we both know that bacteria do convert nitrates to nitrogen and release nitrogen which
is a gas. other bacteria (like in nodules of nitrogen fixers) fix nitrogen gas to
ammonia for use of the plant. the way it was stated would mislead people which is
why I corrected it. you are right, I didnt have the quoted section "in hand" but
what I summarized it said is substantially correct.
I would hope anyone would correct something I misstated.
I identified Jo Ann as the person who said this several times. She was reporting
that more than just a couple people were bringing her their defunct bead filters and
dying or dead fish. that is part of what she does for a living, she is a fish
diagnostician.
wrong. drip filters are not "sealed" and dont develop anaerobic problems. I am
going to visit Jo Ann, will take pictures of how much work it is to clean one of
those Big Sisters they use on their ponds. And I dont HAVE to bend over to clean my
veggie filter ... it sits on top of my pond. all I have to do is reach in with my
wet dry vac and remove the crud as I drain it ONCE A YEAR in fall as I remove the
plants cause I move em inside. I dont have to do that, but I want the plants inside,
most of them are tender. now why in the world would I recommend anything that needs
back flushing more than once a year when they can vacuum clean it just once a year?
and NO MEDIA is needed, just a bunch of plants.
what farms? are they online? got email addresses?
heavily loaded koi ponds are ticking time bombs. I sure dont recommend anyone
stocking their ponds so heavily that they actually need some high tech filtering to
keep wastes manageable. the problem with high tech is it requires vigilance and
maintenance, and shit happens and people simply cannot cope or they go on vacation
and whoever takes over cant handle the technology and Murphy's law takes over. all
summer long my maintenance is simple. feed the fish, make sure the pump is pumping,
top up the water. sit out next to the pond with coffee in the morning and watch em.

and I am going to continue to recommend avoiding bead filters and recommend easier
low tech methods!!!! Ingrid

"Gregory Young" wrote:
"to allow anaerobic conditions to occur in the deeper soil layers,
which allows for the reduction of nitrates back to nitrogen, which is more
efficiently utilized by all the plants"