My Diy Sand Filter. I'm sick of filter socks!!!

CM. If we can find a way for the apex to do auto back flush...then we are cooking with Gas.........

And because it's automated, it could do one every night to avoid nitrate buildup

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cabinetman123 said:
As far as the nitrates building up its not going to be any worst than filter socks.
Click to expand...
I'm not saying it is worse, but ideally u would change out filter socks every day. Most don't because it's a pita to do so. However with your setup, and some automation, you could easily set it up to back flush every day, so it would actually be better than using socks. I don't think there is any way short of a robot that could change socks :). So you get best of both worlds by adding automation.

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Horace said:
I'm not saying it is worse, but ideally u would change out filter socks every day. Most don't because it's a pita to do so. However with your setup, and some automation, you could easily set it up to back flush every day, so it would actually be better than using socks. I don't think there is any way short of a robot that could change socks :). So you get best of both worlds by adding automation.

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Click to expand...

The trick is getting the automation done at a price that makes sense. And doing the automation on the cheap is probably a very bad idea, set it, leave it and then it goes crapola and you don't even notice till it's to late. Besides, I like keeping my hands on the system, it's like driving a manual transmission car, it helps keep your head in the game... well, for me anyway.
 
Ron Reefman said:
The trick is getting the automation done at a price that makes sense. And doing the automation on the cheap is probably a very bad idea, set it, leave it and then it goes crapola and you don't even notice till it's to late. Besides, I like keeping my hands on the system, it's like driving a manual transmission car, it helps keep your head in the game... well, for me anyway.
Click to expand...
No doubt something like this needs to be done right. Assuming I do automate it...it's going to be solid...and have fail-safes built in. It won't be cheap. Nothing in this hobby is. That being said, I put a high value on my time, do spending a few hundred extra to minimize the amount of maintenance I need to do makes the hobby more enjoyable and long term I feel results in more success.



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Horace, as you move forward, assuming you will, please keep us informed as to what you find. I saw where you were asking about motorized valves and that looks to be at least one expensive part, especially if you need 2 or 3.

I haven't seriously looked at the idea yet as I have my hands full doing a couple of projects already (bathroom shower stall complete rebuild and hot rod car suspension mods!). But I like this filter idea a lot and once I get caught up, I'll be working on one.

shifty, it's just fresh water running through the valve, not salt water. And all that water (except for a tiny amount caught in the sand) is drained from the system. The amount of copper picked up in the tanks would be absolutely miniscule! Now it wouldn't be a big deal to swap it out, but I wouldn't worry about it for a second. I had salt water running through 2 small brass elbows at the siphon breaks in my return from the sump for years. A) I never had any issues in the tank B) the brass never showed any signs of corrosion. I've since changed them out for plastic John Guest fittings.
 
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Ron Reefman said:
Horace, as you move forward, assuming you will, please keep us informed as to what you find. I saw where you were asking about motorized valves and that looks to be at least one expensive part, especially if you need 2 or 3.

I haven't seriously looked at the idea yet as I have my hands full doing a couple of projects already (bathroom shower stall complete rebuild and hot rod car suspension mods!). But I like this filter idea a lot and once I get caught up, I'll be working on one.

shifty, it's just fresh water running through the valve, not salt water. And all that water (except for a tiny amount caught in the sand) is drained from the system. The amount of copper picked up in the tanks would be absolutely miniscule! Now it wouldn't be a big deal to swap it out, but I wouldn't worry about it for a second. I had salt water running through 2 small brass elbows at the siphon breaks in my return from the sump for years. A) I never had any issues in the tank B) the brass never showed any signs of corrosion. I've since changed them out for plastic John Guest fittings.
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I absolutely will. It won't be cheap...the only chance at getting this done relatively cheap is if my bro, who is an Engineer for Pentair, (they make them) can come through on some actuated 3way ball valves for me.

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So after googling alternatives to filter socks, I found this:
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/automatic-roller-mat-theiling.html


While it is pretty spendy, this may just be what im looking for. Its got automation built in....and it removes the garbage before it has a chance to break down. While this is going to have an on going, more expensive cost, it may just be the ticket for those of you like me looking for a way to ditch the socks!
 
Horace said:
So after googling alternatives to filter socks, I found this:
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/automatic-roller-mat-theiling.html


While it is pretty spendy, this may just be what im looking for. Its got automation built in....and it removes the garbage before it has a chance to break down. While this is going to have an on going, more expensive cost, it may just be the ticket for those of you like me looking for a way to ditch the socks!
Click to expand...

I've seen this before. It is rather expensive, but given your desire for automation, it may be better for you. For those of us who just want easier and better, I think it looks like the sand filter is the way to go. The other issue with the Theiling system is it's size. If I remember correctly, it has a pretty big footprint.
 
Ron Reefman said:
I've seen this before. It is rather expensive, but given your desire for automation, it may be better for you. For those of us who just want easier and better, I think it looks like the sand filter is the way to go. The other issue with the Theiling system is it's size. If I remember correctly, it has a pretty big footprint.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's not small, but I have a fish room and multiple sumps, so that isn't an issue. I pulled the trigger on it last night...while I think the sand filter is great, the design of the roller is exactly what I wanted. The cost to automate the sand filter was a bit much, and I think a bit risky if an actuator was to fail.

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I know from experience that the sand filter catches finer material than my filter socks used to. I'm not even running a skimmer anymore at all now and my water is crystal clear. Something I only used to see when the filter sock was nearly plugged and with flow turned way down so it wasn't bypassing. I kinda wonder how fine that roll thing will catch.
 
I don't like to filter fine particles. I consider that to be starving the tank of planktonic life.

It's a personal philosophy, but I'll give up absolute clarity in exchange for rapid growth.
 
karimwassef said:
I don't like to filter fine particles. I consider that to be starving the tank of planktonic life.

It's a personal philosophy, but I'll give up absolute clarity in exchange for rapid growth.
Click to expand...

Not me! My corals grow into each other so much I'm fragging them all the time. I don't mind that, but then I have to run an ad on our local club forum and have people come over and buy them. It's fun, but sometimes it gets old.
 
karimwassef said:
I don't like to filter fine particles. I consider that to be starving the tank of planktonic life.

It's a personal philosophy, but I'll give up absolute clarity in exchange for rapid growth.
Click to expand...
I would argue that not filtering the water dramatically lowers your light penetration...by at least 10 to 15%. Therefore lowering growth....imho, crystal clear water looks 1000x better to the eye as well. Just have a high bioload and feed heavy (and export heavy :))

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