Where's the construction section! DOH!

[markhewer]

Please forgive me. I can't find the construction section to learn about how to build a DIY filter. :roll:

[Jackie Ramo]

You are in it


The Koi pond
Topics related to Design, Construction, Equipment, & DIY

[Dave in Innisfil]

Welcome to the Pond Crew.....

Ian seems to be the resident expert on pond filters and pumps, and gave me lots of great idea's. Unfortunately for a number of reasons, limited funding and time, I didn't follow thru with them (bottom drain). Because of the situation of our ponds and seasonal nature, it would be difficult to hide any sort of large external filter. The crew has convinced me I need one (2 ponds with combined 12,000 gallons, and increasing fish load), and I too am trying to come up with a single DIY 55 gallon plastic barrel filter. My DIY laundry tub skimmer worked well, and now I'm just modifying the the cosmetic part of it (damn ugly white tub in the pond just won't do...LOL)

I think the next time Ian has one of his pump and filter clinics I'm gonna have to clear my schedule and attend.

[markhewer]

Hi Dave,

How did you make a skimmer out of a laundry tub? :)

[Dave in Innisfil]

I took a used laundry tub, cut the front down three inches, and situated it in one of my "dead corners". Once solidly placed, I put a submersible pump on the bottom, and piled lava all around and over it. One the surface, I put two washable filter pads cut to fit the size of the tub. I plug the unit in for a few hours, and when I think the surface is clean enough, unplug and remove the pads for cleaning. I left the bottom drain hole open so that should the pond level drop below the front of the skimmer, it won't be pumped dry and kill my pump. Every few weeks or so, I remove the whole thing, wash the lava in vinigar, rinse thoroughly (well water is free here except the cost to pump), and re-install. Total cost (excluding pump) was less than $50. Lava in quantity is cheapest bought at garden supply centres for about 16 cents a pound compared to $1/lb at Cdn Tire. I still frequently use a pool skimmer net to remove large floating debris, but my DIY unit catches most of the poplar blossoms and pine needles that daily accumulate on the surface. Right now it's out of my pond for cosmetic modification (currently functional but butt-ugly) and I miss it. I'll try and get some pics once it's done and re-installed.

Many others have DIY skimmer concepts that work well. I just gleaned some info from them, and adapted their successes to my limited inventory of materials and cash on hand. I'm saving my money for real fish to replace the feeder goldfish I'm using as test subjects while I learn more about koi and their needs. For many reasons, we lost 99 % of our fish over the winter, but the largest problem was unfiltered water. I'm working on resolving this shortcoming as inexpensively as possible.

[markhewer]

That's awesome Dave! Way to go!!! http://www.markhewer.com/Photos/thumb.gif (http://www.markhewer.com)

[Jackie Ramo]

Dave, why are you washing everything out and why do you have lava rocks in there? If you are rinsing it with vinegar every couple of weeks it is not helping your bio at all. My skimer (factory built) has mats on top that I rinse daily or sometimes more often or less often... depending on the water and whats in it. Other than a net which I seldom have in the skimmer there is only the pump and the plastic bars to hold the mats away from the pump. Nothing to clean or remove except the mats.

I think you are working to hard here, I know you'd rather by on the bike!!

Mark, Dave has worked really hard rebuilding his pond and trying to save his fish. There is a thread here telling his woes.

[Dave in Innisfil]

Mark, there is a thread on this spring's "pondmare" at our house. Basically, we bought the house last year with a two-tier pond system, approximately 12,000 gallons, no filtration (suspect removed prior to our possession), and a lacking of basic koi keeping knowledge. Over the winter, and after years of plant decay build up on the bottom of the pond, the bubble burst and I had toxic levels of ammonia that wiped out all but one of our 100 plus koi and other assorted pond fish. The pond crew here has helped me immensely with suggestions, and I'm now, after re-lining and rebuilding our main pond, almost at the point where I'm considering the pond worthy of re-stocking. I'm an unemployedl DIYer with an array of miscellaneous pond equipment the previous owner abandoned, and am trying to utilize what I have or what I can get inexpensively rather than buy a commercial filter to handle the volume of water and anticipated fish load. The situation of my ponds makes locating two standard barrel filters difficult unless I either have long runs of underground piping, or accept the barrels as part of the scenery. Neither are currently acceptable, and I'm sticking with my test guinea-pig feeder goldfish and a few fancy goldfish until I can overcome my lack of proper filtration.

Yes, Jackie....too much work cleaning the lava so regularly, so I've devised stackable, easily removable liner for the laundry tub skimmer for cleaning. Another member of the club had suggested the lava rock as natural filtration, but probably didn't intend for me to make it part of my regular cleaning rituals. I'm still learning about the two types of filtration, and will probably use some kind of proper pond media in my yet-to-be-designed/built main pond filter. The DIY skimmer has been temporarily removed for modifications and I had to relocate the skimmer pump to the doggie pool which in this weather has been needed to be changed daily. If it ain't dirty fish I'm dealing with, it's dirty dogs...LOL.. Yesterday, all the dogs took duckweed baths in the farm pond, which made for a real unpleasant 2 hour drive home last night.

[Jackie Ramo]

Consider setting the filters right inside the upper pond and planting them. Hiding them isn't that hard.

The lava rock will act as bio media but needs mechanical filtration first. I have a strawberry pot in my pond that acts like a TT, it isn't big enough for the main pond but does a fab job on the small inside pond. You could use the lava rock to build a TT in the upper pond (tt= trickle tower filter) Most would never know it wasn't part of the water feature. Folks glue the lava rocks onto chicken wire and make towers.

[Dave in Innisfil]

You're not too far off from what I have in mind. The bottom pond pumps to a 1.5" PVC outlet in the top bog, where we think the previous owner attached a filter. I want to extend that pipe to some kind of one barrel filter I can disguise. Home Depot sells a green plastic rain barrel that is cosmetically appealing and is moulded with several drain outlets. I'm also considering one of those short stubby black composter containers which could sit below the water level. I checked out the aluminum stock tanks at the local co-op, and also some 200 gallon plastic water tanks. Neither unfortunately could be nicely hidden. I'm hoping to discuss some more DIY ideas with Ian the next time I can visit. My biggest problem still is getting the debris from the bottom of the pond to the pump's intake area without having to stir up the entire pond manually.

[Louis]

Hey Dave,
Princess auto has the float switches,
i put 1 on the pump in the collection tank
(where the water collects before pumping into the pond)
if the water level falls too low the pump stops, until
the water level fills up approx. 50 gallons
then starts again...i'll post pics under
new thread tonight...

Mark welcome, i researched almost 2 years before
digging, this is my first year with water..
see my 'no green on me' thread.

[Dave in Innisfil]

Since we added a 700 gallon inflatable swimming pool to our collection of leisure activities, the GFI'd outlet is manually alternated between the pond and pool daily. With the recent heat wave, evaporation is claiming large quantities of water beyond my normal leak. I saw those float switches at Princess Auto (my third favourite store behind Cdn Tire and Home Depot) and will no doubt add one to my final version.