Koi Pond Filter

Stunningly clear water quality achieved with the Oase Biosmart 10000 Flow-through filter 

During Coronavirus lockdown I decided to retool two of my 4,000 gallon koi ponds with new filtration systems.  I liked the look of the Oase BioSmart 10000 Flow-through filter which uses a pump and gravity to filter out impurities.

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The system was more expensive than others but I decided to give it a try.  I paid $310.07 for the first unit and $324.99 for the second, identical units ordered a few weeks later in the midst of the pandemic.  I am impressed with the results.

The system has an innovated flow-through filter design with biological and mechanical filtration providing maximum oxygenation.  The ads say it is suitable for 10,000 gallons but with no fish.  I have about 250 large koi in one pond and about 50 in the other.   Both ponds were suffering from very poor water quality prior to switching to this system.

The High-surface area filter foams provide exceptional biological filtration and distinct filter zones are designed to promote the settlement of a variety of beneficial bacteria responsible for different phases of the nitrogen cycle, which increase the conversion of harmful ammonia from the pond.

Advanced features include the guilt-in cleaning indicator that notifies you when the filter needs flushing, a water temperature gauge and handles that you pull up to clean the foam baffles while draining the sludge out a release valve in back side of unit.

All sorts of connections are clamps are included in the box to fit any pump set up.  I decided to go ahead and upgrade to the Oase AquaMax Eco Classic 2700 Pond and Waterfall Pumps which are supposed to be clog proof.  The only thing that wasn't included in the two boxes was tubing to run from pump to filter.  For the pumps I paid about $200 each (a little more for the 2nd one).

By day (above) or by night (below) the water clarity is stunning.  I can see details 4 feet down into the bottom of these once very murky ponds.  In the top image I've built a house over the Oase BioSmart unit.  It is made of plastic and leaving it sitting in full sun would degrade the plastics quickly.  This way I hope it lasts longer (a few seasons).  The house was constructed with concrete block sides (3 high) and a plastic roof (available at local hardware stores).

Stunningly clear water clarity using the Oase Koi Pond Filtration System

We've Read:

After the surrogate son—and alleged lover—of New York's "jeweler to the stars" was involved in a brutal killing, tabloid drama engulfed a swath of the city's rich and powerful.  But what really happened the night of Joey Comunale's brutal and senseless murder?

This is a long, compelling read.  I will warn you that real answers are not provided but a detailed timeline is.  Very interesting story and worth the purchase price of an issue of Vanity Fair.  My takeaways were that one of the probable killers, Jimmy Beaudoin (aka James Rackover) had to be a Florida boy, of course, and was more than likely a rent boy.  This is a story we've heard in other contexts before.

So what is it that makes rent boys more prone to murder?  Perhaps the drug use, steroids and in general danger associated with their profession?

A very interesting read.

Jimmy Rackover (L-R) at a Dallas Cowboys game, 2015; Jimmy and Jeffery Racoker in the Hamptons, June 2014; Jimmy's modeling tear sheet, shot by Rick Day;  The Grand Sutton (site of the brutal murder); Larry Dilione and Jimmy; New York Billboard for Jeffrey Rackover Diamonds.