koiguy1969]

o.k. i used a rubber maid 70 gallon stock tank for my filter,its not finished yet, but no rush. anyways, i used 1&1/2" pvc pipe 1" hose nipple reducer with threaded end cap. a top elbow pipe which i will drill a 5/8" hole in and feed a length of plastic tube down into the down pipe a little ways for a venturi, it will be plasty welded as are my inlet pipe, and the two 3" long pipes that are risers for the 2 bottom pipes with the elbows where the water shoots out against the inner walls of the tank. this creates a whirlpool effect, that swirls all the crud into the center of the tank. with the risers and the two 2" tees the outflow pipes sit 4" off the bottom, giving 4" of settlement area, so the crud doesnt build up in the media,this minimizes the chance of clogging. i used the 2" tees on the riser pipes because they allow for a hinging around the 1&1/2" pipe so i can disassemble the upper pipes easily. i am making a 10" waterfall weir from plastic; 1/2" plastic sheet stock, that will welded together and fastened on the tank with stainless steel nuts bolts and washers, and naturally siliconed for a good seal. you notice i used a fernco coupler at the top elbow for a strong hold but easy disassembly too. i also will be putting a 2" shower drain dead center in the floor of the tank elbowed out past the tank with a ball or knife valve for dump cleaning. the tank will rest on cinder blocks,giving a place for the dump assembly to sit between.

 

[koiguy1969]

Re: my modified 70 gallon skippy filter

the elbows on the out flow pipes are angled slightly down to encourage quicker settling as the water flow slows down in the settlement area. and the drain is centered because everything should settle in the center. open the valve and swoosh, out it goes.if you build this drain setup remove the grid drain cover, to allow a quicker drain, which will create more suction when you flush clean the filter.

 

[koiguy1969]

just a picture to show hinge effect, works nice. when lifted back up it lines up perfectly with the fernco coupler.

 

[koiguy1969]

this is the media i will be using...it is 4"x6" scrubby pads. i quartered them into peices. there is two bags showing here in the filter i have two more ,they are in the filter for the basement pond. they will go in this filter with these this spring when the fish move back outside. that way my filter will have a good headstart. the media is 250 scrubbys in 4 mesh bags, also from the dollar store. i will put another grate over the media with a couple bricks for weight to keep them under water a few inches and the top area which measures 33" x 42" will be filled with hiacynths, and basically look like a small upper ppol and the plants will flourish, and act as a veggy filter
the media bags are not necessary but will make it easier to move media back and forth between filters.

 

[Norm]

Just wondering what your cost for the scrubbies and bags?

Norm

 

[koiguy1969]

$55.00 total, i already had $20.00 worth from the first filter so i just got $30.00 more. and the bags are a buck each.

 

[Norm]

Next time I'll go that route. I bought a bag of PVC shavings. Works great but a little pricey.

 

[koiguy1969]

now some folks will say that this design or that design is best,dont know -dont care..i used the design i'm using here in a 27 gallon tote, it kept my 600 gallon pond outdoors crystal clear, and is still keeping my 450 gallon pond in the basement crystal clear. i have NEVER cleaned it, and its been running non stop for 10 months. a bio filter needs two things to pull its weight; food and oxygen, but the bacteria needs "time to eat" so to quick a flow will not give the bacteria time to do its thing. ive installed a venturi on my inlet to aerate the water, but a small aquarium air pump with an airstone or two will help out a filter too. give a filter oxygen, and enough time to work and youve got a winner, the larger the amount of bacterial colonization, the higher flow you can efficiently filter.
p.s. i use a aquarium aerator on the 27 gallon filter, the aerator and the airstones and hose cost maybe $12.00 and maybe $3.00 a month to run. and my water quality speaks for itself. my pond currently house 35 fish 24 of which are in the 9" to 12" range 10 more over 6".

 

[wolfie8000]

The filter looks great, and keep the pics coming.
What are you using this filter for?

 

[koiguy1969]

well i started redoing my pond last fall... till the weather said "STOP!!" it was 600gals; now it should be around 1500 gals when done.. so i figured a new biofilter was in order, so here it is...the pond is 2&1/2 times the water volume. this filter is almost three times the volume of the one i have been using.. so it aught to work well. with 3 times the filter media. (im gonna go get some more scrubbys, if i can fit more in.) i believe this will be a winning combo.

 

[wolfie8000]

How much flow will you be running through the filter?

 

[koiguy1969]

about 1600gph to start that will give almost 3 minutes contact time in filter media, with no flow restrictions, but there will be so i should get a little over 3 minutes time, i will adjust as needed. cause you gotta keep the waterfall flowing nicely too. so hopefully i will reach a happy medium.

 

[project_evolution]

stupid question here, but does that fill from the bottom from those angled down pipes and work its way up through the medium and exit from a hole somewhere at the top (or) are the bottom angled down pipes the drains and does it fill from the top? just wondering because a setup like that looks really easy to build and id like to use it as a model for mine.

 

[koiguy1969]

the water flows in from the top.. down the downward pipe.. thru the tee pipe and out the two elbows along the walls, this creates a swirling or whirlpool effect... it slowly works its way torwards the top thru the media and bacterial colony,where it will flow out a waterfall weir as a nice "sheet" of water, back into the pond. the two upward pipes with the tees fastened to the bottom are for keeping the plumbing 4" off the bottom, for a dead space for debris to gather. if t6he flow pipes are on the floor of the tank the debris wont settle and some will end up in the media. i hope this was a good enough explaination.

 

[jameskoi]

koiguy1969,

I'm looking into the skippy filter too but using a 55G drum instead, filled with scrubby pads. I'm hoping to locate those green ones at the dollar store (also hoping it'll be safe too). I found some green/yellow ones at a no name dollar store. Green scrubby with yellow sponge. But I'll stick pure green.

Question: Is that the only thing you hooked up to your outdoor 600G pond? If so, impressive!!