Time for a new filter, this time building a sump type trough filter.
The main compartment, made up of 6ft lenghts of 1x8 boards. We gave it a couple of coats of latex to minimize moisture absorption, and lined the inside with some scrap EPDM pond liner.
The plumbing and dissipator parts before installation. The plumbing is all 3/4"PVC. The water comes in from the riser feed pipe (far right in the picture), flows through the ball valve (the valve with the bar handle) and comes out of the spraybar on the top, which has slots cut lengthwise (along the bottom half only). The spraybar distributes water in the dissipator body, from where the water is broken up into tiny streams by the spray plate (the black rectangular sheet at the bottom sieved with 1/8" holes) that is held in place by the ledge on the bottom of the dissipator body. The dissipator body is made with aluminum flashing and pop rivets.
The globe valve that is leading off the riser is to allow water to be diverted, for water changes. In normal operation, the ball valve would be open and the globe valve shut. To drain, we shut off flow to the filter using the ball valve, connect a drain hose to the globe valve and then open the globe. This way the main pump can also be used for draining.
The sump all connected and in operation. Filter media is plastic bath sponges bought in bulk from the dollar store.
