Yes, this filtration system gives everyone the opportunity to have their cake and Ice-cream and eat it too!

Yes, this filtration system gives everyone the opportunity to have their cake and Ice-cream and eat it too!

Hi Jonathan, 

  As far as pre-filters go, you can use whatever you think will do the job and keep maintenance to a minimum.  My pre-filter is nothing more than some Hardware Store drainage parts that serve me well. However, I have a small pond and once a week I clean the pre-filter because of my big fish and overfeeding of such. 

   Yes, this filtration system gives everyone the opportunity to have their cake and Ice-cream and eat it too, at a reasonable price, that’s if the availability of the parts are easily obtainable. Here in the U.S. they are, but as time goes on not every country is so incline to have the Kitty litter and Laterite with such easy accesses as the U.S. hobbyists does (look at the Italians and you’ll see what I mean). The better the pre-filter the cleaner your water will be going into the Anoxic Filter and the faster you can get the waters mass from point A to B; it will make a big difference in how the filter will get the ions out of the water.

Special request

By request from one of my blog readers: I will this weekend give detailed instruction on how to build my pre-filter with photos. Basically, it draws water from its top through filter mats/pads that catch detritus and then sends the pond water on to the Anoxic Filter; simple but effective for small ponds and fast pumps. 

The Beta testing pond and my pond both use the same pre-filters on our ponds. We tried about seven different small store bought pre-filters and none of them were as good as the in-pond homemade one we came up with through testing.  The only reason we stuck with a homemade pre-filter Vs. a store bought one is cost, the speed at which you can pass water through it ( 6000 gph) with the least amount of resistance on the pump and room availability. Plus we have the same size ponds that are small (1200 US gals) and all test needed to be conducted with a constant of using the same equipment.  

Caution: Please do not try (bottom photo) this with a convention filtration system or try and duplicate what I’m doing in my testing pond. Be kind to your animals and don’t overcrowd them. This is for demonstration purposes only and I do not advocate overcrowding ones pond!

Kevin

This very early April photo shows very large Koi (17 in all) in my small testing pond. Onlookers could not believe their eyes how such large Koi could possibly live in such a small pond, yet even with all this proof people would still think it couldn’t be done! Healthy Koi in such a small pond…no way! But here it is and here is the proof that it can be done. To give you a size comparison the Biocenosis Basket in the center of the pond is 25” in diameter.

Furthermore, if for some reason your pump continues to run and doesn’t know its pumping water out of the pond instead of into the Anoxic Filter, the water will only go as far as the top of the pre-filter then the suction of air from the top vents will stop the flow of water. That extra 14” of height will leave enough water in your pond to save your Koi’s life. It’s happened to me on more than one occasion.  However, if your pump sits directly on the bottom of your pond, them all the water in the pond will be sucked out, I have also seen this happen, too.  

So, make sure that all skimmers and pre-filters are design with a float cutoff switch or a safety devise built into their design so they don’t empty your pond by accident. Be very careful of bottom drains that suck water from the bottom and have no safety precautions built in. 

 Also remember, pumps are designed to push water not pull water through them. The longer your plumbing is from the pump, the more likely it will become air locked. Another thing that will help in cutting down resistance is to have the incoming pluming bigger that its exit plumbing if you’re trying to pull water more than 6’ from the pump. Example: If you have a 2” pipe coming out of your pump then at least have a 3” pipe going into your pump even if it only has a 2” feed. All you’re doing is using the laws of physics to aid in stopping your pump from becoming air locked and utilizing your pumps full pumping capacity with as little hindrance from incoming friction as possible. Friction and pipe bends are the biggest reason pumps do not pump to their fullest capacity.  

Unlike conventional filters, the Anoxic Filter needs water to pass through it faster than restricted governed filters do. Pond and filter needs to become one, not separate entities like most filters and ponds are. Test show this will always give you the most favorable results in keeping TDS low and redox high.  You see there is a reason to my madness!