A Skippy Bio-Filter

Before going any further into my bio-filter project I would like to show you a web site which I thought was a breath of fresh air amongst all the technological gobbledy-gook being pushed at me by the myriad of web sites whose sole purpose appears to be providing "good advice" with the ultimate aim being that you buy one of the multitude of different makes of pumps, filters and other accessories.

If you have been doing some research on the Internet on ponds and filters, you may have come across a web site called Skippy's.

Skippy's is the site that gave me the inspiration to have a go at building my own BIO-filter. And the most wonderful thing is it explains all about "freakin magic"!! You NEED to know about Freakin Magic in order to understand ponds (you'll see what I mean if you don't already know), in fact you'll learn about Nature and LIFE! In fact even for experienced pond keepers, it makes a great read - the emphasis is on helping you understand how to work with Nature to create balance, not against her.

Skippy's then tell you how to build your own DIY vortex/settlement-chamber based BIO-filter. Its a great site but for one thing. I don't think they make it clear enough that you need to PRE-filter the water going into the BIO-filter (maybe I missed something!). For a novice like me I got the impression their bio-filter was able to do everything. It wasn't until after I had built my basic bio-filter based upon their ideas, and then later read in their associated forum about other newbies who similarly misunderstood the need for PRE-filtering, that I made some changes. (I also emailed them about it and they confirmed I was right).

Anyway, my Leisure web site details my own take on the Skippy Bio-Filter. Once you've read their web site (and I strongly recommend you do), if you are interested come back and see how I've done it (and how I implemented a simple venturi too - a mechanism to mix air into the water with no moving parts), and also where to get media for your Skippy filter if you're in the UK (Skippys is a USA site).

So here it is ...... Skippy's bio-filter - I suggest you start first by reading this page, closely followed by this page to learn about Freakin Magic, then go to this page for their Bio-Filter construction.

To learn more click here for my bio-filter design web site.