Any others using a Skippy style filter?

[DavidM[_1_]]

(It's a bottom fed, top outlet housing, filled with course floor
scrubbing pad pieces. http://www.skippysstuff.com/biofiltr.htm)

I've been using a homemade Skippy with my small 1000 gallon pond for
about two years. It's a vast improvement over the previous Oase filter,
it would need constant cleaning during the summer. The new Skippy is
happy to run all season without much attention, and maintains good water
quality.
As a biofilter it cannot be faulted. However, one downside is that the
filter medium does not provide sufficient mechanical filtration to trap
and remove silt from the water. As a result my pond has been murky for
quite a while.
Of course the reason the old filter needed such regular cleaning is that
the fine partials were blocking it's fine filters. That in mind, I would
be interested to know if others using the Skippy filter have a method
for removing dissolved solids such as silt, that wont cause blockages.
Perhaps I need to use a higher tank for the filter, in order to achieve
some more gravity driven sedimentation, or maybe even sand in the bottom
to trap particles... any thoughts?
regards
DavidM


--
DavidM
www.djmorgan.org.uk

[drsolo]

use polyester fiber. but dont put it in a side chamber and divert only some
of the water there. my veggie filter doesnt do well with fines either until
later in the summer when the roots really get to the bottom and the fines
are what I clean up outof the veggie filter in fall. Ingrid


"DavidM" > wrote in message
...
> (It's a bottom fed, top outlet housing, filled with course floor
> scrubbing pad pieces. http://www.skippysstuff.com/biofiltr.htm)
>
> I've been using a homemade Skippy with my small 1000 gallon pond for
> about two years. It's a vast improvement over the previous Oase filter,
> it would need constant cleaning during the summer. The new Skippy is
> happy to run all season without much attention, and maintains good water
> quality.
> As a biofilter it cannot be faulted. However, one downside is that the
> filter medium does not provide sufficient mechanical filtration to trap
> and remove silt from the water. As a result my pond has been murky for
> quite a while.
> Of course the reason the old filter needed such regular cleaning is that
> the fine partials were blocking it's fine filters. That in mind, I would
> be interested to know if others using the Skippy filter have a method
> for removing dissolved solids such as silt, that wont cause blockages.
> Perhaps I need to use a higher tank for the filter, in order to achieve
> some more gravity driven sedimentation, or maybe even sand in the bottom
> to trap particles... any thoughts?
> regards
> DavidM
>
>
> --
> DavidM
> www.djmorgan.org.uk
>

[G Pearce]

That is what I use - mine is a 45 gal drum, with ~ 32" high return
bulkhead - most of the water is crystal clear by the time it rises up 32"
through the media. I intend to install a skimmer and that would probably
help your situation
Gale :~)
> (It's a bottom fed, top outlet housing, filled with course floor scrubbing
> pad pieces. http://www.skippysstuff.com/biofiltr.htm)
>
> I've been using a homemade Skippy with my small 1000 gallon pond for about
> two years. It's a vast improvement over the previous Oase filter, it would
> need constant cleaning during the summer. The new Skippy is happy to run
> all season without much attention, and maintains good water quality.
> As a biofilter it cannot be faulted. However, one downside is that the
> filter medium does not provide sufficient mechanical filtration to trap
> and remove silt from the water. As a result my pond has been murky for
> quite a while.
> Of course the reason the old filter needed such regular cleaning is that
> the fine partials were blocking it's fine filters. That in mind, I would
> be interested to know if others using the Skippy filter have a method for
> removing dissolved solids such as silt, that wont cause blockages. Perhaps
> I need to use a higher tank for the filter, in order to achieve some more
> gravity driven sedimentation, or maybe even sand in the bottom to trap
> particles... any thoughts?
> regards
> DavidM
>
>
> --
> DavidM
> www.djmorgan.org.uk
>

[DavidM[_1_]]

G Pearce wrote, On 20/03/2007 15:32:
> That is what I use - mine is a 45 gal drum, with ~ 32" high return
> bulkhead - most of the water is crystal clear by the time it rises up 32"
> through the media. I intend to install a skimmer and that would probably
> help your situation

I think that is where my filter is failing. The water only reaches a
hight of ~15", so there is a pretty short path to slow down the
suspended material. Perhaps I need a different tank for it.

The skimmer would have it's work cut out in my pond. Last summer we
accidentally introduced a couple of tiny floating pond weeds. (2-3"
thread roots and three small leaves) The pond was covered in it after no
time at all.

--
DavidM
www.djmorgan.org.uk

[DavidM[_1_]]

drsolo wrote, On 20/03/2007 15:08:
> use polyester fiber. but dont put it in a side chamber and divert only some
> of the water there. my veggie filter doesnt do well with fines either until
> later in the summer when the roots really get to the bottom and the fines
> are what I clean up outof the veggie filter in fall. Ingrid

The problem with a fibrous filter is that it will clog and require
cleaning, which was the problem with the previous set up. I suppose it
could be laid on top of the main filter media as the last layer before
cascading back into the pond.
Does your veggie filter contain any earth, or is it purely a hydroponics
system? Which plants are best, ones that put out a really dense mat of
roots?

--
DavidM
www.djmorgan.org.uk

[drsolo]

polyester batting is so cheap I toss it. but yes, it needs to be last in
line and not really "in line" either.
veggie filler is purely hyroponics. I put a roll of something at start of
flow to catch bigger stuff and slow the flow. I have a mix of flower pots,
water celery and Cyperus. both celery and cyperus develop those dense mats.
http://weloveteaching.com/mypond/changes/changes2.htm Ingrid

"DavidM" > wrote in message
...
> The problem with a fibrous filter is that it will clog and require
> cleaning, which was the problem with the previous set up. I suppose it
> could be laid on top of the main filter media as the last layer before
> cascading back into the pond.
> Does your veggie filter contain any earth, or is it purely a hydroponics
> system? Which plants are best, ones that put out a really dense mat of
> roots

[Reel McKoi]

"DavidM" > wrote in message
...
> drsolo wrote, On 20/03/2007 15:08:
>> use polyester fiber. but dont put it in a side chamber and divert only
>> some
>> of the water there. my veggie filter doesnt do well with fines either
>> until
>> later in the summer when the roots really get to the bottom and the fines
>> are what I clean up outof the veggie filter in fall. Ingrid
>
> The problem with a fibrous filter is that it will clog and require
> cleaning, which was the problem with the previous set up. I suppose it
> could be laid on top of the main filter media as the last layer before
> cascading back into the pond.
> Does your veggie filter contain any earth, or is it purely a hydroponics
> system? Which plants are best, ones that put out a really dense mat of
> roots?
======================
I find the roots of Pickerel and Parrot's Feather do a great job in the
veggie-settling-tank. Once a month I flush the muck from this tank. It has
a bottom drain. The plants are not potted in soil - just gravel. The roots
of the Pickerel and PF are soon all through the tank. It's a 40g I think,
and the pond is 2000g.
--
RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. USA
~~~~ }<((((*> ~~~ }<{{{{(ö>

[Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe]

"DavidM" > wrote in message
...
> (It's a bottom fed, top outlet housing, filled with course floor scrubbing
> pad pieces. http://www.skippysstuff.com/biofiltr.htm)
>
> I've been using a homemade Skippy with my small 1000 gallon pond for about
> two years. It's a vast improvement over the previous Oase filter, it would
> need constant cleaning during the summer. The new Skippy is happy to run
> all season without much attention, and maintains good water quality.
> As a biofilter it cannot be faulted. However, one downside is that the
> filter medium does not provide sufficient mechanical filtration to trap
> and remove silt from the water. As a result my pond has been murky for
> quite a while.
<...>

Turn the water flow down? The slower the flow rate the more stuff will be
"trapped". Mine accumulates a lot of muck over the season.

--
Geoff
The Sea Hawk at Wow Way d0t Com
remove spaces and make the obvious substitutions to reply by mail
When immigration is outlawed, only outlaws will immigrate.

[drsolo]

"soil" is composed of different fractions. My students do soil
fractionation in one of their labs. The sand and silt drop down out of
water in 30 minutes or so. The clay, when sitting undisturbed, takes up to
48 hours to settle out so it wont settle out of moving water. Clay can be
precipitated out of water with aluminum sulfate.
http://govdocs.aquake.org/cgi/reprint/2003/1201/12010320.pdf
Al2(SO4)3 + 6H20 = 2Al(OH)3 + 6H+ + 3SO42-
however, it is acidifying so dont use it unless your water is pretty hard
already. Ingrid

[DavidM[_1_]]

drsolo wrote, On 21/03/2007 13:10:
> "soil" is composed of different fractions. My students do soil
> fractionation in one of their labs. The sand and silt drop down out of
> water in 30 minutes or so. The clay, when sitting undisturbed, takes up to
> 48 hours to settle out so it wont settle out of moving water. Clay can be
> precipitated out of water with aluminum sulfate.
> http://govdocs.aquake.org/cgi/reprint/2003/1201/12010320.pdf
> Al2(SO4)3 + 6H20 = 2Al(OH)3 + 6H+ + 3SO42-
> however, it is acidifying so dont use it unless your water is pretty hard
> already. Ingrid

I'm interested in trying this. The water in our part of the UK is pretty
hard, but I would want to have some lime ready in case the pH dropped
too low.
Would you does the pond with Alum to the suggested 10-30 mg/l in a
single application, or over a few hours/days? If a pH test showed that
the level was down to below pH 6, would you treat with lime immediately
or wait to see if the hard water buffered the change over a few hours.

The PDF suggests 20 mg/l as a lime content to aim for, would dosing it
at 5 mg/l be gentle enough to avoid high pH spikes?

My pond is only about 3500 l, so I'm worried about shocking the fish and
making them ill.

Regards
DavidM


--
DavidM
www.djmorgan.org.uk

[drsolo]

yep do it gradually checking the pH. right, dont shock the fish with sudden
pH changes. just a little at a time, 5 mg/l sounds right. Ingrid

"DavidM" > wrote in message
...
> Would you does the pond with Alum to the suggested 10-30 mg/l in a
> single application, or over a few hours/days? If a pH test showed that
> the level was down to below pH 6, would you treat with lime immediately
> or wait to see if the hard water buffered the change over a few hours.
>
> The PDF suggests 20 mg/l as a lime content to aim for, would dosing it
> at 5 mg/l be gentle enough to avoid high pH spikes?
>
> My pond is only about 3500 l, so I'm worried about shocking the fish and
> making them ill.
>
> Regards
> DavidM
>
>
> --
> DavidM
> www.djmorgan.org.uk
>