My Biostraw invention.
Unsubscribe at bottom of this e mail .... address is info@pondsandpumps.co.za . Tel: +27-11-454-0105
Vol: 315 Date: July 23rd 2003
***** Last Chance Offer ***** see further down
Contents
1. We all have our problems
2. Blanketweed or string algae ... the solution?
3. Quick Tips
4. Admin Section
1. We all have our problems ...
One of mine (and I have had it for about 50 years I suppose) is my lack of diplomatic skills and my impatience (hey, that's 2 problems).
A couple of weeks ago I was doing a talk at a large customer's store to interested pond keepers. There was a good sprinkling of koi keepers there also prior to the annual koi auction. Koi are very special fish and koi keepers do tend to take a greater interest in what is actually happening beneath the surface of their ponds more so than the casual gardener.
Before the talk got under way I found myself in "discussion" with a koi keeper on biofilters. It wasn't long before a minor confrontation developed around biofilter size. For the umpteenth time in my life I heard the FACT that a filter had to be 1/3 the pond size whatever that actually means. The other party was not impressed by my views and once my talk started there was one less listener.
Let me try hard to debunk this myth of biofilter size and explain what is really really important.
If there is a need to talk about size at all then this must relate NOT to pond volume, NOT to filter box size, and NOT to relationships between pond volume and filter volume. Size in terms of effective biofiltration ALWAYS means size (rather speak of quantity) of surface area where the bacteria, oxygen and food source come into contact with each .... ie at the biomedia surface.
Of course we all talk of a biofilters being suitable for a pond up to x gallons because we have to try and simplify the understanding for both sellers and buyers of off-the-shelf products. And of course we all generalise in order to communicate "better".
I have just invented a new product called Biostraws .... be patient
There is a product called Flocor which is sold around the world as a biofilter medium ... a biomedium is a place where bacteria can happily live by clinging to a surface that comes into intimate contact with water containing nutrients and oxygen. Flocor is one of thousands of possible media. They have just done a great job of marketing their product over the years. Just in case someone does not know what Flocor, let me describe it ... it is a hollow black plastic tube with a few ridges. It is about 1 inch diameter and 2 inches high, normally black. The ridges by the way are cosmetic to all intents and purposes.
My Biostraw Invention
Now ask yourself a question? What is the difference between a Flocor tube and a drinking straw of the same height. Then ask your self another question ... how many pieces of drinking straw can be fitted into the empty space of a Flocor tube? The answer is quite a few.
Let me put this another way. We have all seen the boxes of drinking straws which say 100 for $1.50. Sure enough just like the box says there are 100 tightly packed straws inside this rather small box.
Imagine if you took all the tightly packed straws out of this small box and then filled the box with Flocor tubes in a random fashion.
Count the number of Tubes you can fit into the box. Now calculate the areas of available surface for the two systems. To save you the effort I have done it for you....
You will find that the surface area of the drinking straws that fill the box (ie all 100 added together) is about 6 times that of the Flocor tubes that also fill the box. Put another way a drinking straw is 6 times more efficient as a biofilter medium than Flocor is.
In turn this means that theoretically a box biofilter containing drinking straws can be 6 times smaller than a box biofilter containing Flocor because the amount of space the bacteria require is now reduced by 5/6 .... I can here you say; amazing, isn't it. It is amazing; yet remarkably simple when you think about it.
You may use my invention if you wish ... no charge.
This basic fundamental understanding is the very essence of good biofilter design. Bacteria are tiny and do not need lots of fresh air space inside any box. They just need somewhere to attach themselves ... by the way every surface inside your pond: the walls, the stones, the pump and its pipes are also biofilters. The bacteria live on these surfaces too.
In practice it does mean that adding drinking straws to a biofilter full of hair curlers, plastic balls, plastic tubes, and modern plastic wonder-shapes claimed by the biofilter sellers to be better than anything since sliced bread will increase a filters biological capacity significantly.
Let me come back to the old story of a biofilter must be 1/3 the pond size. This goes back to the earlier days of pond keeping when biofilters were actually large chambers filled with stones or gravel and water was distributed across the surface of the stones. As water worked its way down the bed of stones the bacteria would convert the ammonia waste to nitrates so long as sufficient oxygen was present. However in deep beds of gravel there was a danger of anaerobic bacteria problems developing bcause channelling would occur. Frequently beds were too deep so that all the oxygen was consumed before the water reached the bottom of the bed to be re-circulated.
This is where the 1/3 rule of thumb came from and it was based upon area of the bed not volume.
Understand what is written above and you can examine all sorts of ways to improve your biofilter and/or reduce the size of it and of course it becomes really easy to make one for yourself.
You have heard me mention Alfagrog many times ... Alfagrog is 40 times more efficient than Flocor.
You will come across the term SSA which means Specific Surface Area. It is a means of comparing different filter media. The units used are SURFACE AREA PER UNIT OF VOLUME. For example 2 sq feet per gallon or 5 sq metres per litres etc.
Flocor's SSA is less than 1 sq metre per litre while Alfagrog is 40 sq metres per litre.
Surface area required in total for bacteria is dependant upon many things but especially the amount of food fed to your fish. Since larger ponds tend to have more fish which need more food then such ponds need more biomedia. This is why we simplify biofilter selection by talking about pond volume. Now you know better ... much better. Knowledge is power when we talk about pondkeeping.
A *RARE* Opportunity Is Here and definitely endorsed by myself
This is the first time I have ever done this in one of my Gazettes but I think all of us are looking for opportunities to make a bit of extra (honest) money.
Very occasionally an opportunity arises to make money that MUST be grabbed ... one has arisen very recently.
Before going any further so you can decide to skip this section if you like you will only be able to benefit possibly if you have a web site or would like to create one.
The scheme has been introduced by the best of all search engines. It is a recent innovation by Google and it is called the Google Adsense program.
If you therefore have ambitions to make some decent pocket money to pay for you next pond or buy that 2 feet long special koi then get involved.
The best way to start even if you do NOT have a web site but are contemplating one is to click on the link below where you will learn a great deal more about the opportunity. In addition you will learn a sure fire way of QUICKLY creating web sites that work (ie attract visitors).
You will be taken to the site of one of my internet mentors, who is one of the most respected of all internet marketers I have come across in the last 4 years or so. He also happens to be a Canadian trauma surgeon. His name is Ken ... you will get to like him very much.
Click below and see what Ken says about the program and more important how to really benefit from it QUICKLY.....
Click here NOW and click the links in the contents box
If you want to take a look at one of my sites where I use the scheme then try http://www.clean-garden-ponds.com (we are talking biofilters aren't we?). You will see at the right hand side that Google advertises on my site products that are very specific to water gardening. Every time someone cicks on an advert Google pays me a respectable sum of money.
Joining is a matter of applying to Google and it is totally free and extremely easy to implement on any web page which you own. The secret is to have a web site that attracts visitors and it can be a lot easier than you think ... promise! Here's Ken's site again, go there follow the links in the contents box
Click here NOW
No endorsement of ANY ad is implied unless expressly stated by Tony Roocroft
***** Last Chance Offer *****
I am in the final stages of re-writing and re-publishing everything I know about ponds, pumps, biofilters, UVs and aquatic plants. This series of books will be called "The Pondsaver Series". The seperate volumes will be priced at a level every pond keeper will want to buy. I will also publish the series in a single volume to improve my book called "Your Pond Crystal Clear Water Guaranteed." The Water Lilies book now being offered free to my book purchasers will also be sold as from early in August.
Get both existing books:- "Your Pond Crystal Clear Water Guaranteed" and "Water Lilies and Plant Aquatics" while you can for the give-away price of only $8.90.
Buy the book ... last chance ... click here
2. Blanketweed or string algae ... the solution?
Blanketweed, string algae and barley straw
At last I think I have found out not only what is required to effectively eliminate string algae or blanketweed but how to use the barley straw product to increase its effectiveness and why.
Sure we have all heard about barley straw but most of us have been told it does not work most of the time.
This is almost certainly true too but for good reason.
Now I think I know why and am thus able to provide sound common-sense advice on what to do if you have this string algae problem. The solution also applies to suspended single cell algae responsible for pea soup water. So for those who do not like the idea of an UV clarifier or cannot afford one then all will be revealed over time.
My Pondsaver Series book dealing with algae will provide the answers all in one place ... to be published soon, watch this space.
Quick Tips
1. Increase biofilter surface area no cost
In any box biofilter using plastic rings, tubes, balls and so on you can improve the area for colonisation by bacteria as follows:
Use smaller diameter tubes or spheres Break the tubes or spheres into small pieces using a hammer Mix tubes with spheres and broken pieces of media In essence you need to reduce the free air space inside a biofilter box. However do not pack too closely together. Good flow might then be impeded. Try to maintain a fairly loose bed of biomedia.
Tip 2 Need a temporary pond?
You can create a temporary holding pond using a wooden crate with a thin liner placed loosely inside. Such tempoary holding ponds can be used to treat sick fish, quarantine a new fish or be used for just holding fish while you clean the pond out. You might also consider any large plastic mesh basket and place a liner inside. Remember to change water portions frequently if the fish stay there for any length of time.
Tip 3 Need to closely examine your fish?
If you need to observe fish closely get yourself a transparent polycarbonate, or PVC tank or vessel and let the fish swim around in it. You will not be able to observe at close quarters from the top and sides.
NEW Waterlilies and Pond Aquatics Book Free when you buy " Your Pond: Crystal Clear Water Guaranteed"
Choose to pay in any of following currencies using Worldpay secure servers
$8.50, 5.90, A$17.00 or R75.00
If you have previously bought the book see main body text
Free calculators promise ... receive all in a single file by clicking this link and sending the e-mail (do not change anything in the e-mail)
A bit about this Gazette .. How, Why?
Why? ......Water gardening is my business and it is ultimately in the company's interest to help as many people as I can all over the world so that the market prospers. I hope to also encourage others to follow my example by putting their knowledge on the web.
How? ... do I do it.
Well, the internet is a passion of mine. Over the years I have learned how to do almost everything myself and not rely upon any outside expensive 3rd party (I would just not be able to afford what I do if I had to rely upon outside designers and publishers). Now it is quick and easy for me to design effective web pages keep in touch with 000's of customers design "instant" catalogues create books manipulate images for the web summarize complete web sites in seconds prepare other useful data for mutual customer & supplier benefit, and help others to practically & successfully market themselves and their company using the internet all while I do my "day job" too.
I am not a web designer, nor a computer expert. However my web sites attract attract hundreds of thousands of visitors every month because they get found on search engine searches and they have useful content.
In response to queries I get and for anyone interested in web marketing the following are highly recommended resources to consider if you have a desire to effectively use the internet for the benefit of yourself, the community at large or your company.
Without access to tools like the "stuff" below I would not get all the visitors to my web sites nor would I be able to communicate so easily as I do with you. In fact I just would not be successful .. blimey I would not have even started. It is all very much easier than you think .... when you know how.