DIY Bakki Shower

[small_ranchu]

Hi all,
I am planning to build a DIY bakki shower for my TVR tank. I am going to use plastic storage cabinet. Where can I buy bakki media here?

[OldMarine]

Please explain what a Bakki shower is, and what is a TVR tank?

Hard to answer a question if we don't know what you are refering to.

Thanks,

[small_ranchu]

Bakki shower is a filter which claim the best in koi world (eliminating nitrate). Here is info for Bakki shower.
http://www.makc.com/bakki.pdf

TVR = Top View Ranchu

[OldMarine]

Thanks for sharing that information. Let us know how it progresses.

[BruceP]

Fred,,,,,,,,,, the genuine bakki shower media is Bacteria House Filter Media. It is quite expensive so most people I know that build a bakki type shower use something else, like; lava rock, feather rock, bio balls, etc. Feather rock is probably the best of the substitutes but isnt available in all areas of the country. Koiphen has had some great discussions on showers if you are looking for more info on them. I'm using Matala in my trickle shower but that is different than a full blown bakki shower.

[George Ludrosky]

Is the Matala filter media really good? I have heard different opinions, some say it is worth the cost and others say they would rather use less expensive stuff and replace it more often.

[BruceP]

Matala is quality media for sure. Is it worth it? Probably not. My best working filters are moving bed filters filled with carton strapping...... but carton strapping, although it will work in a shower isnt as good as other media in a showers. Pot scrubbers from the $1 Store work great as does many other items.

[small_ranchu]

I cannot find any shower media. For the time being, I am comparing between bio ball and pot scrubbers.

[bekko]

I cannot find any shower media

My friend and neighbor at Nikkei Koi is a distributor and usually has it.
http://www.nikkeikoi.com/

Coral rock works pretty well and simultaneously buffers the water.

-steve

[BruceP]

Eastern Nishiki koi is your source for the real stuff, Fred.

http://www.enkoi.com/Bacteria-House-Filtration-And-Media-sc-100068.html

[small_ranchu]

Thanks Bruce. I ordered a box.

New Question: How do you drill small holes on PVC pipe properly? Thanks.

[George Ludrosky]

I have always had good results just using a regular drill and drill bit. Just make sure it's a new sharp bit.

[Ranchu Rancher]

Fred: I have The Bio-House filter media running as part of my filter systems on my indoor ponds. Seems to work well, but in my case it is only part of my system so I can't tell you how it will work alone. Just an FYI if you bought Boi House it is from China. Bacteria House comes from Japan and is a lot more expensive and nearly impossible to get. Good luck and let us know how it works. I wanted to do a shower but after talking to people here on the forum I didn't due to the amount of humidity it would create and the noise.I also have Matala as part of the system and I like it. Bought mine on Ebay for much less than the LFS wanted.


Gregg

[BruceP]

Fred,,,, Lari is the hole drilling expert......... when we built the 1000 gallon tank in the basement, the water returned via a 3" pipe hung across the back at the top of the tank. She drilled 184 - .250" holes in that pipe. She KNOWS how to drill holes.... LOL :gogirl:

[small_ranchu]

Where is Lari? Lari please tell me your secret.

[BruceP]

She is working............ someone has to bring in some $$$$... My job was eliminated Oct 1 and Im about a year and a half short of retirement. Oh well, fish are keeping me busy. ;)

[Lari]

Bruce said you wanted to know how to drill holes.

A pic is worth a thousand words.

[small_ranchu]

Thanks Lari... Pic helps a lot. :)

[OldMarine]

Lari,

That setup looks familiar, except mine was on a smaller scale. My pipe was a 3/4" pvc pipe for my 27 gallon boi-filter water supply from the skimmer/pre-filter reservor. There are some pictures posted at my signiture at picassaweb.

Happy ponding,

[Lari]

Very nice looking pond you have there OldMarine.

[OldMarine]

Hi Lari,

Thank you. It's not as big as I would like, but it's paid for. I really enjoy sitting aorund my pond and watching the fish, even in the winter months.

Happy ponding,:coffee:

[small_ranchu]

what is the suggested flow rate for goldfish? In pond area (koi sites), ppl suggest 3-4 times the size of the pond per hour.

[BruceP]

Fred,,,,,, as you know, nothing is that simple... lol
Size:load:filtrationtype/size: etc etc all contribute to flow rate/turn-over. I'm a believer in high turnover ratio but then you have to have the filtration that will handle it. Also, the larger the body of water it seems like the less turnover is needed to maintain a healthy enviroment for a given fish load. All I can offer is an example. On our 600g goldie pond we run an Easy Pod filter which is rated for a max flow of 2600gph and we have a 2200gph pump on it so its probably putting about 1800gph thru the filter ....... THREE turns per hour. We have a 57w uv on this pond that we usually don't run as we want the green water for the show fish.
Similar sized tank (700g) inside has a completely different filter system and we run a Sequence 4200gph pump, no UV,.... SIX turns. So, you see, it is all determined by the complete system whether it is for koi or goldies.

[small_ranchu]

Do I need to prefilter the intake water?

Do I need additional filter if I am aiming for 7x turn over rate? I have 4 90days old ranchu in 20 gal tank with heavy feeding.

[small_ranchu]

Do you think is it safe to put 30lb of filter on 29 g tank? Filter media is quiet heavy.

[BruceP]

Fred..... You are trying to filter a 29 with about 30# of bakki shower right??

Here is what I would do I think. I'd get three trays that they use for window boxes. Make them stackable and drill holes in the top two trays. Make a coupla spray bars and attach them to the top of the top tray. Bottom tray I'd put a bulkhead in and attach a return hose so you can direct the return water. Fill the trays with the media and mount this above the tank and put approx. an 800gph submersible pump in the tank. Pump the water up to the spray bars(2) and spray the water down over the media in the trays.
You could also use this as the return stage of a wet/dry system for further degassing but it should work as a stand alone. Only thing you may need is to have a fines media in the bottom tray which would trap solids and need to be cleaned out occasionally.

[small_ranchu]

media had arrived last Friday. Time to work now.

[judge]

media had arrived last Friday. Time to work now.

Could you post the photos of your Bakki Shower? I would love to see it in action...

[small_ranchu]

I can only post the pic of the filter. The filter is so heavy and I am afraid to put on top of 29 g. I might put it on top of fiberglass tub next month. :)

[judge]

Cool I would love to see the filter... :)

[Guyonthecanal]

Sounds like an intriguing method of filtration. The biochemist in me is having a real hard time believing that these rock emit in the the infra-red as advertised. Like to see some hard evidence of that.

[small_ranchu]

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l68/smallranchu/DIY/bakki%20shower/DSCN1232.jpg

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l68/smallranchu/DIY/bakki%20shower/DSCN1233.jpg

[nygold]

Looks good Fred.
It looks like a 3 draws full of paint rollers.

[judge]

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l68/smallranchu/DIY/bakki%20shower/DSCN1232.jpg

http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l68/smallranchu/DIY/bakki%20shower/DSCN1233.jpg

Looking good. I think you haven't poke the holes yet... A friend of mine uses the same thing except she uses lava rocks as her media. Worked great.

[small_ranchu]

Modify spray bar and attach everything together today... Big TVRs are taking shower now.

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[Hondataeg6]

Fred, whats the flow rate of youre pump?

[small_ranchu]

350 gph at that 3'

[Corrie]

Fred, is it just me? Isn't that thing way overkill for a few fish?

[small_ranchu]

Fred, is it just me? Isn't that thing way overkill for a few fish?

just want to have the best condition for a few fish and see their growth rate. I feed a lot though.

[ak47_chicago]

just want to have the best condition for a few fish and see their growth rate. I feed a lot though.

Who's Fred, I bet Fred's feed his fish and care his fish more then Fred's care for himself...hehe

[Corrie]

Who's Fred? LOL

I could run our whole hatchery on that thing!

Here's something to toss out there.
Year's ago when wet/drys (dry/wets) were just getting popular, there was a huge discussion on one of the pro boards about how big is too big.
Some people thought that a too big wet/dry would starve itself between 'loads' and not be able to crank back up fast enough when you needed it.

In practice, that proved to be hoo-doo and nothing to worry about.