Having kept koi in the UK for 35 years, this is a very good filter system, and is much used by the japanese. Aeration is great, and different materials can be used in each level as desired, such as filter matting on the top two layers, which prevents the lava rock from clogging too much. Zeolite could be added to the bottom base layer too. The trickle tower needs to be inside a large container, otherwise the wind will cause water loss over time, and you may think your pond id leaking ! Only other problem over time is that the spraybars will clog; over-size holes will help. I use the same system myself.
+Mike Bradbury also good for aquariums, just modify a little and downsize to suit tank size. I am currently using an above tank trickle which was only a project to see how they worked and was then making sump trickle ('wet/dry') but this above tank trickle worked so great that I got a bit lazy and havent made the other filter still lol. Purely functional and not attractive BUT, have since come up with ideas to turn this basic concept into a beautiful water feature (think water falls etc)....but, for the moment I will stick with practical/functional ugliness (until the next artistic mood strikes lol).
+Mike Bradbury thanks for the information very helpful and makes me hopeful I can achieve an effective filtration system. I've since learned about biohome media, bio balls, and bakki filtration system. in your video you are only using lava rocks with no other media like pads, biohome ,or ceramic. 'm trying to narrow it down to a system either lava rocks..lava with pads, lava with biohome media. you also mention lava rock residue clogging the system and the wind blowing the water away... how effective is just the lava rocks. Since this post you may have updated your system and worked out a few bugs. Before I invest can you rate each system and what are you currently using
Hi - found your video very clear and informative. I have a small pond with about 10 small (gold) fish outside. Based on your video I built a smaller prototype since I love the simplicity of your design. Most people I know with a smallish outside pond don't worry about any type of pond filter. Thanks for posting !
hi, i am from Croatia.I like your video.We dont have lava rocks.The only similary what we have is small balls made from clay,for bricks,they have a lot of small holes,end they are cheap.They used for decoration arround the flowers
I might just have to try to concept. I have a Koi & Goldfish pond less than a year old. I am using a stock tank for my 11 fish. I love this idea of easier maintenance. Thanks for the video.
Are you running any other filter media with this or do you just have the main sludge vortex and this as your filter media? Im sure you're running UV light, right? I found pepsi crates but they are half the size of yours. Can I use them since you only seem to clean the first two trays after a 1.7 years? I'm thinking I may have to clean the first four or so.
Brady , i priced up Lava rock here in the Phillipines and its about 2 dollars per kilo ,, But im not sure how much of it i will need for my pond , or how many stacks high for my Open air / trickle filter ,, pond is 27 ft long and 3 ft deep ? Please help with your advice on that one . thanks
how big is the pond in this video, I thought it was stated 2000 gallons. If my pond pump puts out more than 1200 gallon per hour, will that be a problem? How many GPH could this filter handle?
The pond was about 4000 to 5000 gallons and heavily stocked. Right now I'm using the same trickle filter on a 3000 gallon pond that has about 40 koi that are 6" to 22". So many variables to consider though,... like how much feed, what kind of feed, and the buffering capacity of the water.
I think this will depend on what region you are in, and what temperature range the bacteria are accustomed to, or suited for. Here in my area filter bacteria function seems to decrease dramatically around 45 f,... but the Koi are also slower, and not eating much at that temp. too.
Thanks for the info. I'm started up a Trickle Filter but the weather here in Ireland has been around 50-70f past few weeks. Just wondering if that might slow the progress down.
Hi, we have a 15,600 gallon pond (was a swimming pool) in Hawaii. It currently has no filtration system and is very dark green. It does have thriving koi and a turtle. I see that you suggest that the water be pre-filtered before using this system. What is the best and least expensive way to do that and not harm the fish. We cannot take them out of the pond. Ideas?
Yes a skimmer is good in most situations, to keep the water surface clear of debris, to get the debris early before it sinks into the pond, and to keep the surface water turning over all the time for better aeration.
Hi Craig, yes the added oxygen it produces is a huge benefit in warm water, which also reduces the potential for the pond going anaerobic,... Also the trickle tower acts a little like a radiator which can help cool the water. I think in a warmer tropical environment I would be careful that the water is pre filtered before the trickle tower so organics don't build up.
Hi!! I admire your creativity and all.. My only question is, how do you get you water to go to the top of the tower again from the pond? or can anybody help me?
+Joseph Stephen Paspe Hi, the water is pumped from a settling chamber connected to the bottom drains of the pond, and up to the top of the trickle filter. Many thanks for watching. Brady
+Brady Brandwood Hey i got a question, what do you think of bio balls vs lava rocks when it comes to effective filtration?? Learned a lot from your video btw..
+Jerum Distura Hi, I think both accomplish the goal of providing surface area for beneficial filter bacteria to grow on,... bio-balls are more expensive, and I like that lava rock is heavier and stays in one place, rather than tumbling and shedding off the bio-film,... also I personally feel bacteria tends to grow on an earthy natural surface better than on a plastic surface. Let us know if you find any results for one over the other yourself. Many thanks, Brady
***** I think you're right. I just bought a 300 gallon wet/dry trickle filter from ebay for my 75 gallon goldfish tank and am expecting my shipment this coming week to aid filtration since my goldfishes poops a lot, a little too much for my puny overhanging filter to handle lol. I am planning on replacing the bio-balls to lava rocks that's why i ask. I think i will either switch these bio balls to lava rocks or any other extremely porous ceramic media available on the market with more surface area for more aerobic bacteria to cling on.. Hey thanks for sharing Brady.
This is the most useful, efficient and practical video I have encountered on this topic. Thanks Brady!
Many thanks Alexander.
Having kept koi in the UK for 35 years, this is a very good filter system, and is much used by the japanese. Aeration is great, and different materials can be used in each level as desired, such as filter matting on the top two layers, which prevents the lava rock from clogging too much. Zeolite could be added to the bottom base layer too. The trickle tower needs to be inside a large container, otherwise the wind will cause water loss over time, and you may think your pond id leaking ! Only other problem over time is that the spraybars will clog; over-size holes will help. I use the same system myself.
+Mike Bradbury also good for aquariums, just modify a little and downsize to suit tank size. I am currently using an above tank trickle which was only a project to see how they worked and was then making sump trickle ('wet/dry') but this above tank trickle worked so great that I got a bit lazy and havent made the other filter still lol. Purely functional and not attractive BUT, have since come up with ideas to turn this basic concept into a beautiful water feature (think water falls etc)....but, for the moment I will stick with practical/functional ugliness (until the next artistic mood strikes lol).
+Mike Bradbury thanks for the information very helpful and makes me hopeful I can achieve an effective filtration system. I've since learned about biohome media, bio balls, and bakki filtration system. in your video you are only using lava rocks with no other media like pads, biohome ,or ceramic. 'm trying to narrow it down to a system either lava rocks..lava with pads, lava with biohome media. you also mention lava rock residue clogging the system and the wind blowing the water away... how effective is just the lava rocks. Since this post you may have updated your system and worked out a few bugs. Before I invest can you rate each system and what are you currently using
Hi - found your video very clear and informative. I have a small pond with about 10 small (gold) fish outside. Based on your video I built a smaller prototype since I love the simplicity of your design. Most people I know with a smallish outside pond don't worry about any type of pond filter. Thanks for posting !
Best filter yet I've found on TH-cam. Thank you!
theo1029 Awesome, thanks for watching.
I thought it was going to be a tickle filter! I was looking forward to seeing what that would be.
hi, i am from Croatia.I like your video.We dont have lava rocks.The only similary what we have is small balls made from clay,for bricks,they have a lot of small holes,end they are cheap.They used for decoration arround the flowers
Good information, well presented. A bit slow when looking at the top tier filter, but otherwise the video flows well.
I might just have to try to concept. I have a Koi & Goldfish pond less than a year old. I am using a stock tank for my 11 fish. I love this idea of easier maintenance. Thanks for the video.
can you discuss about airlift pump also? it is economical also saves a lot from using submersible pump
Thank you Tien Le, much appreciated!
Brady
Are you running any other filter media with this or do you just have the main sludge vortex and this as your filter media? Im sure you're running UV light, right?
I found pepsi crates but they are half the size of yours. Can I use them since you only seem to clean the first two trays after a 1.7 years? I'm thinking I may have to clean the first four or so.
Brady , i priced up Lava rock here in the Phillipines and its about 2 dollars per kilo ,, But im not sure how much of it i will need for my pond , or how many stacks high for my Open air / trickle filter ,, pond is 27 ft long and 3 ft deep ? Please help with your advice on that one . thanks
What is the rock name or we can use other means of rock like gavel or aggregate.
how big is the pond in this video, I thought it was stated 2000 gallons. If my pond pump puts out more than 1200 gallon per hour, will that be a problem? How many GPH could this filter handle?
The pond was about 4000 to 5000 gallons and heavily stocked. Right now I'm using the same trickle filter on a 3000 gallon pond that has about 40 koi that are 6" to 22". So many variables to consider though,... like how much feed, what kind of feed, and the buffering capacity of the water.
At what low temps does bacteria die?
I think this will depend on what region you are in, and what temperature range the bacteria are accustomed to, or suited for. Here in my area filter bacteria function seems to decrease dramatically around 45 f,... but the Koi are also slower, and not eating much at that temp. too.
Thanks for the info. I'm started up a Trickle Filter but the weather here in Ireland has been around 50-70f past few weeks. Just wondering if that might slow the progress down.
Hi, we have a 15,600 gallon pond (was a swimming pool) in Hawaii. It currently has no filtration system and is very dark green. It does have thriving koi and a turtle. I see that you suggest that the water be pre-filtered before using this system. What is the best and least expensive way to do that and not harm the fish. We cannot take them out of the pond. Ideas?
On top of what u see in the video, add japanese mats on the 1st few layers. ( stack higher with j_mats) so u can wash the j_mats regularly every week.
nice Video it has given me some good ideas thanks
Can we use aac blocks or Clay bricks as filter media as both are porous?
hi Brady would you recommend a skimmer added to filtration system.. for lava, debris and scum
Yes a skimmer is good in most situations, to keep the water surface clear of debris, to get the debris early before it sinks into the pond, and to keep the surface water turning over all the time for better aeration.
is this filter ok for Big ponds in tropical countries ?
Hi Craig, yes the added oxygen it produces is a huge benefit in warm water, which also reduces the potential for the pond going anaerobic,... Also the trickle tower acts a little like a radiator which can help cool the water. I think in a warmer tropical environment I would be careful that the water is pre filtered before the trickle tower so organics don't build up.
would a plastic storag drawer be ok for this?
Hi!! I admire your creativity and all.. My only question is, how do you get you water to go to the top of the tower again from the pond? or can anybody help me?
+Joseph Stephen Paspe Stupid or what ???
+Joseph Stephen Paspe Hi, the water is pumped from a settling chamber connected to the bottom drains of the pond, and up to the top of the trickle filter.
Many thanks for watching.
Brady
+Brady Brandwood Hey i got a question, what do you think of bio balls vs lava rocks when it comes to effective filtration?? Learned a lot from your video btw..
+Jerum Distura Hi, I think both accomplish the goal of providing surface area for beneficial filter bacteria to grow on,... bio-balls are more expensive, and I like that lava rock is heavier and stays in one place, rather than tumbling and shedding off the bio-film,... also I personally feel bacteria tends to grow on an earthy natural surface better than on a plastic surface. Let us know if you find any results for one over the other yourself.
Many thanks,
Brady
***** I think you're right. I just bought a 300 gallon wet/dry trickle filter from ebay for my 75 gallon goldfish tank and am expecting my shipment this coming week to aid filtration since my goldfishes poops a lot, a little too much for my puny overhanging filter to handle lol. I am planning on replacing the bio-balls to lava rocks that's why i ask. I think i will either switch these bio balls to lava rocks or any other extremely porous ceramic media available on the market with more surface area for more aerobic bacteria to cling on.. Hey thanks for sharing Brady.
hey if i post a vid of my 3 koi can you guess what they are?
I would leave the algae...I think it is all part of a natural system and probably is helping as well with the nitrates.
MELODY MUNRO I agree. So many people hate algae but within limits I think it can be beneficial.
Thank you for your videos
what are the causes why my koi die??
what can other mediums be for filteration like those lava rocks
Jonah Rai Any biological media...
Good guitar solo at 10:36.
thanks we want another video about filter please
Good vid
Is this Baz Luhrmann..... everybody free ...to make a trickle filter !!!!
Joking aside...good instructive video .....trust him on the sunscreen !!
Nice Video... Thank You...:)
Thanks
so basically you just separate layers to add oxygen. Leave the lid off
MrTruthislight Submerged versus open air are still very different.
Cool!
nice
DIY filter is best filter because it is cheap 😀
UV Sterilizer....Dont get a cheap brand. Compare prices online.
koi is hubby fish not for dinning fish unlike tilapia for business too.
u need the UV light
Bigeiz free is nice
matija..daj mi mail molim te :)
u need a skimmer
7:12 gross