Products (4)
Flowfriend pumps are the ultimate pump on the market. We have been running these at Yume Koi since 7th of September 2011, and have decided to add them to our inventory of products because they are simply in a class of their own!
We started running these at Yume Koi in their 'Pre-production' form, and have since sold more of these pumps than anyone else in Europe. As such, we have a full spares inventory, and the special tools required to carry out warranty repairs. We even carry a spare pump 'just in case' a customer should have a failure. But, despite having now sold a very substantial number of these, we have not had a single problem with them.
We are so confident in these pumps, that we are offering our own 3 Year Warranty.
What is it that makes these pumps so very special?
- Industrial build quality from a factory that builds pumps for Nuclear applications
- Stainless steel pump head and impeller
- Variable speed
- Impeller 'screw' design makes the pump also suitable for relatively high head
- Maximum flows of 70,000 lts per hour
- In Bakki Shower applications, power consumption is less than half that of other pumps
- Silent operation with no pipework vibration
At Yume Koi, we have these running with the following results...
32,000 lts per hour of flow over Bakki Showers, with only 185w of power consumption (set at 1500rpm)
42,000 lts per hour of flow over Bakki Showers, with only 305w of power consumption (set at 1900rpm)
How do the above figures stack up against the other pumps we are running?...
Super*** 15,000 on Bakki Showers flow 11,000 lts per hour at 210w
Blue *** 240 set to give the same 11,000 lts per hour draws 168w
A Flowfriend gives us almost three times as much water at 185w. Yes, it is a little over double the price of the Blue ***, but in our application, it does the work of nearly three of them for the same power.
The Flowfriend can be set at speeds up to 2550rpm in 10rpm increments, so can be fine tuned to exactly the flow you require. This is a 'one pump suits all' solution.
All this for an RRP of £??? !!! Please call us for our competitive pricing.
Yume Nishikigoi are exclusive agents for Momotaro Koi food. This food is highly acclaimed in Japan because of the quality and freshness of its ingredients, and because of the packing methods that enable an extremely long shelf life.
Two types are available, 'White part' (above left) which isa 52% protein growth food, and 'Colour up' (above right) which has a protein level of 36%, and uses the best quality Spirulina (10% content). Both foods are also seaweed bound, and utilise other ingredients that stimulate good health, and aid digestion.
The food is available in 2kg Nitrogen vac packed foil bags and costs £27 for 'White part' and £32 for 'Colour up'. Savings can be made by purchasing a box containing 4 bags of of food, at £100 (White part), and £120 (Colour up).
This is the very food that Momotaro used to raise the 101cm 2002 All Japan Sanke, and the 92cm 5 year old Kohaku, "Seio".
These are the genuine 'Momotaro Bakki Showers', and their amazing results have resulted in many expensive copies being made. Out Momotaro Bakki Showers are the only ones that use the 'Bacteria House' filter media, which incidentally, is where the secret lies! Accept no alternatives.
Bakki Showers are offered at two price points... 'Standard', or 'Premier', with various weir or chute options being available. These systems are of the same design shape, with the main difference between the two, being slightly simplified construction techniques on the cheaper system.
'Bakki Showers' and 'Bacteria House' are patented Worldwide by Momotaro Koi Farm. Our systems are the only ones made under license from Momotaro.
Because of the sheer expense of 'Bacteria House', we are doing our utmost to keep the Shower prices to a bare minimum, so that the overall package represents excellent value for money.
Please note. The system pictured above is a 'version 2' (discontinued March 2004 due to improvements made in areas of splashing and water distribution).
Bakki Shower prices start as follows:-
'Premier' 4 tier system with bottom exit £695
'Bacteria House' filter media (10kg box) £140
'Premier' package with 50kgs of Bacteria House media (saving £100 on system) £1295
Weir option on above, add £125
'Polycarb' insulation mounting brackets £35 set.
We are happy to sell three tier systems, but strongly recommend the use of four tiers, as it is essential that the water has the chance to increase in velocity between the four tiers. More tiers will give better results. We also strongly recommend sticking to the use of Bacteria House in these systems. Other medias will work to a degree in certain aspects, but only Bacteria House will work if these systems are used as the sole filtration.
|
All of our Bakki Showers are made in 316 food grade stainless steel. We have tried making cheaper plastic alternatives, but it has proved impossible to get a system that had the advantages of the Stainless steel models. The biggest problem we experienced with plastic, was that it was only viable to have a drilled bottom, which was prone to regular blocking and trapping of debris. So we have decided to stick solely to the stainless Bakki Showers. All of our Bakki Showers have an open square mesh bottom. These units are stamped out by computerised machinery, in such a way that the sides of the systems are integrated with the mesh, making them much stronger than they would be with a welded mesh. They are also fuse welded so that no metal is added to the welds. It is the computer cutting of the steel that results in the edges so be so accurately cut, that fuse welding is possible. This ensures that the welds won't rust like conventional stainless welds. Also, the nuts that are used to attach the support brackets, are pressed, not welded. We have paid great attention to detail with these systems, and spared no expense! |
  |
|
 |
The overall flaring of each tier of the Shower ensures that no water is spilled by the system (this was a minor problem with the discontinued 'version 2'), and also keeps the water tracking evenly through the media. The older systems used to allow water to track down the vertical sides of the system, hence missing some of the media by the time it got to the bottom tier. The flaring of the 'version 3' systems prevents this by making sure that as the water runs of the outer extremities of the system, it is thrown back directly onto the media in the next tier. There are endless options available for these systems, as well as bespoke units which can be made to suit your own application. Enclosure accessories are also available, for 'over-winter', or open air applications. | |
|
The pond on the right features two systems with the 'weir' option. These two systems are fed with water pumped directly from the bottom drains, with no settlement, or additional filtration. To find out more about how 'Bakki Showers' and 'Bacteria House' work, take a look at the next page. |
 |
 |
Momotaro's 1500 ton pond (330,000 gallons). The use of Bacteria House filter media, and the Bakki Showers, have enabled them to raise 7 out of All Japan Grand Champions. President Maeda was inspired to try and create two things that he though would help his Koi. 1) An eco-system similar to that created as water falls over the rocks of the Asahi River. 2) The Bakuhanseki Spring in Japan is famous for it's 'healing qualities'. These qualities have been laregly attributed to springs unusual emissions of 'Far Infra-red' rays, which were first discovered by Nasa, and found to have important health benefits. |
|
| Bacteria house is the result of over six years of research. It is a man made ceramic blend that has been heat treated at 1300°c for 60hrs. This tremendous amount of heat causes the ceramic to break its internal bonds thereby creating an extremely porous structure that has a much greater surface area to allow very large bacteria populations to colonise. Due to the large quantities of tiny holes, mechanical filtration is also achieved. Large organic solids and decaying matter are degraded at a far greater speed than conventional media, and without blocking up! The picture on the right is a close up of a piece of Bacteria House that has been running submerged on one of our ponds for 2 years. |
 |
|
 RESOL :16a-1 SCANS :200 AMPGAIN :x64 P.INT :8cm-1 BEAM :single S.SPEED :MCT S.NUMBER :3 M.DATA :2/28/2 |
One of the key elements of the bacteria house is that it reacts in a seemingly 'electrostatic' manner with floating organic matter causing an increase in adhesion rate. This produces clear clean water at a rapid rate. Water in its natural state creates multiple bonds with surrounding water molecules creating a cluster. The bacteria house emits FAR infrared rays that break the bonds of the neighbouring water molecules thereby allowing more oxygen to be dissolved in the water. The graph on the left was the result Far Infra-Red ray lab comparisons of Bakuhanseki natural stone (from the famous Bakuhanseki Spring), and Bacteria House filter media. The red line indicates the Bacteria House FIR emissions. |
|
|
The effect of the Bakki Showers, coupled with the smaller water clusters, work very effectively at de-odourising the water, and also allows gases to be released, thereby lightening the load on the biomass, and making the systems considerably less 'KH consuming' than conventional filtration. Bacteria House is also extremely fast at colonising bacteria, very resistant to damage from power failures or chemicals, and very fast at 'bouncing' back after pond medications have taken place. The water produced by Bacteria House (even when submerged), is such that the Koi strongly favour swimming in the areas where the filtered water enters the pond. Appetites are also greatly increased. Continue to the next page to find out about testing and manufacturing of Bacteria House. |
  Click on the above images, to see the Momotaro Bacteria House leaflet. |
| Testing of 'Bacteria House' has been rigourously carried out, by both Momotaro, and MTK (manufacturer). Mr Manami (President of MTK) is a Koi hobbiest, and as such, built three ponds built to enable lab testing of endless 'blends' of Bacteria House, and other medias. Bacteria House in it's original form was originally made for treating effluent water, and won the accolade of "Best Filtration media in the World" three years ago. The 'blend' that Momotaro use however, is very different. Each tray of the Showers at MTK is split into 5 divisions. Each of these contains a different media. The pond testing is carried out by filling the ponds with Koi, and then maturing the systems. Periodically, a sample is taken from each media (60 types, most being differents 'blends' and forms of Bacteria House), and sent for lab analysis. The medias are tested to find which bacteria strains are present, and for bacterial counts. |  |
|
 |
Momotaro tested every available media, submerged, and then in Bakki Showers. They weren't just looking for good water parameters, but also for the best growth, and quality of the Koi. Their findings were, that Bacteria House submerged, out performed all of the other medias. But, when Showered, Bacteria House came into it's own, as it gave even better results. They also found that Bacteria House media was the only media that worked in the Showers, and that every kind of plastic media that they tried, couldn't maintain a biomass in the Showered configuration. |
|
|
Daisuke Maeda once said to me, "Imagine you are sitting in a closed room, about to eat a delicious meal. If a cat came in the room, and went to the toilet in the corner, would you still feel like eating? Well, it's the same for Koi! If Koi can smell their own urine, they won't eat so well. This is why Koi have increased appetites when Bacteria House is used, particularly in Bakki Showers!" This is an inside view of one of the kilns at the MTK factory. This is similar to the ones used for firing Bacteria House, but is a lower temperature one, being heated to about 1100c. Bacteria House has to be fired in their hottest kiln at 1300c for 60 hrs, in order to make sure that it's surfaces explode, resulting in the millions of open cells, where the Bacteria multiply. This is an extremely expensive process, and limits the maximum production to 1.5 tons per day. Bacteria House is made from a careful mix of ingredients, which are blended together with the utmost care. The mixed raw product then comes out of an extrusion machine, where it is cut to length by two staff, and rolled in a special powder which prevents the pieces of Bacteria House from bonding together in the kiln. |
 |
|
 |
Bacteria House in the furnace, being fired. This furnace is about 40 feet long, and to be even as close as 10 feet from the furnace in virtually unbearable. If you have ever wondered why Bacteria House is so expensive, we hope you now understand why. In conclusion... people generally think that those bacteria that deal with pollutants, are the only ones needed for Koi, but there are really countless strains that make up the pond eco-system. It is of paramount importance to get the balance of those aerobic, and anaerobic bacterias right, if you want to make Koi blossom and grow healthily, rather than just simply keeping them alive. Please see our Appraisals page for information on how to use the Bakki Showers, and Bacteria House media. |
These pages are focussed on Showered ponds that are currently running in the UK, and how the pond owners feel about them. These pages will hopefully inspire in respect of how you can install Bakki Showers onto your existing, or new pond.
|
|
This 7500 gallon pond belongs to Colin Hughes, and currently has two sets off Bakki Showers fitted. One set is drawn from a vortex, with a Sequence 1/4+, and pumped up over the Showers at about 2900 gallons per hour. The second set is fed by another Sequence 1/4+, that is drawing water directly from the bottoms drains and then to the showers without any settlement. Colin is very much convinced of the advantages of Bakki Showers. He is in a very 'soft water' area, and has always had trouble maintaining a KH level, resulting in having to add a pH buffer to the pond periodically. Since running Showers, his system is so much cleaner, and maintenance is virtually redundant. Also, the KH no longer needs buffering! Colin's own words, "It's absolutely superb! My water is so much better, and my fish are so much hungrier! The food that they used to take 30 minutes to consume, is now gone within 10 minutes! I can't wait to get a third set running!" Colin's pond is very heavily stocked. Apart from 4 Koi that were bought as Nisai (2 year old), every Koi has been purchased as Tosai (less that one year old). Several of these Koi are now 60cm long, and only two and a half years old! Colin has also grown a male Kohaku to over 70cm (now five and a half years old). Switching to Bakki Showers seems to have shown a noticeable increase in growth. |
|
| To the right, is the pond of Ian and Jill Graham. The picture on the left shows Ian, Daisuke Maeda (of Momotaro Koi Farm), and myself. Ian is a very dedicated Koi keeper indeed. Ian says, "I spent over £5000 on filtration for my 6500 gallon pond, which included two big vortex based filter systems, sand filters, three trickle towers, a fluidised bed filter, and other revolutionary products. I have removed all of this except two bare vortexes, and have spent a further £3000 to switch to Showers". After meeting Daisuke Maeda in April 2003, Ian was convinced that Bakki Showers were the best way forward". He was the first person in the UK to switch completely to a Bakki Showered system, and is very glad that he did! Ian removed every piece of equipment, including Ozone from his pond. He then reconfigured the pond, so that each of the bottom drains fed into just a vortex, and then a Sequence 1/4+ pump, and over the showers. There is no longer a UV on the pond either. In Ian's case, he saved over 1000 watts by switching to Bakki Showers, and now gets more pleasure than he ever has from Koi. Ian endorses the system by saying, "Water parameters are the best I've ever had. The running costs are very low indeed. Water clarity is as good as it's ever been, and maintenance is really simple... it's brilliant!" Even is so happy that he now only buys Tosai Koi. He can make his Koi grow faster than most of Japan's breeders. As of the end of November 2003, his Spring 2003 Tosai Koi have all grown to between 47 and 55cm. Some of these Koi will become over 60cm before their 2nd Birthday! |
|
|
  |
Ian's Bakki Showers are situated down the side of his garage, and are enclosed with polycarbonate. The watercress has now been removed. Water falls into a stainless steel tray, and is returned back into the pond adjacent to the Bonsai tree pictured on the left. These two systems are fed by Sequence 1/4+ pumps that pull water from the bottom drains, and through a single vortex for each system. Ian says that there is so little waste collecting, that if he built the pond again, he wouldn't bother with the vortexes at all. His third set of showers pulls water directly from the bottom drains, without settlement. There has been no UV since the Showers were fitted back in April. | |
| The system couldn't be much simpler! Bottom drain, vortex, pump, Shower! X2 The third set is the same, but no vortex. Ian is so happy, that he has now built a second pond of 3800 gallons. This pond has two Sequence 1/4+ pumps connected directly to the bottom drains, and pumped directly to the showers. The pond was designed specially for this system, so that every aspect was optimised to create a pond that would never need any maintenance... ever!!! All that is needed is to top up with water (to overflow), of an equivalent quantity of what would normally be done on a conventional pond design. No filter cleaning, or drain flushing ever again! |  |
 |
This pond belongs to John Mak, contains 5500 gallons, and has two sets of showers (1.5 metres long) fitted, pumped directly from the drains at approximately 5800 gallons per hour. The pond was built by a fellow Koi keeper Steve Symmonds. This pond is pushing this configuration to the limit, as it really should have been built with a higher turnover rate. The original design was to include two vortexes. But, after John and Steve became friends with Ian Graham, they decided to pump directly from the drains. Four months later, the pond is running admirably well, with wonderful water chemistry, and wonderful clarity. The Bakki Showers will be completely hidden with a false wall, bamboo screening, and oriental decoration. John is indeed a happy man, and so he should be, for he can watch his Koi, and forget about maintenance! Just a simple top up (to overflow) of 100 gallons a day, keeps everything running wonderfully. |
|
| These Showers are fitted to the 5000 gallon pond of Craig Attwood, and are fed directly from the bottom drain. Additional filtration is also used on this pond but Craig says that, "My water has never been so good. My Koi are much happier and hungrier than they have ever been. My Koi have also grown much more, which I am sure must be because of the Showers. My UV has been turned off ofr months. Bakki Showers are excellent, they do everything... they take care of biological filtration, aeration, and even got rid of my blanket weed. I am so pleased that I am going to fit another set, and discard all of my other filtration". Craig now only buys Tosai Koi, as he can grow them to become as fast as most of Japan's breeders. His aim is to demolish his existing pond, and build a new one that will be optimised for Shower-only configuration. But in the meantime, he will concentrate on getting the existing one 'Shower-only'. Craig recently removed much of his pre-existing filtration, and to his surprise, his water parameters and clarity remained unchanged! |
 |
|
 |
The system on the left is fitted on the pond of Keith Harris. This pond contains 1700 gallons, and this set of Bakki Showers is the only filtration on this pond, and has been fitted to replace the previous filtration system, and is now powered by a Sequence 1/4+ pump. Keith appraisal is, "I wanted a filtration system that was maintenance free, and was told that there was no such thing with Koi! After reading about Bakki Showers, I visited two ponds running them, and decided to try it. This filter has been running since September 2003, and matured in less than 5 weeks. The water parameters are perfect, and I couldn't wish for better. My only concern was waste getting thrown over the shower, and fouling the media, but this isn't the case. I think the shower is very good, and I wouldn't change anything about it! I wouldn't change it for the World! My Koi eat a lot of food, and there is always food floating on the surface, which the Koi continually eat. With my previous filtration, I always had problems with nitrite levels, but now they are zero all the time. I used to keep and breed Discus, so I am very fussy about water. Bakki Showers are everything I could dream for in a filter!... maintenance free, all water parameters taken care of, and perfect clarity! I'm very pleased indeed!" | |
| This is the 18,000 gallon pond belonging to Cliff Neale, owner of the BKKS 2003 'Grand, and Baby Champions' (supplied by us). This pond now incorporates 4 sets of Bakki Showers, and Cliff is currently trying to decide how to best configure extra sets of Showers, that can be sited below water level, to replace the existing filtration altogether. Cliff is a man who searches for scientific answers to explain how everything works. With the Bakki Showers, he doesn't quite understand 'why' they work, but fully understands the results of these systems, and has hence now built two more ponds to run solely Bakki Showers! Cliff is very impressed with the Bakki Showers, and also the fact that this year is the first year that his Koi have shown significant growth. He also said that the showers make the water look brighter and cleaner. |  |
|
 |
Cliff's new pond. This is a hybrid of two designs. Three years ago, I visited Cliff, and told him about a new pond design that I was going to employ on my next pond. This design was nicknamed in Japan as the "Totorri Onishi Streamflow", and Cliff was so taken by the 'fast low' idea, that he built a group of small ponds that loosely used the technique. These ponds produced good growth, and hence Cliff decided to build this new 8000 gallon pond, using the 'fast flow' technique, but with Bakki Showers as the sole filtration. The pond is two metres at the shallow end (where the showers are, pictured), and 3 metres at the deep end, where there are 4 aerated bottom drains. These drains cause an uplift, whereas the showers fire downwards against the wall of the shallow end, creating a very fast water movement, and already, phenominal growth! At present, this pond utilises 6 seys of Bakki Showers, but only 3 tiers high. | |
| On the left, is the pond of James Carter. This is a wonderful pond of 10,000 gallons, in a big 'walkaround' fishouse. The pond features two sets of Showers, but double width, with double spray bars. Two spray bars are fed directly from two drains, and the other two are fed via two vortexes. Turnover rate is 12,000 gallons per hour, which is a little low, hence the two vortexes. Nevertheless, this pond should prove to be very proficient at raising high class Jumbo Koi, from a small size. The pond has only been running for about three weeks (as of 18th Dec 2003), so it is a little early for appraisals. But, James is extremely pleased with the pond, and the gallonage gained by the space savings of the filtration. |  |
|
 |
Here is Ian Graham's second Bakki Showered pond. It contains 3800 gallons, and has been running since early October 2003. Two Sequence 1/4+ pumps are connected directly to the two specially made 3" air diffuser drains, courtesy of Alternative Aquatics. The pumps push the water directly over the showers, and no other filtration, or U/V filter exist. The pond comletely matured in under 5 weeks, and Ian is a very happy man, as this pond is virtually maintenance free. Only a small trickle top up is needed (to overflow), to keep everything running smoothly. The pond is turned over at about 5800 gallons per hour, and is 2 metres deep. This pond has been built for raising Tosai, and is giving incredible results! The pond contains 10 Koi, which measured between 23 and 28cm at the end of Feb 2004. As of June 10th 2004, these Koi now measure between 40 and 48cm, at just one year old! Ian is one of several people that are now convinced that is is possible to raise Koi from Tosai, to over 80cm. |