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Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 9:29 pm
by Gazza
Hi Shaun,

So do you just sweep the waste down the drain as the valve is open so it helps pull the waste out and then do a water change :?:

Another question for you guys is i notice you all use matting that is tightly packed in the last chamber how often do you clean this out and does it get very dirty :?:

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 9:33 pm
by poey
hi Bob.
if you where to bench your settlement chamber along the length of the chamber,making the shallow end the end the water enters the chamber,the deeper end the end that the water exits to your filters could you not put some air uplifts in the deeper end,the same as they do on the stream-flow ponds?with a air pump on a timer.
this in principle would make your settlement chamber work the same as a stream-flow pond but on a smaller scale,so all the waste should fall to the deeper end of the chamber and be automatically taken to waste by the air uplifts making your settlement chamber near maintenance free?
what do you think?
cheers Dave.

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 9:38 pm
by Gazza
Hi Dave,

Hey now i like the sound of that :D i feel another mod coming on :D

Hows the water :?:

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 9:40 pm
by Bob Hart
Dave,

Another great idea and one I'll think some more on. Better look at some more of those stream-flow ponds then!

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 10:03 pm
by stuart t
Bob,

You will have to make sure your inlet "washes" the floor to the sumps, but for sure the air uplift principle can be applied anywhere and air is the most energy efficient way of moving water. I'm surprised no-one has designed a modified vortex chamber that flushes all the waste by air.


NB. I must visit the patenting office before EA cotton on!


regards

Stuart

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 10:13 pm
by poey
Hi Gazza
The water is great mate,tds 100,kh3,ph7.2.
Bob
the settlement chamber idea was just one i was bouncing around in my head.i know the volume,flow rates etc are different,but if it works in the stream-flow ponds i see no reason for it not to work in a settlement chamber.
i have the b/drains sited in the deeper end of my pond,no air uplifts,my pond is around 16ft long,the base is benched 1ft from one end to the other,the base of my pond is always clean.
also using air-uplifts to clear the waste from the chamber the water usage should be minimum,so topping up using RO should be no problem.
cheers Dave.

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 10:21 pm
by james west
sorry, but surely any form of turbulace within the settlement chamber will prevent all but the heavyest solids from dropping out of suspension.

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 10:47 pm
by poey
hi James
The water would flow through the camber the same as it would in any other settlement chamber.
the air uplifts are like small b/drains in the deeper end of the chamber with a 1.5 inch pipe that goes to waste coming from each,with a air stone inside the pipe,going into a trough that goes to waste,the air pump is on a timer so it works intermittently.
when the air pump is started the air stones inside the pipes cause water to travel up the pipe pulling the settlement with it into the through that runs to waste.
hope this goes some way to explain how the air uplifts work.
the same way that air and water flow up the uplifts on a under gravel filter?
cheers Dave.

Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2006 10:53 pm
by greg
Removed.

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 12:08 am
by Shaun
Hi Gazza,
So do you just sweep the waste down the drain as the valve is open so it helps pull the waste out and then do a water change. Yes

Another question for you guys is i notice you all use matting that is tightly packed in the last chamber how often do you clean this out and does it get very dirty:

Once a year same as Greg, the only differance is mine is in cartridge form and not in verticle sheets.

Regards, Shaun.

Posted: Wed Nov 15, 2006 6:08 pm
by Gazza
Thanks Guys,

I had been wondering what happens with the matting as obviously it must get some fines on it so wondered how and if it was cleaned and how often :D

Posted: Fri Nov 17, 2006 1:02 pm
by Dave T
Hi Bob

regarding benching the settlement tank...sorry i havent replied ealier ..ive been a way on the job for a few days.

If you bench the settlement tank min 45degrees you'll obviously increase the floor area exposing more dust waste to the water which will aid decomposition.Benching to the outlet will allow the heavey waste to roll and gather at the outlet where a quick purge will release it.
Bench as much as possible without compromising the volume of the settlement tank. If I ever move house and build a pond my next settlement filter will be done this way.
Flat floors work very well dont get me wrong but i like the thought of a twisting a valve every few days to drain the very heavey waste out.
All that will be left is a dusting of waste which will degrade by its own accord.
more food for thought..... :idea:

air lifts I dont think so...K.I.S.S