Water Changes

[Meyer Jordan]

Fine I shall dub it a trickle tower shower.
In all seriousness, do both have the same footprint just a different water flow?

Simple answer....No.
A Trickle tower is one unit. A Bakki shower is several stacked units feeding into each other starting with the topmost unit.

 

[tbendl]

So I was totally close then... Hehe. I guess I need to do some homework on both. I had read about trickle towers when I was looking at building the pond and was led to believe that the effectiveness of a bog was better than that of a trickle tower if the room was available... (Ok my bog, the rocks and the plumbing in the bottom and the plants, I can't keep up with what it's currently called... A horizontal trickle fed anti gravity upflow biofilter wetland thingy..Lol)
Anyway both were producers of bacteria that would break down waste and help keep water parameters safe for plants and fish.

 

[Smaug]

All those extra gizmos just to take care of what simple water changes do

 

[Meyer Jordan]

So I was totally close then... Hehe. I guess I need to do some homework on both. I had read about trickle towers when I was looking at building the pond and was led to believe that the effectiveness of a bog was better than that of a trickle tower if the room was available... (Ok my bog, the rocks and the plumbing in the bottom and the plants, I can't keep up with what it's currently called... A horizontal trickle fed anti gravity upflow biofilter wetland thingy..Lol)
Anyway both were producers of bacteria that would break down waste and help keep water parameters safe for plants and fish.

All are based on bacterial action in some form. And all are attempts to replicate what occurs in different natural aquatic environs.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

All those extra gizmos just to take care of what simple water changes do

Yep, but without stressing the fish.

 

[MitchM]

All those extra gizmos just to take care of what simple water changes do

lol

There's no such thing as a simple water change.

.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

You are correct in describing the trickle beds used in wastewater treatment. The major difference between this concept and Trickle Towers is the wastewater trickle bed is aerated a trickle tower is not. Anaerobic conditions are desired in a Trickle tower. Oxygenation is not desired.

Where are you getting this from?
I can show you all kinds of links (or you can simply Google it yourself) confirming oxygen is an important factor in trickle tower/filter systems, but I can't find one scrap of evidence to support your version of what you call a "trickle tower".

 

[MitchM]

This is a good example of how, over time, information can become corrupted. Go on most any pond forum and you will find the terms Trickle tower, Bakki shower and Protein skimmer (Foam Fractionator) used interchangeably. ....

I would be very interested to hear how someone could mix up a protein skimmer and the other two mentioned.
Protein skimmers are designed to mechanically remove DOC. Towers and showers are meant to facilitate bacteria digesting DOC.

.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Where are you getting this from?
I can show you all kinds of links (or you can simply Google it yourself) confirming oxygen is an important factor in trickle tower/filter systems, but I can't find one scrap of evidence to support your version of what you call a "trickle tower".

Read this-
http://www.mankysanke.co.uk/html/trickle_tower_update.html
What is discussed on this site is a true Trickle Tower not a modified trickle bed filter. This loose and interchangeable use of names is what leads to problems. Two people may be using the same name for describing a subject but in reality be discussing two completely separate things. The devices being labelled Trickle Towers on most internet sites are anything but a true Trickle Tower. This happens all of the time in the world of Horticulture with common names for plants. It is so bad, that horticulturists use only the Latin names to avoid any confusion.
The purpose of a Trickle Tower is to reduce Nitrate levels. This can only be done by facultative heterotrophic bacteria. In the presence of Oxygen, these bacteria consume organic Carbon by using Oxygen as the catalyst. In the absence of Oxygen, these same bacteria have the ability to utilize Nitrate for the same purpose, producing not only Carbon Dioxide but also Nitrogen gas in the process. Nitrate levels are steadily reduced through this process. Providing Oxygen by any means nullifies this process producing no reduction of the Nitrate level.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I would be very interested to hear how someone could mix up a protein skimmer and the other two mentioned.
Protein skimmers are designed to mechanically remove DOC. Towers and showers are meant to facilitate bacteria digesting DOC.

.

I know that and you know that.
Go on Google and search 'Trickle Tower'/images. You will see more mis-identified devices than correctly identified.

 

[MitchM]

I did, trying to sort out the difference between trickle and bakki.
I only gained a headache.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

I did, trying to sort out the difference between trickle and bakki.
I only gained a headache.

That is because no one is evidently interested in using the correct terminology assuming that they know what is correct.
An example of this is someone someplace thought that calling an upflow wetlands filter a 'bog' was a great idea. That term has now become corrupted to the point that now a pot filled with gravel is a 'bog'.

 

[addy1]

Probably because ...bog...is three letters....upflow wetlands filter...is 20 letters....a lot less typing

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Probably because ...bog...is three letters....upflow wetlands filter...is 20 letters....a lot less typing

How true. Most of us have learned, though, that the easy way is not always the best way. There are those, disturbingly, that insist on the easy way, damn the consequences.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

Read this-
http://www.mankysanke.co.uk/html/trickle_tower_update.html
What is discussed on this site is a true Trickle Tower not a modified trickle bed filter. This loose and interchangeable use of names is what leads to problems. Two people may be using the same name for describing a subject but in reality be discussing two completely separate things. The devices being labelled Trickle Towers on most internet sites are anything but a true Trickle Tower. This happens all of the time in the world of Horticulture with common names for plants. It is so bad, that horticulturists use only the Latin names to avoid any confusion.
The purpose of a Trickle Tower is to reduce Nitrate levels. This can only be done by facultative heterotrophic bacteria. In the presence of Oxygen, these bacteria consume organic Carbon by using Oxygen as the catalyst. In the absence of Oxygen, these same bacteria have the ability to utilize Nitrate for the same purpose, producing not only Carbon Dioxide but also Nitrogen gas in the process. Nitrate levels are steadily reduced through this process. Providing Oxygen by any means nullifies this process producing no reduction of the Nitrate level.

That's funny, after I posted my last comment I kept searching a bit typing nitrate and trickle tower in my search and finally came across that one article you linked to. I had no doubt that you were basing your comments on something. However, as interesting as that article is, it in no way proves that the sole purpose of a "trickle tower filter" is to remove Nitrates. Perhaps that may be the sole purpose of that very specialized nitrate reducing trickle tower design, but I don't see how or why it gives this one very specialized design all inclusive rights to the term "trickle tower".