Bro DragonFireSG, thks for the info. Yes, I got the inline carbon filter contact. I will see how it goes... Seriously that is my last alternative...

Bro R3dBull, hope u have enjoyed reading :)

Bro AdamC, thanks and yes I had actually removed some fish... Is not easy for me to reduce any further as all the 9 aro, the knife and the gar, I like them very much... Actually thinking of getting another 9 aro to make it 18... But I think I will abandon this plan for now :(
Actually how do we determine if the tank is high bioload? Because of the nitrate level? I am a little confuse... Any formula?

What do you have for filtration? Perhaps consider building in a shower to increase the turnover of your system? Marinepure is an excellent shower media.

[YOUTUBE]p_pbuC_Mfs8#t=28[/YOUTUBE]

An example 12"x12"x20" MP based shower. The tricky part is getting the feed water clean enough.

One of the ways to deal with high bioload is to overfilter.

We share the same hobby and passion, therefore the same "problem" - not being able to add another fish or two when we come across a nice catch.
I'm not aware of any scientific formula to calculate bioload but one look at your pond would draw the same observation from many - hey, there's a lot of fish in there! :)
Imagine given your current setup only with 6 aros in there... The fish would feel like they are living in a mansion with plenty of space, instead of feeling as tho they are being jammed in a "one bedroom" flat. Does this make any sense?

Fixed.

YouTube Video

Bro, u mean u fix this one in your pond? Any better design? :(

I think my existing filter is good enough to handle the Ammonia and Nitrite as both are both 0. I have Marine Pure in the filter too. :)

Haha... Yes bro AdamC, is difficult to control when u saw a nice fish that u like... As for the bioload, so there is no formula or whatever, just base on observation? But then hor, U find my pond full of fish but I myself find that can still add some more leh :( i think there is no right or wrong if is base on obsevation... cheers!

No need to fix this one exactly :) It's just an example. There are many creative ways to build a shower.

A shower is generally a few above water trays with clean water pumped up and allowed to flow over the media before returning to the pond. The air/water mixing makes for a very efficient filter. When used with MP some say the inside of the blocks start to host anaerobic nitrate eaters as the oxygenated water is rapidly consumed by aerobic bacteria on the outside.

In a submerged context, the inside of the MP blocks do not see a lot of flow. In a shower, water is constantly being exchanged all the way through the blocks due to the action of gravity.

Btw, do you dose sodium bicarbonate or test water for KH?

When your bio filter works very well, it eats a lot of KH (dissolved carbonates) and can lead to low buffering capacity in the water and PH instability. Even more so when the system is exposed to rainwater, and the pond is operating at a high bioload.

TS & Bros, thanks for sharing the chronicles of this pond set up. Really informative and educational after reading 33 pages of posting. Admiring TS perseverance with the time and money spend on setting up this beautiful pond. From the post, can really feel your excitement and frustration during the course of setting up. Can see it so much more complicated compare to tank set up. Thanks for sharing this wonderful journey so far :)

Hi Thomas,
For the type of fish you are keeping, ideally, you may want to allocate at least 500L per fish. I'm not sure what is the volume capacity of your pond but I think you can work out the simple math. Sure, there's always room to squeeze another fish or two but on the other hand, you'll be constantly battling with water quality problem and fish stress. Yes, fish do get stressed out when they have to fight for space. :)

Bro...Nitrate can only be reduce through water change.

also looking at how to minimise the source, which is bioload.

Bioload, as a hobbyist, i think diff to control!:p

Look at your feeding pattern. make sure no left over, or food with residue, like mp shell, fish skin...etc.

24/7 drip...some due with successful, some no.

I'm using daily top up of 15-20 mins , 2- 3 times a day, at slow flow.
regarding chlorine, it should not have any impact on the fish.
previously I just add directly, no issue at all
Now, I'm using a 2 stage cartridge, pre-filter and carbon....just itchy to try new stuff.

design of filter is importance. There should be a foam "collection point" and you can overflow them easily....the foam should be the most "toxic, or dirty portion" of your water.:D if you know what I mean.

Bro DragonFireSG, I stop using sodium carbonate as I put in oyster shell and coral chip as buffer... I think so far the pH is ok.

Bro Yifen, I am glad to know that you enjoy reading as well :)

Bro Adam, if 500L per fish, I guess I had over stock. It seems I really cannot add in more fish for now... :(

Bro Nutx, really thanks for the advise. May I know for your daily 15-20min top up, do you drain off the water before topping up the water? Or you just turn on the water and let it overflows? Or your water level will reduce so much that everyday you need 2-3 times 15-20min top up to bring the water upto the desire level? Can advise? Thanks. Btw, what is the nitrate level in your pond? Good?

As I grow plants on my filter compartment, it is quite hard for me to clear the foam 'collection point'. I dont feel like disturbing the pandan plants as they seem to only 'start' growing now... I dont know why they take so long to adapt to my fgt :( I will clean the foam again at the first compartment in a few weeks time.

Today I took a threesome pic of my aro. I guess is a male with 2 females? Right? He really siok to rub 2 at one go... Lol
http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0f7wipsx.jpg

Bro,

Always good to test KH (API test available) to see if your oyster shell/coral chips is working as planned.

Oyster shell and coral chips are good buffers - but take a very long time to react.

They do very well in an indoor pond or tank where water change is controlled, but not so good in an outdoor pond.

When there is heavy rain, these relatively insoluble carbonate sources cannot cope with the dilution due to the flood of 0 KH and usually low PH rainwater - this unless you have a huge amount packed away somewhere that most of the filtered water passes through.

Of course, if you shade your pond from most rainwater, you should be ok.

Last time sodium bicarbonate is hard to find in bulk in SG. Now NTUC Warehouse Club sells Arm and Hammer by the sack. Can't remember the weight - but it is as large as a small sack of rice.

BTW by my experience, oyster shells seem to be the better solid carbonate source. Coral chips don't seem to dissolve very much at all - which is the opposite of what you'd expect if the chips were providing carbonates to the water. Oyster shells on the other hand are eaten quite fast should be regularly replaced.

There is another type called lithaqua I've been checking up on. Supposed to be some really fine, sand-like buffer media based on calcified algae. Would be interesting to get a few sacks to try out in a shower or upflow filter.

Bro....I didn't measure my pond on Nitrate. I expect to be in range of 100.
The top up is to overflow the surface ammonia level. I've a foam collection in the filter, and the top up will overflow these foam into drain.

The top up is mainly to drain off the ammonia foam at the surface of the water. And this is the reason I prefer the 15-20 min top up than 24/7 dripping, as I find that the overflow may not be that effective, vs the 15-20 min top-up.

I'll take a pic of the overflow later.:)

I've this overflow in my 1st chamber that goes straight to the drain.

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5802/...11e55b89_z.jpg

All the floating dirt will trap here, and foam will be form here also.
It also control the level of the water level.

During top up, water will overflow from here...and the dirt and floating foam will be discharge together.

Bro,

This link might be of interest to you. It details a different type of filtration that is not commonly in use.

http://www.mankysanke.co.uk/html/anoxic_filtration.html

Thks bro Nutx for the advise and the pic. I have similar but a smaller overflow drainage pipe at my first chamber too. I seldom use this overflow drain pipe as my water usually slightly below it. How does your water go into the first chamber from the pond? Overflow and underflow together? I dont see those dirty floating foams at my first chamber. Is it because that they are trapped in the lava rocks in my first chamber?

Bro DragonFireSG, the link is marvelous! Thanks for the link! It will be great if someone who has tried it out, could feedback on the effectiveness :) I do not know why... It seems to me that using Marine Pure block has somehow a similar effect as described... Will you be trying out this filtration yourself?

Cheers!

I have no plans at this time. The original plans for my pond had a 500 gallon secondary filter on one side that was intend to hold several biocenosis baskets and plants for nitrate control.

We had to scrap that as there were power, water and gas lines running in the ground under that area that would have been too troublesome to move.

I might still put in a shallow above ground FGT in that area if I see the need to add an auxiliary filter to my system. It will be a simple matter routing some water from the mechanical filter over to it. For now my nitrate control will be the RDF (keeping solid waste out of the water flow) and water changes.

I am actually quite worried about the lack of soluble carbonate sources for my pond as there are very limited areas I can stuff a decent volume of oyster shell. I was planning to stuff a nice supply of the stuff in that secondary filter...

Nice pond!! Its so great to be able to have a pond in your house :)
Hope someday i'll be able to own a pond for my fishes in the future haha

Bro...

I have bottom drain and overflow skimmer from the main pond to the filter chamber.
The water level should be lower, and overflow when you I top up to flow out the flowing dirt and foam.

I think Koi is much more dirtier than others. But you should still have some foam forming, if the flow is put correctly.

Your lave rock could have trap them too. My first chamber is so-call the settlement chamber, with brushes to trap the physical dirt only.

Media start from 2nd chamber onwards. and it will be cleaner.:)

hi, mind if you take a picture of the inflow for your sump.

my pond was not designed properly, always have fishes getting sucked in. tried stuffing the inlet with nets and stuffs, but end up reducing the flow rate. end up my pump chamber is always dry.

Do post a pic of your setup if you can. We can then offer suggestions :)

You can get wide gauge stainless steel wire mesh fairly easily. Depending on your setup, building a cage around your pump/inlet might be a good solution.

Directly stuffing the inlet will definitely reduce your flow rate terribly. Building a cage around the inlet on the other hand will have far less effect on the flow.

Hi jyn1989, basically I just use some netting material at the overflow and underflow inlets. Is easy to DIY yourself. PM me if u need further clarification on this :)

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/...psurbdfoyv.jpg

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/...pss8ncr9s1.jpg

you should explore carbon based denitrators..saw one online from US. Can't remember the brand.

Bro Farish, let me know how denitrator works for u?

This morning I was awaked by the heavy downpour. Around 6+ when it finally stopped, I noticed my fgt water is very cloudy. I am not sure if is the rain water with the haze that caused this cloudiness :( Now the filter system has clear the water and it is back to normal. Should I do a WC? I just did a 50% WC the day before... Sianz... Any bros with outdoor fgt having this issue after this morning rain?

Test your ph...if is normal den dun need change.
If drop too much like below 6, u might need to do a wc and add sodium bicarbonate.

Thks bro Matthew, pH is ok. I just worry that there will be pollutants from the haze being introduced into the fgt through the rain... Today the fish looks ok, so I guess everything is fine. Maybe the cloudiness is caused by heavy rain disturbing the filter media :D

Long time no update... My bro sent his sumo xb to me yesterday. Really is a giant fat fellow.. You can see how gigantic it is comparing with my 18-20" 'small' xb. Happy to have him. Is like a Titanic 😊
http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/...ste0aomqh.jpeg

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/...skir2neku.jpeg

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/...sy7bh8n7l.jpeg

Your water looks crystal clear!! And the new addition is really a sumo!!

LOL that really is a sumo :) Great looking water too!

Did you manage to solve your nitrate issues? I see that you have added quite a few plants to the system.

Thanks for the comments...

I have not tested the nitrate for quite some time as it always disappointed me with a red indicator :( See liao sad so decided dont see better :D

My pandan seems to be growing but they never get dark green colour, always light green. My wife says is unhealthy and will not smell nice if is light green. I wonder why the pandan leaves are in this colour? Any expert?

Lately the tip of the leaves of most plants turn brown, any advise what has happened? What have I done wrong which caused this to the plants? Any expert?

I have mix views regarding the plants. Some say nice and some say is unsightly :( Wonder if I should remove the plants if they didnt help in the nitrate issue... Welcome any input. Thanks.

The water doesn't contain all the nutrients needed for the plant to develop like it normally would in soil.

You could perhaps rotate the plants in and out of the pond. Couple of weeks in nutrient rich hydroponics solution, couple of weeks in pond.

Needs experimentation.

Unhealthy look Pandan means good water parameters

Haha bro, I think it is tough to remove the plants as their roots are sticked to the media, sponge and rocks, etc... I am lazy to do that too... I just enjoy laying back and watching my fish. This sumo xb is really eye catching in the pond :D

Thanks bro... I remember this is what you told me last time :D unhealthy plant means good water :) Maybe I should test the nitrate tomorrow and give myself a surprise... Lol... But I think I will still get a red indication as usual :o

Bro, forget abt the testing. I already give up testing mine. Hahaha

Abc


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haha bro, should have listened to you... Seeing the red result made me sian half liao....

Discover some red sponge like things in my catfish mouth... Any advise what is that and can more WC cures it? :(

TIA

http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/...sravgjezi.jpeg

Pond
 

That's one humongous XB. Real solid piece.

Thks bro Mercury :)

Today I am very happy to have 2 boys at my patio gate asking me if I could let them come in to see my fish. How will I reject this request from the kids? They are really enthusiastic at their age of 12 year old. It reminds me that my dad bought me my first arowana around this age too, but I know nothing about fish keeping then...,

Both of them are quite knowledgeable in a way as they easily identify some of my fish, especially my hybrid catfish. They went on to tell me more about the RTC which they really like, and I am glad to learn from them :)

Before they left, they asked if they can come again... and of course, they will have a biggest welcome from me :)

Is really heart warming to see these youngsters enjoy in this wonderful hobby... At least I can tell my wife, fish keeping is not just an old man hobby, some youngsters do have the passion too :)

Cheers!