Yogas pond build and improvements with YouTube Video of his pond from Indonesia.

Yogas pond build and improvements with YouTube Video of his pond from Indonesia.

I’m a bit wondering why my pH now is around 6.7-6.8 while previously it was always around 7.0-7.3. I am assuming it is due to heavy rains.

If you’re having lots of rain right now in Indonesia like we are having snow (30 days of it this year and counting) then that will drive the pH down from acidic rain if you do not have enough puffers in your water to stabilize it and bring it back up again.

A Sand Prefilter has been added to Yogas’s pond and all Japmats in chamber three of his chamber filter (Chamber filters are like that of an Eric Filter or a Shinsuke Bio Sponge filter has chambers.) have been replaced with four more BCB’. The Sand Filter needs to be backwashed daily and at the same time it will use about 5% of his water to do this backwashing but then this now becomes a water change. This kills two birds with one stone, water change and filter cleaning with the turn of a valve. This technique of using a Sand Filter or Bead Filter before the AFS is nothing new and I show other ponds that use this same periodical of prefiltering.  His YouTube video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry0xaRgW-Is will show you how he did it. You will also notice in his video how clean his water is with an ORP of 420 mV and TDS of 73 ppm and his pond is protein bubble free now, unlike his earlier photos he sent me before the AFS.

 http://anoxicfiltrationsystem.blogspot.com/2013/11/yogass-pond-modifications-and-anoxic.html

 

There is a new product being offered here in Indonesia, developed by a professor from Japan. Its called “Shinsuke Bio Sponge and Filter Sand Bacteria” developed by Prof. Yamamura. It claims that Filter Sand Bacteria contains several types of Facultative Anaerobic bacteria and combined with the Shinsuke Bio Sponge it can also do the denitrification process. Well, for me this product is not anywhere near the convenience of the AFS, even it can do what it says it can for at least 3 reasons, which is price, the obligation of lifting and cleaning the sponge every 2 months or so and also the obligation of periodically adding more Filter Sand Bacteria. I’m also skeptical on how a “flow-through” media, of any type can create an anoxic condition without clogging. But anyway, it is seems people are getting more aware of this Facultative Anaerobic Bacteria's importance in ponds in taking out nitrates and I believe a lot of this should be credited to you.

Your last paragraph about Shinsuke Bio Sponge Filters and Filter Sand Bacteria developed by Professor Yamamura is interesting enough to warrant a look-see. Bio-sponges have been around far a very long time in the aquarium hobby and that would be some 40 years now. The Facultative Anaerobic Bacteria that you add to the filter could also be used to seed an AFS to speed up the cycling process. That is always a big complaint with people about the AFS that it takes so long for the bacteria to establish themselves, at least in the hobbyist eyes that is.

You’re right in thinking that the sponge will clog if water is being forced through it by mechanical means…they always do it’s inevitable! I think they still sell a Bio-Ball with a small Bio-sponge in the center of it. It came out about ten years ago for the aquarium hobby to be use in wet dry filters as a medium for the water drip / spray bar dry chamber. It didn’t make commonsense to me because you are trying to prevent the clogging of the filters media not add something that will make it clog faster. The Bio-balls have an open face surfaces for a reason, to aid in the resistance of clogging. Then you have the replacing of the sponges when it reaches the end of its life [Ed: I notice that my sponge in my prefilter only last about one season before it will need replacing.] and at what cost is it to the hobbyist? I also don’t like the thought of adding bacteria or inoculating the Bio Filter Sponge every few months when cleaning the filter out, this would stress the Koi until the bacteria established themselves once again. We all know how perishable goods are; the price for the bacteria is never the same year from year and once they got you hooked, too bad for you! I can see this Shinsuke Bio Filter to be a moneymaker not like an AFS that becomes a dead-end once you build it.

I found some photos of the medium used in the Shinsuke Bio Sponge Filter and the porewater and permeability of the sponge is wrong for Anoxic condition to exist without aerobic bacteria taking over and becoming the domination bacteria. The filter would have to be very specialized in construction with water velocity and oxygen being controlled along with micro detritus elimination…but I see by the periodic cleaning of the filter every two months that it’s not. I think we had something like that in the U.S. A. but it didn’t win the hearts of the American hobbyist because cleaning was too difficult. I hate to say this but; it looks like a Bio-falls Filter or Aquascape’s filter and they are a pain to clean.

Your right Yogas, just a few years ago no one heard of Facultative Anaerobic Bacteria in pond use and today it looks like everyone may try to jump on the money bandwagon. The trouble is making enough cells to do the job they’re supposed to without the media going too aerobic or anaerobic and not adding more cost to the hobbyist to keep it in an Anoxic state. I think everyone will agree that if someone can find a way to charge you for an idea then they will. An AFS is a do-it-yourself filtration system that has very low maintenance and very extensive longevity. How one wishes to elaborate on a AFS is their business and makes the hobby a lot more interesting when you see all the good ideas that are used.

Shinsuke Bio Sponges from Internet photo.

Bio Sponges used in aquariums have been around far a very long time now. The photo depicts one of many kinds hobbyist can buy but none are really used in pond applications.