how do i structure 55gal drum to filter?

[AWL9]

The use of a settlement chamber on a skimmer circuit is a waste of time IMO because in essence a skimmer skims off floating debris from the surface of the water and if it wont settle in the pond it certainly isn’t going to in a settlement drum.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/fo...135516&page=26
I use a version of the sand and gravel filter in the link above.
They are maintenance free except for cleaning and any filter that doesn’t get you wet during cleaning is a fan of mine.
What is the rest of the filtration on the pond?

 

[Arkangel77]

AWL9 - That link wont work for me ???

 

[AWL9]

AWL9 - That link wont work for me ???

It is the exact same page that you posted a link to on the previous page
I have it saved in favorits and cant tell you why the link dosent work.

 

[mrunlucky07]

Settlement is great, but I agree you want it on the BD and not a skimmer. The pond is already a giant settlement chamber so you want to catch what settles in it passively and generally just mechanically filter out the skimmer water.

30,000gal is a LOT of water. It may well be beyond the filtering scope of 55 drums. Al little more info on the pond would be great.

Running two lines in parallel and just a pump in the third will work fine with your flow rate as long as you use 4" pipe to connect them. You can run down through the first up through the second and down to a pump in the bottom of the third.

If you look on craigslist generally you can find the 330 gal poly totes that soap comes in for cheap. They are the ones with the metal cage around them that you see in the backs of trucks for pressure washing. Even though the barrels are free the costs adds up quickly by the time they are done. One tote will hold the same as six barrels.

I have a half dozen barrels and am still using everything from black knight brushes, bioballs, fishingline, poly netting, floor scrubber pads, strapping and sand/gravel. If you do go with barrels gravity feed IMO the best bang for your buck is poly strapping. It comes in 10-20,000 ft rolls on ebay for under $50. One roll will do about two barrels and super easy to clean if you set it up like the S&G filter linked earlier.

This is a picture of some strapping I took out while doing a little work last week. It is about half a barrels worth. As you can see it will even catch large stuff

 

[Arkangel77]

"will even catch large stuff"

lol

 

[Anubias]

Plastic bread trays make a great separation grid.

 

[duster1971]

Try plastic milk crates for supporting your media they wuld also work to encase what ever you decide to use for bio and mechanical filtration as you culd put 2 together with fishing line or some thing else that will hold up and by doing this it shuld work like any other canister filter with media baskets and make matnence simple take the crates out and spray clean with a hose lol. And if you use media that may be smaller than the holes in the crates use nylon or plastic window screen shuld be able to get that at any hardware store. Good luck.

 

[duster1971]

As a aded benifit or isue any lage debres shuld settle to the botom of your barels.

 

[sumthingfishy]

wow, this part is now more difficult than the digging of the hole(6'x6'x3' so far) by hand.

i was trying not to have the water filter thru the bottom because being that it will be gravity fed, i would not be able to put a bottom drain, since the barrels will be burried to (almost)water level, there will be no water flow to drain(without being pumped). so i would need to catch the debris on top.

i'm thinking a garbage can insert. which it still wouldn't matter if it flows thru top or bottom.

Settlement is great, but I agree you want it on the BD and not a skimmer.

If you look on craigslist generally you can find the 330 gal poly totes that soap comes in for cheap. They are the ones with the metal cage around them that you see in the backs of trucks for pressure washing. Even though the barrels are free the costs adds up quickly by the time they are done. One tote will hold the same as six barrels.

If you do go with barrels gravity feed IMO the best bang for your buck is poly strapping. It comes in 10-20,000 ft rolls on ebay for under $50.

what is the difference, one 330gal or six 55gal?(i can also get one of them for free)

i'm running it thru the skimmer because that is the only place i can put it. no other choice.

that is a great bio idea(the straps), that's something i've been looking for. i especially like the fact that the water wouldn't just flow past the media, the flat surface will cause alot of drag, forcing the water to swirl twirl thru the media...

what is "IMO" and "BD"? i've seen this a few different times...

Plastic bread trays make a great separation grid. .

where do i find bread trays?

 

[mrunlucky07]

what is "IMO" and "BD"? i've seen this a few different times...

In my opinion, and bottom drain.

what is the difference, one 330gal or six 55gal?(i can also get one of them for free)

More filters generally means more costs in fittings to set them up, the more chances for leaks, and the more work/time it is to clean them.

With gravity feed barrels you need one 4" in and another out (uniseals) and then ideally either an air manifold in the bottom and 3" drain up top for cleaning, or you can put a shower drain in the bottom. Also depending on the setup you may need 4" elbows inside and between the barrels, ferncos when connecting them, and plugs or valves for each filter during cleaning. All the fittings add up. I spent 3x my liner cost on just pvc. If you bury the barrels the ground moves them around every spring and likes to crack fittings. I think often the simplier you can keep it the better.

Another caution, you don't want something that is a pain to clean. You don't want to end up forcing fairly diluted and clean water through a toxic filter layer and actually having it come out less diluted than it went in.