Jaco wrote:

Albie moet asseblief nie daai kos voer nie, dis sommer k@k.

They bring those red and green pellets in from China in really huge quantities (I have seen the huge storeroom filled to the ceiling) and distribute it to pet shops.

It is old by the time you buy it and it is crap. Your fish don't grow on that and it creates a lot of waste.

thats the problem I had when I bought those pellets......all of it basically ended up on the floor and just created a lot of waste.....the shogun nothing goes to waste.

Potbelly's ........why should it only be that dogs look like their owners!!!!

Hi Albie

Well done nice to see the pond finally up and running after all you have been through and the fish look happy too.

Cheers
Lee

Just to put things into perspective-

I have been feeding Ichiban for the past year, bought from Shelley at King Koi, but with the hurry of getting the fish sorted out, I quickly bought Aqua Plus at Airport Pets as King Koi was closed. I mixed it with small Ichiban pellets. Didn't know it had quite a reputation!!

Any ideas on how to split the 2 streams? (question posted with the photos)

Hi Albie, congratulations on your new pond, and .....

Congratulations, your topic has just became the most viewed topic on this forum today with 3112 views after Colyn's Rhenoster Kop ponds thread was in the first place for more than a year.

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Baie geluk Albie

Om terug te keer na jou inlet / outlet probleem.
Ek weet nie of ek jou setup reg verstaan nie, maar indien dit is soos op die foto kan jy dalk probeer om 90* of 45* bends aan die pype te koppel. Draai hulle dat dit na die kant van die dam wys, dan behoort jy ‘n ‘sirkel’ van watervloei te kry. Dit behoort ook beter te lyk as wat jy die pype sou moes verleng.

Skuus, my tekenwerk is maar woes

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I have posted this before in another post, way back, but my set up was not too successful.

Marius, the flow is correct. Remember, There are three inlets and the waterfall.

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There are two outlets, the bottom drain and the top drain that ends up in a small sedimentation tank. As far as I can see, there are no "dead" areas.

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So, no problem with the flow. If the waterfall is off, then all the debris land in the top drain and the surface is clean.

The problem is, with the waterfall on, it "pushes" the surface rubbish away and the surface doesn't look clean.

So, I need a "divider" between the top drain and where the water splashes.

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I used this pipe in the past- with water and air, but it did not do the job properly. Any ideas? Less water in the pipe (I fixed it with fish line to the sides), perhaps a log or even some perspex just behind the top drain

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So, this is the location where I need something. I let some water out to work today around the pond. I put some chicken mesh on top for the time being, what do other people use?

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What about adding something like a rectangular flower box below the waterfall (with the sides a few cm above the water)? You can cut away the bottom of the box and maybe one hole on the side facing the venture. You will not spoil the looks of the waterfall and at least the water flow will not push the debri away from drain.

I would use the plastic diamond mesh that you can buy from a nursery or hardware store to cover the drain. It can't rust away

Sort of off topic ... that planter system you have in your waterfall will become one annoying source of contamination as time goes by and will get more severe during thunderstorms and heavy down pours.

Why dont you clean all soil out of it, plant some yellow irises in there that is only held in place by fairly large stones ?

I didn't get comments about my complicated/crazy filter system, so I have added some more info/sketches

My filter system after I rebuilt the pond: (Remember, I tried to keep the bio media alive- the water was crystal clear when I removed the koi from the Portapool

I thought of posting my filter system- probably too many "extras", with the individual areas to small. My water is not yet 100% clear, but I see some algae along the sides of the pond. My water tests are absolutely fine.

I have basically two systems, and the system might be difficult to follow. But I've posted quite a few pics. Some are very "hand-made", especially my trickle tower!

The basic system

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Bottom drain:

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Combines with another pipe (more detail later) and into the sand filter system. I am not a LG- backwash and stir every weekend! (although I must really get a lid without screws)

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Back into the pond:

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Relatively straight forward.

The other system(s) a bit more complicated:

Top drain from the pond (still need to change the mesh):

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Into small sedimentation chamber, enters only half way and I have added a cone like area to the bottom. The idea is that a circular motion is created with the sediment going to the bottom.:

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Another system:

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A submersible drain pumps water to this "box". Pieter didn't like the box, as there is a possibility of stagnant water, but I'm not so sure of that. When I installed the box, the water clarity improved dramatically. I clean the foam every 3-4 weeks.

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From the "box" to the flower container (remember, it is a top to bottom approach in the flower box) with PVC pipes at the bottom, forming a rectangle and with holes in that rectangle so that water circulate upwards, until it exists from the top.

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And now the up and down... (The last wall has a big hole at the bottom)

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And the water goes to the sand filter.

Not finished yet- a cheap Trickle Tower:(Any ideas of a nice box system that I can enclose this, with racks and an outlet at the bottom?)

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Some media layers:

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Any thoughts, changes, advice will be welcome. Please be critical!

That is probably the most complicated setup I have ever seen. Wow.

Do you really need all that?

Probably not, but the single sand filter and UV light did not do the trick. I filled the sedimentation chamber full of bio media, and since it sucked from the bottom, my water was never clear. The "box" did the trick, but as I read on a trickle tower and some plants sounded interesting.

For the last two summers, my pond was crystal clear. Electricity wise, it is only two submersibles and the pool pump. Hopefully, one will eventually get rid of the pool pump, as that draws heaps of electricity. Gravity does a lot of work.

Anything you would eliminate??

I just read Chris Neaves' post

Quote :

What do you have inside the sand filter? How many bags of gravel did you put into it?
Suggestion if you have 3 - 5 mm gravel then change it for 6mm zeolite. This is lighter than gravel and back-washes easier.

Has anyone got experience- it would be easier to replace the sand.

• What is the price?
  Does anyone have experience using it in a normal pool filter?

I am not so sure if I should continue using the Venturi

As people know, apart from the waterfall and the Venturi, I have 2 other sources of oxygen.
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Second source of O2 (Any ideas how to convert this home-made trickle tower to something decent? I am looking for a nice plastic box(es) where I can put racks in, with an outlet?) (At this stage of the year, not too expensive)

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Third source of some O2- not muck splashing here)

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With the Venturi on, this is the picture:
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Now, the pipe that provides the Venturi with air keeps on falling out. Without the pipe that supplies air to the Venturi, this is how the water looks:

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Have most people still got Venturis and if I leave the air pipe out, but keep the Venturi in, I suppose the pressue in all 3 pipes will remain the same?? Is this correct?

The water is so much calmer without the Venturi, but I'm worried that the oxygen supply will not be enough, because the only source of O2 is from the waterfall and the other 2 pictures.

Cat among the pigeons??

(Any opinion on Zeolite in the post above?)

Waterfall a much better source of degassing, remove the venturi.

Jaco, as ek die venturi self gaan verwyder, gaan ek net 2 inlets daar he. Sal die meeste water dan nie by die boonste pyp uitkom nie en die onderste pyp omtrent niks nie? Of sal ek net die "lugpyp"verwyder, wat sal maak dat daar steeds drukking bo is vir sirkulasie onder??

Verwyder net die suigpyp bo aan die venturi.

Gedink dit is die beste.

Dankie Jaco- net 2 vissies oor!!

I have relooked at my post about my confusing filter system and changed the post a bit- any comments would be welcome! The system is on page 14

One year later- my pond leaked a while ago and I had some minor problems. Tron Marx did a lot of the work and we got there! (he gave me a 7 year guarantee)

The major leak was in the pipe between the pond and the chamber (caused by roots).
We sealed all inlets/outlets in and from the pond, he used a BASF cement product to paint the walls and painted Waterblok, I think. No leaks up to now.

We also added some natural rock. I am very pleased! (Most of the plants are still young and I lost a lot of my old plants with the black frost). The plants near the waterfall are planted in gravel.

I will post this one with the current lay-out and the next post with my filtration problem.

Please advise me on plants.

The waterfall faces south and the wall faces west-enough afternoon sun and we did not have enough space for lots of soil.

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Please send me ideas, also how to "hide" the feeding ring and the inlet bag.

Albie

I like the rocks. Lovely

Hi Albie,

Very nice setting. I would use the water from the pond via selenoid/time system to irrigate the plants, you will be amazed at the growth.

As far as the feeding ring goes I would use a polystyrene sheet (20 - 30 mm thick ) with 20 mm holes 100 mm apart, planted with herbes and salad in the holes. The polysyrene can be any shape with a hole in the centre used for feeding.

Hi Albie,

This looks very neat and clean, as you say the plants are young, give them a chance to grow a bit, you don't want to overdo it. Remember you stil have to be able to catch your fish from time to time.

Am a bit concerned with the rocks if I see correctly, wont the fish injure themselves against the rocks. I know that Anver has a simmilar setup and his Ogon got injured rather badly recently.

But it looks good from here.

Thanks for the comments!

I am actually quite pleased with the end result, as long as I can get that "trellis" covered, because it is still an eyesore. But it was very much needed to get some privacy and the previous summer it did grow a lot.

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Neville, I never really thought of the possibility of injury to the fish, but so far so good. Luckily they haven't been jumping. You made a good point!

Quote :

I would use the water from the pond via selenoid/time system to irrigate the plants, you will be amazed at the growth.

Colin, please explain this a bit better- is this for the plants under the wall/trellis (? As I said before, the plants on the waterfall is planted in gravel, with no ground. The plants below the wall, have got relatively shallow 'passage" between the rocks and the wall. This is filled with potting soil, but cannot drain into the pond.

Quote :

As far as the feeding ring goes I would use a polystyrene sheet (20 - 30 mm thick ) with 20 mm holes 100 mm apart, planted with herbes and salad in the holes. The polysyrene can be any shape with a hole in the centre used for feeding.

Colin, I'm also not 100% sure about your feeding ring. Is it basically polysterene with a biggish hole in the middle for feeding an the edge has got holes in it where I plant lettuce, etc. So the roots of these will hang in the water? Is this correct? Do you paint the polysterene and do you perhaps have a photo that you can post?

With regards to getting my biofilters going again, do you believe in the "bio activators"? I think most of my bacteria would have died in the process.

When I have time, I will post my filtration system and problem

Keep well and keep our juniors on the track

Albie

Hi Albie, just to add to Colin's comment about the watering of the plants. I have seen in the Pretoria area they make use of mist or fog sprayers (very fine) to cool th environment. This would be great if you could install a small pump using pond water to spray that mist over the leaves of your plants, at set intervals, I think you will be amazed at the results.

albie wrote:

With regards to getting my biofilters going again, do you believe in the "bio activators"? I think most of my bacteria would have died in the process.

I think Bao Bio Clear is a great product for a filter system. Normal maintanance is critical but this product will help you to restart a system and dont cost that much