Run hole saw backwards for a few moments. Just to establish a score line. Then drill it forward to finish. Best is to do the backward drilling on both inside and outside then finish in forward. This will almost eliminate burrs.
Definitely nothing is as cheap as it used to be with all the plumbing parts and supplies, but it's still way better than what a commercial built filter will cost. Great builds I'm likely going to take and use some of these ideas to build my my future expanded filtration setups
Love to see you experiment with lava rock in the 2nd barrel. It might be free flowing, so there's less back pressure created. Preventing 1st barrel from overflowing. Plus there's benifitial bacteria benifits....Great job building the barrel filters.
Great build. Rather than use large rocks to support the smaller rocks on top of them, why not use a plastic baffle as a strainer to fit the barrel? It would support whatever media you'd like to use. Right now your filter media is rocks but you could anything. For example filter floss for finer particles. Have 3 strainers to support the different types/sizes of media. Would make it easier to maintain the filter if you ever needed to. Also would make sure that there's no collapse inside the filter with the rocks shifting and then falling down. Just a suggestion.
@@yowheremybeerhennessey5415 Swimming pool filters use diatomaceous earth as a media. Even that eventually clogs if not cleaned. So the filter can do a backwash - reversing the flow of water through the media to get it to flush the excess dirt out. It would either have to be easier to clean the filter or have it do a backwash.
I really enjoyed your vid, great little home made filter set up, I have a Koi Channel myself in UK, I have just subbed you, very best wishes, Tony, Farmoor Koi😀
Great video and great information. Have you thought about drilling your holes prior to cutting the top off? The barrel will be way more stable and you will only need to clean it all up once.
OMG! EXCELLENT VIDEO! Thank you so much! You explained perfectly. Now I can fully build. Also can you list the smaller rock sizes. What's inside the barrels? I heard 3/4 minus and 1/4 minus?
Amazing video hope it's still standing the test of time as those barrels look quite thin! I've created the same with two wheelie bins and having one as a mechanical with jap matting and bio nano blocks and the other chamber as a live active bacteria bubbling away with an air stone and k1 and k3 media! Hope the uniseals live up to the job and do not require addition Sealeant but I may do for added peace of mind
I am going to set up an 8ft aquarium, about 1000 litres (about 240 gallons I think). I can easily put a couple of pipes through the wall to get outside the house. I want to set up a couple of barrels and make a filter a bit like yours outside the house. I live in a sub tropical climate so heat loss won’t be a big problem. Can anyone see a reason why it wouldn’t work? To me this looks like a much better (and cheaper) solution than buying two huge canister filters. What capacity pump would be suitable?
Am also thinking of doing a double bog filter for my outdoor koi pond. Been following Ozponds on youtube. I set one up today i really hope it works. i feel really guilty about the bad quality water. we already have a big amazon filter with uv lights but it hasn't worked. trying everything now. I love to learn from others :)
HELP please! We built this to the letter about 9-10 months ago. We've cleaned it three or four times using the water over the top rocks method. About three weeks ago, the pump failed. When it did, the entire filtration system fed back into the tank and by the time we found it, all but 10 fish were dead. They replaced the pump. But now, it won't filter like it used to. It's not sucking all the gunk to the bottom of the barrels. The water is almost black. We have water changed about every three days trying to fix it. We tried running water down through the rocks and out the bottom drain. We tried running water through the bottom drain and up through the rocks and draining via the top of the barrels. Still, it just won't come clean and/or filter properly anymore. We suspect that when the pump stopped a vacuum occurred and all the sludge sucked back through the system and into the tank. So we suspect the sludge is all through the media now and not just at the bottom of the barrels. Any idea how to fix this? We just got replacement fingerlings and can't even think about putting them in this tank.
Do you have a one-way valve going from the pump to the filter? It's always a good idea in case of a power or pump failure to prevent backflow from going back into the pond and causing an ammonia spike. As for the gravel, what kind did you use? Professional pond builders say to use the round river stone and pea gravel as they won't compact and hinder the flow through them. Crushed rock locks together over time and compacts and can clog up very quickly.
@@vanissaberg5824 Thank you for responding. We do not have a one-way valve. Where would we get this for 1-2inch PVC pipe? We used the huge river rock on bottom, then river rock about tennis ball size next step up. The smaller river rock about golf ball size. Then smaller ones. Then at the top, it "might" be crushed rock? It's probably about 1inch of it. So after I posted the initial help request, I kept flushing water from the bottom of the barrels to the top. I did this all day on both barrels until finally the water was coming up through the rock backwards, but clear. I also kept water changing the tank water until it was perfectly clear. I figure this had to of cleaned out these two barrels. NOPE. After running it for a couple days and with less than 10 fish left, the water turned dark brown to the point we couldn't see anything in it. We ended up letting most of the water out and running off a smaller tank pump and filter system. But it's not working either. About to lose the last few fish we have left. I have no idea why after cleaning these things out for the entire day, there was still so much waste in there to flood the tank again. I'm totally baffled.
@@tahrahhunt6750 you should be able to find a one-way check valve at most hardware stores or online. Some can come apart making it easier to disassemble if needed. As for the gravel that's a tough one. Is the waste making its way through all the gravel? In that case, you may want to add a layer of pond filter sponges on top to catch any remaining muck on top (assuming your filter flows from the bottom up) to polish the water. Alternatively, instead of using rocks and gravel, stuffing the barrel with plastic mesh such as scrap greenhouse shade cloth or plastic bottle caps and mesh fruit bags and pot scrubbies floating in the barrel can do the same thing trapping muck underneath and only the clean water comes through the top. Cleaning is as easy as stirring it up with a broomstick and draining it as normal and still gives your bacteria a place to grow. If you've given up on the rock, this is the solution I've done that's worked for me. Also a lot easier on your back.
Do you have issues with your 2nd filter not moving water in the the pond, while the 1st filter is pushing water into it? Currently my 2nd filter does not drain into the pond fast enough.
Is using rock way more difficult to clean out than using k1 media? I was in the process of building a inground pond but decided to wait till until after all the leaves fall off the trees. I will continue to build the filters and skimmer. This will be my first pond ever.
I'm probably down somewhere around 2500 GPH from 4500 GPH at the pump. Reduced to 1" and then head height takes me around 2500 GPH. But the pond it's on is under a thousand gallons, so it's turning often.
Would you possibly be able to give a material list in future videos? I’m trying to build this for my fancy’s but I had myself going back and forth to figure out what exactly I needed. Also what kind of pump are you using, figured if yours worked I might as well get the same
I tried to remember everything and put it in the description, but I will do a better job creating the list in the future. The pump I'm using is a Pondmaster amzn.to/3JIlzjg which is overkill for the job, but I already had it. I put two options for pumps I would recommend in the description for the video. I have both of those recommended pumps I use on different water features on my property.
Is that Koi bacteria good for tilapia too? Also, hopefully not a stupid question, but if you don't have media like sponge or something to catch the poop, how do you keep the poop from going right back into the tank? Also, what size fish is too small for the recommended pump? Some of our tilapia are still pretty small. I noticed you had a new bag of tilapia come in (at least I'm pretty sure it was you). What size pump do you use in your fingerling tank?
You can not run the pump when your Tilapia are that small. I learned the hard way. I would turn it off or better yet get a small fish tank setup and start your fry in the fish tank where you can watch them closer. I did this the last time I got Tilapia and I did not lose one of them. Once they were between 1" and 2" I moved them to the IBC tote. That pump is not a problem once they are the size listed above. But when they were around a 1/2" they didn't stand a chance with that pump. To the poop question. The gravel grabs the poop. That's why you need the small gravel up top. Then when you clean it like in this video ruclips.net/video/rI-mwQEI0sw/видео.html you wash the poo down and out into your yard.
Thank you. You always respond so quickly and with much detail. Did you happen to list somewhere what type of gravel and/or rocks you got and the best ways to find them at a decent price? Lowes and Home Depot are insane.
@@tahrahhunt6750 I do talk about the different grades of gravel I use in the build. But I don't mention where the best place is to get them. If you have a landscaping store around you they usually sell bags of gravel and those are the best pricing you can get.
@@BabblinginmyBackyard Oh, and you didn't answer if that Koi bacteria in your video is good for tilapia as well. I use that barley straw extract, but so far I'm still getting pretty green walls and dark water. Ugh.
That depends on your fish load and how often you are feeding them. I am just about to clean it for the first time since I set it up. I would say anywhere from once a month to once every six months. The longer you can let it go the better.
Great video with the best information.
At 28'
If you don't want to have reflexions when you are filming, use an umbrella.
Greetings from Belgium
Run hole saw backwards for a few moments. Just to establish a score line. Then drill it forward to finish. Best is to do the backward drilling on both inside and outside then finish in forward. This will almost eliminate burrs.
Definitely nothing is as cheap as it used to be with all the plumbing parts and supplies, but it's still way better than what a commercial built filter will cost. Great builds I'm likely going to take and use some of these ideas to build my my future expanded filtration setups
Right on
Yi
Most people use sand after the river pebbles/smallest aggregate. And then carbon charcoal/bio-char if you really want it really clean.
Love to see you experiment with lava rock in the 2nd barrel. It might be free flowing, so there's less back pressure created. Preventing 1st barrel from overflowing. Plus there's benifitial bacteria benifits....Great job building the barrel filters.
Drill the top holes BEFORE sawing off the lid. The barrel will be more rigid. Joe (UK, Manchester)
Man you uploaded this at the perfect time! There's only like two other videos using a two barrel system!
Phew! Glad to help.
Great build. Rather than use large rocks to support the smaller rocks on top of them, why not use a plastic baffle as a strainer to fit the barrel? It would support whatever media you'd like to use. Right now your filter media is rocks but you could anything. For example filter floss for finer particles. Have 3 strainers to support the different types/sizes of media. Would make it easier to maintain the filter if you ever needed to. Also would make sure that there's no collapse inside the filter with the rocks shifting and then falling down. Just a suggestion.
My rock filter has lots of clogging. I'm having a meltdown lol, this design is good but the rock has too go
@@yowheremybeerhennessey5415 Swimming pool filters use diatomaceous earth as a media. Even that eventually clogs if not cleaned. So the filter can do a backwash - reversing the flow of water through the media to get it to flush the excess dirt out. It would either have to be easier to clean the filter or have it do a backwash.
I really enjoyed your vid, great little home made filter set up, I have a Koi Channel myself in UK, I have just subbed you, very best wishes, Tony, Farmoor Koi😀
Great video and great information. Have you thought about drilling your holes prior to cutting the top off? The barrel will be way more stable and you will only need to clean it all up once.
That is a great idea! I will have to do that next time.
Exactly what I thought too!
Nice job. Although I think I’ll wait until plumbing supplies go down,I had sticker shock the other day at Lowes.
Prices for everything are horrible.
OMG! EXCELLENT VIDEO! Thank you so much! You explained perfectly. Now I can fully build.
Also can you list the smaller rock sizes. What's inside the barrels? I heard 3/4 minus and 1/4 minus?
Amazing video hope it's still standing the test of time as those barrels look quite thin! I've created the same with two wheelie bins and having one as a mechanical with jap matting and bio nano blocks and the other chamber as a live active bacteria bubbling away with an air stone and k1 and k3 media! Hope the uniseals live up to the job and do not require addition Sealeant but I may do for added peace of mind
Gracias por compartir sus experiencias.
I can only see part of the pond but I wonder if it is a little overcrowded. Each fish should have at least 250 gallons of water.
I am going to set up an 8ft aquarium, about 1000 litres (about 240 gallons I think). I can easily put a couple of pipes through the wall to get outside the house. I want to set up a couple of barrels and make a filter a bit like yours outside the house. I live in a sub tropical climate so heat loss won’t be a big problem. Can anyone see a reason why it wouldn’t work? To me this looks like a much better (and cheaper) solution than buying two huge canister filters. What capacity pump would be suitable?
Have you posted the cleaning video yet? Please provide link if so. :) We're building this tomorrow for our tilapia. Love the design. :)
I did! ruclips.net/video/rI-mwQEI0sw/видео.html This must mean I didn't add it to the end or the description. Thanks for the heads up.
Am also thinking of doing a double bog filter for my outdoor koi pond. Been following Ozponds on youtube. I set one up today i really hope it works. i feel really guilty about the bad quality water. we already have a big amazon filter with uv lights but it hasn't worked. trying everything now. I love to learn from others :)
HELP please! We built this to the letter about 9-10 months ago. We've cleaned it three or four times using the water over the top rocks method. About three weeks ago, the pump failed. When it did, the entire filtration system fed back into the tank and by the time we found it, all but 10 fish were dead. They replaced the pump. But now, it won't filter like it used to. It's not sucking all the gunk to the bottom of the barrels. The water is almost black. We have water changed about every three days trying to fix it. We tried running water down through the rocks and out the bottom drain. We tried running water through the bottom drain and up through the rocks and draining via the top of the barrels. Still, it just won't come clean and/or filter properly anymore. We suspect that when the pump stopped a vacuum occurred and all the sludge sucked back through the system and into the tank. So we suspect the sludge is all through the media now and not just at the bottom of the barrels. Any idea how to fix this? We just got replacement fingerlings and can't even think about putting them in this tank.
Do you have a one-way valve going from the pump to the filter? It's always a good idea in case of a power or pump failure to prevent backflow from going back into the pond and causing an ammonia spike.
As for the gravel, what kind did you use? Professional pond builders say to use the round river stone and pea gravel as they won't compact and hinder the flow through them. Crushed rock locks together over time and compacts and can clog up very quickly.
@@vanissaberg5824 Thank you for responding. We do not have a one-way valve. Where would we get this for 1-2inch PVC pipe? We used the huge river rock on bottom, then river rock about tennis ball size next step up. The smaller river rock about golf ball size. Then smaller ones. Then at the top, it "might" be crushed rock? It's probably about 1inch of it. So after I posted the initial help request, I kept flushing water from the bottom of the barrels to the top. I did this all day on both barrels until finally the water was coming up through the rock backwards, but clear. I also kept water changing the tank water until it was perfectly clear. I figure this had to of cleaned out these two barrels. NOPE. After running it for a couple days and with less than 10 fish left, the water turned dark brown to the point we couldn't see anything in it. We ended up letting most of the water out and running off a smaller tank pump and filter system. But it's not working either. About to lose the last few fish we have left. I have no idea why after cleaning these things out for the entire day, there was still so much waste in there to flood the tank again. I'm totally baffled.
@@tahrahhunt6750 you should be able to find a one-way check valve at most hardware stores or online. Some can come apart making it easier to disassemble if needed.
As for the gravel that's a tough one. Is the waste making its way through all the gravel? In that case, you may want to add a layer of pond filter sponges on top to catch any remaining muck on top (assuming your filter flows from the bottom up) to polish the water.
Alternatively, instead of using rocks and gravel, stuffing the barrel with plastic mesh such as scrap greenhouse shade cloth or plastic bottle caps and mesh fruit bags and pot scrubbies floating in the barrel can do the same thing trapping muck underneath and only the clean water comes through the top. Cleaning is as easy as stirring it up with a broomstick and draining it as normal and still gives your bacteria a place to grow. If you've given up on the rock, this is the solution I've done that's worked for me. Also a lot easier on your back.
Do you have issues with your 2nd filter not moving water in the the pond, while the 1st filter is pushing water into it?
Currently my 2nd filter does not drain into the pond fast enough.
Great informative video! What exactly kind of bulkhead fittings did you use? So many of the ones I have tried to use end up leaking.
Is using rock way more difficult to clean out than using k1 media? I was in the process of building a inground pond but decided to wait till until after all the leaves fall off the trees. I will continue to build the filters and skimmer. This will be my first pond ever.
How many capersity for this system?
Great job Man! Can you give me idea about what your water flow is?
I'm probably down somewhere around 2500 GPH from 4500 GPH at the pump. Reduced to 1" and then head height takes me around 2500 GPH. But the pond it's on is under a thousand gallons, so it's turning often.
What size pump is that I like the flow from it.
Maybe you should put sweeps and not the elbows 😎
Would you possibly be able to give a material list in future videos? I’m trying to build this for my fancy’s but I had myself going back and forth to figure out what exactly I needed. Also what kind of pump are you using, figured if yours worked I might as well get the same
I tried to remember everything and put it in the description, but I will do a better job creating the list in the future. The pump I'm using is a Pondmaster amzn.to/3JIlzjg which is overkill for the job, but I already had it. I put two options for pumps I would recommend in the description for the video. I have both of those recommended pumps I use on different water features on my property.
What GPH Pump do you use?
And how do you clean the filter when it eventually becomes full?
Easy Cleanout Filters / Great Fertilizer - ruclips.net/video/rI-mwQEI0sw/видео.html
Is that Koi bacteria good for tilapia too? Also, hopefully not a stupid question, but if you don't have media like sponge or something to catch the poop, how do you keep the poop from going right back into the tank? Also, what size fish is too small for the recommended pump? Some of our tilapia are still pretty small. I noticed you had a new bag of tilapia come in (at least I'm pretty sure it was you). What size pump do you use in your fingerling tank?
You can not run the pump when your Tilapia are that small. I learned the hard way. I would turn it off or better yet get a small fish tank setup and start your fry in the fish tank where you can watch them closer. I did this the last time I got Tilapia and I did not lose one of them. Once they were between 1" and 2" I moved them to the IBC tote. That pump is not a problem once they are the size listed above. But when they were around a 1/2" they didn't stand a chance with that pump.
To the poop question. The gravel grabs the poop. That's why you need the small gravel up top. Then when you clean it like in this video ruclips.net/video/rI-mwQEI0sw/видео.html you wash the poo down and out into your yard.
Thank you. You always respond so quickly and with much detail. Did you happen to list somewhere what type of gravel and/or rocks you got and the best ways to find them at a decent price? Lowes and Home Depot are insane.
@@tahrahhunt6750 I do talk about the different grades of gravel I use in the build. But I don't mention where the best place is to get them. If you have a landscaping store around you they usually sell bags of gravel and those are the best pricing you can get.
@@BabblinginmyBackyard Thank you. About to watch one last time and write it all down. :)
@@BabblinginmyBackyard Oh, and you didn't answer if that Koi bacteria in your video is good for tilapia as well. I use that barley straw extract, but so far I'm still getting pretty green walls and dark water. Ugh.
Did you use schedule 40 or 80 pvc
You will have to use 40 with the Uniseals.
Hello ,how ofen you have to clean the barrels?
That depends on your fish load and how often you are feeding them. I am just about to clean it for the first time since I set it up. I would say anywhere from once a month to once every six months. The longer you can let it go the better.
Hi could you help me please
Let me know what you need?