Debris Trap?

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Fishman0

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Aug 3, 2009
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New York
Can this idea work for a sump or other external filter?

The arrow on the left illustrates the water flow from the tank through 1" PVC.
The idea is, the water would carry debris into the PVC chamber where it will fall to the bottom.
The chamber would be constructed from 4" PVC with a screw cap for the top and a regular block-off cap for the bottom.
The bottom cap would have a brass petcock valve tapped into it to allow for the debris to be drained out. The top cap would be removable to clean out any large debris (i.e. plant matter).
The 90 degree would allow the water to be taken from the top of the chamber. The top and bottom drain pipe would have room to place a round sponge between them.
One issue i see is how to have the 1" pipe go into the 4" with a good seal. It would most likely be under low pressure (gravity fed) but i dont see drilling and sealing the 4" to be good for the long run.

Just an idea so far, any advice to make the design better?
 

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I see what you are trying to do, give place for the larger waste pieces to settle and be drained out. And doing it before your mechanical filter to reduce the load and clean/replace of mechanical filtration.

The larger the big pipe the better off you are because the water flow velocity will be less while in the big pipe, allowing the waste to settle to the bottom.

You could use two 4" t's and cap the other end of the T and put a bulkhead fitting in the center of the cap. The cap would have some curve to it but a bulkhead fitting might work.

Using 6" would give you more settling ability.
 
Same principle as a condensate trap in an air system. If the intake was lower, then a few baffles the debris would be more inclined to drop..not stay suspended in the moving water.
But by then you are most of the way to having a canister filter.
 
I see this to be promising if constructed right. Maybe put a screw on clean-out fitting at the bottom. Issue I see with this is the fact it will be a messy job to clean. You could be the clean-out at the top with union fittings on the intake and output so you can remove the unit as a whole.

You could also use a 1" ball valve threaded into a flat cap or an adapter at the bottom so you can open the valve and allow the junk to be drained out. Possible fill the bottom with silicone and ramp the silicone to the ball valve intake.

Good Idea.
 
KaiserSousay;3587965; said:
Same principle as a condensate trap in an air system. If the intake was lower, then a few baffles the debris would be more inclined to drop..not stay suspended in the moving water.
But by then you are most of the way to having a canister filter.
Click to expand...

Exactly like a codensate trap, i got the idea from one of my old dirtbikes which had a fuel trap to catch any particles coming from the tank to the fuel filter. It was a bowl which had a drain screw at the base.

I dont think it would act as a canister filter, due to the fact that the flow does not pass through any media. The velocity of the flow will be low and would mainly be greater volume flow.
 
The velocity of the flow will be low and would mainly be greater volume flow.
Click to expand...
Flow volume will not increase o be greater by adding this
 
My apologies, i did not mean that the volume would increase. I meant that the design is not based on velocity flow, but volume flow, as it will not be under any additional pressure
 
Here are some modifications/additions; Clean out cap, bottom drain (>1/2" im thinking), Foam block. I also think, as suggested previously, that the chamber diameter should be larger
 

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Interesting idea. Almost like a freshwater protein skimmer of sorts. Keep this thread updated.

I wouldn't use a brass fitting.
 
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