Fines/algae barrel filter

[TekWarren]

I picked up a 25ish gallon tall barrel from my parents farm this weekend with the thought that I would use it to make a floating algae filter. I have green water, it cleared up some using a UV unit I have for large aquariums but it clogs up to much and I don't want to damage it.

In the past and currently I stick a milk crate in front of the skimmer with a piece of quilt batting and it works but because I can only get a small piece of material in there it takes forever to clear up.

Short of stuffing the barrel I have with quilt batting and running a dedicated pump to feed water through it does anyone have any ideas? I'm not really looking to make this a permanent filter so I'm not concerned with having media for bacteria and such, just strictly as a fines filter.

The barrel is fully in tact with all caps/seals at the moment but I'm thinking I will have to cut the top off in order put in/take out any sort of media as the built in openings are quite small. Should I just feed water in through the top and let gravity pull it down through the media or have water enter the bottom and push up through the media?

Thanks

 

[TekWarren]

Ok well don't all rush to give suggestions :\ I've held off making an an algae/fines filter and the water is clearing up pretty good on its own. I still plan to make something though that I can quickly and easily deploy to help clear up the water when this happens or for spring opening.

 

[jmajid]

it seems that pushing the water in at the bottom and taking it out of the top would result in less debris coming out with it as it will be settled at the bottom...
i would be interested in how you put this together when you do it - please come back and post info and pictures

 

[topofthehill1]

If you look up sand and gravels most people go in the bottom and out the top. With some major aeration at the bottom to blow out the fines and drain them out a separate drain at the top. Gravel at the bottom and sand at the top, then just water and your outflow in the water part.. You might want to look up some youtube vids. However with 30 gallons you could probably just stir it up by hand. .

 

[27goldfish]

I am currently looking into the results of the one I made. I have 1 inch in and outputs. I built is as a gravity feed system. I filled it with 20 lbs of lava rock, seperated in 5 lb bags for easier removal. Then, a lot of scrubby pads. Then the pink and white filters ( I have a roll of 100ft). Then I have 2 king size quilt batting packages, unpacked of course, filling the rest of the barrel. It has been in there for a little less than a week. While it does seem to be working, I have to adjust the quilt batting to get to clean media. It appears to be a slow process, but I am pumping around 2000 gph through it. I'll try to post pics of the design and keep you informed.

 

[27goldfish]

These are from an iphone, so they may not look the best.

 

[27goldfish]

Works great btw.