Aquaponics Swirl Filter - Tips and Tricks

[@rondajones4573]

GREAT video! Very helpful. I am working as a volunteer at a local high school in the aquaponics greenhouses. I am going this morning to replace a swirl filter, finding your channel was most timely. Thank you.

[@SamThorpes]

Your flexi hose on the outlet is genius, I'm off to install one now thanks.

[@SetitesTechAdventures]

That hose/vacuum attachment is pretty damned clever.

[@aquaponicslifestyle]

Great Video! One suggestion, you could use the solid fish waste and put it in another 35 gallon barrel with heavy aeration in it and let it there for about a week for it to be mineralized and then take it out into a 5 gallon bucket and let it sit without air for about 2-3 hours and all the solid waste will go to the bottom and the nutrient rich water could be added back to the aquaponics system. This way you will get a lot more nutrients back to your system without any solids. Have tried this in my systems and the plants have shown tremendous growth. No need to add any seaweed or any other additives as that is what Dr. Nick Savidov was doing in his aquaponics research..

[@SSLFamilyDad]

That is a darn good idea. I am planning to move some things around this summer and expand the system. I think I will add something like that in, thanks for the great idea! Merry Christmas!

[@mnoor8604]

Thanks for the additional info aquaponicslifestyle

[@aquaponicsbernisse4192]

Happy Farming in 2015 to you all !!! I love both the ideas from SSLFamilyDad and aquaponicslifestyle !! I am designing an indoor system in my company stockroom (I am located in The Netherlands and unfortunately do not have a possibility for a greenhouse) and am combining ideas from several different aquaponic farmers (from Facebook and youtube) in that system. The solids waste removal with the garden hose attachement and the recovery of extra nutrient rich water will be part of my system !! Thanks to you guys !!

[@gardeningtipswithphil2244]

Fantastic idea of the hose as a vac. Looks like it makes cleaning the filter really easy and bet it saves a lot of water too.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Good point there as I used to waste a lot of that water when I cleaned it

[@trollforge]

That Vacuum is sheer genius! I'll likely be copying that in the spring!

[@UKYak]

Thanks for the time you have taken in providing this video. I've been researching for over three years now and am just about to embark on my first build. I will definitely use your swirl design as it shows to be efficient. Best I have a look through your other videos. Cheers and God bless.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

+Ian Waddilove good luck with your setup! Let me know if you have any questions along the way

[@lordnukeless]

Great vid thanks if you curl up a green scub pad and place it in your pipe going into your grow bed that should help filter things out even more.

[@clecount1]

Thanks for sharing. nice to see your lil helpers cheering you on.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Thanks Chad, they like to be in the videos, and play, and make lots of noise:)

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Oh, and Merry Christmas as well!

[@RiskyR1CH]

That vacuum for the poop is fantastic,

[@jeffsullivan3362]

I like the suction hose idea. I've been trying to resolve that problem in my radial filter. For reasons that wouldn't affect you I wound up with some fingerlings in my filter so I left them there. Had too many fish in my tank anyway and they're doing just fine and I think actually eat any extra food in the system (I feed them too). I read an article from a university where they put fingerlings in their filter system to swim up inside the plumbing and eat the build up.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

That's a good idea Jeff. I actually had a fish in my swirl filter also and it was probably doing a good job of eating up some extra food in there. If my filter was deeper I would have left him in there but the fish swimming around kept stirring up all the waste and then kind of becoming counterproductive for the swirl filter. I might think about adding one back in once I reconfigure things down the road, thanks for the input, I appreciate it!

[@hectorcardenas6616]

That a great Idea the cleaning process with the hose sample and you don't waste a lot water.

[@ChileExpatFamily]

Merry Christmas! Sorry I do not comment more but I have been slammed here in Chile with preparations for our new farm. I am looking forward to using your advice and plans for my aquaponics set up. Jim

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Good to hear from you Jim, Merry Christmas to you and your family. I will have to check your channel for some updates on the farm!

[@ChileExpatFamily]

SSLFamilyDad Thank you. It is summer here in Chile and I am up to my neck in work now that it is dry. Merry Christmas.

[@ShawnCrow]

Awesome idea for the swirl filter clean out! Hope you don't mind...I'm stealing that idea for my new system! Lol! Thanks!

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Np Shawn, glad you liked it! Steal away:)

[@barbsusi8310]

just a couple helpful suggestions. I used the "emergency mylar" in my 1st grow and found the silver "windshield reflector sunscreens" work sooo much better. I actually found them in a dollar store and they are a lot more durable than the mylar. the border hem was strong enough to use ty-wraps around them so I could put them any place I had a rod. just pole a small hole in it and it didn't tear when I attached them. I cant remember the 2nd thing but when I do, ill tell you. it was good but im tired and need to rest. lol.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Barb Susi That is a great idea, I will keep my eye out for some cheap ones, thanks ! And I will be waiting for your second thought......:)

[@robs9574]

Genius! I loved the vacuum for cleaning out the sludge. That was the one thing holding me back from trying this, you solved it. Thank you. God Bless you and yours. sub'd

[@chrisinafrica]

Awesome vid, very clever idea on the vacuum pipe trick, thanks for sharing!

[@SSLFamilyDad]

No problem Chris, glad you liked it. Merry Christmas!

[@py2o3434]

I'm still in the process of designing my system. You got some great tips here. I'm going to use my in ground pond and trying to figure out how i can incorporate a swirl filter.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

That should be cool once you get it setup, share some pics on our facebook page when you get it going - facebook.com/simplesuburbanliving.com. Thanks for watching!!

[@ronyerke9250]

If you drained the water to a shallow pan, you could just let the water evaporate. Scrape the dry solids into a small container (like an empty coffee can) and save them for spring to spread in the garden. Your house plants might like that stuff too. Alternatively, you could filter the solids out through a coffee filter or whatever you prefer, and pour the water back into your system. The coffe filter is okay to toss into a compost heap and maybe your worm beds. I've never kept worms, so I'm just guessing about that. Waste not, want not.

[@brianshapiro5411]

How does the hose get suction? Just from gravity? I would've thought it needs to be primed...

[@markweigel1]

Love the verse at the end of your video man!

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Thanks! I appreciate you mentioning it!

[@supext]

great idea with that garden hose

[@mnoor8604]

Thank you for the videos SSLFamilyDad .. I am about to build a system too..... and now I have learnt more about aquaponics.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

No problem M Nor, glad I could help. Please let me know if you have any questions!!

[@JeffreyHarrington]

If you could consider adding links to the videos you've done on the Swirl Filter build, etc. It would be great, perhaps even just create a playlist.

[@iwantosavemoney]

this is cool i have seen anther one I think they called it a vortect filter it looks just like yours but it had a cone at the bottem of it. kind of neat I think they made to cone out of concrete. great video

[@SSLFamilyDad]

That is a great idea also, I don't think I have seen that one. This design has been working pretty well for me and catches a whole lots of solids each day

[@iwantosavemoney]

+SSLFamilyDad I think that urban farmers was the channel that I seen that on

[@noelmustchin9306]

great easy idea, thanks buddy

[@jereomemoore7269]

I would consider using a cone bottom tank for your swirl filter.

[@hughgrant8749]

smart trick to clean up the bottom

[@ivanpap634]

Great idea!

[@DaveTheMan654]

Great idea. I will be setting up a system myself in the next couple of weeks. Your videos are going to be very helpful. Thank you. Do you think there would be any benefit to wrapping the fish tank with insulation?

[@SSLFamilyDad]

I do think it would be a good idea to wrap the tanks. The more heat you can hold in the water the less your heater will need to run. It also depends on how warm you will have your water, indoor vs. outdoor, etc. I haven't done it to mine yet but may in the future. Thanks for watching and let me know if you have any questions as you get into building your own!

[@luxnatsoap]

How did you install the vacuum hose? How does it get suction? What size is the fitting?

[@LordLarryWho]

Happen to have any idea how many gallons per minute flows through your swirl filter? That vacuum idea is definitely a stroke of genius, I was wondering how a person would put a conical bottom in a 55 gallon drum without it eventually causing a big stinky mess.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

I am not sure to be honest, it would largely depend on how fast you have the flow setup on your grow beds and how many grow beds you have. The vacuum has worked extremely well over the last year to clean that out. When I redesign the system I will certainly incorporate that!

[@LordLarryWho]

OK, I was trying to get an idea of the maximum throughput a person could get out of a 55 gallon drum without swirling the water so fast that solids didn't have a chance to settle. Call me lazy, I'm trying to get out of an experiment. :-)

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Larry Athey lol, well I would say that you can comfortably feed 8 grow beds (double what I have) and not have any issue at all, might even be able to do more but if you did I would go up to a full depth barrel. Hope that helps!

[@SteveEaton]

Have you thought about adding prawns or crayfish into the swirl filter? It would protect them from fish (if you had an aggressive breed) and I am under the impression that they would have a buffet of solid waste down there! Great video, I will be constructing one when I build my system. Thanks!

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Others have also suggested this and I am intrigued. I will be looking into that later this year when I do a system modification. Thanks for the idea!

[@brettmuratori4875]

Great videos. I have been watching the series and notice that at some point you turned your out flowing pipe from the swirl filter from facing up to facing down. Would you share the reasoning for this and did you see any performance changes with that change?

[@SSLFamilyDad]

+Brett Muratori I tried it both ways but actually found that facing up seems to work best

[@BrettMuratori]

SSLFamilyDad thanks. Will be building a system this year I hope. thank you for all your videos! I wouldn't know where to start without them!!

[@DaveTheMan654]

Looks like you used a 2" bulkhead on the overfill pipe. What size is the bulkheads for the hose, 1"? I will start putting mine together this weekend. It's going to be similar to your setup. I did get an ibc tote for the fish though. That was fun squeezing into my basement. I will put up a video when I'm done. Thanks again for sharing your ideas with us.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

No problem Dave! I want to see a video of you trying to get that tote into your basement! I wanted to do that but figured getting it down to mine was out of the question. The swirl filter is a 55 gallon drum flipped up side down so I am using the two bungs for my overflow and the hose. The overflow is 2" and the suction hose is 3/4". Please let us know when you get things together, share on the Facebook page or just link it up here in the comments if it is on KZbin. We would love to see it!- facebook.com/simplesuburbanliving.

[@DaveTheMan654]

Once I cut the top off it was easy to get the ibc tote through a standard size door.. It was the cage that it sits in the was the problem. Luckily the bottom of it screws off.. Took off the door jam and squeezed it through. I pick up my barrels Friday. I'm tempted to just use a home Depot tote for the sump so it's lower to the ground. It's a fun project.

[@DaveTheMan654]

Oh. I just liked you on FB.

[@renexaviergonzalezurrutia6337]

great idea!!

[@othridgerunner379]

If can not use all the solids you are getting from your swirl filter on plants immediately then dump into a compost pile/bin do not waste that great fertilizer.

[@farmerdude3578]

Thanks friend. Do you know what the flow rate should be coming in to the filter? Do you need this swilling fast? Or just a nice slow swirl?

[@SSLFamilyDad]

+Farmer Dude357 slow swirl seems to work just fine. Not sure on the exact glow rate though

[@farmerdude3578]

SSLFamilyDad Thank you, I am building a filter for the first time. It's hard to really see how fast the water is moving in a video.

[@abumiftah7203]

Dude, the hose idea is awesome. But I would worry about what chemicals will leach from the rubber hose into your water.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Thanks! That is a good point, I suppose I could use a potable water type hose instead or just unscrew it and take it out when I am not using it. Thanks for checking it out!

[@Submanca]

Have you thought about making a cone bottom on the swirl filter. This can be done, I needed to try 3 times before I got it right, by heating. I did it on the bottom not the top and my over flow goes through the side wall.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Before I came up with this idea for the hose I was thinking about pouring something in the bottom of the tank like cement to form it into a cone that sloped to the drain. In the end I found this to be easier. That is a great idea to form the tank with heat though, I hadn't thought of that. Might do that on the next one I build!

[@zachd9433]

I like the video. My issue is that I have a 300 gallon IBC and its dark ( have not seen the fish or bottom of the tank since the day I put it in ) and then into a half 50 gallon swirl that's always dirty- all gravity fed. any suggestions for cleaning out 300 gallon?

[@SSLFamilyDad]

If the water is not clear you may have too much fine particulate from your grow media. The swirl should settle most of that out over time but you might need to drain it out and flush it with a hose. You should be able to see the bottom of your fish tank without trouble even if it is dark.

[@zachd9433]

I'll work on it today.

[@zachd9433]

How do I get out fine particulate

[@cubaniton74]

Put a few plecostomus fish in the swirl filter and they will take care of any algae in the tank, also give them some veggies to snack on, lettuce will do.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Many people have suggested putting something in the tank to eat the algae, that is a good idea. Only problem with my setup is anything in the tank just stirs up the solids and then they get into the grow beds which defeats the purpose of the swirl filter. I am planning a larger deeper filter when I reorganize things and at that time I might add something like a sucker fish, thanks for checking it out!

[@detachsounds]

is the water coming from the fish tank into the swirl filter being pumped? or does it just flowing into the filter?

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Just gravity flow from fish tanks through swirl filter into grow beds

[@detachsounds]

+SSLFamilyDad thanks for the reply. is there any fish waste at the bottom of the fish tank? im curious on whether the gravity flow is enough to transport the waste to the swirl filter

[@marcmarzolo]

where do you get your barrels from? how much do they cost? i would love to get some but don't have a lot of money spend on them, any tips?

[@SSLFamilyDad]

marcmarzolo I found mine on Craigslist for $10 per barrel. If you look you can find all kinds of people selling them from $10-$20 each. Hope that helps!

[@andrewhooghkirk4180]

With the swirl filter located where it is how do you access your pump to clean it?

[@SSLFamilyDad]

There is a pretty large gap between the swirl filter and the top of the sump tank walls. Plenty to get in and disconnect the union and pull out the pump. In the future I do plan to redesign this with a larger swirl filter and a horizontal sump tank that will be a bit easier to access. Thanks for checking it out!

[@RossoCarne]

Brother, mineralize that shit. When you take it out if the aqp setup you're depriving your plants of the nutrients that aren't immediately solublized. Have a mineralization tank that holds the solids and aerates them akin to compost tea. Some other advice. Radial flow filters are superior to swirl, this has been proven in many cases and is easy to retrofit. Add a fines filter too. You mention that the swirl is getting 80%, but better than half of the suspended solids in this kind of system are fines that a swirl or radial will not recover. A small bucket or tote with netting will do perfectly. You'll have no reason to even add worms to your beds, you'll keep the surface area for nitrification (will fall off over time as solids build up) and you don't let the solids back to the fish.

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Thanks for the advise, someone else mentioned that I should do the same and honestly it is something that I did not think much about. I am planning to do some moving around and additions to the system this summer so I will add something like that into the design, thanks!

[@MrFakit]

What about introducing some kind of algae eating shrimp/ fish to your system?

[@SSLFamilyDad]

I thought about that and also about using a sucker fish but don't really want anything living in the swirl filter if possible I might consider that for the sump tank though, good idea

[@robinanderson2492]

This may be a dumb question, but how do your plants pollinate? Do you have a fan or air flow? Insects?

[@SSLFamilyDad]

Robin Anderson A little of both. We have some lady bugs that hang out in the system almost year round and I also tap the branches and sometimes use a small paint brush to help pollinate.

[@robinanderson2492]

SSLFamilyDad Thank you for your reply. Last summer I had some trouble getting cucumbers to set fruit, even though they were outside! Learned how to help pollinate and am saddened by how impoverished our landscapes have become. Appreciate your videos a lot. Best wishes.

[@ElSais-i2i]

WOW! pretty nice video! Such inspiring! I'm designin my new (bigger , #2 prototype) aquaponic system here in my new garage :)