Hi guys
im thinking of redoing my filtration system on my 5000l pond.
Currently i run a pool pump,,a leaf skimmer (pool type) and my filters are made out of 3x90litre dustbins..
1st and 2nd bins are filled with bags of plastic shavings..3rd bin has the same but also added shade netting .

Seems to work well with the ocasional blockage.
lately i have been struggeling to keep the pond clean. havent seen my fish in a while(WONDER IF THERE ARE STILL FISH IN THE POND)
\Received advice from draining it and scrubbing it down to adding all the req additives to clean the thing

So i have decided to upgrade and better my filter system..3x 260 jojo tanks..a overflow back to the pond incase a blockage should occur and to add a drain incase i should empty the pond in a hurry.

This is were i seek your advice and expertise please guys and ladies.
Any suggestions and advice is really welcome.

What type of meteriaal matter do i put in the tanks.
How does brushes work and what are the advantages.

I dont have a ultra violet light fitted.
i am currently draining the pond to reoplace the water.
Martin

martin ek het twee uv ligte op my pond 55 watts en nou na 3 jaar skakel ek hulle glad nie meer aan nie so my bio filters lyk my werk nou soos ek dit wil he my water is kristal helder

Hi Martin

I hope you have not replaced the water in your pond completely, if so I fear you may be sitting without fish today?

1. Where are you getting your blockage you speak of? is it in the sand filter? Suspect then you have the wrong sand inside.
2. Do you have bottom drains in your pond?
3. What is your first line of filtration
4. For your size pond you only need a 8w or 15w UV light, that will go a long way to clearing your water for you.

I think your filtration is fine, as long as you have it setup correctly, only thing I would add is the correct sand in the sand filter if that is wrong and a UV light, I would even have left the 90lt drums and run them in parallel to each other and then have the uv light on the return.

The 3 x 260lt jojo tanks sound like over kill but as they say, rather too much than too less.

Hi Martin.

I think before you do anything you should show some pictures.

The advise you will get on here will save you a lot of money on the short and long run.

Learn from others mistakes.

I agree 100% with Cliff.

The wrong filter media and perhaps the wrong flow threw your 3 x Bio filters.

show some pictures or give some more info and you will get the right awnsers on here.

Hi Cliff

I really hope i do still have fish left,replaced the water yesterday afternoon and evening.

The blockage occur in the 2nd filter at the outlet and the inlet at the last filter..flow slowly and then first bin overflows...

My pond started out as part of a peace garden for my wife, intended for gold fish.

I dont have a bottom drain although i have a 50mm pvc pipe from the one side to the other lengthwise ,sucking water and what else through the filter .

On the outlet side some water flows back to the pond and the rest through the filter system.
There is no sand filters or UF lights

I will post a few pics and a description of how its working ,

Many thanks guys for the advice so far..its much appreciated.

Martin

i think both of us misread here.

i thought you had a pool filter as well.

i think you need some mechnical filtration.

Yeah, definitely misread...lol

Martin, you can pick up and sand filter relatively cheap, and would suggest that be the process to follow as you are sucking from the bottom floor.

This will resolve your blockage issue and is nice and easy to maintain with the multi port backwashing option you will then have.

Then the rest can stay as is and you just add a UV onto the return line.

The system has been doing well as is for about 3years. Isn't there another way around this than spending cash on a sand filter? Please help me out here gents..before the koi was added to the pond idid some reading here on the forum. Some members are against using sand filters and some are for it. Hence the reason for the system that I now have. And keep in mind the pons is only 5000 liters. Wouldn't a sand filter be overkill? (says he how has bought 3 260 liter tanks already). I'm struggling to get pics loaded......

martin wrote:

The system has been doing well as is for about 3years. Isn't there another way around this than spending cash on a sand filter? Please help me out here gents..before the koi was added to the pond idid some reading here on the forum. Some members are against using sand filters and some are for it. Hence the reason for the system that I now have. And keep in mind the pons is only 5000 liters. Wouldn't a sand filter be overkill? (says he how has bought 3 260 liter tanks already). I'm struggling to get pics loaded......

Hi there Martin ,

My pond is 7500 liters with out the filter system and i have a sandfilter on my pond.
I feel it is up to you and how you feel about using a sandfilter . Some people like a sandfilter and some dont.

You can sent pictures to any of the members and will help you to post them for you.

Regards

Quinten

well you dont have to use a sand filter there is other ways.

what you need is some sort of pre filter/mechanical filter to get rid of most of the solids.

and how is your flow running threw your filters?

if you pump into one and it runs over to the others in series.

i found it better to let the water from the bottom to the top instead of just overflowing it into the others.

so pump into the the 1st filter with your pumpbut pump it into the bottom of the filter.
i will add some crusher rock into the bottom third of it to help with the mechanical filtration.

then the oferflow of the 1st filter to run into the 2nd one at the bottom again so it has to push up threw the filter media.

and the same for the third one. before back into the pool.

if you want a quick fix a uv light will work.

Without a UV light, your organic load builds up very fast, and your do not have a mechanical filter.

The Jo-Joes works very well for biological filtration, but where does the solids go? You have to be able to flush your solids. You can flush your Jo-Joes, regularly, but it uses a lot of water and influence your biological effectiveness each time you clean it, and it is a mess.

One of the main reasons why people criticize sand filters, is because you have to run a pool pump which uses a lot more electricity. In your case, you are running a pool pump anyway, so you can just as well add a sand filter. So much easier to clean than the Jo-Joes.

So, I would add a sand filter for mechanical filtration (with extra course gravel inside to limit flow restrictions but still good to trap the solids) and from there, the water runs to your Jo-Joes for biological filtration, and from there to a UV. After a while, you will be able to switch off the UV.

There is no sense in running a koi pond if you are unable to see the fish. You will loose interest. With Jo-Joes only, you will always battle with water clarity, and even possible health problems due to sludge build up, especially because you have no bottom drain/settlement chamber.

Admin wrote:

One of the main reasons why people criticize sand filters, is because you have to run a pool pump which uses a lot more electricity. In your case, you are running a pool pump anyway, so you can just as well add a sand filter. So much easier to clean than the Jo-Joes.

exactly the reason why I said to go with a sand filter....if a pool pump is being used currently then the best option is this with the current setup in place.

Hopefully you find a sand filter with a quick release lid, so that every week you can open it up and give it a good stir while you backwash.

Definitely a very effective tool within the filtration cog if you service and manage it correctly!

Also, with the multi port it is quick to also do bi weekly removal of excel solids build up

ok,went and got myself a 2 bag koifilter and some sand. dont know a lot about these things tgerefor im asking. i have build a little flat surface to acomodate the jo jo tanks. .can i install the sand filter lower than the pump and jo jo tanks? with a shut off valve inbetween the sand fliter and first jojo to prevent the jo jo from draining when opening the sand filter to stir the sand..?

thanks guys,the filter system is working great.,one question though...it seems as if some of my fish has lost colour,almost dull . is this normal and will the coulor go bAck to normL?

if its the red (hi/beni) that is fading to a point where it is going then chances are it wont come back, if it's black (sumi) then it usually comes and goes, depending on temperature etc

Show us some pics, have you seen a difference yet in your water?

Cliff i have seen a huge improvement, i can actually see my fish now.
I would love to post pics but battle to upload them.

hi guys
thank you very much for all the help and advice.
system seem to work very well.Some where on the site i read about cleaning your
sand filter,somehow i cant find the post now. Can any body please give advice on this?

what im NOT mentioning is that im writting and thanking everyone with a very red face from embarasment.
After installing the newly acquired sand fliter, 3x 260 litre tanks and all new plumbing
............i started the pump and while waiying for the tanks to fill and water to run into the dam...........i realized that my calculations as usual are very wrong....the pond (or exscuse for a pond) is onlu about 1000 to 1500 litres.

its like driving a fancy executive car in living in a chack.... so agter the overkill on the filter systemto pond size.....anysuggestions?