Possibly the lowest-maintenance bio/mechanical filter ever? DIY

[knifegill]

Alright. Somebody poke holes in my dream. I just got the whizzbang concept of using multiple layers of mechanical net as a prestage for the actual bio.

This is a top-filter based concept. So if I install a stack of, say, 10 layers of mesh inside a holey bucket and keep an eye on it, all I'd have to do it remove the topmost sheet/bag and rinse it for later, and the sheet below takes on the duty as first layer. The new sheet/bag wouldn't be perfectly clean, but I'd be expecting at least a 75% return to flow with each layer. Especially as they thin out with removal. And how far can this go? 30 sheets? 50? You'd just remove a sheet/bag when the water level came close to the top of the container. Obviously, this idea is not for high-pressure filtration, but as a top filter fed by an in-tank powerhead, it totally seems genius right now.
For clarification, these layers would line a laundry-basket style bucket and that would be seated inside (or maybe above) a larger container filled with lava rocks (and other biomedia). The larger bucket (or old kitchen sink, whatever) would then simply drain back into the tank from above. Peachy?

 

[Pharaoh]

I think it would work for all intents and purposes, but what happens when you get to the bottom of the bucket? You wouldn't have any bio-media left.

 

[KaiserSousay]

Some reason you don`t like filter socks?
Would think a couple socks, one to run while the other has been cleaned and ready for work.
Combination of socks and some other media, quilt batting for example, would be pretty effective at getting clean water for your lava rock.
Maintenance would involve a sock and floss swap.
Want it easier, have another bucket, all set up and ready to swap.
The NASCAR tear off filter would be a real headache, I think.
A stack of micron rated sheets, with all the holes not lining up has the potential of slowing a flow down to a drip rate.

 

[knifegill]

Good points and suggestions!

When I get to the bottom, I'd have the 'used' filters all rinsed and ready to be reinstalled, so this time would be a fine time to shut off the powerhead for maintenance. These sheets aren't the biomedia. Some might grow on them at first, but in time the culture would "transfer" to the lava rock surrounding the bucket. Then the sheets would take even longer to clog, I'd expect.

I somehow doubt I'll find filter socks priced at 89 cents each. These paint strainer bags have already proven their worth in other applications, so I know they work pretty well.
I could, indeed, run one bag and have the other rinsed and ready. I was just fascinated at the potential simplicity of simply peeling off a layer, rinsing it, and storing it. Then, like a shark tooth, the next bag would step up for primary duty. Something about it feels really right.
Quilt batting! New to me! Looks totally awesome. I'll have to add that to my mental layers of filtration. There. Download successful. It looks like it would probably clog at a similar rate, but my fear is that is will encourage nitrifiers to colonize upon itself, then cause a mini-cycle when removed and rinsed. Thought on that?

Yeah, I was thinking about slow-down, too. The idea was that most of the build-up would be in the first layer. Don't know how much money to put on that horse, though.

 

[CHOMPERS]

Nitrostomas is the nitrofying bacteria that makes the inside of the tank and decorations slimy. The slime is a fact of life that you won't be able to get around. It will build up in the lower layers and cause them to clog before their time is due.

Actually, there is a way around the slime problem. You'll have to have a very un-Monster/under stocked tank. The bio-load will have to be very low, but then you wouldn't be worrying about a low maintenance filter.

 

[CHOMPERS]

The real solution is an insanely large mechanical filter with a drip system. The fish poo and uneaten food is allowed to fully degenerate to dissolved organics, and it is then flushed out on a continual basis by the drip system. Sound too good to be true? One of my systems does exactly this. There is some material that is insoluble (most likely bone meal). I have to change that filter every nine months to one year.

 

[KaiserSousay]

One other thought on the stacked filter media.
Sifting down to ever finer gunk toward the bottom of the stack.
Top layers would trap the bulk, but would just the arrangement of the layers not end up sifting down to "sub Atomic mulm".
Less than a buck filter socks, well yea..the clothing aisle at the dollar store.
Suppose, knee high hose could be used as filter socks.
I think you could factor in the working lifespan of an item, not just it`s up front cost.
Not that micron rated socks cost all that much.
Gallon sized paint strainer bags, your right, they come in handy for a number of things, other than..well..straining paint.
Be looking forward to how your project goes.
Good luck.