Added: 1 year ago
From: pondguru
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  • hello, i know this might sound like a dumb question but im a little new to this. i was wondering, could i use this on its own to filter my tank? or do i need a cannister filter as well? i have a 40b goldfish tank and a 30g turtle tank. I need a filter for for my 30g but am looking for an alternative to buying another cannister filter.

  • Yes, it can be used as the only filter provided there is sponge attached to act as a prefilter to trap suspended particles.

  • Hi I currently use two CF1000 canister filters in my 5ftx2ftx2ft but also have just purchased 3 litres of K1, I want to use this K1 to its best advantage and was wondering if I could totally remove the normal media from one of the canisters and replace with only the K1, would this work or do you think I could replace one of the canisters with a 2litre cola bottle filled with K1 inside the tank?

  • Since the media is most effective in a moving bed filter, the internal is the way to go for K1.

  • @pondguru cheers for advice have gone ahead and made an internal filter but using a 3ltr bottle with aprox 2 litres of K1

  • No worries, man. Thanks for posting it as a video response too.

  • and add a little bag of carbon in the bottle and you got a selfmade 3 stage filter :-)

  • what is the maximum size aquarium that can be used?

  • This one is in a 75 litre and is no worries. I would imagine it would handle up to 100 litres in its current size.

  • I'm thinking of putting one of these into a tank that will have koi fry later in the year , but want the k1 to be mature for when I introduce the fry , so there is zero ammonia and nitrite to give them the best chance of survival ,

    Would filter start or bio start additive make the k1 mature ?

    Thanks

  • You really should seup it the tank with a few fish to cycle the water and filter so it is ready for the fry. This could take a few months so allow plenty of time. Biostart would help bt cycling with a few fish is the way to go.

  • I agree with you on the fact that I should have used the correct media. It just doesn't seem like much water would pass through the sponge area because of the holes in the bottle. I was thinking if you didn't put those holes by the lid of the bottle all the water would basically be forced through that sponge.

  • Yeah, probably would suck harder through the foam if I didn't drill the neck of the bottle. There is a much better design in a later video called 'Excellent moving bed filter at Tyne Valley Aquatics'

    That one is hopefully going into commercial production very soon.

  • That sponge doesn't reall look as if it would be productive at all since you drilled holes at the bottom of the bottle. If you look at mine I deleted the sponge because to me, it looks a bit ridiculous in the tank.

  • Tell that to the nation of muck which has been attracted to the sponge. I still use the filter now. Only one in the tank and going well. Any shrimps and young fish will find exposed foam an invaluable source of food. By using a few straws instead of proper media with increased surface area, the space taken up by the filter isn't productive.

  • That's a really cool design bro can you please show me more how to make one? Thanks

  • On the right of this page, there is a video called 'how to make a moving bed filter'

  • this was very helpful just wanted to let you know, also bought your media off ebay thx !!

  • No worries, I should be posting out today.

  • can i know what the different between moving bed filter and normal filter .i am useing hanging filter.

  • If you watch the video: 'How to make a moving bed filter' I explain the benefits in that video.

  • What can replace k1.... I dint get this my country

  • There are very few other moving bed media available since it is a paten protected process. I supply worldwide - link in the video description.

  • i just made my k1 moving bed it doesnt move is it okay if i leave it alone will it start to move in a few week its about 3/4 full check it out k1 media 2nd day

  • It won't work with the full stock of K1 from day 1. You need to start with about 25-30% and add more weekly until you are up to the desired amount. It needs a biofilm to build up on it which takes a few weeks until it moves correctly so start with a small amount then build gradually.

  • I made this filter, Its running on day 4 and the k1 media still is not moving i was wondering if it may be the amount of holes drilled in the top and bottom of the bottle. I place about 9-12 holes on both ends. Any tips you may have to get the k1 media to circulate? 

  • The amount of K1 you put in is fairly critical. A full stock of new K1 will not move until it matures. You need to start with about 1/4 of the bottle full and add K1 weekly until you get it fully stocked (up to 75% of the container volume) The K1 will build up a film on it making it move much easier but it does take a few weeks for the media to attain full stock. Shape of bottle sometimes alters how the media moves but its not critical.

  • @pondguru Thank you for taking the time to reply , I started with a bottle 3/4 full of k1 and now I am going to reduce it to 1/4. I will take your advice and add a little every week till I'm at 3/4 full. Again "THANK YOU" !

  • Respond to this video... Just made the correction" IT WORKS GREAT NOW" ! 

  • Champion.

  • CONFUSED do i take out my existing fluval u2 filter having problems with nitrates trying to solve the issue and came across this, do you think it will work??

  • Most filters produce nitrates as an end product of the ammonia - nitrite - nitrate conversion. This filter is no different but as it has air bubbling through it maybe it will help to remove nitrate too - I don't know for sure. Natural plants and regular partial water changes are the the best way to keep nitrates down. Tetra 'Nitrate minus' is a good product too.

    See 'Best aquarium moving bed filter ever' video for an improved design which allows the filter to replace existing internal/external.

  • how much k1 is needed to make a 2 liter filter? also do you use foam or do you use a sponge? do you think a 2 liter will enough for a 60 gallon tank? i also have a new eheim 2217 filter going on the tank.

  • You would usually allow up to 75% of the volume of the bottle you're using to be filled with K1 so that would be approx 1.5 litres. That is way big enough for a 60 gal tank. Foam / sponge - it doesn't matter they do the same job.

  • @pondguru ill probably end up doing either 2 1L smart water bottle FBFs or using 2 1.5l bottles. that way i can hide them in oppoiste corners of the tank behind my drift wood. now for the added sponge filter would u recommend using it with Tahitian mood sand or should i just stick to using my eheim 2217 to polish the water. thanks again for the help

  • Never heard of mood sand but the external filter sounds like a good idea.

  • @pondguru tahitian moon sand is a black sand, i just ordered 2 liters of k1 from you so it should only take acouple weeks to get here from the uk. I will be using the filters strictly as bio filters with no foam and instead use a foam filter for the canister filter. thanks for all the feedback.

  • Ahhh...Moon sand makes more sense. I will post out your order on monday morning once the post office opens again and all being well you should have it at the end of the week or early week following.

  • I have 1 liter soda bottle 1/2 full of plastic straws I cut , no longer than 1 inch each, & it work perfectly, you just need to give it time for the bacteria film to develop and then it will move freely, time's the key, & try to keep the air stone stuck on one side of the bottle and not in the middle of it, &, drill the holes on the same side of the bottle as where the air stone will be, so water will enter in the bottom holes be pushed up by bubbles & exit the top holes

  • Nice one, man. Someone who actually got straws to work.

  • You can also buy an air lift filter ( which is nothing more than a tube with a sponge attached to the bottom of it, you will need an air pump to make it work ) and attach the bottle with the bio media to it. The bacteria will grow both on the sponge surface as well as on the plastic bio media, and the sponge will also help to filter the water from solid waste and keep the water pollished clean.

  • Waaaaaao 3 in 1 biological filter mechanical filter oxygen diffuser

  • The foam is really required as part of the moving bed filter as without it, the filter will keep pollution down but not keep the water clean. With this filter it does the entire job.

  • ThAT is brilliant!! what an invention!

  • No worries. Thanks for appreciating.

    I would probably describe it as 'crude, but effective'.

  • @pondguru you are Einstein for fish

    great concept

    

  • lol

    Thanks, man.

  • I would just stay away from cheap filters if you want a quiet operation. Generally the more expensive ones are better quality and produce less noise and vibration.

  • @pondguru would this be good enough for kois and how often do you change the water in 55 gallon tank?

  • The filter media is great for fish which produce alot of waste so is spot on for koi. For koi (in a tank) I would advise a 25% weekly water change with plenty of filtration.

  • Man this particular one would be loud, not something you would want in your living room watching TV. In my opinion something that big in your aquarium would distract the viewer from looking at your lovely tank. I do use moving bed filters but I wouldn't put this type in a tank in the house but maybe in fish rooms or breeding tanks they would be OK..

  • No noisier than having an air pump supplying an air stone as the only sound is from bubbles breaking the surface. Most people do use them in fish houses or heavily stocked predator tanks as the look of a traditional internal filter is preferrable to most people.

  • Hi Richard,

    I want to build one myself, but I can't see how your airline is attached in the corner piece. Also I can't see how the tube is fit in the bottle cap?

    Can you also apply this system on the tube from a bottom filter for a shrimp tank?

  • By 'bottom filter' I assume you mean an under gravel filter - no worries, thats the best place to put a moving bed filter. Check my video'moving bed filter in an aquarium' to see my very first filter attached to the uplift of an UGF.

    As for pipes going into the cap and rigid pipe, I just drill holes which make whatever I want to feed through a very tight fit.

  • I could be wrong here but with holes in the bottle it self it stops a vacume happening rendering the filter pad almost useless ?

  • Because the holes are well above where the air is injected, the action of the rising air does pull water through the sponge as the displaced water is replaced by water dragged from below (through the sponge). You should see how much muck collects in the sponges on the ones we've got in the shop. Just the same as a standard air driven foam filter really. but with the K1 bit fitted on top.

  • Just out of curiosity, what is the flow rate of water like through the filter? Do you happen to know if its relatively slow? I ask because I would like to know if this could be used in conjunction with large aquariums as a primary form of filtration.

  • I haven't tested this, but I would assume it was somewhere close to however much the air pump produces. For example if you had a 150 litre per hour air pump, you could expect the filter to draw in about 150 litres per hour? as the air dislaces water in the bottle and draws in more from the bottom to fill it.

  • Can the air pump be internal or external, or can it work with any? thanks

  • I don't know of any air pumps which can be sited in a tank. To my knowledge, they all have to be external, pumping air into the tank.

  • @pondguru Thnaks for the friend request :) i tried to make a standard moving bed filter from a different moving bed filter video of yours and the gravel would not move :( any advice? thanks

  • For a moving bed filter you need to use the correct media or it hasn't got a cat in Hells chance of moving.

    There are other media than K1 which move but since I have never bought them into the shop, I don't know much about them.

  • @pondguru ok thanks, i have bought some k1... does it contain carbon or anything that removes medicine because i have high amoonia levels in my tank so i dont want it to remove any medicine, if it doesnt then does it help to remove things such as nitrite and ammonia and how much should i put into a standard 50cl bottle, i have bought 75grams, thanks.

  • Yoiu should start with the bottle being about a quarter full and add more media over time as the media moves in the bottle - too much at once and it won't move properly.

  • Its basically a shaped plastic media and won't affect treatments. It will remove pollutants by bacterial action, same as standard media - but with more vigour as the bacteria is much more hardy.

  • @pondguru Say you have a large tank of like 200 gallons or more, would something that size be effective on a larger tank or would I need to build a larger moving bed filter? Thanks

  • It would really need about 8-9 litres of K1 if the tank was well stocked and 200 gal.

  • @pondguru I just tried it and the the media it floating to the top of my bottle and 1 or 2 floating around every few seconds... what should i do? thanks

  • Until the media builds up a bio film (bacteria) it won't run at full capacity. Start with a small amount of media and add more over days to keep it moving. It may take weeks to get the full amount of media (up to 75% capacity of bottle) moving fluidly.

  • Good video, can you put sponges, bio stuff, and just normal gravel in there or doyou have to use k1? thanks

  • You could put other media in there but it wouldn't act as a moving bed filter.

  • Bloody well done! :)

  • Thanks, man.

  • i have a 4ft tank for my shrimps

    , is it good to use k1 moving bed during cycle?? thank..

    1st time trying so i wan to ask bfr used

  • Since K1 takes an age to mature, probably not. Unless used in conjunction with sponge or undergravel filter which will give extra filtration and will speed things up a bit.

  • do you have some video with water pump, instead air pump

    i got 240l/h pump and want to use with 2l bottle, and 1-1.5l K1 media, byt wanna to ask is it gonna be better with water pump instead air pump

  • It will definitely work better with air instead of water power as the air will provide the oxygen rich environment which the bacteria will thrive in.

  • Hi pondguru, thanks for the advice. I will add more to it slowly.

  • After learning and understanding from your design. I have done a small 400ml bottle for my 2ft shrimps tank, it running smoothly and waiting the good performance.

  • Nice one. Look forward to hearing how it goes or seeing a video.

  • Just checked out your video. Looks good although you could get quite a bit more K1 in there to get it chugging away nicely.

  • @pondguru Hi. Once the moving bed filter is mature, will i need to use my mechanical filter in conjunction with the moving bed filter? thnks

  • If you're using a design which uses foam and K1, then it should be the only filter you'll need in the tank.

  • @pondguru if im using the design that only uses k1, what should i do then.

    Thnks

  • It may be worth putting a small sponge filter (air driven) in too, just to keep the water free of suspended particles.

  • do you think that you could use an internal filter housing to construct this and secondly is it noisey in operation

  • Just try it, as anything can be used as a vessel really. As long as the media is moving. The noise is from the air escaping so its no noisier than an air pump you would have pumping air into your tank. If the bubbles are large they will be noisier than if they are small (from an air stone)

  • won't the holes in the bottom of the bottle cause allow a lot of water to bypass your sponge filter entirely? I suppose the water will follow the flow of least resistance. I guess if one doesn't clean the sponge quickly enough and it becomes clogged water will still be able to get into the bottle and be biologically filtered, thus keeping the fish alive.

  • Because the airstone is below the holes in the bottle, water is drawn up through the foams first and up into the bottle to the K1. As it rises into the bottle, more water is pulled in through the holes in the neck of the bottle. I suppose it didn't really need the holesin the neck of the bottle..............

  • you need to patent that before evolution aqua do

    i wonder if it would be poossible to make an external one somehow

  • you need to patent that before evolution aqua do

  • As it is video proof of invention, I would hope that I wouldn't need a patent. That said, even with a patent, the Chinese would bang out almost exact copies to get round the legal stuff.

  • you should use an airstone

  • The airstone is down to choice really. If you don't use one, you may get better media movement but bigger (noisier) bubbles. An air stone will prevent the airline coming out also. Some of ours have stones, some don't. As the filter matures, the media will move more freely and require less air to drive the media.

  • The airstone is down to choice really. If you don't use one, you may get better media movement but bigger (noisier) bubbles. An air stone will prevent the airline coming out also. Some of ours have stones, some don't. As the filter matures, the media will move more freely and require less air to drive the media.

  • It's kinda 3 filters in 1. A wet/dry (bubbles give gaseous oxygen). A FBF (moving bed of biological material). And a sponge filter (sponge at the bottom). Fantastic idea!

  • Pretty much spot on there. Thanks for appreciating the design.

  • @kfor714 I know not to mention the higher levels of oxygen will boost bacteria growth the same way a bio wheel would. truly a great design.

  • Hi Richard - Thank you for the K1. I plan to make my bottle soon for my koi tank. Plan to make my own video about the filter media soon, but will give you the credit of course. You're a sweetie! GAiL

  • No worries, this filter is much better than previous ones so I'm sure you'll do a great job. Send me the video - I look forward to seeing it.

  • and this is something that could be done on a bigger scale as well? maybe multiple chambers for bigger tanks? that piping and filter is an awesome idea. does it require a really powerful air pump to work correctly? just curious, i like diy filters, and projects.

  • The air pump is a bit overpowered but is the one which runs over half our tanks (40+) so I need to restrict it a bit. You could effectively use this filter with a small air pump (3-5 watts) producing 80-100 litres of air per hour. We do them for about a tenner.

  • Good designe Richard, works well

  • The next logical step is to get one which would be mass produced for aquarium use. If I had the time................

  • Hi Richard; I like the improvements, I would like to add that if you have a deep enough tank you can use a 45. A 45 flows much better than a 90 and if there is room no bend would be best.

  • Is that the Algarde foam filter? If so, we usually stock them and that would have been my preferred choice to add a K1 filter to but we didn't have any in stock and the urge to create overtook me so I rummaged through my shed to find the parts for this one. I am also planning to add a K1 filter to a weighted foam filter (like you would use in a discus tank) to make a similar filter.

    Thanks for watching.

  • Great design. Good work

  • Thanks for watching and appreciating it.

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