Swirl filters.

[bigdaddy]

Hi everyone,

Some pictures of my swirl filter added to barra system.

Photos

1. From right to left,fish tank,swirl filter ,moving bed bio filter.Both on an old bed ATM

2.Inside of swirl separator form top to bottom,19mm inlet elbow to which a 2300 litre power head is attached.bottom, 25 mm PVC outlet,going back to fish tank ATM,but will go straight into biofilter and sump next door when finished.

3. Swirl filter showing inlet on RHS and outlet on LHS,both up about 1/2 way

4. Inside view of swirl filter.

Drain will be installed in middle of swirl filter soon

Cheers.

[bigdaddy]

Here are some more photo's of my added filtration.

1. Picture of fish tank setup going to grow bed.

2. Washing basket in sump and bio filter setup.

3. Swirl filter filling up.

4. Swirl filter at another stage of filling up.

5. Swirl filter nearly full.





Cheers.

[bigdaddy]

Hi folks,

The swirl filter water comes to about 200mm of the top

I'm about to buy some 100 barra fingerlings again ,I was just wondering if they could live in the swirl filter or not for a few weeks?

What do you folk think?

Cheers.

[GaryD]

Hi BD,

The important thing with the barra fingerlings is to keep the air up to them. Given that the purpose of your swirl filter is to settle out the solids from your fish tanks, it might not be the best place for them.

If you can rig up a small mesh arrangement that floats in your existing fish tank.....something that keeps your barra inside and your existing fish outside......that might be better. Some people use a laundry basket (or two baskets - one inside of the other) with attached floats.

Barramundi go through a really nasty stage where they eat each other.....so being able to confine them so that you can grade them a couple of times during the first few weeks would be very useful.

Crowding them up might also offset some of the cannibalism that is a feature of their early weeks. It certainly works with some other territorial/carnivorous fish.

What have you used to make your swirl tanks from?

Gary

[bigdaddy]

Hi Gary,

I have learnt that once barra get to 100mm and over, they don't tend to show that unhealthy interest in their brothers and sisters so much but I am sure 100 mm fingerlings will make a lovely breakfast for the 300 mm barra.I like your idea of making a cage and rigging it up in my existing fish tank.Or even use the spare laundry basket I have,hmmmm.... leave that with me for a while,still open for other suggestions though.

I think I still will harvest the trout (I was going to try and grow them for a couple more weeks) soon and fit my trout tank back to where it was originally.I just have to figure how to work the trout grow bed back into the original system.

The containers are 220 litre containers I got from Bunnings a couple of years ago on clearance ($150.00 for 5).

Yesterday was absolutely freezing ,wet,cold windy about 60Km/hr plus wind gusts I reckon and 12 C,the day before 23 Hugh?for October? the barra tank crashed from 22 yesterday morning to 18 C,due to the cold wind and in particular the addition of my swirl separator.It stayed a steady 18 till night,them I kept the seperator circulating,heaters on aerator on but I turned off the grow bed by a manual valve I fitted originally.This morning the barra had a toasty 22 C,not exactly sun bathing but at least they were not shivering.

I fed them this morning and they are up to their normal tricks,not exactly demolishing their food, but just having a little munch for breakfast,hopefully tonight they will go all out and have a feast,but who knows they are moody sometimes,it's just the way they are.

Cheers.

[DaveOponic]

Sounds pretty cold for Barramundi . . . mine get sluggish when it gets down to 26 degrees overnight. Water temp here usually around 28 - 31 in the tanks..... under full shade. Air temps at the moment around 33 deg C.

PS. I would keep those baby Barra where you can keep an eye on them and as Gary said .... lots of air bubbles is what they love ... my (now) 1 kg barra like to play under the hose ... I think they like a massage too because they will stay still while I grab them under water ... as long as water level is low and hose is squirting nearby. I guess their behavior would be quite different in cooler water. They usually "strike" fast when the first pellet hits the water... especially if it is already dark.

[GaryD]

Hi BD,

....I turned off the grow bed by a manual valve I fitted originally.

Very much my preference for dealing with minimising heat loss.......much safer than switching water pumps off.

Gary

[Crusty]

So you are pumping into the swirl filter then? That is a no no.

[GaryD]

Hi Crusty,

Through my conversations with you, I understand why you say that but, for the sake of our other members, would you care to elaborate?

Gary

[bigdaddy]

Hi Crusty,

Yes that was the case,but it was temporary,now I have the sump fitted on the left with the submersible pump and flow switch fitted inside the tank going to the grow bed.I also have a skimmer box fitted to the barra tank with a sukerupera attached the water drains into the tank then goes up the suckerupera to the swirl tank where I have attached a washing basket on the inside then the water goes to the sump.I will post some photos soon.

But if you could explain why it is a no no to pump directly to your swirl filter I'd be interested to find out why.

Cheers.