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Bead Filter Update By Bryan Bateman Well, since, according to our survey, someone is actually reading my bead filter "updates", I guess I'll just have to write another one. For the benefit of everyone who hasn't read them yet, Bay and I purchased one of those fancy new bead filters a year-and-a-half ago. We went the whole nine yards, with the turbo vortex, UV light, foam fractionator—and of course the bead filter, which looks like a giant stainless steel coffeemaker. The trials and tribulations of our new toy was the basis of the update articles which we wrote during the past year. Having just survived our first heated–pond winter, the time is certainly right for yet another update on the continuing saga. Having a heated pond is a real hoot. We built a walk–in tent over most of the pond, so we could go in there and visit our koi all through the winter months. The "warm" (48 degree) water allowed us to keep the filter running and the bio–mass alive, so when we turned up the temp in early March, we were able to begin feeding with no fears of ammonia or nitrite build–up. By early April, we were at 70 degrees and feeding twice per day. The longer days and warmer temps were definitely causing a healthy crop of algae, most of which was ending up in our filter, so daily and sometimes twice–daily backwashing became standard procedure. By mid–April we began to experience two problems: First, we were taking more and more air into our turbo, sometimes to the point of causing our pump to run dry (we experienced an air leak last year, but not enough to cause concern). Second, we noticed a decline in the volume output of our bead filter, even though the backwash cycle was producing very little "dirt". We tightened and sealed all of our connections in an attempt to stop the air leak. We even installed a new dome on the turbo, but still no go. Likewise, multiple backwashings failed to improve the condition of our bead filter. Totally frustrated and baffled by now, we're starting to wonder about the scrap value of 75 pounds of stainless steel... As a last resort, we swallowed our pride and did what most everyone in MPKS has done at times like this—we called Mike White. Now I'm not saying that we're like the guy who calls the refrigerator repairman who arrives to find the plug pulled out, but we weren't far from it. It took Mike about 15 minutes to find that we had a leaky backwash valve—the one supplied with the Vortex! One twelve dollar knife valve later and our air problems were over. Not so easy with the bead filter though. Suspecting a problem inside the unit, Mike had me clean out ALL of the beads (of which there are approximately one gazillion, each one of them coated with stinky, slimey green gunk) and sure enough, the smaller sinking beads had jammed into the slots of the internal PVC piping, clogging the backwash and severely limiting the flow rate through the filter. Mike had fortunately brought along one of the new filters from his inventory, and we compared the two. Not only had all of the internal plumbing been re–designed, but the beads were now TWICE as big! We couldn't help but wonder how many filters out "in the field" at this moment are slowly getting caked up with crud, and why the manufacturer hasn't ordered a recall! At any rate, Mike was able to give us a new set of plumbing and a new set of larger beads for ours, and it is now working great. A lesson learned? Just because a hot new product is on the market, and it's shiny and silver and looks really cool by your pond, don't buy it just yet. Wait for some poor suckers like us to get one and see what's wrong with it, THEN you buy one of the new revised ones that actually WORKS! Lesson number two, of course, is learn who to call for your problems, and don't be too shy to do it. We have benefited so much from the knowledge and experience of people like Mike Weynschenk, Sue and Bill Miller, Mike White and others, that I honestly don't see how we could still be in the hobby if it weren't for them.
Midwest Pond &
Koi Society
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