Your a gem for including crucial information such as this for others to learn and digest. It's one thing to wack a pond in but to truly master the waters like you have and all the cemetery and stages involved is realy usefull. For the 1000s that watched all this valuable content and dident hit the like buttom shame on you for not supporting your content creators. A personal thank you for this video specifically as it contains very good and usefull Info
Hi mate, apologies, I've only just seen your comment. I'm having a real struggle to follow the comments as the system is terrible. Thank you very much for your kind words though, if at least one person has taken something from it then it was worth making 🍻🍺🍺🍻
Hi this is FANTASTIC I bought a 4 tier Momotaro for my 800 gallon fancy goldfish pond You’ve put all the information that’s scattered on the net into one solid video packed with excellent information and advice Thanks very much for this really appreciated Simon
Your videos are absolutely fantastic! So full of information and hints and tips that have saved me a load of headaches when planning my new pond. Only got a big hole in the garden to show for for all my planning so far as we decided not to do the concrete pour yesterday because a frost was forecast but had a delivery of 500 blocks, sand and cement and even better.......my oase proficlear compact L combination drum filter arrived. I’ll be ramping up my videos over the weekend an next week so please take a look and let me know if you think I could be doing something different/better. 👍😊
Will do mate. Proper Planning & Preparation Prevents P@#£ Poor Performance. It will pay off in the end. I wish I'd documented my build better. I've not got any videos and only a handful of poor pictures. I'm going to do a video on its construction at some point but its not going to be easy to do it justice.
This is best one yet & will be a great series I’m defo following this train these are the type of information videos that I’ve been waiting for on RUclips thank you 👍
Fantastic video this is something I’ve been wanting to do for a good while now,so hopefully I’ll keep watching the channel as I always do,and hopefully follow what you do and build myself a bakki shower at the same time 👍🏻 look forward to watching the next 1 now Thanks Antony
Hi Eric, sorry for the delay in replying. I'm in the UK and I leave it running 24/7/365. If you turn it off the bacteria will die off and you will have to start all over again when you switch it back on. Although they may not get a lot of food over the winter, by keeping them wet and oxygenated all year round you stop them drying out and dieing. I've never cleaned the media, you would only need to do this if you don't have enough flow or if you use media such as alfa-grog which will block up over time. With the correct flow and the correct ceramic media it will never need cleaning.
Hi Fred, and thank you for your kind words. I'm not familiar with aquaponics, I'll have a look in to it though, there may be something to learn from it 👍👍🍻🍻
Great content as usual, looking forward to this series on the bakki shower as I will be adding one to my build but I don’t have silly money to spend on it. Stay safe.
Looking forward to the build. Made my own a few months ago with 3x 80 litre dog baths off eBay £17 each and filled with pumice and alfagrog. Hopefully does the job when matures next season but willing to make another. Cracking information again 👍.
Hi 👋 and good afternoon Darren. Once again a very useful video on Baki shower. At the moment i am using a vary pump 10.000 on my baki shower Fed from straight from the pond as well as separate pump fed from a central bottom drain. I am now thinking of removing the internal pump and just using the vary pump fed from the bottom drain because it’s easier to control the flow and then into to my nexus then into my baki shower in order to create better filtration I/E aerobic and anaerobic filtration and just have 1 waterfalls instead of 2. The pond is 7,800 Litres. I appreciate your advise before i go ahead and sorry for the long email. Kind Regards Errol.
Hi Errol, the single most important element with a shower is flow. Ceramic media is a close second but flow is top dog. Whichever configuration gives the most flow over the shower is the way to go. It doesn't matter if its filtered water or dirty water as long as you have ceramic media. It will consume mechanical waste if the flow is high enough. I've fed direct from bottom drains in the past and I haven't cleaned shower media in 26 years.
Have you looked into corse perlite? I use it alot working with cp. Ide asume if packed In to bags rightly and rinced would this not alot the correct habitat for the anaerobic bacteria. Could make it so a portion or all of it is submerged on the lower tear. Good to try it as its super cheap per volume and if packed tightly into filter bags may hold up to time well
Hi there, I haven't, no. I've had a look at it and I don't think it is porous or has any kind of holes or internal structure so I dont think it would give good surface area. It is pH nuetral so if thoroughly washed it should be safe but I dont think it will function effectively, particularly not in a shower.
@Dazzle Koi thanks fornthe reply pal..ye perlite is litlery foamed rock. Definition of micro holes. Can squish it with your fingers it's so airy. I belive the dusty bits are to be avoided tho. In a shower it may not be optimum meterial of choice I can agree there. Mabe to lite
Hi again, in that case I think its best avoided as it will erode very quickly. Even the cheaper ceramic medias do wear and break down under constant barrage from high volumes of water. This in itself shouldn't be an issue directly but I know the tiny particles of hard material do damage pump seals over time.
you mentioned about the 1300c fired ceramics media, where can I get those? can't find it on ebay or amazon, is there any other effected brand name media? thank you
Hi there, I have a series on bakki showers including a video on all about media. This has all the information about which ones are best and brand names etc ruclips.net/video/gWRMyAWemSM/видео.html
Hi mate, I must admit it's not for me. I strive for cleanliness and controlling every parameter as best I can so the thought of plants and soil and everything that comes with them has me wincing if I'm honest. That's just me though, that's not to say they are not an option at all. I've seen people do it and I've even seen Japanese breeders with overgrown showers. Personally though, IF I was going to use plants I'd want them somewhere away from the pond in a separate container that I had full control over and I would pass the water through it and then mechanically filter it before it returned to the pond. I like simplicity though and it just all seems a lot of work to me and i dont think its necessary.
Hi mate, no you cant use shells. They are not porous and would offer nothing at all in a shower. Oyster shells are often added to filters to modify pH but it isn't a media for a shower filter.
Another great video, would be interesting to know how much better BHM is compared to something like grog. You could buy 2-3x more grog than BHM for less money, so where is your money best spent? I’m gonna assume BHM is better for anaerobic bacteria but by how much? Koi keepers have a habit of just buying the most expensive product but often no science behind it. Love that you always bring the science behind it too. You just need to build an identical pond with different media to find out! 😂
Hi mate, sorry about the delay in replying, I wanted to wait until I was on my PC but a managed to lose your comment. Yes you're right about the anaerobic bacteria, I'm not aware of any none ceramic shower media that can sustain anaerobic bacteria to deal with nitrate. To that end BHM (or good copies made the same way) deals with nitrate and any other media doesn't. The other advantages over grog etc are the much higher surface area due to the internal structure. So in effect 5 times surface area means 1 piece of BHM has the same filtration capacity is 5 pieces of grog so if you look at cost in this way they would be much closer. BHM etc is also incredibly hard wearing. I ran my showers for around 5 years before my circumstances changed and I had to change them. The media after this time had slightly eroded edges (not rounded off but the sharp edges had been taken off) but other than that it was still in tact and looked fine. I know grog etc wears very quickly and can deposit particles that wear pump seals etc. So if you factor in surface area and lifetime I wouldn't be surprised if the BHM was actually more cost effective. Obviously you could increase the amount of grog and increase the amount of flow and the number of trays to compensate but these all come at a cost too. My feeling at the moment, and I intend to work this out properly and not go on my feeling, is the it must be ceramic media fired at 1300C for 60 hours etc but it no longer necessarily has to be BHM as others now offer the same material at better prices.
Yeah that all makes sense. Would be good to know of those alternatives made in the same way, competition in the market place can only be good news for the consumer! I have nitrate issues with aquarium with the koi and I’ve gone from 10 after the pond collapse and soon be down to two. Tried everything but I’m pretty sure the nitrate level has been what’s stopped their immune system recovering from that initial shock and bacteria problems. We live and learn though! It’s been a hell of a crash course in Lou keeping I’ll tell you that much. Would have given up by now if it hadn’t been for the great koi community on you tube, so thanks again for all the great videos!
Thanks mate. I'm aware of 3 or 4 now that claim to be ceramic and fired in the same way as BHM and then another one that claims to be even better so it will be interesting to look in to them all properly and see if there is anything that works at least as well, or maybe even better, but costs less. I can see why BHM is so expensive now, the cost of fuel to hold it at 1300C for 60 hours must be high. then you have all the other costs and overheads and finally shipping it around the world cant be cheap as its very heavy.
@@DazzleKoi atualy biohome claims that it can support beside aerobic bacteria also anaerobic bacteria. I’ll put a link to the article: filterpro.co.uk/biohome-media-3-c.asp
Hi Tony, I must confess I haven't heard of Mountain Tree media before. I've had a quick look and it does sound very good. I've added it to the list of medias to look in to , Thanks a lot 👍👍
Great information. But like you said BHM is very very expensive. Please think more about the overall budget and if the media is the most important factor then give options an opinions on how different media could be considered
Thanks Daniel, yes I'll try to cover everything. That makes sense, if I conclude one is best but its very expensive, give cheaper alternatives that offer minimum compromises 👍
So running just bakki showers what happens to the the solids that are pumped over them? Having seen the amount of waste produced over time where does it go? Thanks
Hi Andrew, bakki showers, when you have sufficient flow, correct tiers and geometry of tiers, and most importantly, correct media, will handle mechanical filtration to a reasonable level. They break the waste down in to tiny particles and then it is consumed by bacteria it seems. I have no science as to the mechanism for this but I was told that many years ago by the developer of the bakki shower and I subsequently saw it work for myself on my own pond. Merry Christmas mate, all the best 🍻🎅🍻
Hi. Another interesting video and very informative. Looking forward to the next one. One question though, You mentioned your first experience of bakki showers with three on your 5000 gallon pond. You ended by saying how fantastic the water was using this system. Why did you stop using it? Sounds like it was a 'keeper'. What changed to make you change it?
Hi mate, it was a mix of several things really. I was travelling a LOT working abroad and I split from my wife. As such I couldn't afford to spend £300 a month on pumps any more. I decided to sell the showers and replace with a couple of nexus 210's so the electricity bill more than halved. I wanted it as simple as possible as my parents and neighbors where looking after the pond a lot when I was away. The fish where all mature to and I was no longer buying good quality young fish to grow big.
@@DazzleKoi yeah its been heat treated n is very porous. Lots of internal surface area. Not had any issues with ammonia nitrite or nitrate since i set my shower up nearly 2 years ago. Pondguru runs a company selling it called filter pro 👍🐟
Hi Dean, if you have the correct sized shower with the right amount of flow and the ceramic media you shouldn't need to clean it at all. I would recommend just having a look at it every six months or so just to check. If you don't have the thing s above you may need to clean it regularly. Is your shower getting filtered water and what size, flow and media do you have?
lol, if its just the shower itself I wouldn't worry about it apart from it looking unsightly. Have a look at the media and just make sure the media is staying clean. That's the important bit really. Also if you have a tray at the bottom where muck can collect you should clean that out to so you don't get bacteria building up.
Great video as always buddy , when you had the 5500 gallon pond and pumping direct from drain to shower did you ever clean the media in the shower or just leave it? Looking forward to the series of video's keep em coming !!
Hi Mark, I should have mentioned this in the video. I'll cover it properly in the next one but the short answer is no, I didn't clean the media at all and it stayed looking clean and fresh. When you can put the volume over it the shower deals with mechanical filtration to a pretty good level. At the lower volumes that I may have to use on my DIY build it wont do a great job of mechanical filtration on its own and its probably best to put prefiltered water over it in that instance. No need to prefilter if you are moving over 3000 gallons an hour over it though.
@@DazzleKoi Agree very informative video. How much water were you changing on your 5500 g pond? Most Rdf/shower only ponds I know changes 10-20% daily.
Hi mate, I'm not sure of the exact figure now to be honest but I had a constant trickle in/out set up and I would think I had it set to close to 30% a week.
Hi Martyn, yes it needs to mature. So as the media is subject to water containing ammonia, nitrite and nitrate the bacteria colonise it and the colony grows to the size that the food source can sustain. It will give increased aeration and some ammonia gassing off straight away though.
Just watched this video, and as ever, very interesting. I’ve been planning to upgrade my own diy shower for something with a lot more flow. After watching this I’m gonna wait to see your ideas. When do you think you’ll start with the diy shower? Cheers 👍
Hi Richard, I've been doing some work/research for a week or two now and I've decided on the size and type of tiers and also the grills for the bottoms of them. I've ordered the materials so once they arrive I will start the making the video. I'm going to cover flows, how to determine dimensions depending on your setup etc in the first one. I hope to have it ready in a week or so 👍
Hi Martyn, its a difficult one this. I'm going to say it wont do the job just with what you listed there. I think you would be ok if the sieve was a nexus or a bead but I think you will struggle for clarity without one of those. Or if you had a tempest on a skimmer line that might be another option. But I do think you will be short on mechanical filtration with just the sieve.
Hi Martyn, yes the bead filter will work. You are short on mechanical filtration , solids removal, so making the shower bigger wont help. You need something to take out the physical waste. A bead and a normal shower will work if the bead is big enough for your pond.
Hi Martyn, you can run a shower on any above water filter return. It is basically a filter return so where your return would normally go in to the pond , instead it goes in to the shower. So yes you can put one after the bubble bead 🍻👍🍻
Hi very interesting video this and just at the right time for me as I'm considering installing a shower next year and therefore starting to plan ahead. What are your thoughts on materials for the shower? Would it be PP as Wrighty used on his very well made RDF? I had seriously considered adapting the principles of plastic welding but with 10 or 12mm thick materials for a shower to support the weight of BHM as I'm in no doubt at all that this is the only media to use in a shower. Now subscribed. 👍
Hi Trev, welcome to the channel, good to have you aboard 🍻 I'm trying not to get to far ahead of myself so I can go in with an open mind but that's certainly in my thoughts. I also like the 'Euro containers' which are cheap and really robust and come in lots of size options. I'm also keen to keep an eye on cost so it will be a case of weighing all the options up and factoring in the price of materials etc Definitely on my list though👍
Nice overview of the bake shower, I will follow future videos with interest. You obviously had good results with a bakki only pond historically, is the the reason you didn't take this route with your current pond down to size / water volumes?
Hi mate, lots of reasons to be honest. The main ones are that I don't have the money now that I had back then. I used to spend about £300 a month on electricity and gas. 3 sequence pumps alone around nearly 700 watts!! I cant afford the purchase cost of the showers and media either though. Also, I just wanted a small pond with no stress and hassle to enjoy a few fish and watch them grow. I don't really need or want them to grow in to monsters quickly or they will just outgrow my pond. But yes, the size and volume of it doesn't lend itself to such big flows either.
Hi Jen, because mud ponds are very large volumes of water with relatively small volumes of fish so dilution of hormones and pollutants is exhaustive. They also get very warm and are fed 20+ times a day.
Hi Mark, it was always my intention to have one but cost and the fact that my koi where low in number and very small meant it wasn't a priority. The Pod is more than capable on its own and the shower an extra to take the water to the next level.
@@DazzleKoi I am really pleased with my Nexus 220 but see exactly what you mean about water purity I am looking forward to seeing the next video pal. Stay safe and well.
Your a gem for including crucial information such as this for others to learn and digest. It's one thing to wack a pond in but to truly master the waters like you have and all the cemetery and stages involved is realy usefull. For the 1000s that watched all this valuable content and dident hit the like buttom shame on you for not supporting your content creators. A personal thank you for this video specifically as it contains very good and usefull Info
Hi mate, apologies, I've only just seen your comment. I'm having a real struggle to follow the comments as the system is terrible.
Thank you very much for your kind words though, if at least one person has taken something from it then it was worth making 🍻🍺🍺🍻
I’m defo going to have a go at this
Hi mate, get on it, you wont regret it. Your kois well-being will go to another level 👍👍
Great video. Very informative, thanks 😊 Love your channel.
Hi there and thank you very much, I really appreciate you taking time to say that 🍺🍺👍👍🍺🍺
Hi this is FANTASTIC I bought a 4 tier Momotaro for my 800 gallon fancy goldfish pond
You’ve put all the information that’s scattered on the net into one solid video packed with excellent information and advice
Thanks very much for this really appreciated Simon
Thank you Simon, I really appreciate your words and taking the time to comment 🍻🍻🥂🥂👍👍🥂🥂🍻🍻
@@DazzleKoi no worries it was a superb watch mate
Nice info..can't wait for the build👌
Thanks Darren, I hope to be able to devote a bit more time to it now that Christmas is over 👍👍
Looking forward to watching you creating a baki shower, as most people I can't afford one Stay safe and well Thank you Carol
Thank you Carol, hopefully I can do it justice 👍
Great vids mate, watched lots of yours, really helpful, thank you 👍
Cheers Jack, going to hear mate 🍻👍🍻👍🍻
Great video thanks for shareing and your time
Cheers Andy 🍻🍻
Your videos are absolutely fantastic! So full of information and hints and tips that have saved me a load of headaches when planning my new pond. Only got a big hole in the garden to show for for all my planning so far as we decided not to do the concrete pour yesterday because a frost was forecast but had a delivery of 500 blocks, sand and cement and even better.......my oase proficlear compact L combination drum filter arrived. I’ll be ramping up my videos over the weekend an next week so please take a look and let me know if you think I could be doing something different/better. 👍😊
Will do mate.
Proper Planning & Preparation Prevents P@#£ Poor Performance. It will pay off in the end. I wish I'd documented my build better. I've not got any videos and only a handful of poor pictures. I'm going to do a video on its construction at some point but its not going to be easy to do it justice.
Learning loads, appreciated.
Thank you mate 👍🍻👍
This is best one yet & will be a great series I’m defo following this train these are the type of information videos that I’ve been waiting for on RUclips thank you 👍
Thanks mate 🍻
Superb content as usual.Most informative channel around imo. Look forward to the diy build. Blinding mate.
Cheers mate 🍻 I appreciate that
Brilliant video again looking forward to seeing more on this subject very interesting 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks again Andrew 🍻🍻
Your knowledge is 2nd to none so glad your passing it on to us guys.looking forward to the build👍
Thanks as always Baden, much appreciated 🍻🍻
Great video mate, I am looking at making one myself so this is brilliant timing. looking forward to it.
Good stuff mate, hopefully we can come up with something decent 👍
@@DazzleKoi I have got the containers, pipework, media grids etc. So my lockdown project begins 😆
Fantastic video this is something I’ve been wanting to do for a good while now,so hopefully I’ll keep watching the channel as I always do,and hopefully follow what you do and build myself a bakki shower at the same time 👍🏻 look forward to watching the next 1 now
Thanks Antony
Thanks Antony, I appreciate that mate 🍻🍻👍👍🍻🍻
Hello, very informative video! Do you live the shower running even in the winter? And how do you clean the media and if so, how often.
Thank you
Hi Eric, sorry for the delay in replying. I'm in the UK and I leave it running 24/7/365. If you turn it off the bacteria will die off and you will have to start all over again when you switch it back on. Although they may not get a lot of food over the winter, by keeping them wet and oxygenated all year round you stop them drying out and dieing.
I've never cleaned the media, you would only need to do this if you don't have enough flow or if you use media such as alfa-grog which will block up over time. With the correct flow and the correct ceramic media it will never need cleaning.
Great content. Love your work. This looks similar in concept to aquaponics.
Hi Fred, and thank you for your kind words. I'm not familiar with aquaponics, I'll have a look in to it though, there may be something to learn from it 👍👍🍻🍻
Great content as usual, looking forward to this series on the bakki shower as I will be adding one to my build but I don’t have silly money to spend on it.
Stay safe.
Thanks Rex, hopefully we can come up with something good. My big worry thinking ahead is the media but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it 👍
@@DazzleKoi if the bakki shower comes in at a good price I don’t mind spending the extra on BHM
Might be that I can get hold of a few of the similar types and test them back to back. not sure how that would work yet though
Looking forward to the build. Made my own a few months ago with 3x 80 litre dog baths off eBay £17 each and filled with pumice and alfagrog. Hopefully does the job when matures next season but willing to make another. Cracking information again 👍.
New to this hobby and found this video really interesting, looking forward to next video. 👍
Thanks Anthony, much appreciated 👍
Hi 👋 and good afternoon Darren. Once again a very useful video on Baki shower. At the moment i am using a vary pump 10.000 on my baki shower
Fed from straight from the pond as well as separate pump fed from a central bottom drain. I am now thinking of removing the internal pump and just using the vary pump fed from the bottom drain because it’s easier to control the flow and then into to my nexus then into my baki shower in order to create better filtration I/E aerobic and anaerobic filtration and just have 1 waterfalls instead of 2. The pond is 7,800 Litres. I appreciate your advise before i go ahead and sorry for the long email.
Kind Regards
Errol.
Hi Errol, the single most important element with a shower is flow. Ceramic media is a close second but flow is top dog. Whichever configuration gives the most flow over the shower is the way to go. It doesn't matter if its filtered water or dirty water as long as you have ceramic media. It will consume mechanical waste if the flow is high enough. I've fed direct from bottom drains in the past and I haven't cleaned shower media in 26 years.
Have you looked into corse perlite? I use it alot working with cp. Ide asume if packed In to bags rightly and rinced would this not alot the correct habitat for the anaerobic bacteria. Could make it so a portion or all of it is submerged on the lower tear. Good to try it as its super cheap per volume and if packed tightly into filter bags may hold up to time well
Hi there, I haven't, no. I've had a look at it and I don't think it is porous or has any kind of holes or internal structure so I dont think it would give good surface area. It is pH nuetral so if thoroughly washed it should be safe but I dont think it will function effectively, particularly not in a shower.
@Dazzle Koi thanks fornthe reply pal..ye perlite is litlery foamed rock. Definition of micro holes. Can squish it with your fingers it's so airy. I belive the dusty bits are to be avoided tho. In a shower it may not be optimum meterial of choice I can agree there. Mabe to lite
Hi again, in that case I think its best avoided as it will erode very quickly. Even the cheaper ceramic medias do wear and break down under constant barrage from high volumes of water. This in itself shouldn't be an issue directly but I know the tiny particles of hard material do damage pump seals over time.
@DazzleKoi that's a very good point reguarding irosion
you mentioned about the 1300c fired ceramics media, where can I get those? can't find it on ebay or amazon, is there any other effected brand name media? thank you
Hi there, I have a series on bakki showers including a video on all about media. This has all the information about which ones are best and brand names etc
ruclips.net/video/gWRMyAWemSM/видео.html
How do you feel about planting a bakki shower?very informative, Thank You
Hi mate, I must admit it's not for me. I strive for cleanliness and controlling every parameter as best I can so the thought of plants and soil and everything that comes with them has me wincing if I'm honest.
That's just me though, that's not to say they are not an option at all. I've seen people do it and I've even seen Japanese breeders with overgrown showers.
Personally though, IF I was going to use plants I'd want them somewhere away from the pond in a separate container that I had full control over and I would pass the water through it and then mechanically filter it before it returned to the pond. I like simplicity though and it just all seems a lot of work to me and i dont think its necessary.
@@DazzleKoi I agree, don't like the thought of soil and the like in my pond. If they couldroot without soil, would they help with nitrates? Thank You
Yes mate, definitely. More phosphates I would say though as a proper shower with the right media will take care of nitrates anyway.
@@DazzleKoi great, thank you.
No problem 🍻🍻
Yeah mate I’m like this good info given out on this channel! Decent! Be nice to see your take on a shower filter diy.... il look out for that!
Thanks mate 🍻
Sim Yong Chan. Can I use sea shells as a substitute for BHM Thank you
Hi mate, no you cant use shells. They are not porous and would offer nothing at all in a shower.
Oyster shells are often added to filters to modify pH but it isn't a media for a shower filter.
Looking forward to this as I can not justify the price for a shower
Another great video, would be interesting to know how much better BHM is compared to something like grog. You could buy 2-3x more grog than BHM for less money, so where is your money best spent? I’m gonna assume BHM is better for anaerobic bacteria but by how much? Koi keepers have a habit of just buying the most expensive product but often no science behind it. Love that you always bring the science behind it too. You just need to build an identical pond with different media to find out! 😂
Hi mate, sorry about the delay in replying, I wanted to wait until I was on my PC but a managed to lose your comment.
Yes you're right about the anaerobic bacteria, I'm not aware of any none ceramic shower media that can sustain anaerobic bacteria to deal with nitrate. To that end BHM (or good copies made the same way) deals with nitrate and any other media doesn't.
The other advantages over grog etc are the much higher surface area due to the internal structure. So in effect 5 times surface area means 1 piece of BHM has the same filtration capacity is 5 pieces of grog so if you look at cost in this way they would be much closer.
BHM etc is also incredibly hard wearing. I ran my showers for around 5 years before my circumstances changed and I had to change them. The media after this time had slightly eroded edges (not rounded off but the sharp edges had been taken off) but other than that it was still in tact and looked fine. I know grog etc wears very quickly and can deposit particles that wear pump seals etc.
So if you factor in surface area and lifetime I wouldn't be surprised if the BHM was actually more cost effective.
Obviously you could increase the amount of grog and increase the amount of flow and the number of trays to compensate but these all come at a cost too.
My feeling at the moment, and I intend to work this out properly and not go on my feeling, is the it must be ceramic media fired at 1300C for 60 hours etc but it no longer necessarily has to be BHM as others now offer the same material at better prices.
Yeah that all makes sense. Would be good to know of those alternatives made in the same way, competition in the market place can only be good news for the consumer! I have nitrate issues with aquarium with the koi and I’ve gone from 10 after the pond collapse and soon be down to two. Tried everything but I’m pretty sure the nitrate level has been what’s stopped their immune system recovering from that initial shock and bacteria problems. We live and learn though! It’s been a hell of a crash course in Lou keeping I’ll tell you that much. Would have given up by now if it hadn’t been for the great koi community on you tube, so thanks again for all the great videos!
Thanks mate. I'm aware of 3 or 4 now that claim to be ceramic and fired in the same way as BHM and then another one that claims to be even better so it will be interesting to look in to them all properly and see if there is anything that works at least as well, or maybe even better, but costs less. I can see why BHM is so expensive now, the cost of fuel to hold it at 1300C for 60 hours must be high. then you have all the other costs and overheads and finally shipping it around the world cant be cheap as its very heavy.
@@DazzleKoi atualy biohome claims that it can support beside aerobic bacteria also anaerobic bacteria. I’ll put a link to the article: filterpro.co.uk/biohome-media-3-c.asp
And it would be really helpful if you could tell us if it works as it claims
This will be a good series. What's your thoughts on Mountain Tree media, seems similar to BHM but not as expensive. Keep up your good work.
Hi Tony, I must confess I haven't heard of Mountain Tree media before. I've had a quick look and it does sound very good. I've added it to the list of medias to look in to , Thanks a lot 👍👍
Its falling apart in the uk after 3 years no one is going near mountain tree
Ouch, that doesn't sound good.
Great information. But like you said BHM is very very expensive. Please think more about the overall budget and if the media is the most important factor then give options an opinions on how different media could be considered
Thanks Daniel, yes I'll try to cover everything. That makes sense, if I conclude one is best but its very expensive, give cheaper alternatives that offer minimum compromises 👍
So running just bakki showers what happens to the the solids that are pumped over them? Having seen the amount of waste produced over time where does it go? Thanks
Hi Andrew, bakki showers, when you have sufficient flow, correct tiers and geometry of tiers, and most importantly, correct media, will handle mechanical filtration to a reasonable level. They break the waste down in to tiny particles and then it is consumed by bacteria it seems. I have no science as to the mechanism for this but I was told that many years ago by the developer of the bakki shower and I subsequently saw it work for myself on my own pond.
Merry Christmas mate, all the best 🍻🎅🍻
Great show. Good info..
Sorry some tool had to throw in a thumbs down..
I gave you a 👍 up.. Wish I could of given you more
Thanks Chris, I appreciate that 🍻🍻
Hi. Another interesting video and very informative. Looking forward to the next one. One question though, You mentioned your first experience of bakki showers with three on your 5000 gallon pond. You ended by saying how fantastic the water was using this system. Why did you stop using it? Sounds like it was a 'keeper'. What changed to make you change it?
Hi mate, it was a mix of several things really. I was travelling a LOT working abroad and I split from my wife. As such I couldn't afford to spend £300 a month on pumps any more. I decided to sell the showers and replace with a couple of nexus 210's so the electricity bill more than halved. I wanted it as simple as possible as my parents and neighbors where looking after the pond a lot when I was away. The fish where all mature to and I was no longer buying good quality young fish to grow big.
Great vid excited for this one as iv made one myself and interested how to improve
Another great vid mate. I use bio home media in my shower. Expensive to fill but it does a great job. Slightly cheaper than bhm. You heard of it?
Thanks Ric, yes I've heard of Bio home but I haven't tried it. I'll put it on my list of possible medias to look at 👍
@@DazzleKoi yeah its been heat treated n is very porous. Lots of internal surface area. Not had any issues with ammonia nitrite or nitrate since i set my shower up nearly 2 years ago. Pondguru runs a company selling it called filter pro 👍🐟
I'll check it out mate, thanks 👍
How often do I clean the bakki shower plz as not sure if u do or not
Hi Dean, if you have the correct sized shower with the right amount of flow and the ceramic media you shouldn't need to clean it at all. I would recommend just having a look at it every six months or so just to check.
If you don't have the thing s above you may need to clean it regularly.
Is your shower getting filtered water and what size, flow and media do you have?
Thanks mate mine is approx 4.half foot by 2 by 2 that's all I'm running my pond is gin clear with no uv bru the bakki shower looks mank lol
lol, if its just the shower itself I wouldn't worry about it apart from it looking unsightly. Have a look at the media and just make sure the media is staying clean. That's the important bit really. Also if you have a tray at the bottom where muck can collect you should clean that out to so you don't get bacteria building up.
Great video as always buddy , when you had the 5500 gallon pond and pumping direct from drain to shower did you ever clean the media in the shower or just leave it? Looking forward to the series of video's keep em coming !!
Hi Mark, I should have mentioned this in the video. I'll cover it properly in the next one but the short answer is no, I didn't clean the media at all and it stayed looking clean and fresh. When you can put the volume over it the shower deals with mechanical filtration to a pretty good level. At the lower volumes that I may have to use on my DIY build it wont do a great job of mechanical filtration on its own and its probably best to put prefiltered water over it in that instance. No need to prefilter if you are moving over 3000 gallons an hour over it though.
@@DazzleKoi Agree very informative video. How much water were you changing on your 5500 g pond? Most Rdf/shower only ponds I know changes 10-20% daily.
Hi mate, I'm not sure of the exact figure now to be honest but I had a constant trickle in/out set up and I would think I had it set to close to 30% a week.
Does the shower have to mature like a bubble bead filter or does it work straight away
Hi Martyn, yes it needs to mature. So as the media is subject to water containing ammonia, nitrite and nitrate the bacteria colonise it and the colony grows to the size that the food source can sustain.
It will give increased aeration and some ammonia gassing off straight away though.
8 have a bead filter on at the moment I could run it thru that or what about 100kilo of bhm
Just watched this video, and as ever, very interesting. I’ve been planning to upgrade my own diy shower for something with a lot more flow. After watching this I’m gonna wait to see your ideas. When do you think you’ll start with the diy shower? Cheers 👍
Hi Richard, I've been doing some work/research for a week or two now and I've decided on the size and type of tiers and also the grills for the bottoms of them. I've ordered the materials so once they arrive I will start the making the video. I'm going to cover flows, how to determine dimensions depending on your setup etc in the first one. I hope to have it ready in a week or so 👍
@@DazzleKoi excellent, look forward to that. Thanks for reply 👍
Will a 4 tier momataro shower with 80kilo bhm run from a sieve and aquamax 16000 be enough for 4000 gallon pond
Hi Martyn, its a difficult one this. I'm going to say it wont do the job just with what you listed there. I think you would be ok if the sieve was a nexus or a bead but I think you will struggle for clarity without one of those. Or if you had a tempest on a skimmer line that might be another option. But I do think you will be short on mechanical filtration with just the sieve.
@@DazzleKoi I have a bead filter on now could run it thru that or what if I went for a double momataro with 100k bhm in it would that work
Hi Martyn, yes the bead filter will work. You are short on mechanical filtration , solids removal, so making the shower bigger wont help. You need something to take out the physical waste. A bead and a normal shower will work if the bead is big enough for your pond.
How about lava rocks for bakki shower?
Hi mate, I've never used lava rock so I can't comment but I'll certainly put it on the list and check it out, thanks 🍻
Can you run a shower after a bubble bead
Hi Martyn, you can run a shower on any above water filter return. It is basically a filter return so where your return would normally go in to the pond , instead it goes in to the shower. So yes you can put one after the bubble bead 🍻👍🍻
Hi very interesting video this and just at the right time for me as I'm considering installing a shower next year and therefore starting to plan ahead.
What are your thoughts on materials for the shower? Would it be PP as Wrighty used on his very well made RDF?
I had seriously considered adapting the principles of plastic welding but with 10 or 12mm thick materials for a shower to support the weight of BHM as I'm in no doubt at all that this is the only media to use in a shower.
Now subscribed. 👍
Hi Trev, welcome to the channel, good to have you aboard 🍻
I'm trying not to get to far ahead of myself so I can go in with an open mind but that's certainly in my thoughts. I also like the 'Euro containers' which are cheap and really robust and come in lots of size options.
I'm also keen to keep an eye on cost so it will be a case of weighing all the options up and factoring in the price of materials etc Definitely on my list though👍
Nice overview of the bake shower, I will follow future videos with interest. You obviously had good results with a bakki only pond historically, is the the reason you didn't take this route with your current pond down to size / water volumes?
Hi mate, lots of reasons to be honest. The main ones are that I don't have the money now that I had back then. I used to spend about £300 a month on electricity and gas. 3 sequence pumps alone around nearly 700 watts!! I cant afford the purchase cost of the showers and media either though.
Also, I just wanted a small pond with no stress and hassle to enjoy a few fish and watch them grow. I don't really need or want them to grow in to monsters quickly or they will just outgrow my pond.
But yes, the size and volume of it doesn't lend itself to such big flows either.
Then why do Koi grow so large in MUD PONDS?
Hi Jen, because mud ponds are very large volumes of water with relatively small volumes of fish so dilution of hormones and pollutants is exhaustive. They also get very warm and are fed 20+ times a day.
When you set up your pond what was the reason you didn’t adopt a Backi Shower?
Hi Mark, it was always my intention to have one but cost and the fact that my koi where low in number and very small meant it wasn't a priority. The Pod is more than capable on its own and the shower an extra to take the water to the next level.
@@DazzleKoi I am really pleased with my Nexus 220 but see exactly what you mean about water purity I am looking forward to seeing the next video pal.
Stay safe and well.
You to mate , cheers
What about crystal bio media
Hi John, yes I've heard of crystal bio but not tried it. I'll make sure it goes on the list 👍
Have you used it?