Mud Crab
Thu Sep 23, 2004, 02:22 PM
Well, thuh rubbish dump provided for 99% of the parts of my home made system.
Some pics below...
I purchased teflon tape and other small things from the hardware shop which did not exceed twenty Aussie dollars. Total cost from rubbish dump parts is $60...What is my system???
Quiet simply, it is an outdoor solar heater, with a seperate biological and mechanical filter AND a micron filter used to filter out smaller nasties. I worked on the principal of
1) coarse filtration in addition to aeration and aerobic/anaerobic bio filter within the one unit from water directly from the tank.
2) Fine filtration of smaller particles left over after coarse filtration.
3) 50% of fine filtered water is pumped directly into tank with the remainder being filtered by the micron filter and stored in a 100 litre fibreglass drum and then pumped into the tank.
4) Timer regulates opening and closing of solenoid valves (from washing machines) during daylight hours to my ubeaut solar heater with a thermostat (from airconditioner) controlling temperature by shutting and opening of solenoid valves, bypassing solar heater....In four hours I increased my total (then closed system minus tank and with an increased flow rate) by ten degrees celcius, using solar heating :shock: .
...at the moment I am working on preventing all minor leaks with proper gaskets/ "O" rings and clamps and have insulation (carpet foam underlay with a silver backing) cut in strips ready to wind around hoses to prevent heat loss and am making also a cabinet of plywood with one inch thick foam as added insulation. All dump material :!:
...and just a pointer- NEVER remove logs from your tank without checking to see if your discus have laid eggs in them :oops: I only had these discus for two months and they were my first ever and had no idea they were hiding in the logs because they had eggs.
...So here are the pics of my DIY system:
...I wanted to include more detailed pics and diagrams but could only for some reason able to post three...even though i kept them all ver small in size :(
Some pics below...
I purchased teflon tape and other small things from the hardware shop which did not exceed twenty Aussie dollars. Total cost from rubbish dump parts is $60...What is my system???
Quiet simply, it is an outdoor solar heater, with a seperate biological and mechanical filter AND a micron filter used to filter out smaller nasties. I worked on the principal of
1) coarse filtration in addition to aeration and aerobic/anaerobic bio filter within the one unit from water directly from the tank.
2) Fine filtration of smaller particles left over after coarse filtration.
3) 50% of fine filtered water is pumped directly into tank with the remainder being filtered by the micron filter and stored in a 100 litre fibreglass drum and then pumped into the tank.
4) Timer regulates opening and closing of solenoid valves (from washing machines) during daylight hours to my ubeaut solar heater with a thermostat (from airconditioner) controlling temperature by shutting and opening of solenoid valves, bypassing solar heater....In four hours I increased my total (then closed system minus tank and with an increased flow rate) by ten degrees celcius, using solar heating :shock: .
...at the moment I am working on preventing all minor leaks with proper gaskets/ "O" rings and clamps and have insulation (carpet foam underlay with a silver backing) cut in strips ready to wind around hoses to prevent heat loss and am making also a cabinet of plywood with one inch thick foam as added insulation. All dump material :!:
...and just a pointer- NEVER remove logs from your tank without checking to see if your discus have laid eggs in them :oops: I only had these discus for two months and they were my first ever and had no idea they were hiding in the logs because they had eggs.
...So here are the pics of my DIY system:
...I wanted to include more detailed pics and diagrams but could only for some reason able to post three...even though i kept them all ver small in size :(