Anyone with automatic particle separator experience?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
vincentwugwg

vincentwugwg

Gold Tier VIP
MFK Member
Oct 22, 2013
3,079
6,727
3,354
New York Mets
I will be setting up several 4000 gallon+ tanks in a few months and wish to get insight on automatic particle separators. I will be running the tanks with a 2000 gallon per day auto drip and will be using moving media for the bio. I am currently running Ultimas and I find having to back flush every few days quite annoying.... my hope is that the auto separator will lower my maintenance time and handle all the mechanical filtration.

I recall reading about an aquaculture product that uses a stainless steel mesh that separates fine particles in the water and removes it from the revolving water via isolated trap. The trapped particles were to be removed via pvc pipe and valve into a clean out. Was hoping someone here has used something like this.
 
Last edited:
The rotating drum particle sieves are large and very expensive also requiring frequent back flushing....
8,000 gallons is alot of water....are these tanks display tanks? If not, what kind of particulates are you hoping to remove? Large mechanical filtration can be acheived by more conventional means i.e, poret foam, filter socks even sand...
Large process usually requires equally large equipment. Sand filtration is probably an easy option, but there is the backwash issue to contend with.
Your biofiltration will determine what kind of mechanical filter you use. If you are talking about removing suspended solids less then 10 microns, you may want to reconsider because no screen filter I know of will filter a large amout of water down to a particulate under 100 microns...enless you use a diatom filter like what a swimming pool uses. 8,000 gallons turned over even a moderate 4x an hour is 32,000gph...and that means a huge prefilter. Anyway, most particulate matter that causes an unpleasant visual wont be much smaller than 200-100 microns....after that, we are talking tiny.
 
boldtogether said:
The rotating drum particle sieves are large and very expensive also requiring frequent back flushing....
8,000 gallons is alot of water....are these tanks display tanks? If not, what kind of particulates are you hoping to remove? Large mechanical filtration can be acheived by more conventional means i.e, poret foam, filter socks even sand...
Large process usually requires equally large equipment. Sand filtration is probably an easy option, but there is the backwash issue to contend with.
Your biofiltration will determine what kind of mechanical filter you use. If you are talking about removing suspended solids less then 10 microns, you may want to reconsider because no screen filter I know of will filter a large amout of water down to a particulate under 100 microns...enless you use a diatom filter like what a swimming pool uses. 8,000 gallons turned over even a moderate 4x an hour is 32,000gph...and that means a huge prefilter. Anyway, most particulate matter that causes an unpleasant visual wont be much smaller than 200-100 microns....after that, we are talking tiny.
Click to expand...
If I remember correctly.. the particle remover did not have a rotating drum.. the rotating drum filters require stray action whereas the one I was hoping to gain info on uses flow... The tanks will be for personal display. My gars/cats are getting BIG and I have ordered a pair of 18x8x4 tanks to house them. I currently have them in tubs with a 300 gallon tank filled with moving media and an Ultima.. they are also getting about 1500 gallons a day from a carbon filter drip.
 
The ones I have experienc with are the rotating ones. I have seen some setups, commercial setups mind you, utilizing a stainless steel mesh that was more of a strainer and it was in a big "p trap" inline with the intake. This was on a sealion exhibit at the L.A. zoo....I did some work in the pump and filter room. Regardless of whay type you get, I am pretty sure regular maintenance is needed even with an auto backflush setup.
A sand filled catch basin could be made right before the water is sent to the bio that would remove alot of particulate from the water, but again...a backflow would be required as would sand replacement eventually.
My buddy has a 3,000 gallon tank and he uses a diatom filter for swimming pools. Cleans it once a year... and replaces the DE. It actually filters to like 3-5 microns....but that is overkill IMO.
I don't know what kind of DIY if any you are willing to do, but all the equipment I mentioned isn't cheap....or small...and if you could come up with a simple idea, even if you had to build it, it most certainly would be less $$ that a big commercial piece of equipment.
I would look into the pool filter industry...ask around...maybe take a tour of a behind the scenes look at a zoo or water park. These places filter huge amounts of water and they could probably give you some ideas just by looking at the setup.
 
boldtogether said:
The ones I have experienc with are the rotating ones. I have seen some setups, commercial setups mind you, utilizing a stainless steel mesh that was more of a strainer and it was in a big "p trap" inline with the intake. This was on a sealion exhibit at the L.A. zoo....I did some work in the pump and filter room. Regardless of whay type you get, I am pretty sure regular maintenance is needed even with an auto backflush setup.
A sand filled catch basin could be made right before the water is sent to the bio that would remove alot of particulate from the water, but again...a backflow would be required as would sand replacement eventually.
My buddy has a 3,000 gallon tank and he uses a diatom filter for swimming pools. Cleans it once a year... and replaces the DE. It actually filters to like 3-5 microns....but that is overkill IMO.
I don't know what kind of DIY if any you are willing to do, but all the equipment I mentioned isn't cheap....or small...and if you could come up with a simple idea, even if you had to build it, it most certainly would be less $$ that a big commercial piece of equipment.
I would look into the pool filter industry...ask around...maybe take a tour of a behind the scenes look at a zoo or water park. These places filter huge amounts of water and they could probably give you some ideas just by looking at the setup.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the zoo/water park suggestion. As far as the sand trap idea.. I don't like it. Apart from me being extremely lazy when it comes to maintenance, I don't like the concept of leaving waste that will recirculate back into your system. All the sand trap will do is 'hold' the waste and perhaps some of the waste will re-enter the system if the solid waste gets broken up into smaller particles. I want something that will remove/isolate the waste from the system. Any waste/solids will be automatically separated and trapped in a non-circulating container/box before getting removed via pvc pipe with valve. I hope I'm making some kind of sense here.
 
vincentwugwg said:
Thanks for the zoo/water park suggestion. As far as the sand trap idea.. I don't like it. Apart from me being extremely lazy when it comes to maintenance, I don't like the concept of leaving waste that will recirculate back into your system. All the sand trap will do is 'hold' the waste and perhaps some of the waste will re-enter the system if the solid waste gets broken up into smaller particles. I want something that will remove/isolate the waste from the system. Any waste/solids will be automatically separated and trapped in a non-circulating container/box before getting removed via pvc pipe with valve. I hope I'm making some kind of sense here.
Click to expand...

Are you talking like a settling basin? You would need a huge basin.
 
boldtogether said:
Are you talking like a settling basin? You would need a huge basin.
Click to expand...
All socks only 'hold' waste/solids... they don't really separate waste from the water. I was thinking along the lines of how a protein skimmer works.. it actually separates it's intended target from being recirculated. So I guess the term Automatic particle extractor would be more correct. I guess some kind of steel mesh would be used and when it gets somewhat 'clogged' the waste would be pushed/overflow into a collection box and the box would of course be isolated from the circulation.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom