Hi Stephen. In this video when I turn off my pond pump I show a tap in the main line from the pump which I turn off to stop any back flow to the pond and avoiding drawing any media from the first tub into the pipe, which works fine. But when cleaning my filters the other day I thought what if there is a power cut. The tap will be open and there will be back flow to the pond. This tap needs to be replaced with a one way (non-return) valve and that will solve the problem. Will let you know if I think of anything else. Terry.
Nice job. But use that drain water on your lawn and flower beds. Best natural fertilizer ever. Just reposition that drain hose a few times during flushing.
Hi m8, I do run the water from the filters all around my garden in the summer. I only put it down the drain if the ground is soaked because we've had a lot of rain. In this case I put it down the drain to make it easier for me while doing the video. Thanks m8, Terry.
You sir are a genius I have a pond of around 2300 imperial gallons and it is in full sun. I have tried for years to get the water clear with no success. I think your filter looks like something I could make but I'm going to go through all you video first. Thank you so much for posting this and sharing your design. All the best Tony
***** Thank you Tony, you're very welcome. Have you tried my website. diypondfilters.com you will find all the information on my system there along with all my videos. Plus a lot more. Have a look and tell me what you think. you can contact me from the website. Terry.
I usually do put it on my garden, but it's not easy making a video at the same time, so I put it down the drain. Have you seen the new Pro system I've brought out. Check out my website. diypondfilters.com Terry.
Hi Craig, Thank you. Have you seen my new Pro filter? It's the up-grade to this Mk1 Master filter system. Checkout the Pro system on my channel. I think you'll like it. Thanks, Terry.
Hi Eric, Thank you. Have you seen the new filter build. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-b4T8TkRTXAo.html There is lots more on my website as well diypondfilters.com Thanks, again Terry.
A fascinating video, my home made pond filter is very effective (small pond) but moving to a far bigger pond, devising fool proof filter designs is great fun.
Hi,Thanks, Have you seen the new system? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-b4T8TkRTXAo.html You can see all my videos at diypondfilters.com Take care. Terry.
Hi Warren, and thank you. Have you seen the update of this system. click this link: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-b4T8TkRTXAo.html you can find out all the details on my website diypondfilters.com plus there's everything about fish and ponds there. Thanks again, Terry.
oh man. love your bio filter system. Although it can be simplified . My pop taught me ALOT before he passed. He ran a 2 stage system . He had an upper koi pond around 700 gallons down a creek bio bed to a square 400 gallon koi pond down another bio bed to the 20k gallon koi pond with a DIY system that cost around $600. It also was part of a system that killed algae without using chemicals. I currently have his system updated it a little. and have 14 BIG koi . My ponds are in direct sunlight for a minimum of 10hrs a day. NO algae.
Hi Darron, Sounds a really good system. I have up-dated this system since this video. Here's what I've done. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-b4T8TkRTXAo.html Thanks, Terry.
it's not a bio filter if you are rinsing and cleaning the bio media.. a true biofilter shouldn't need much or any attention, besides a yearly maintenance if properly scaled and set up.
@@cwkhonda oh brother..... please, share your video of your bio system. First you say it shouldn't need any cleaning, well maybe once a year. Where do you think poop goes? LoL filtering your system and Cleaning bio medi is fantastic for your plants and even better for the health of your fish.
Hi Ian, Thanks, Now for some reason the Reply button on your comment won't work. The grey pipe is 63mm 10 bar PVC solvent weld and I used 40mm pre-filter cages on the drains. All my video's, building instructions and parts plus lots more are on my website diypondfilters.com It's worth a look m8. Terry.
Thank you sir🤝 i saw you almost videos. I know you are genius in the bio filter. I have small doubt 1 uv light dnt kill all good bacteria? 2 how many time working this filter in a day???
Great video and design. Couple of questions if I may ask please? With the moving bed I’ve seen other videos similar and they all seem to produce loads of foam. Do you have this problem? Finally is it possible to add foam media to the moving bed to maximize space for the good guys? Thanks if you have a minute to reply
Hi Roy, and thank you for your kind comments. You do need to use a lot of air in a moving bed, as the aerobic bacteria your trying to produce, need plenty of air to thrive. Foam on a koi pond can happen when the balance of the water is thrown out of sink. The cause of this frothy build-up, is typically due to an accumulation of organic matter, from things like overdue filter maintenance, insufficient filter size, lack of aeration, and also overfeeding. If the pond water quality is good, there should be no foam anywhere. I have never had any foam on my pond or in my moving bed unless it's from a treatment I've added, but it's soon gone. The idea of using the K1 filter media is that it's self cleaning, and with the correct air supply, the moving bed is also self cleaning. The moving bed I am running at the moment, keeps my pond completely free from ammonia and nitrites, which as you will know, can be lethal to koi if not dealt with. I haven't had to clean my moving bed since I fitted it 3 years ago. I wouldn't add anything to a moving bed, as it could interfere with the nitrogen cycle. I must say, I wouldn't run a koi pond without a moving bed. Hope this helps mate, Terry.
Hi and thank you for your kind comments. This is an old video, and this filter has been updated a couple of times now. This is the first update: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-b4T8TkRTXAo.html It has sice been updated again, and you can find the details on my website diypondfilters.com thanks again, Terry.
Thank you for this upload. Very nice system. I live in Thailand and used a pressure filter until today. It works but I have to clean weekly. Now I am going to copy your system. Do you have something like a schedule with measurements? It would be a great help. Thank you very much.
Hi Ed, I didn’t draw any plans, I just built it in my head first, Sorry. I can tell you some of the sizes. Approx 45 gallon tubs. The pipes connecting the tubs are 2½ inch solvent seal pressure pipe. The bulkheads for these were drilled approx. 11 inches down to centre, from the top of the tub. The bottom drains and taps are 1½ inch solvent seal pipe. The air pipes are hard plastic push fit so that they don’t float. I used 100ltr K1 media bought on E.bay for £130.00. That’s all I can think of at the moment. Sorry. If you need to know anything else just let me know. Terry.
Thanks Terry! I guess that your air pipes are going way to the bottom barrel. The only thing I would change in the design of your system is an extra barrel for waste water what could be used to water my tropical garden. But first things first .... I have to hunt for the K1 media. I guess I have to do it with the china made version. K1 is not available here in Thailand. Importing it is because of high taxes to expensive. Cheers.
Hi Terry, Yes I received it. Thank you so much. We are making some changes in our garden here in Thailand. After that will have our family from Holland visiting us for a month or so and after that I will start to build the new filter. In the mean time I can find all the stuff I need to build the filter. When ready I will send you a pic. Thanks again. Regards , Ed
Hi Great video. i have a 5 multi chamber filter and i am going to fill the last three chambers with k1 and larger media, fit an air cleaning system through the winter as this system will be shut down. i use matting at the moment and cleaning is a mess. let you know how i get on. i run my waste around the garden instead of down the drain. I know i said i am shutting down the filter, there is a second filter running off a skimmer that runs on reduced flow through the winter.
Hi Julian, I would be very interested to know how you get on. I got a lot of pleasure from designing and building my filter system and the reward when it works is well worth it. The big thing I wanted to get away from when building the new filter was having to clean all that foam and bio balls that really did not smell nice at all and made so much mess. Here is a link you might find useful About K1 and the new K1 micro media. Hope it may be of some use to you when choosing your media. www.koi-zone.co.uk/Pond-Filter-Media/Kaldness-Filter-Media-sc-632.html Thanks, Terry
Jack Smith Hi Jack,Thanks, Do you mean when I'm cleaning the filters and stir the media? If so, There is a air pipe going to the bottom and out to the centre of the tub, and the air that keeps the moving bed going then goes to the tub I want to clean when I open the tap. The air rising through the media agitates and stirs the media to clean it. This is shown in the drawings on my website diypondfilters.com if you look under the tab ''My Filter Build'' it shows where the air pipe is in the tub. Hope this helps m8. Regards Terry.
Thank you. I have since built an up-grade to this system if your interested ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-b4T8TkRTXAo.html Thanks, Terry.
great videos Wrighty.i myself am looking to build another filter currently using 3 60 ltr drums with a mix of brush for heavys then jap mat then bioballs and k1, i had problems with flow at first ,using 40mm solvent then found i had to add an extra pipe to each barrel to stop the overflowing. the question i have is what size is the grey pipe. and what have you placed on the drain at the bottom of barrel to stop the media washing away. cheers Ian
Wow... great filter system and explained very clearly. Nicely done! I'm looking for a gravity-fed filter setup with the pump after filters so I'm not sure if it will work for me or not. One question on your auto-fill. Do you have chlorinated water and if so do you need to use a charcoal filter?
Hi Aron, Thank you. The pro system I've built can be built as a gravity fed system. It works exactly the same as this one but has been updated. You Can see it here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-b4T8TkRTXAo.html details about it are on my website diypondfilters.com the small amount of water the auto top up puts in at a time is a very small amount. thanks again, Terry.
Hi Kathleen, The water rises up through the media and the dirt gets caught by the media. It then passes through the next tub which catches anything the first tub misses, which then goes to the bio tub and the clean water is returned to the pond. Hope this helps, Terry
+Tony Le Hi Tony, Thank you, The airline is just 3/4 inch pipe down to the bottom of the tank and goes out to the middle. If you need to know any more it's all on my website. diypondfilters.com hope this helps. Terry.
If pond dimension are correct (21 x 15 x 4 ft) then gallonage is incorrect, nearer to 8000 gallons if measurements are correct. Filter systems a beauty, by the way. 😉
Hi Dave, Thank you, This is a very old video. I have moved since and have a new pond. The new filter using this system is the Pro Mk2. There are details of it on my website diypondfilters.com Regarding the gallonage, The measurements you have are the overall size. There are 2 sets of plant shelves that come out 14" each, all the way round the pond and the 4' is only a small area of the pond. the rest is 2'. Terry.
Hi toyspeed71 Yes the white pipes are an overflow and return to the pond. I put them in as a precaution, just incase something happened as the filter was a new idea and untested then. To put my mind at rest at the time. Thanks for your nice comments and good luck with the build. If you need to know more visit my site diypondfilters.com it's all there and you can also contact me there as well. Thanks Terry.
I see that your inlet pipe from your pond going to tub1 is located at almost at the top..Will there be a diffference if you put your inlet pipe higher or at the middle or bottom?
Hi Julian, the reason for the inlet pipe going in at the top is because it use to be a swirl tank. The best place for the inlet is 1/3rd of the way up the tub. Terry.
Awesome job on the filter 👍 do you think this would work with hel-x instead of K1? I have a 2 Barrel filter running on my 6000 liter pond with brushes in first and hel-x in the second. Cleaning thise brushes is always a mess. If this would work with hel-x, then i would replace my brushes with it.
Hi Daniel, To be honest I've not used Hel-X so I really don't know for sure. depending how your filter is designed It would work with K1 which I must say is a lot easier to clean. Have you seen the updated version of this filter ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-b4T8TkRTXAo.html you can find all the details on my website diypondfilters.com Hope this helps.
hey there ol'mate love your work, great looking system, i have 2 questions what size air pump are you using, and does this system have to run down hill ? i have a raised pond i built from bessa blocks and a big water fall, i need to pump up hill 3 mtrs ?
Hi Jamie,Thank you for your nice comments.No it can be built as a gravity fed system as several have with great success. Wow that's quite a high waterfall. The air pump I use is a 35 lph pump. You can find the plans on how to build this system and the others on my website diypondfilters.com Hope this helps. Terry.
Hi Serdar, The air pump I used was an Air 2000. it pumps 35 lpm. The update to this filter system is here, ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-b4T8TkRTXAo.html Thanks, Terry.
Thank you. Have you seen the latest updated version: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-b4T8TkRTXAo.html You will find all the info on my website diypondfilter.com thanks, Terry.
I get the cleaning etc...nice easy system ....what about the pond pump itself...what are you using for that and how often you have to clean that. I find mine gets clogged though the filter system i'm using at the moment isn't coping ...green water, blanket weed which is why im looking at making bigger. Hopefully then I shouldn't have to touch the pump.
Kel On Tour Hi Kel. Do you have a UV light on your pond? If so it's not working if you've got green water. The algae you will have to treat to kill. I use a Blagdon Hybrid 16000 submersible pond pump. When I'm vacuuming the pond I go over the pond pump with that and that seems to keep it clear. Terry.
Hi KingFish, The only thing I think I would have done different is to set the centre outlets in each tub 3 to 4 inches lower. That would make the water level that bit lower in each tub and give me that little bit more room in the top of the tubs. I do water my garden from the filters, that's where the flexible hose comes in handy. But when I made the video we had had a lot of rain and the ground was soaked. Hope this helps m8. Thanks Terry.
Hi, I would like to know if this design would be useful in an indoor recirculating system? I am trying not to spend too much money. I don't see much different between the filter you built and those that are in the market for indoor recirculating aquaculture systems. the ones in the market are extremely expensive.
Hi Phaby, I must admit I'm not too farmiliar with recirculating aquaculture. What I can say is that this system works flawlessly on all size ponds. It has been used on fish farms and turtle farms with gerat success. I would recommend the new Pro system I have which is the latest design of this system. You can find it on my website diypondfilters.com along with the building plans. There is also videos and customer feedback there as well. You can contact me at pondfilters@gmail.com Hope this helps. Terry.
Thanks, the thing is i'm doing research and i see the ones that are commercially available includes the same things as the ones people build on youtube. Thanks for your respond.
Hi Alex, It depends how much dirt you have coming up from the pond, but usually once a week. There is an up-grade to this filter, the Pro Mk2. this is an old video. You can find it on my website diypondfilters.com
Jeffrey Pinard You're welcome, I use an Air 2000 air pump, but I don't think they make them any more. It's over 3 year old now. It pumps about 33 lpm. and is 20w. I would get something slightly bigger. You want something around 40 to 50 lpm. Bigger if you want to run air stones on your pond as well. All my video's are on my website diypondfilters.com Terry.
Great system you've got here! Just wondering, are you not worried about flushing away too much of the beneficial bacteria in the filter? I mean, it is a biological filter, right? I thought the K1 was supposed to look dirty and with slime in the "pockets" when it was fully functional? I have no experience with K1, however.
Magnus Tjønn Hi Magnus, Thank you, The static bed is mechanical and the moving bed is biological. The reason for keeping it moving is to knock off the dead bacteria to make room for new live bacteria to grow. that way the live bacteria thrive. If you go to my website diypondfilters.com there is a page about K1 media. Here is the link: diypondfilters.com/media-information/ Hope this helps. Terry.
Wrighty Ah, that clears it up a whole lot! I thought only the first one was mechanical, so i didn't quite understand the reason to have one still and one moving. But now i do!
Id rather just buy a second hand nexus 200 or 210 off ebay, you can get them cheaper than what it would cost to buy all the gear and the time to make all this ... good job though, they obviously work.
Hi, Thank you, the New Pro system is equal if not better than the Nexus 360 and depending how well you shop around can be built for less than £250.00 It can also use the new K1 Micro where as the Nexus can't. The new Pro filter build of this system can be found on my website diypondfilters.com Have a look and see what you think. Terry.
Hi, I don't have a bottom drain at the moment, but I'm about to build a new pond and that will have one. I use a Blagdon Hybrid 16000 lph submersible pond pump that feeds the filters. Thanks, Terry.
Hi Kiro, This is the only filter you need. If you suffer with hair algae in your pond, then as with all filters, a pre filter helps. There is an updated version of this filter. You'll find it on my website diypondfilters.com thanks, Terry
Hi Nigel, back then I was using an Air 2000. 25 lpm. The air pumps I use now are the Jebao air pumps. I do show them in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mha4VW-tkEk.html thanks, Terry.
what about the bio? by flushing your media you are killing the natural bio filtration.. or you just using the media to catch the waste and just keep dumping and refilling?
Hi, any bacteria that has settled on the static media, will still be attached, just the same as in the moving bed filter. As long as you don't clean it with tap water, the media will be fine. It doesn't matter if there's no bacteria on the media in the static beds, as the moving bed will give you the bio filtration you need. Terry.
why are you not running that into your garden and onto your lawn. even trees could do with a good drink of water. what a waste of good fertilizer and water! great filter though!
hi its a good system but you have no biological filter system only mechanical ,ie filter mats sponges for bacteria for the nitrite nitrate cycle hope your fish ok and do you do water tests ,hope you not got any koi on that system
But. . .. sir. . . Where is the phisical filteration? That media is only for biological filteration. And as i know that if the media stuck by sludge or something could make decline the filteration efficiencies. Because the empty space which make beneficial bacteria lives in going to be closed.
Hi, this media can be used as biological or mechanical filter media, as used in the world-famous Nexus filters. The first 2 barrels in this filter setup are the mechanical filtration and barrel 3 is the biological filtration. These filters have now been built worldwide, with great success, giving fantastic water quality and clarity. This media has now been used in water purification for over 30 years. Terry.
Hi Mari, Have you seen the new pond? You can see the finished pond towards the end of this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8FpZpX_H0f4.html Thanks, Terry.
Hi Wayne, I do put the water on my garden normally but it's difficult to do that and make a video at the same time. I do show me doing this in this video ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tgBPxn8os9s.html Thank, Terry.
The water from the media should not be that dirty, water needs to pass through a poop filter. Once the water is filtered it goes to the media for example: poop filter/particle filter/settling filter/K1 media/ sand filter/uv filter/ and into the fish container.
Hi Neil, Thank you, I normally do, but its easier when making the video. Have you seen the latest design of this system? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-b4T8TkRTXAo.html thanks again, Terry.
