The filtering media is simply called k2 media. Usually bought it large quantity’s for large filtration. There’s also k1 and k3 for various sizes etc. pool sand may work too, but this media is very well known in large systems and very well trusted so I went with what most people go with hence the lack of explanation as most building this size setup already know of or already have the media. The swirling effect ensures full coverage on all the media. And with that much media it should easily handle 6-8000 gallons of water without flaw
@@AquatikGuruTheoretically, if you had a 5000 pond, could you use a 275 gallon food grade tote? And would it take (2.5 x 5) 12.5 cubic feet of K1 Bio media? Space saving measure. 😃
Yes just cuz the bioload was equally as large in my case. That’s why I installed the drain on the barrel. It allowed the barrel to catch all the nasty stuff and I could just start draining as I filled the pond simultaneously
You always want your outlet pipe bigger just in case to prevent clogging and the possibility of the barrel overflowing. Especially when indoors. 600+ gallons is a lot to pump onto a floor.
I've seen this design a few times, the only thing I dont like about it is that there isn't any mechanical filtration. Have you had any issues with that aspect of it?
No because I ran a separate filter for water polishing aka mechanical. That being said, if I had made another outlet drain and ran a second pump up over the barrel with a filter sock it could have been mechanically filtered that way as well.
Also the way the flow is designed in this filter the heavy sediments settle to the bottom where I open the barrel drain valve to empty out majority of the heavy solids and sediment from the bottom of the filter
That makes sense, thank you. I'm using this design on a 450 gallon acrylic that already has overflows built in to it, been trying to figure out how im gonna do it but what you said helps alot, thanks. New subscriber
@@AquatikGuru I run a similar but smaller version of this with k1 in the swirl filter. Though I think the aeration might just pull the particles back up to the top. I use the k1 add the biological but it also does some mechanical as well. 🤷♂️ I'll have to look into your method and see if I get different results. I might run some air but not from the complete bottom.
The oldest is a year and 6 months have had him since 3”. The youngest is 1 year. And the hybrid I’m unsure. When I got him he was around 14” but for a hybrid he could be any age. I’d assume around 1 year to year and a half.
@@AquatikGuru yea they are. I'm glad I got them. I'm in the process of building them a pond out of pallets and a pool liner. All's I have to do now is glue the liner up and hook up my pump and make sure it holds up before I put them in.
@@gagecota8182 I actually used uniseals. You just shove the pvc pipe through it and it creates a seal with uneven surfaces without glue and such. I’d be nervous to use them with glass but with something like this barrel, they work GREAT! not a single leak even with a 1500 gph pump. When you buy the uniseals some will come with a paper that tells you the exact sized hole saw to use.
Majority of the particulates stay at the bottom of the barrel just due to how I directed the flow and drain system. That’s why I installed the valve on the bottom that allows me to drain the lower half of the barrel quickly. And let me tell you what, it works AMAZING! That being said, ideally I wanted a filter sock on the input but never got around to it with the pool pond. Now the new setup will include that as well as a description of why and how
I was using a 850 gph with this build. Also ran a 500 gph on a tetra pond filter box. When I built this thing, I wanted a 1500 gph but couldn’t find one so I went with what I had haha.
It’s okay for a third stage but your using it wrong . Technically you have a pond not a tank you have large fish and need to filter the poop that little box you have before the pump isn’t going to cut it unless you’re thinking it’s going to sink to the bottom of the barrel so you can flush it . Some will but not all and you don’t want that waste matter in with your biological and you don’t have anyway of polishing your water. Just my thoughts. Maybe try a second barrel before that one with a chamber below four sizes of rock n sand to get the waste out by rising up threw that then to the biological barrel. Just a little advice not trying to discredit your design or anything I did gain a tip from it with the shower drain part I liked that.
With this design, the pond flourished. I did filter the water, but the barrel trapped 99% of the waste that I would syphon out much like syphoning an aquarium. I’d just leave the pump running with water being added to the pond I would syphon the waste out of the barrel. After that, I’d add a polishing box filter i diy built to the pond of any fine particles right next to the big filter pump so it would have extra flow to filter the particles. Thank you for your advice tho. I didn’t explain this build or the process I used for full success as well as I thought
Not enough in depth information The K1 stones? Too much going on with the other projects I didn't mean to critique your video. But there is not enough information on several items. Seems you know wheat you are doing, but for the novice. I need dimensions of heights of pipes and other items relative building this.
With that it boils down to how you or others set theirs up. Many people build a small stand for the filter so they would need to adjust accordingly etc. I thought about sayin the pipe dimensions as far as length goes, but it would have lead to a lot of people cutting theirs too short vs how I had mine set up.
Sick build, i may have to make one just like it!
Trafish Aquatics I’m absolutely loving it so far! Just need more air!! Hahah!
Heck yeah man. You will never have ammonia or nitrite issues ever! Lol. That was a ton of k1
Poseidon’s Pets yea it was 2.5 cubic feet lol. Should handle the pond just fine haha
Pump working hard🥵
Lasted over 2 years before I had to sell it all to move. Pump still works to this day
New fallowed today thanks man
Thanks you!
Very nice, is there any chance that the 55 gallon barrel will clog and then overflow?
Yea there’s always a chance,
New sub alert 🚨
Thank you!!
Bro epic!!!!
Thank you
OK, don't understand the filtering medium, which you didn't mention in your inventory. I was actually looking at pool sand. Thx
The filtering media is simply called k2 media. Usually bought it large quantity’s for large filtration. There’s also k1 and k3 for various sizes etc. pool sand may work too, but this media is very well known in large systems and very well trusted so I went with what most people go with hence the lack of explanation as most building this size setup already know of or already have the media. The swirling effect ensures full coverage on all the media. And with that much media it should easily handle 6-8000 gallons of water without flaw
How big of a pond would this accommodate if you have heavy fish load?
I’d say safely 600-1000 gallons with proper water changing
@@AquatikGuruTheoretically, if you had a 5000 pond, could you use a 275 gallon food grade tote? And would it take (2.5 x 5) 12.5 cubic feet of K1 Bio media? Space saving measure. 😃
Yes you could! My favorite part about doing this is creativity and that sounds fun!
Do you still need water changes with this much biological filtration? Great video
Yes just cuz the bioload was equally as large in my case. That’s why I installed the drain on the barrel. It allowed the barrel to catch all the nasty stuff and I could just start draining as I filled the pond simultaneously
Nice viedos bro
Thank you! 😁
Does your inlet pipe necessarily need to be smaller that your outlet pipe or could it all be 1.5 inch pipe?
You always want your outlet pipe bigger just in case to prevent clogging and the possibility of the barrel overflowing. Especially when indoors. 600+ gallons is a lot to pump onto a floor.
Where did you order 2.5 cubic feet of K1? How much was it?
From eBay. It was a pond supply place. Can’t remember the cost I believe it was around $75
I've seen this design a few times, the only thing I dont like about it is that there isn't any mechanical filtration. Have you had any issues with that aspect of it?
No because I ran a separate filter for water polishing aka mechanical. That being said, if I had made another outlet drain and ran a second pump up over the barrel with a filter sock it could have been mechanically filtered that way as well.
Also the way the flow is designed in this filter the heavy sediments settle to the bottom where I open the barrel drain valve to empty out majority of the heavy solids and sediment from the bottom of the filter
That makes sense, thank you. I'm using this design on a 450 gallon acrylic that already has overflows built in to it, been trying to figure out how im gonna do it but what you said helps alot, thanks. New subscriber
Thank you for the support! Glad I could give you some positive reinforcement!
@@AquatikGuru I run a similar but smaller version of this with k1 in the swirl filter. Though I think the aeration might just pull the particles back up to the top. I use the k1 add the biological but it also does some mechanical as well. 🤷♂️ I'll have to look into your method and see if I get different results. I might run some air but not from the complete bottom.
What about the potential for back pressure or back flow
I installed a large check valve on the inlet tube in case of pump failure.
Where you buy that pond
A long while back from Google searches
Nice video brother. How old are your redtails.
The oldest is a year and 6 months have had him since 3”. The youngest is 1 year. And the hybrid I’m unsure. When I got him he was around 14” but for a hybrid he could be any age. I’d assume around 1 year to year and a half.
@@AquatikGuru oh ok nice. I have a red tail and a tiger shovel nose. They are about 7 months.
Donald Cool nice they’re awesome fish!
@@AquatikGuru yea they are. I'm glad I got them. I'm in the process of building them a pond out of pallets and a pool liner. All's I have to do now is glue the liner up and hook up my pump and make sure it holds up before I put them in.
Donald Cool nice! Can’t wait to see it up!
How did you deal the bulk heads to the barrel?
Seal the bulk heads*. Did you use the pvc glue or what?
@@gagecota8182 I actually used uniseals. You just shove the pvc pipe through it and it creates a seal with uneven surfaces without glue and such. I’d be nervous to use them with glass but with something like this barrel, they work GREAT! not a single leak even with a 1500 gph pump. When you buy the uniseals some will come with a paper that tells you the exact sized hole saw to use.
Hi how the filter working?
I no longer have large fish but it worked amazing for almost a year
so what filters out the particulants? I didn't see any sponges or such
Majority of the particulates stay at the bottom of the barrel just due to how I directed the flow and drain system. That’s why I installed the valve on the bottom that allows me to drain the lower half of the barrel quickly. And let me tell you what, it works AMAZING! That being said, ideally I wanted a filter sock on the input but never got around to it with the pool pond. Now the new setup will include that as well as a description of why and how
Wat lph pr gph pump are you using
I was using a 850 gph with this build. Also ran a 500 gph on a tetra pond filter box. When I built this thing, I wanted a 1500 gph but couldn’t find one so I went with what I had haha.
It’s okay for a third stage but your using it wrong . Technically you have a pond not a tank you have large fish and need to filter the poop that little box you have before the pump isn’t going to cut it unless you’re thinking it’s going to sink to the bottom of the barrel so you can flush it . Some will but not all and you don’t want that waste matter in with your biological and you don’t have anyway of polishing your water. Just my thoughts. Maybe try a second barrel before that one with a chamber below four sizes of rock n sand to get the waste out by rising up threw that then to the biological barrel. Just a little advice not trying to discredit your design or anything I did gain a tip from it with the shower drain part I liked that.
With this design, the pond flourished. I did filter the water, but the barrel trapped 99% of the waste that I would syphon out much like syphoning an aquarium. I’d just leave the pump running with water being added to the pond I would syphon the waste out of the barrel. After that, I’d add a polishing box filter i diy built to the pond of any fine particles right next to the big filter pump so it would have extra flow to filter the particles. Thank you for your advice tho. I didn’t explain this build or the process I used for full success as well as I thought
Not enough in depth information
The K1 stones? Too much going on with the other projects
I didn't mean to critique your video. But there is not enough information on several items. Seems you know wheat you are doing, but for the novice. I need dimensions of heights of pipes and other items relative building this.
With that it boils down to how you or others set theirs up. Many people build a small stand for the filter so they would need to adjust accordingly etc. I thought about sayin the pipe dimensions as far as length goes, but it would have lead to a lot of people cutting theirs too short vs how I had mine set up.