Update!! Last night I took the old bulkheads off and got 3" conduit ones. They did not have 4". Then I got this piece that has a 4" opening that reduces to 3" to a elbow. Through the bulkhead to a 3" hard pvc pipe out to the pond. I am thinking this will work. Eventhoug the in side is 2" pvc. It still comes from the pipe at 1 1/4. Also I dug the hole deeper. I am working today but might test when I get off at 5pm. I think 22 hours is enough for the flashing to dry.
need help designing bio filter"skippy, doc" etc
- Thread starter bjc541
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It worked! Now it just needs to clear up water
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Great happy for you!
update!!! barrel has been up and running now about two weeks. I have some floating plants floating in the top of the barrel is it normal to have some junk settling on the tubes. i am sure it is just the benificial bacteria kicking in. but i have 5 different densitys of buffer pads then it goes through biological filtration. just wondering what the brrown stuff was. similar to dr, daves pics with the deer fencing
fishin4cars
True friends just call me Larkin
Can't tell you specifically what the brown is, I guess you would need a biologist for that, But I can say that it is normal. It depends on what is being filtered out of the pond and the strains of bacteria. Some filters will have slightly different coloration, I think some of it is settlement from the soil and stones but That is what the bacteria are attaching to. If it doesn't fall off during a back flush then leave it be. We'll just call it the good stuff. LOL
What you are looking to keep out looks like slimy mud, Mine can be anywhere from brown to green depending on the season. It's not hard to tell apart, The bad falls away and wants to settle to the bottom, the good attaches and will stay even if no water is on it for a short period of time.
What you are looking to keep out looks like slimy mud, Mine can be anywhere from brown to green depending on the season. It's not hard to tell apart, The bad falls away and wants to settle to the bottom, the good attaches and will stay even if no water is on it for a short period of time.
i did not build a clean out flush valve. as the waterfall is the main filtration the pumps turns out 10,000gph the barrel is just added filtration turning over 2100gph. and i also have a uv sterilizer on a separate pump i just got it is a tetra 1000gph tht is pre filtered in a trashcan that has holes on the bottom and and the opening which passes through some filter pads then lava rock. i know collects debris. but since i built the barrel this year with pads and enough plastic media for 10,000 gallons(bio balls a *ss ton of them) i was a little short of cash plus i wanted to buy a pump for uv sterlizer thats why i used lava rocks but still better then nothing the pads will still catch the big stuff
fishin4cars
True friends just call me Larkin
As long as most of the muck is removed lava rocks actually work extremely well. The biggest problem with lava rock is trapping the muck so a lot of filtering through pads and a seperator I think the lave rock really wasn't a bad choice. There has been a lot of research and development done trying to make a bio-media that works like lava rock but doesn't clog. LOL, most of us can't afford the stuff. at $30-$40 for a gallons worth when 25# of lava rack cost less than $5.
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My arizona pond has been filtered by lava rock for years now. I have a good back flush ability seems to work well.
I have a diy skippy filter as my waterfall outlet. I built it 3 years ago and couldn't be happier with the improvement of water quality. Last year when I closed it down for the winter it was full of snails doing their job.