pond filter media recommended for the skippy filter system

[lelrvt]

Hi. I am excited for any help I can get. I have a 3000 gallon above ground pond that is currently housing koi and goldfish. I am removing all the goldfish in the next month and sticking with koi only. i have only had this pond for a year. I am currently making a skippy filter system. I have a 4800 gal/hr pump, and a 55 watt UV. I have a 150 gallon rubber maid water trough. My question is, what media do you recommend? the scouring pads they recommend have eluded me. I dont know the cheapest place to find them or if that is the best choice.

By the way, once the goldfish are removed, that will leave about 15 koi in the pond (until they breed again!) 5 of the koi are over 12 inches, and the remainder are about 8 to 12 inches.

Thank you for any help and advise. I greatly appreciate it.

 

[Mmathis]

Welcome to GPF!

You'll get lots of good advice, here! Whatever you choose, be sure it isn't too densely packed as you want water to be able to flow freely through and around the media. That goes for the media itself. Right now I have layers of Matala pads. Lots of area for the good bacteria to colonize, and lots of open area for flow-through.

 

[lelrvt]

Thank you so much Turtle Mommy for responding and welcoming me! I have been looking at what you recommended. Im gussing that I need to get the three different pads.

 

[mrsclem]

Hi neighbor- Doitbest.com has the scouring pads at 8-$1 and will deliver to a hardware store in La Plata. Lowes has the blue furnace filters. If you go with matala, I'm guessing on line would be the best as the local prices are crazy.

 

[capewind]

Welcome to the group .... Off to Home Depot with hubby to get parts for a baby skippy he started putting together. If you would like, can post media pics when we get back.

 

[Becky]

Hello and welcome aboard! :wave:

 

[Mmathis]

There are tons of different media. Matala is only one, and there are clones that are cheaper and probably work just as well. Some people use the plastic "strapping" (the name Springflo comes to mind). Cut up buffer pads, dish scrubbies, plastic fencing tightly rolled....

Choose carefully: I got some kind of furnace or A/C filters from both HOME DEPOT and LOWES. One ended up being an organic [I'm guessing] fiber covered with blue paint. Over time, it sort of broke down & made a mess. The other was a finer, maybe fiberglass, material, also covered with blue stuff. Over time all the "blue" dissolved away, and there was this blue gunk everywhere in the SKIPPY.

 

[capewind]

So Home Depot was a wasted trip as usual ... drove an extra 40 minutes to go to Lowes instead ... Dont know why it has to be so difficult to get PVC parts here....

So on media ... people use lots of different things ... the items in this pic all fall into the scrubby catagory.

The big white round thing is a floor buffer pad. Can find them at most hardware stores. Here, they are color coded for different densities. A bit pricey compared to other options, but cheaper than the rolls of pond media that looks similar ... I think we pay something like $12-13 per floor buffing pad... The white chunk in the lower left is just a cut piece of the buffer pad ...

The other 3 "piles" all came from the Dollar Tree store ... beggars cant be choosers LOL ... top left (green ones) are really thin .. takes 4 of them to equal the thickness of the buffer pad (5 per pack for $1) ... the blue one ... that came as a 2 pack ... almost as thick as the buffer pad (2 pack for $1) ... I wanted more of this one, but all out ... the pink and blue ones below the blue pad ... another 2 pack ($1) ...



Nearly anything with a surface bacteria can grow on, that wont decompose can be used. In another filter, hubby has cut up pex tubing .... I've seen others cut up pvc pipe scraps ... use what you have on hand. We were getting low items to use, so more or less cleaned the Dollar Tree out of scrubbies for this one.

 

[lelrvt]

Welcome to the group .... Off to Home Depot with hubby to get parts for a baby skippy he started putting together. If you would like, can post media pics when we get back.

Your pond is beautiful! One day I hope to have that big of a pond. Fantastic!!!

 

[lelrvt]

So Home Depot was a wasted trip as usual ... drove an extra 40 minutes to go to Lowes instead ... Dont know why it has to be so difficult to get PVC parts here....

So on media ... people use lots of different things ... the items in this pic all fall into the scrubby catagory.

The big white round thing is a floor buffer pad. Can find them at most hardware stores. Here, they are color coded for different densities. A bit pricey compared to other options, but cheaper than the rolls of pond media that looks similar ... I think we pay something like $12-13 per floor buffing pad... The white chunk in the lower left is just a cut piece of the buffer pad ...

The other 3 "piles" all came from the Dollar Tree store ... beggars cant be choosers LOL ... top left (green ones) are really thin .. takes 4 of them to equal the thickness of the buffer pad (5 per pack for $1) ... the blue one ... that came as a 2 pack ... almost as thick as the buffer pad (2 pack for $1) ... I wanted more of this one, but all out ... the pink and blue ones below the blue pad ... another 2 pack ($1) ...



Nearly anything with a surface bacteria can grow on, that wont decompose can be used. In another filter, hubby has cut up pex tubing .... I've seen others cut up pvc pipe scraps ... use what you have on hand. We were getting low items to use, so more or less cleaned the Dollar Tree out of scrubbies for this one.

Thank you for all the pics and help! I have realized that the 300 gallon Rubbermaid water trough is way to big for a 3000 gallon pond for the skippy filter system I am trying to build. I am going to get either a 150 or 100 gallon trough. The price of filling the 300 gallon with media is daunting just astaring out. Maybe I am foolish, but I invested more money in the pump and UV light. Im trying to do it right the first time. I have read that a few people dont like the Skippy filter system

 

[capewind]

Thank you It is still a work in progress, short rocks and plants ... next pond is going in in another couple of weeks ... will just be an ugly liner, with just enough rocks to secure the liner for quite awhile.

 

[capewind]

Thank you for all the pics and help! I have realized that the 300 gallon Rubbermaid water trough is way to big for a 3000 gallon pond for the skippy filter system I am trying to build. I am going to get either a 150 or 100 gallon trough. The price of filling the 300 gallon with media is daunting just astaring out. Maybe I am foolish, but I invested more money in the pump and UV light. Im trying to do it right the first time. I have read that a few people dont like the Skippy filter system

Since you already have the 300, I would use it. As you come across more media items, just add them as time goes by. You wont regret having "too much" filter area for bacteria to grow, Here in MA, to get the 150 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank is $189 ...

 

[lelrvt]

Thank you Mmathis for your help. I have realized that the 300 gallon Rubbermaid water trough is way to big for my 3000 gallon pond for the Skippy filter system that I am getting ready to build. I am trying to make up my mind as to whether or not I want to get the 100 or 150 gallon Rubbermaid trough.

There are tons of different media. Matala is only one, and there are clones that are cheaper and probably work just as well. Some people use the plastic "strapping" (the name Springflo comes to mind). Cut up buffer pads, dish scrubbies, plastic fencing tightly rolled....

Choose carefully: I got some kind of furnace or A/C filters from both HOME DEPOT and LOWES. One ended up being an organic [I'm guessing] fiber covered with blue paint. Over time, it sort of broke down & made a mess. The other was a finer, maybe fiberglass, material, also covered with blue stuff. Over time all the "blue" dissolved away, and there was this blue gunk everywhere in the SKIPPY.

 

[lelrvt]

Do the Koi eat your plants in the pond?

Thank you It is still a work in progress, short rocks and plants ... next pond is going in in another couple of weeks ... will just be an ugly liner, with just enough rocks to secure the liner for quite awhile.

 

[addy1]

to our group............


I have goldfish, they leave my plants alone, some seem to have plants and koi others have koi and no plants, guess it depends on the fish.