Converted the backflush on my filter to automatic.

[FountainMan]

I've been doing work on the pond over the past few weeks and this weekend this involved installing a new pressurized bio-filter. The water was looking a bit brown last week and I decommissioned my last filter a few months ago due to the canister leaking and figured it was time to replace. Here's the thing, these type of filters have backflush functions to clean them out which I like however due to how my garden is set up and where the filter is located, it's very difficult to use the backflush function as it's located in a very cramped and tight space.

I bought a CNZ filter which is also sold under the names Grech and SunSun. Along with these, I also purchased a 1" electronic 3 way valve and a motor and gearbox assembly.

Below is the filter out of the box as is before the other items were added.

I removed the white star shaped piece from the agitator shaft so I could attach the motor drive shaft directly to it. I didn't have the shaft coupling as I didn't no prior to this what the shaft diameter was. I knew the motor shaft was 8mm. Turns out the shaft on the filter agitator is 8mm as well so I then proceeded to purchase the shaft coupling. I fitted the 3 way valve onto the dirty water output. The way these filters are designed, the blue knob just diverts the output from the pond to where ever you have the wastewater go to. It doesn't change the waterflow like some pressurized bio-filters do so the clean water and wastewater ports can be used interchangeably. For my setup, the backflush port was the best option. I plugged the other port as it wasn't needed. The electronic valve basically performs the same function as the blue knob. Both the valve and drive motor are wired into the same 12 volt power supply and both are wired to run together to prevent dirty water from accidentally getting back into the pond. The valve diverts dirty water to a holding reservoir.

Everything installed. Amazon brought the drive shaft coupling I needed to complete this project. The motor and valve power supply connected to a smart switch which is controlled via my iPhone. Got everything tested and dialed in. The dirty water is sent to a holding reservoir where it's reused for irrigation purposes.

A shot from the other side from outside my patio. The motor rotates the agitator bar which for anyone who's familiar with this filter works like a wringer to squeeze out sludge from the filter pads inside. As mentioned above, this dirty water is diverted to the irrigation reservoir. Inside the reservoir bacteria breakdown the sludge and waste and turn it into compounds like nitrates which are useful as a natural fertilizer which the plants irrigated with this water like.

Just to add to the point of using pond filter wastewater (effluent) as a fertilizer I figured I'd include some pictures of my herb garden which is irrigated with this water.

 

[FountainMan]

After a few weeks of letting the filter do it's job, I did a few runs of the automatic backwash just to make sure it would perform as intended. Needless to say it works perfectly! Works exactly as intended! Just look at how brown that wastewater is. Most of this is dust and dirt from working on the upper portions of the watercourse. The cat litter used as a planting medium produces a lot of the junk the filter has cleaned out of the pond water.

Those white objects floating in the water are the bio-balls I salvaged from the previous filter. Eventually I want to put those bio-balls in a mesh bag like those onions and potatoes are sold in along with a rock to sink the bag and bio-balls to the bottom. There are 2 diffused air aerators that will help draw water through the media allowing nitrifying bacteria to do its thing.