DO YOU HAVE A SIEVE FILTER?

[Mmathis]

(or had one at some time in the past).....And if so,

--- what brand?

--- are you happy with it? does it meet your needs? pro's / con's?

--- how are you using it? (mechanical pre-filter-before-bio filter, or other)

--- where did you get it & how much did it cost?

[I really, really want one, but feel I need to justify my cause ]

 

[Waterbug]

In the past.

Fiberglass window screen just as a pre-filter instead of a skimmer basket.

But nice wedge type screens, made specifically for sieve filters, don't cost too much.

 

[Mmathis]

Anyone else have input?

 

[JohnHuff]

[I really, really want one, but feel I need to justify my cause ]

If you really want one you don't need validation from the likes of us, just get it!

 

[crsublette]

Yeah, I am starting to be interested in a sieve filter as well. I like how it does not requiring big water flushes to clean the filter material and do not have to worry about potential DOCs that bogs can create. There is the UltraSieve3 that is compact and looks like it is being time tested but it expensive for something looks like can be easily DIY'd.

 

[addy1]

Yeah, I am starting to be interested in a sieve filter as well. I like how it does not requiring big water flushes to clean the filter material and do not have to worry about potential DOCs that bogs can create. There is the UltraSieve3 that is compact and looks like it is being time tested but it expensive for something looks like can be easily DIY'd.

my bog might be creating doc's like some one pointed out you always have doc's in a pond. But I do not have the white foamy stuff some get, surface of water foam free, has always been, even my pond in arizona.

 

[fishin4cars]

I've been highly considering installing a Cetus sieve on my koi pond. I have done quite a bit of reading on forums the last several months on some of the KOI forums and watching youtube videos etc. As far as a professional built unit it seems that the Cetus sieve is the product of choice. Once installed there are some things that have to be checked, It must have adequate drainage, it most be level and it has to be periodically cleaned. (of course the usual has to be done but every season the slides need cleaning, the door needs taken out and wiped down etc. Cost is up there, well over $1000 for a unit. I've watched several DYI sieves that looked to perform almost as good for fractions of the cost. I would consider a DYI but right now a ready to run unit fits my day and time so much better.

 

[fishin4cars]

my bog might be creating doc's like some one pointed out you always have doc's in a pond. But I do not have the white foamy stuff some get, surface of water foam free, has always been, even my pond in arizona.

Addy you don't feed heavy do you? With your pond I doubt DOC's will become to much of a issue with your pond. Must people that really have to worry seem to be those that have large koi, Heavy stocking, or feed heavy. stock level would be your biggest concern. But what a sieve would do for you is benefit that actual load that is making it into the bof therefore making the bog work even better. The biggest issue you would have is most sieve are run from bottome drain circuits for the maximum benefit of the unit.

 

[Mmathis]

If you really want one you don't need validation from the likes of us, just get it!

Ah, but I already KNOW that I want one . Just looking for input regarding brands: pros, cons, & personal experience, etc. Sieves don't exactly fit into my budget right now, so when & if I can finagle it INTO the budget, I want to be an informed consumer.

Face it, a sieve filter isn't like a car where you can just walk up to folks in the parking lot and ask them, "Hey, tell me about your car!" Your consumer input is sorta limited, mainly limited to info provided by the companies (of the what, 2 or 3 brands?). And while I think I can DIY a bio-filter, not too sure I have the skill set to DIY a sieve filter.

 

[Waterbug]

Here's a way to DIY a sieve without the complex floating weir found in the manufactured version.

Pond on the left and some kind of reservoir on the right. The reservoir can be a tank or a second smaller pond. In either case it can be built exactly the same way a pond is built.

Here the pump (in red) is off.

When the pump is turned on the reservoir draws down, the pond level goes up and the bottom drain gravity flows into the tank. The sieve (in green) is just a screen which the incoming water flows over and through, filtering out large bits of debris which collect down in the bottom of the screen.

No floating weir is needed.

Lots of options on how the screen is configured. It doesn't really need to be slanted. It could extend from one side of the tank to the other, etc.

Media could be added to the tank to make a fluidized bed bio filter. Altogether one heck of a filer imo.

 

[crsublette]

Yeah, I done get why some of these sieves are so expensive. It is like they're making it out of the best stainless steel forged in asia or something.

 

[addy1]

Addy you don't feed heavy do you? With your pond I doubt DOC's will become to much of a issue with your pond. Must people that really have to worry seem to be those that have large koi, Heavy stocking, or feed heavy. stock level would be your biggest concern. But what a sieve would do for you is benefit that actual load that is making it into the bof therefore making the bog work even better. The biggest issue you would have is most sieve are run from bottome drain circuits for the maximum benefit of the unit.

No I don't feed heavy, stocking level is sort of up to nature, what makes it makes it lol. I don't have a bottom drain so a sieve won't fit in.

 

[archimedes]

Are "pump fed" sieve filters worth it? Or does that defeat the whole purpose of the sieve?

Nice simple design Waterbug.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

Are "pump fed" sieve filters worth it? Or does that defeat the whole purpose of the sieve?

It defeats the purpose of the bottom drain which has the ability to remove muck from the pond without blending it into a fine Purée.

One negative I'll say about the sieve filter, other than cost associated with manifactured ones, is unlike a settling tank a stray fish has no hope of survival if it gets sucked through the bottom drain. Since all the fish I have in my pond right now are very small, and most of them have found their way to my settling tank, had I had a sieve filter instead of a settling tank most of my fish would be dead by now.

 

[JohnHuff]

WB, how is adding media to the tank going to make it fluidized? The media would just get sucked into the pump.

I'm thinking that a DIY sieve can be done another way, by rotational or centrifugal energy. A jet of water can be squirted into a cone sideways and the water would swirl around and exit the down the middle but the heavier material would just get stuck on the sides. This would have to be cleaned as frequently as needed by just taking the cone out and hosing it down. I'm planning to do that as a mini-project as soon as I can find a cone shaped object, probably some kind of lid, or I can make a trial one by gluing a piece of plastic card into a cone shape. It wouldn't be perfect, but it would cost just a few bucks.

And I think that could be improved by rotating the cone in the same direction as the water but this would be much harder for a DIY'er because that would involve electrical stuff that most people won't be comfortable with.

Apart from that I am very sure that a DIY regular sieve filter can be easily made with a rectangular box and a piece of cheesecloth or some other material that can be thrown away when dirty and replaced. You don't really need a micro filter. You just need to drill 1 inlet and 2 outlets in a box then 2 attachments to attach a piece of cloth or filter under the inlet.

In my humble opinion a pump fed sieve filter is ok because the muck at the bottom of the pond is quite fine anyway.