Mechanical filtration options

What do you all find to be the most efficient and user friendly forms of mechanical filtration?
 
I currently use the 7x16" felt filter socks with drawstrings from BRS.  I do not enjoy turning each dirty sock inside out to wash them and then turn them back right side out after.  My arms get scratched up from the rough edges, and I am generally irritable when this task comes along once a week. 
 
 
I have been experimenting with cutting the socks open and laying them in a tray (eg. plastic pasta sieve) to catch the water.  I don't like how much water splash there is with this method, and the BRS socks need to have the cut edges burned/melted in order to keep from balling up and sticking together in the washer.  What I do like is the flat filter mats are SO much easier to gather up and shove in the washing machine.
 
I recently saw a sump (for a reef tank) that was drilled in the back pane near the top for a bulkhead to receive the drain water.  The bulkhead then had a short piece of pipe and a 45° elbow to point down onto an egg crate tray to hold a filter mat.  The brilliant part was that there was a partition/baffle in the sump sectioning off this area that ran all the way to the top of the sump and was 1" off the bottom of the sump so the water flowed through the mat and down under the baffle.  There was then a glass lid over this section.  This solved the splash problem.  I'm not sure if my description is sufficient...?
 
Any other ideas out there???

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

I have wanted to experiment with some single layer mono filamet socks that are out there. Various sizes and micron ratings are available. My thinking is that with it being a single layer they could easily be rinsed and placed back on. I will try to find a link to a brand I have a couple small (4"dia x 6") ones of.

 
Hallo 
 
gibt es Bilder von der Neuerung ?
 
MfG Sylvio

Hi Daniel, do you mean something like the mesh filter socks?  I had not thought of that.  I do have one 200 micron mesh filter sock from BRS and I find the sock hardly catches anything.  Now you have me thinking...how about making screens using micron mesh and lay the screen where I would normally lay the tray?  I could make screens with the screen framing kits.  Maybe 50 or 100 micron would be good.  Maybe I could layer the screens.  Oh now I'm excited!   
 
I only hitch I see is the only window framing kits I've seen are made of aluminum (even the BRS one) and although I don't think the aluminum would cause problems when used as a screen top for an aquarium, I'm not sure I want my system's water running over the aluminum constantly.  I'm trying to think of a different way to make a frame.  I will check the craft/hobby stores when I get a chance.
 
Hallo Silvio, sorry I don't have any pictures.  I will try to remember to take pictures when I stop by there on Friday.

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

Hallo 
 
Ich verwende einfache Siebe ( 55 my - 100 my )
 

 

 
MfG Sylvio
 

Sylvio, I like your screens!

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

I can't understand why anyone would use felt filter socks I use nylon ones stacked and can rinse all 3 under a tap in a mater of minutes

Mindy. I finally found a cutsheet for the one I mentioned. Not the same company I had one from previously but bags are the same. Prices were anywhere from $4-$8 if I recall. Basically our typical mesh sheets but sock version.

http://www.strainrite.com/pdf/Monofilament.pdf

Mindy,
 
I know this sounds crazy, but suppose you could move a long ribbon of filter mat so the junk caught doesn't sit in the water and mineralize.  I can think of three methods, smarter people than me can probably think of many more.  The first method would work like the 6 cylinder barrel of a revolver.  You'd arrange pieces of material around a circle, and the circle would rotate under the drain.  So every day or every hour the detritus caught would move out of the water flow and dry out.  And probably smell.
The second method would be kind of like two spools.  clean filter cloth would unwind from one spool, slowly rotate through the water drain and then wind up on a second spool.  A stepper motor would do this and probably so would many other devices.
 
I don't know if a long ribbon of filter material would be easier for you to clean, it might be harder.  But it could go a great length to remove detritus before it broke down into nutrients.
 
Here's a third way.  After the dirty filter moved away from the drain, it could do a 180 degree twist so the dirty side would be down.  A spray of fresh water would rinse off the ribbon of felt and the junk would drain away.  A bunch of 50 cent shrub heads from the landscaping department of a garden store could make a line or a bank of sprayers.  Given that your house water is at least 40 p.s.i. you could use a standard $14 solenoid to spray fresh water.  The solenoid would need a controller.  If your shrub sprayers were thorough, the ribbon of felt could be continuous and you'd never need to wash them.  
 
By the way, I know these ideas are a little "off the wall".  Don't take them seriously unless you want to.  Maybe they're just good for a laugh.

I've always just put felt socks into some bleach overnight then just rinsed them out.  

That doesn't sound nearly as fun as a Rube Goldberg apparatus!

Thanks for all the input everyone!  Dave you have some interesting ideas!  I like the "ribbon" idea, but I don't have the space for that. 
 
Matt, as I said earlier, I have a 200 micron mesh sock, but it doesn't really catch much.  A 200 micron felt sock catches a lot more for some reason.  I really like the idea of using mesh instead of felt though!  How fine are your mesh socks?  They work well?
 
Daniel, thanks for the link!  Those look like the ones I got from BRS.  Vertex also makes a mesh sock.
 
I remembered I took a quick pic on my phone - it's blurry, but I think you can see the egg crate tray that is in the sump and you can see the drain (with the gate valve) coming in through the back of the sump.

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

http://reefbuilders.com/2.../powerroll-filter-200/
I thought this was a neat idea, although I'm not sure how practical it is price-wise or how quickly it would go through a roll of material when used in a fish growout system.
 
Filter socks can be a pain, but I do like being able to run all of the water through them to make sure particulates aren't circulating in the system. For washing, we do the standard remove from system, turn inside-out and wash in a dedicated machine with bleach and then hang to dry.

That is a very cool roll system!  Pricey though - wow!

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

 
Wow, fishboy42, that is a great system because it keeps waste from breaking down.  I can't afford $1,200 but I can see it's value to a hatchery or a big clownfish breeder.  I wonder how much the rolls of filter cloth cost.  Part of me thinks that jets of fresh water would wash this off, but another part of me says the filter cloth should be treated as disposable.  Cleaning it is probably too much of a bother.

So I figured something out...
 
- trim piece from 5-gallon aquarium
- roll of rubber gasket stuff for window screens
- roller tool for gasket
- micron mesh (I had 180 on hand)
- scissors
The frame for the 5-gallon tank is 16x8" and fits pretty well into the end of a sump made from an 18" wide aquarium (like a 40-gallon, 50-gallon, or 75-gallon).  I need some more silicone to finish up the sump I am modifying for this screen filter, but I will get it finished this week.  I also imagine I will need 100 micron mesh instead of the 180, but I will give it a go.
 

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

I just found this on Amazon...
 
5-gallon pail EZ Strainer 75 micron only $8 also available in 100 and 200 micron.
http://www.amazon.com/Gal...p;keywords=micron+mesh
 
Also check out "paint strainer bags" they run around 125 microns and are super cheap too.

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

Those from Amazon look like they could work well.  I'v been trying to find a good system for particulate filtration too, and think I might try to adapt one of these somehow.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ken

 
würde ich mir auch holen 
aber  80 € ist zu viel
 
http://www.amazon.de/EZ-S...r+75+micron+for+Bucket
 
MfG Sylvio 

Yeah mine work well there stacked so 400, 200 and 100 micron

Are you sure yours isent damaged in some way?

Wow Sylvio, those strainers are SO expensive for you!  That is certainly too much money!
 
Matt, the 200 micron mesh sock was in perfect condition.  It caught some stuff, but certainly not the fine particles the felt sock caught.

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

Thanks for this thread.  I am designing the sump for my growout rack and this has been very helpful.  I believe I have settled on using filter pads on an egg crate rack similar to what you pictured, and then will experiment with different materials.   It looks like DFS sells both 100 and 50 micron felt pads for pretty cheap so I may give them a try.

... 

I've posted about teh EZ-Strainers a few times...
 
http://www.usplastic.com/...id=24071&catid=685
 

We've been using them here at Reed for 7 years now
 

I saw something the other day in a Co-op Homehardware store.  They were the bucket filters for maple syrup.  I noticed them but did not have time to find out what size filter they were.  Some were cloth like and some were paper-like.

i like those for other things, but they aren't fine enough to get the junk out of my water.  Only the felt like bags will do that.

check out Kathy's Clowns, llc website:
http://kathysclowns.com
Captive bred clownfish and more
(Wholesale to the trade.)

Well, I stopped by the fabric store today and bought a roll of 30" by 30 meters (100 feet) 1" polyester quilt stuff.  It cost me $65 with taxes.  I hate the idea of throwing this all in the dumpster, but for the cost of it and the extreme ease of use, it's hard to say no. 

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

Do you think the water should flow through the filter material above the water line or below so that the filter material always stays submerged?

I always have it just barely above the surface.  I'm not sure if there would be any advantage to it being submersed...?

Don't let fear and common sense stop you! =]

I needed a media bag in a hurry and all I couls find at home was my rotifer floss.  I had a yard or so.  So I stitched it into a bag and used it.  It really grabbed the stuff.  I don't know what makes it better than other floss/ media but it did really hold on to it.