Bakki shower media

[rufretic]

I'm in the process of building some additional Bakki showers. I've been extremely happy with my water quality since I've started using a Bakki shower in addition to my other filtration. I did quite a bit of research when I built my first one but I figured it doesn't hurt to do a little more this time around. I'm currently using lava rock in some trays and in the others I decided from my research that this is pretty good:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/24pcs-Koi-Pond- ... 2318570518

I'm debating what to use in the new one and also thinking about replacing any lava rock. I would like to use the heat treated ceramic in all of them if it is agreed that it is one of the best choices. It is a bit expensive but now that I'm spending a little more on Koi I don't think it is worth saving a couple bucks on media if it is worth the cost.

Info that may affect what is the best choice:
The Bakki showers are each fed after a sand gravel filter so the media should not clog.
They are each fed with 1200gph, maybe a little less after head but there is no head other than the s/g filter itself.

How do you think the heat treated ceramic will work? If you think there are better options, please share.

[sschult]

I have never used the ceramic media but I have used lava rock and did a small experiment using matata gray and that worked pretty nice.

[SeaSideAquatics, LLC]

we sell them, they are the best.....if you interest we can give you gooood deal.

[rufretic]

I have never used the ceramic media but I have used lava rock and did a small experiment using matata gray and that worked pretty nice.

I have some extra blue matala I was thinking about trying in one of the trays. Each will have 3 trays so maybe I can do the matala in one tray of each shower.

[rufretic]

we sell them, they are the best.....if you interest we can give you gooood deal.

Yes, please send me a pm with some pricing.
Thanks,
Lou

[rufretic]

How much do you guys fill in each of your trays? I think mine are around 18" tall and I only filled about 4" of the ceramic in those trays. I have a lot of room for more, is it good to fill them or is the air in between good for making more splashing/oxygen?

[Marilyn]

It's a bit of a balancing act for the amount of media. My preference is to make sure there is some drop to the media in each tray. I also don't like to overload each tray if the media will compact so it will depend a bit on the media you decide to use. If you go with Tom's media (Seaside) they you won't have to worry about it compacting and voiding air space as much. For that media, or my Bakki media, you could easily fill half of each tray and you'll still have half a tray drop.

And yes, avoid the cermedia. I got rid of all of mine.

[Tula]

rufretic,
Is your water prefiltered prior to the sand and gravel filter? Thanks!

[rufretic]

Thanks Marilyn, good info as always!
Is the cermedia that gets mushy the same as the media I posted? I thought it was different. The stuff I posted has been running in one of my indoor bakki showers for about 3 months and so far it is still solid so I'm hoping it is not the same type of media that people have been having issues with.

rufretic,
Is your water prefiltered prior to the sand and gravel filter? Thanks!

The one on the outside pond, yes. The new ones on the inside pond, no. The inside is really just a temp setup for the winter months. Nothing gets in the pond like an outside pond so I'm trying to get away with just the sand/gravel filter and the Bakki shower. So far so good. I flush the sg filter weekly and have not had an issue so far.

[Marilyn]

Thanks Marilyn, good info as always!
Is the cermedia that gets mushy the same as the media I posted? I thought it was different. The stuff I posted has been running in one of my indoor bakki showers for about 3 months and so far it is still solid so I'm hoping it is not the same type of media that people have been having issues with.

No, this media is not cermedia but I was taking the chance to share my experience with it as we were talking about ceramic media. Not all ceramic media is created equal. I know people that are using the Seaside Aquatic media and are very happy with it. I'm not familiar with the bay seller so I can't comment directly on its properties.