Bickal Spawning/Bio-Rope

This DIY creation is a biofilter media that I invented and use here at Bickal Koi Farm in Toddville Iowa which I call "Bickal Bio-Rope". It is a plastic netting material which is used in the farmers in Iowa to wrap large round bales of hay or silage. This material can be bought new on a roll, however, when farmers remove it from the bale, they typically throw it away. This material can be recycled from the farmer for FREE. To process the material into media, I take the loose netting and use a crocheting technique with my hand to braid the material into a rope (YouTube Video Below).

This material has a very high surface area (133 sq. ft./cu. ft.) To calculate this, I counted 65 strands in the width (not counting the lacing that connect them side to side). Each strand is 1/16" wide, so 4" wide of solid material. Plus you count the back side, so 8" wide. Each cubic foot of Bickal-Bio-rope contains about 2400 linear inches of material (200'). So multiply that times the width, and you get 19,200 square inches of material per cubic foot. A typical bale will contain 30-50' of material, so the material from 4 bales to make 1 cubic foot. Next time you look out in a field and see hundreds of round bales you will start to realize how much of this material can be obtained at no cost.

When building a koi pond, bio-media is one item that should not be overlooked if you want healthy Koi. The type of media you will be using is a key design element, especially when it comes to your budget. Obviously we want to get the best media for our needs at the lowest price possible. Over the years I have experimented with many types of bio filtraton media for use with Koi from commercially sold medias like Kaldness, Mats, and Bio-Balls, to DIY medias like Lava Rock, Bird Netting, Plastic Pot Scubbers, and packing peanuts. The criteria of a good bio-filtration media is a high surface area, easy to clean, low cost, and versatile.

Each type of media comes with its pros and cons. A media that is in-expensive but has a low surface area, will require more space to get the required amount of conversion. On the flip side, a media like Lava Rock, is in-expensive and has a high surface area,but is heavy, difficult to clean, and breaks down over time. Other media, such as Mats are usually sized to fit a specific location and can not be easily reconfigured to fit a different arraingment. Pourable medias (such as Bio-Balls and Kaldness) can be adapted to different container configurations, however they may have special requirements for containment.

Not only does Bickal Bio-Rope work as filter material. It also doubles as Koi Spawning Rope! The small fibers resemble plant roots and koi eggs adhere to it pretty readily. I use this material for the majority of my koi egg collecting at Bickal Koi Farm.