DIY - PVC Biofilter / Beneficial Breeding Ground

RMCG · Apr 5, 2011

I upgraded to a 485GPH 'Aqueon' 2500 pump (found at Petco/Petsmart, cheaper online) to increase 'total turnover' of the reservoir. I only went with that model because I could verify the 1/2" pump fitting.

While longer 'contact' time is better for beneficials to do their thing (~10 mins IIRC?), I wanted just a little quicker res turnover than the 285GPH was providing.

A 'cycle' from when water enters the unit to when it exits is about 45s - 1 minute, but my 100g res will be completely turned over 4x/hr.

Blaze · Apr 5, 2011

Been thoroughly enjoying your DIY tutorials. Nice work man, very professional all around.

RMCG · Apr 5, 2011

Blaze said:
Been thoroughly enjoying your DIY tutorials. Nice work man, very professional all around.

Thanks. Much appreciated.

Stick around, I've got some 'bigger' ideas in the works...

:)

Blaze · Apr 5, 2011

Cool, can't wait to see what you come up with next.

Papa · Apr 5, 2011

RMCG said:
I was assembling this thing, in my mind, on the floor, back and forth between various aisles. I think I drove the plumbing 'associate' crazy...

. . . story of my life.
i spend so much time there the associates have started to refer the customers with difficult questions to me, "See the guy laying out all those parts on the floor over there . . . he'll know the answer."

RMCG, you've created a new standard for tutorials. thank you.

it looks like if you add an airline you'll have a $2,999 pirana system for your septic tank!

Papa

RMCG · Apr 5, 2011

Do they know you by name too? hahaha.

That Pirana is slick as... septic juice

About 12" in diameter, about 36" tall and weighs about 45 pounds.

Might have to go price out some 12" x 3' PVC now...

Venturi airline was added and fed from the existing airline manifold.

Thanks for the kind words.

Giddeon · Apr 5, 2011

what is on the bottom of that piranha unit? looks like and air pot.

Would a 633gph pump be too large for a 6" x 3' bio filter along a 75 gal main res? I also have a 264gph I could use if that would be a better flow rate.

RMCG · Apr 5, 2011

That's what I thought too.

Might just be? Something to 'rough' filter the nastiness that must exist in there... Or something to weigh it down?

Might be too big of a pump. Not sure. Slower flow/More contact time the better.

The scrubbies do slow down the water flow and as the crap starts to build up, it will also slow it down some too. You want more than a trickle, but less than a fire hydrant.

Papa · Apr 5, 2011

RMCG said:
Do they know you by name too? hahaha.

yep, they call me Papa. :)

i haven't seen one of these piranas in person yet. i figured they must weigh it down. maybe they made it look really fancy so that you wouldn't feel taken laying out 3gs for one. they put something like an AP-80 on it. no pump, it just sits in the septic tank.

there is a competitor named sledgehammer . . . and lawsuits for patent infringement between the two companies.

it increases the dissolved oxygen in the tank and those little fellas just eat up the shit. i've had making one on my to-do list for at least five years . . . now your tutorial has me thinking about it again.
re:big pvc . . . most of the pipe suppliers will cut 5 feet off a length for you.

Papa

RMCG · Apr 5, 2011

Honestly if a 12" x 3' unit can eat through 12,000 gallons of shit in a few months, I think I'm good with my 3" filter. I WILL build one of those monsters when I own some land with a pond/water feature on it.

Glad to have inspired you. Hope you post up a pic of it when you are finished.

RMCG · Apr 13, 2011

I finally got around to installing this unit in a system.

I 'seeded/inoculated' the scrubby pads with the following:

Aquashield
Companion
Rootshield
Great White
Roots Excelurator
ZHO

There is some overlap in the bacterial/fungi strains in the above products, but basically they are:

Aquashield: Bacillis Subtillis, Paenibacillus Polymxa, Bacillus Circulans and Bacillus Amyloiquefaciens

Companion: Bacillus subtillis GB03

Rootshield: Trichoderma harzianum, strain T-22

Great White: Bacillus subtillus, Bacillus licheniformis, Paenibacillus, Azotobacter, Streptomyces and Pseudomonas

Roots Excelurator: ??

ZHO: "proprietary blend of mycorrhizae and trichoderma fungi"

I've got this hooked up to my E&F table that I veg on right now just to get it started. I will run it there for ~1 week while I harvest a flower room and move plants that are vegging in a UC out to a flower room.

(Veg UC currently has 'Down Under-HF' and 'DM Zone' treatments)

It will then follow the plants currently on the table and get hooked up to my veg UC where it will stay indefinitely.

DrGoodMeds · Apr 14, 2011

Looking forward to seeing how it performs!

RMCG · Jul 15, 2011

Well, the unit has been running for a bit now. Flow started to slow down, so I reversed the hoses and 'back flushed' the mulm around inside. Put the hoses back on the right way and flow has been good ever since.

I want to take it apart to 'see' whats going on inside there, but its still in use, so that will have to wait. The output doesn't smell funky or anything, well like a 'live' fish tank, but not like a tank that needs to be cleaned, so I think its still doing its thing.

I finally got around to taking a pic of the venturi on the inlet.

I used a 1/2" irrigation sprinkler attachment, basically it allows you to add a drip line from a sprinkler pop-up.

The airline is hooked up to a huge pump, so I had to dial the manifold valve down for that line. It was alternating between water and air coming out of the output hose. Airflow is now cut in half and I still maintain a steady stream of water, but heavily oxygenated.

therealshiva · Feb 21, 2012

nice filter build. about to try building one of these myself

catchafish · Feb 26, 2012

RMCG, how did this turn out for you? I have been looking for something like this for a while now. great thread

click80 · Apr 15, 2012

Bump....very interested in outcome.

PButter · Apr 22, 2012

Ditto.

Nice DIY.

DIY - PVC Biofilter / Beneficial Breeding Ground

DIY - PVC Biofilter / Beneficial Breeding Ground

RMCG

Blaze

RMCG

Blaze

Papa

RMCG

Giddeon

RMCG

Papa

RMCG

RMCG

DrGoodMeds

RMCG

therealshiva

catchafish

click80

PButter

RUN!!!

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