Organic Pools airlfit pump system for a koi filter

With just a few tubes, a standard koi keeper's filter is adapted to use bubbles instead of a conventional water pump. It uses very little energy. One 40 watt air compressor could power several filters. A hybrid Natural/Organic pool uses external mechanical and biological filtration alongside the planted zone. This can be an option if space is tight as the size of the planted zone can be reduced. Such an external filter can also be used to remove debris from the pool.
A film by David Pagan Butler, a wild-haired bloke with glasses who invented the bubble powered Natural Swimming Pool.. For a free DIY pdf see: organicpools.co.uk
David's feature-length ORGANIC pools building film now showing on:
vimeo.com/ondemand/organicpools

[@Holmseee1]

love it. So thankful David for all your videos and the entertainment you provide. Happy to pay you to consult as emailed a few times.

[@CAOHnutrition]

Cup of tea and watching your videos - I learned tons!

[@Nick-vl7lk]

Another awesome video David. I do love airlift pumps. We use them to clear plankton blooms around fish/shellfish farms. The height of the airstone relative to the depth of pipe, and the hole size and placement at the bottom of the tube within the main pipe makes a huge difference to the efficiency of the "lift".

[@amiramz]

If i close my eyes and only listen, David sounds like Captain Jack Sparrow :) Awesome Video!

[@frankokotie3572]

Good design and great explanation.

[@follygirlSC]

This is genius, instead of draining all that yummy sludge away I would like to route it to a hydroponics setup. Now my brain is working overtime on how to design it.

[@Mr102829]

excellent explanation and much better the graphic

[@makereferancesgreatagain.7517]

Great video.

[@nicolasg6861]

Genius! Ingenious!

[@MM-rb2cj]

Fascinating!

[@giobelkoicenter]

thank you so much. I found what I am looking for

[@johnhuang2480]

This is amazing!

[@hotrodd3r]

Genious!

[@Socalponds]

Good video. We use this system on in ground skimmers.

[@you-tubejunkie2926]

Great action here......THUMBS.... UP....

[@benperry1464]

You'll get more flow if you lower that return to water level the hole way and your explanation of the air pump is incomplete the rising airpushes the water but it also displaces the water inside the pipe making it lighter than the water outside so the water outside isable to push intothe pipe forcing the existing water air mixture out the other end

[@connormacmanus519]

If you really want to take this over the top put a skimmer box around your siphon tubes in the main tank. Just like they do in reef tanks. Then you'll surface skim the water also.

[@cuonghuynh9003]

Verygood 👏👏👏👍

[@innakupriyanova8449]

David probably listened to a lot of Air Supply in the 70s

[@dennyofthepines1457]

Nice

[@jeffk464]

Also a great way to aerate your water

[@neiallswheel]

that is genius. I wouldn't waste that filthy compost tea topper upper ;)

[@fajargymnast]

I wondering if... Organic pool system can be use in above Ground or portable swimming pool?

[@progressivepondkeeping]

👍

[@usmankhanb4u]

brilliant discovery , ushud name it . what is the flow rate from 40w? is it more efficient then water pump?

[@michaelhebert4784]

Looks a lot like an outside Aquarium.....would be great to add even more under gravel filtration....can use bubbles or a Flo-pump on the top of each stack.

[@michaelhebert4784]

The plants benefit greatly from this as the water brings nutrients to their roots. You're duplicating an aquarium fish tank....outside, including with your Natural Pools....If there's fast moving water near a pool's location, the venturi effect can be greatly enhanced by connecting the pool with the stream, solely with pipes. In such a case, fresh water would be constantly changing with the older water, but it can remain crystal clear by the negative pressure created under a liner, covered with gravel & plants. The bubble pumps you're using, I'm sure you know have been used for aquariums for a long time....Power Heads work wonders as well, but the bubbles oxygenate the water.....Cool Beans...

[@Dinckelburg]

4:55 you hear David turn the page of his script hehe

[@nicolasg6861]

Brilliant and genius, well done David! But how does the siphons work? Is it just a flexi pipe from the pond to the container? How do you establish the water circulation up the flexi pipe from pond to container?? Is there a suction created by an air stone inside the flexi pipe between the pond and container?? Hope my question make sense?!

[@dennyofthepines1457]

It’s a simple gravity siphon. The pipes are submerged totally to fill with water, and then one end is carefully transferred into the second container. The water inside the pipe is trapped as long as both ends remain submerged. The water will use the pipe to balance its level, establishing equal pressure on both ends of the pipe. As long as the outflow end remains lower then the water level on the intake side this process continues indefinitely. As water runs out of the filter container via the airlift tube the water level is lowered causing new water to be drawn from the pond through the siphon tubes. Hope that makes sense!

[@elrooc]

Excellent explanation. Diagram should show air pump sitting above water level though, IMHO

[@csabanemeth]

The air comes over the highest point into the water, therefore no sihponing can happen back to the airpump. So imho no need to put it higher than waterlevel.

[@HomesteadDad]

David, if you were to build a new pool and add the drain at the bottom to fill the filter mechanism, wouldn't you risk that drain pipe catching much of the sediment and clogging? Also, do you have to do any more filtering other than using the siphon tubes? Do you suck up enough sediment to have that be your only source of filtering? Thanks

[@freecopia]

The drain Pipe can be used for to feed a wetland solución simple and ingenius David ! gracias

[@BetterDeadThanRed99]

Are your airlifts buried in the regeneration zone of your natural swimming pool?

[@JamesWestVideo]

How did you get on with this? did not having a UV filter cause problems?

[@JoelDmello722]

Wow

[@blb9767]

How tall can an airlift pipe be? Thank you!

[@guilhermeferreirarolim8818]

Hi David. This low energy cost filtration system seems quite interesting. Do you have any updates after you put the fish in it. Is it still in operation? All the best

[@fenwelder2474]

How high can you pump the water?

[@jimmitaiju9945]

Is it true that airliftpumps dont need any electricity.also can it b used in aquaponics??

[@beanysteve5832]

You need an air compressor, but at 40 watts you could power it with a small solar/wind generator setup most of the time - add a battery for when there's no wind or sun. At least that's my understanding.

[@frankokotie3572]

Can you help with your airlift pump build?

[@themanfromvolantis]

Would work so much better if the return was on the far side of the tank/pond. Or at least not right next to the siphon pipes.

[@danielross7566]

what size of a natural swimming pond could that filter service?

[@jonathanlambert261]

Daniel Ross too small. better off using a pump then gravity flow back into pond ..

[@barkster1971]

The level of water in the filter and the pond are the same? Most people would have the pond level at ground level. How would it work then?

[@usmankhanb4u]

simple , burry the filter too at same level lol

[@usmankhanb4u]

simple , burry the filter too at same level lol

[@prodigalearth5248]

If you were using a regular swimming pool pump to move the water into the koi filter, how would you recommend pumping the water back in? I can't imagine that an air pump like that would be able to keep up with the pool pump.

[@themanfromvolantis]

Prodigal Earth Gravity feef the filter with a bottom drain or side drain.

[@fikriwawi2819]

use electric or not?

[@donkishot7397]

he use it just for the air pump

[@StanTheObserver-lo8rx]

Only..why isnt the water clear in the pond?..lol.

[@themanfromvolantis]

Stan TheObserver because he has the return right next to the intake.

[@muj2012]

This is a very economical idea but I don’t think it would work in koi pond, maybe it’s really good for only the plant pond!

[@fociidannick]

On the contrary. This design no no where near enough flow but airlift are very good systems if designed right. There are a few KZbin vids with better designs

[@themanfromvolantis]

There certainly are people using airlifts on koi ponds. They work best on gravity fed filters.

[@usmankhanb4u]

im also wondering if its more efficient then water pump of 40w? i think its equivalent to 30 but added advantage of airation plus no clog or cleaning water pump . it wud double flow if its submerged in water at same level , alot of energy is waster to lift water over the surface level without any need .

[@LampWaters]

@@fociidannick I'm designing a pond how do I figure out flow? If I ran multiple airlift could I get enough flow?

[@39Thorns]

As of today, a 40 watt air compressor will cost you around $30 per month to run in the USA.

[@sandertijn8415]

Thats not alot of flow

[@lindseybreen2305]

interesting, but you have nowhere near enough water flow for a proper koi pond, you want to be turning over the whole pond volume at least once an hour. If you had a standard 4 inch bottom drain running on that system it would have very little draw and waste would linger at the furthest points from the bottom drain. Could probably be made to work with a stronger air pump but you might just as well fit a low voltage water pump, some water pumps are very efficient now.

[@themanfromvolantis]

People do use air lifts on koi ponds. You can get more flow by using larger air pumps, tinkering with the pipe length/depth/diameter etc. How much do the economicsl pumps you mention cost? I'm guessing it's significantly more than £50 for a 60lpm air pump.

[@Helveteshit]

I can see flaws in the siphon technique. How will you prevent air from reaching into the siphon tube which may stop the whole process? After all, if Siphon technique could last forever, it would be used more but it isn't. An example of this is when you tie two smaller aquariums over with a brige and the bridge causes a siphon effect by itself but over time, air will collect in the middle part, stopping the siphon effect eventually.

[@charles2917]

Even if it does who cares. You won't overflow anything like in a fish tank. And your filter only drains to the level of the big pipe.

[@usmankhanb4u]

thats why he used 3 pipes i think , usually air enters due to algae producing bubles at bottom that rises at day time , thats only possibility , but if flow is good , those baubles should travel and not gather inside . best is to have piples under water level , that will double the flow too but installation is difficult , will need to create hole in filer and pond .

[@beefcakesasquatch6608]

Somebody has alot of time on his hands

[@neiallswheel]

that is genius. I wouldn't waste that filthy compost tea topper upper ;)