Hi readers,
Following the previous post on the Dengkil AP project, Haji Anwar has started planting some kailan, watercress (pegaga right?), and other plants on his AP setup. Immediately after the sprouts grew the third leaf, we saw that yellowing occurs on the leaves. I referred to the plant nutrient deficiency chart and confirmed that the yellowing indicates iron deficiency as none has been introduced to the system. FYI, iron deficiency is commonly associated to any AP setup since the iron level in fish feed isnt that much. Typically, what we do to combat iron deficiency would be to add an iron source which includes steel bars into the system so when it rusts it releases iron into the water. Commercial application may add Iron EDTA into the system...
Alright, this post wouldnt be so much about the system, well figure out about the growth an nutrient deficiency later on because we have a problem which required immediate attention. Sediments from the pond has accumulated into the gutters...a lot of em, and I have the feeling that its gonna continue on doing that...
Its quite a mystery, anyone would agree that if you tap just a little from the main pipe, the majority of the sediment should flow along the main line due to velocity and flowing condition etc. thus making sediments piling into the gutters quite unlikely with the small flowrates were tapping into the AP system. Whatever the explanation might be, the reality is that the sediments from the pond keeps piling into the gutters and its a huge problem as it may lead to anaerobic rotting which releases toxic substances. Whats causing all this?
Hmm, remember I did mention that the pond filter needs a reworking? Yes I did in the previous post. I started the project knowing that we need to reconfigure the pond filter so that it would remove particles efficiently. After we connected the AP system to the pond, a week after that the pond was crystal clear!!! Bear with me, not in a good way. Where has all the sediment gone to? Into the gutters...So I looked around on how to setup a pond filter since Im not very experienced with a pond setup...there are a lot of filter setups:
1) Gravitational filter - water trickle into filter medium then drains at the bottom of the filter
2) Overflow filter - similar to what I have in this blog, water enters at the bottom of the filter, flows up through filter media then overflows into pond
3) Staged filter/Chamber filter - water flows through a sequence of chambers with different filter material then to the pump chamber at the end
4) Pressurized filter - similar configuration to an overflow however is a closed and pressurized vessel, kinda like your house mains water filter
There are other filter setups I might have not mentioned but from my readings, these are the popular ones. Here I list some of the similar looking filters with Haji Anwars pond which is the Staged filter setup.
This is a typical staged filter setup. You can see it goes first to a settling tank, then into filter mediums...The water flows with an up an down pattern through out all the stages. If youre familiar with the fiber glass filter containers from your local aquarium shop, its the same setup but will not really include a settling tank at such small size compared to this kind of setups for ponds...in all chambers, the water enters through the bottom then rise up before entering the next chamber through the bottom. Every chamber is equipped with a drain at the bottom, the reason being that sediments will collect at the bottom then can be drained by the drain pipes...I got this picture from here My3Ponds Blog
This is another look at the same setup...with some minor differences. Got this one from here HappyKoi - Build your own Koi pond filter
This is the filter at Haji Anwars pond. Notice the difference? The water is not flowing with that up and down pattern, notice the arrows, the water flow is rather just flowing in a staggered kind of way...this, is where the problem starts...in its initial setup, the water was just passing all the chambers without going through the filter materials. Hence never removing the particles...I didnt realize this was the actual setup until last week when I went to visit. I really thought that the arrangement was somewhat like the first two pictures...who ever did this filter for Haji Anwars pond, should really go to school...I mean it...
Nevermind, we can always try new ideas...
Heres the problem statement, you are to remove the particles in the water while supplying enough water to the pump which supplies the fountain and the water jets in the pond. Let me just say that Ive rearranged the filter twice...the second time I rearranged it was today. And I can say both times that we couldnt make the filter efficient without choking the supply for the pump...bummer...ok I did try to improve the filter but hey the design of the pond wasnt even efficient...
If youre getting a pond from any landscaping/aquarium company, DO YOUR RESEARCH ON DESIGNS, POND DESIGNS, FILTER DESIGNS, DRAINAGE DESIGNS...so you wont get cheated...in Haji Anwars pond, the drainage is not piped from the bottom of the pond, there is only one water jet, the inlet to the filter is located right at the inlet chamber at one corner of the pond...You dont have to be an expert to ask the pros some questions, you just wanna make sure they can explain how everything should work down to the bits...
Alright enough ranting. So the latest rearrangement is in this picture...Since I needed to make some room so sediments can fall to the bottom, I just allowed that room in some chambers...
Ok, Ive told you that if I wanna remove the particles efficiently, the filter just wouldnt let enough water through fast enough to cope with the pump...so we had to create some bypasses in the filter materials to let it do so...
Alright, now what? Believe me, there is a blessing in disguise. The pond went clear after we supplied the water to the AP because the sediment stayed in the gutters. Little by little it just traps all the particles from the pond that couldnt be filtered out by the filter since we had to make bypasses to let it supply enough water to cope with the pump...failure in design by the pond builder? Yes...
The blessing in disguise is? We know that the little bypass to supply the AP gutters can transport sediment, now well figure out a way to catch the sediment before it goes into the gutters...a sedimentation tank perhaps? or more commonly known as a settling tank...yes...that will be next! A swirling settling tank which would allow Haji Anwar to collect fish waste from time to time and pass it to the million other plants he has around his house...Im very pessimistic with the pond filter that Ive figured out the Plan B is a must before I rearranged the filter for the second time...if any of you kind readers can suggest an improvement to the filter setup, Im all ears...
Alright, until next time! Thanks for reading!
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