Why is the swirl pond filter and Japanese matting so successful?
A biological pond filter, no matter what form or design is responsible for the conversion of toxic ammonia to nitrate. The decomposition of ammonia requires a large amount of oxygen, a filtering material with a high specific surface area for nitrifying nitrosomonic and nitrobacter bacteria to live and, finally, not least from turbulence. Turbulent conditions promote maximum contact between ammonia, oxygen and nitrifying bacteria, which, in turn, accelerates the rate of oxidation of ammonia.
Vortex pond filters were designed in this way and, in combination with Japanese matting, are one of the best filtration systems for Koi pond. Home to save Koi and leading experts when it comes to this valuable ornamental fish, are the Japanese. In Japan, vortex filtering is used, widely used due to its proven efficiency, low maintenance and reliability.
How does the swirl filter work?
The vortex filter should be installed as the primary filtration system before the flow of water in the pond into the biological chamber containing nitrifying bacteria. Since pond water containing solids, such as leaves, fish excrement and decomposing organic matter, is pumped from the bottom of the pond into the vortex chamber, the swirling movement of water causes the waste to fall to the bottom of the chamber. The precipitated material is easily removed at a later stage, opening the purge valve. The main advantage of this filtering method is its ability to remove the vast majority of waste before it can mix with beneficial nitrifying bacteria living in Japanese matting. This is useful as follows:
* Any unwanted heterotrophic bacteria that cause water quality problems and fish health problems are removed from the water before it can infect the pond.
* Solids do not have the ability to come into contact with Japanese matting and there before they can not block the holes in the matting, as a result of which an extremely large surface area is maintained.
In this article, I have so far discussed the advantages of filtering eddies. However, there are some disadvantages for an average pond holder with a small and medium fish pond, up to 1000 gallons (US):
* They are intended for use in large pools by Koi professionals and are likely to be killed for most small fish ponds. For those reservoirs with small ponds, I would suggest a pressure filter under pressure from well-known manufacturers in the industry, such as Fishmate, Oase or Hozelock, because their pond storage products have excellent safeguards and were designed to minimize operating costs.
* They can be expensive to purchase and can be complicated to install. When installing a vortex filter, it is important to choose a model that matches the size of the flow rate of the pump that you need. If you choose a model that is too small for the required pump flow rate, the water containing solids will pass right through to the next filtration stage. Larger models have a longer retention time and, therefore, provide a much better opportunity for solid waste to be installed in the primary vortex chamber, where it can be easily removed.
Having said that, if you jeopardize the health of your fish using a bottom biofilter, then you may want you to use a professional biofiltration system first. Koi can be very expensive to replace and are subject to stress, in contrast to the more enduring cousins of goldfish.
If you're looking for a better Koi pond filtration system, then a Koi vortex filter and Japanese matting is an option that many Koi professional keepers choose. The design not only removes up to 80% solids in pond water, but also quickly and easily removes large amounts of ammonia.
