Well the one thing that I would be careful about for Koi pond filters , especially the trickle tower outside in the sun ,is the sun itself .
Like in all tropics we receive a lot of sunlight and yes it get hot .But the heat would not be an enemy , the evaporating water would still maintain the temperature and any koi keeper worth his salt would provide enough shade for his Koi .
Enough morning sunlight just does wonders for the colors .......
But filters are a different story .
Most of the time filters are standing out in the full sun .They get hit by sunlight full on entire day from all the angles , and we do have a long daylight (we never go into day light saving ,right !)
Now the problem is that the Nitrifying Bactria does not thrive well in sunlight : so what to we do -
Simple build some kind of a canopy over the filter ,or move the filter under a large tree ,
If your filter does not have deep trays and sunlight hits the biomedia from the sides we you can use some kind of a plastic sheet ,any colour as long as its black (well any color which is dark and opaque should do ) on the sides , I have seen people using wood also .
This not only helps with blocking the sunlight but also with the splatter too .
Also "Nitrification" in nature is a two-step oxidation process of ammonium (NH4+) or ammonia (NH3) to nitrate (NO3-) catalyzed by two ubiquitous bacterial groups. The first reaction is oxidation of ammonium to nitrite by ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB) represented by the Nitrosomonas species. The second reaction is oxidation of nitrite (NO2-) to nitrate (NO3- )by nitrate-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), represented by the Nitrobacter species.
Courtesy : Wikipedia
What do we do with nitrate (NO3- ) ?
Well most of us do a Water change -But is it sufficient ?
Denitrify
Denitrification is a microbially facilitated process of nitrate reduction (performed by a large group of heterotrophic facultative anaerobic bacteria) that may ultimately produce molecular nitrogen (N2) through a series of intermediate gaseous nitrogen oxide products.
In general, it occurs where oxygen, a more energetically favourable electron acceptor, is depleted, and bacteria respire nitrate as a substitute terminal electron acceptor. Due to the high concentration of oxygen in our atmosphere denitrification only takes place in anoxic environments where oxygen consumption exceeds the oxygen supply and where sufficient quantities of nitrate are present. These environments may include certain soils and groundwater, wetlands, oil reservoirs, poorly ventilated corners of the ocean, and in seafloor sediments.(So also on the base of mudponds a couple of inches deep .)
The easiest way for us to achieve this is good quality ceramic Filter media , ones with deep pores so that the anaerobic bacteria can live in - This is not an easy process and will take a long time to happen .or (using coils is not practical in large ponds at all ,unless somebody wants to build a large enough coil)
So do invest in some high quality filter media and this will automatically take care of some of the problem but -till then water change is the only option .
Like in all tropics we receive a lot of sunlight and yes it get hot .But the heat would not be an enemy , the evaporating water would still maintain the temperature and any koi keeper worth his salt would provide enough shade for his Koi .
Enough morning sunlight just does wonders for the colors .......
But filters are a different story .
Most of the time filters are standing out in the full sun .They get hit by sunlight full on entire day from all the angles , and we do have a long daylight (we never go into day light saving ,right !)
Now the problem is that the Nitrifying Bactria does not thrive well in sunlight : so what to we do -
Simple build some kind of a canopy over the filter ,or move the filter under a large tree ,
If your filter does not have deep trays and sunlight hits the biomedia from the sides we you can use some kind of a plastic sheet ,any colour as long as its black (well any color which is dark and opaque should do ) on the sides , I have seen people using wood also .
This not only helps with blocking the sunlight but also with the splatter too .
Also "Nitrification" in nature is a two-step oxidation process of ammonium (NH4+) or ammonia (NH3) to nitrate (NO3-) catalyzed by two ubiquitous bacterial groups. The first reaction is oxidation of ammonium to nitrite by ammonium oxidizing bacteria (AOB) represented by the Nitrosomonas species. The second reaction is oxidation of nitrite (NO2-) to nitrate (NO3- )by nitrate-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), represented by the Nitrobacter species.
Courtesy : Wikipedia
What do we do with nitrate (NO3- ) ?
Well most of us do a Water change -But is it sufficient ?
Straight answer unless and until we do a constant water change or have a huge mud pond .
Nitrate (NO3- ) is the greatest growth inhibitor and cause other problems . (You do want to Grow Japanese Jumbo Koi in India )Denitrify
Denitrification is a microbially facilitated process of nitrate reduction (performed by a large group of heterotrophic facultative anaerobic bacteria) that may ultimately produce molecular nitrogen (N2) through a series of intermediate gaseous nitrogen oxide products.
In general, it occurs where oxygen, a more energetically favourable electron acceptor, is depleted, and bacteria respire nitrate as a substitute terminal electron acceptor. Due to the high concentration of oxygen in our atmosphere denitrification only takes place in anoxic environments where oxygen consumption exceeds the oxygen supply and where sufficient quantities of nitrate are present. These environments may include certain soils and groundwater, wetlands, oil reservoirs, poorly ventilated corners of the ocean, and in seafloor sediments.(So also on the base of mudponds a couple of inches deep .)
The easiest way for us to achieve this is good quality ceramic Filter media , ones with deep pores so that the anaerobic bacteria can live in - This is not an easy process and will take a long time to happen .or (using coils is not practical in large ponds at all ,unless somebody wants to build a large enough coil)
So do invest in some high quality filter media and this will automatically take care of some of the problem but -till then water change is the only option .
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