Gary's 3 Mega Bin System

[Rew]

What Ray is referring to is called an SLO on other sites. Solids Lifting Overflow. It keeps the bottom of the fish tank very clean, just no tray to catch the big stuff.

[Crusty]

In case my above attempt at humour is too bad, let me say that I recognise that your device has more functionality. Both items rely on gravity to push the water up the outlet pipe carrying the solids with it.

I love the fact that in your device one can extract large solids (fish, food etc) and provid a way to eaisly remove them even before they reach the swirl filter.

So it is simply a pipe going to the bottom of the tank with an air break at the top, before it exits the tank?

Getting the morts (dead fish, you always have them) out of the tank is part of all designs in very large tanks. You can imagine having a tank with a 12 meter diameter and hoping to get the dead fish out of it with a net lol. The other trick with the suckeruppera, is it acts as a skimmer box to remove the floating "stuff". This is really important with high fat and protein feeds (oily film on the surface of the tank creating a "bath ring"). The downside is when you use floating feeds.

Now ya just need to make one.

[RayH]

Good Morning Crusty,

So it is simply a pipe going to the bottom of the tank with an air break at the top, before it exits the tank?

Yes. Of course one needs a gap at the bottom of the pipe ( or slots or holes) to allow the muck to pushed up the pipe.

Now ya just need to make one.

Which leads me to ask what you used for the dish at the top?


Ray

[Crusty]

Which leads me to ask what you used for the dish at the top?

Hi Ray. You can simply cut the bum out of a bucket.

[GaryD]

Hi,

We purchased another air pump today. It's a Sonic Hi Blow that delivers 125 litres of air per minute at a pressure of 50kPa.....considerably higher than the 200lpm blower that we used initially.

All three airlifts are hooking along at around 10 litres per minute......which will change each tank over every hour or thereabouts.

Yesterday, I washed a tray that was covered in filter gunk in one of the mega bin tanks. Within a few minutes of starting up the airlifts, the solids began to appear in the skimmer tray......which suggested that the flow from the airlift was creating a circular motion in the tank (or, as Paul calls it, swinging the tank). This circular movement of the water moves any sedimentary solids in the tank to the centre....and within range of the pickup pipe for the skimmer arrangement.

The three 200mm airstones (one in each tank) are sending out a generous stream of tiny bubbles and the media in the sump/Moving Bed bio-filter is simmering away.

A glimpse into the swirl tank confirmed that the water was spinning steadily.

When we started the system up initially, I placed a small handful of feed in the bio-filter and the first fish tank to condition the filter media. Tonight, I slipped a bucket under the swirl tank drain and cracked the dump valve and a satisfying slug of watery sludge issued forth.

Paul and I were delighted with the way things were performing with the new air pump.......but the pleasant surprises hadn't ended there.

When I bought the new air pump, I had it in my mind that it was about 125 watts. Closer inspection confirmed that our new 2000+ litre system was, in fact, operating on just 85 watts.

I attempted to take more photos but my camera battery was flat........tomorrow perhaps!

Gary

[Crusty]

Always love to see a plan come together. 85watts will cost about $135 per year to run. How does that compare to what you were running before Gary?

[GaryD]

Hi Paul,

Previously, we've a pump in each tank.......65 - 85 watts depending on the particular pump we used......and a small 10 watt air pump.

We're now running the new system on less than half of the original energy consumption......and it's working so much more effectively.

I got up this morning and went to the shed and it's all bubbling away nicely.

Oh......happy days!

Gary

[GaryD]

Hi,

At the time that we started this system up, I threw a couple of handsful of fish food into the tank, packed media filter and the bio-filter.....with a view to conditioning the bio-filter. As it turned out, I was a little generous with the feed because a heterotrophic bloom has descended on the system and the water has gone cloudy. Paul tells me it will be about a week before it clears up.

Everything's still cracking along nicely since we installed the new air pump.

This morning, I cleaned out the packed media filter for the first time since the start up........and it seems to be working very well. I just lifted the filter bucket clear of the swirl filter and tipped the media into tub and (using a large paint stirrer gadget) I gave the media a good churn up. I then tipped the media back into the filter bucket and replaced the whole thing back in the swirl tank.......elapsed time 2 - 3 minutes.

Gary

[GaryD]

Here's a closer look at our packed media filter (clarifier).

It comprises a 20 litre perforated plastic bucket into which we have inserted a perforated 90mm pipe.

The bucket is suspended over a snug-fitting 50mm pipe which is connected to the bio-filter.

The water enters the swirl tank through the pipe on the right of the photo.

This pipe has a 90 degree bend attached......to impart a circular motion as the water enters.

The sedimentary solids spin to the outer wall of the swirl tank while the water enters the packed media filter bucket through the myriad of holes.

The water passes through the media and exits the filter bucket through the holes in the pipe in the centre of the bucket.......passing into the bio-filter through the pipe on the left of the bucket.

As bio-film builds up on the media, it will become more effective at trapping suspended solids.

Gary

[GaryD]

Hi,

We swapped the small blower (90 watts - 200 litres per minute) that we put on the Mega Bin System initially and installed a Sonic Hi Blow (85 watts - 125lpm). While the first unit moved more air, the latter one provided greater pressure.

The Sonic is the silver one.......very quiet and solid (6.5kg).

Gary