ROTARY DRUM FILTER (RDF)

The rotary drum filter has been around for years in the aquaculture industry. It is used as a mechanical filtration device only. The first line of defense for pure water is mechanical filtration. If one can eliminate particles in the water before they dissolve, the ORP will inevitably be higher and organic concentration will be reduced. Sediment tanks have been used for years in koi pond filtration with good results. Newer technologies that incorporate screens and backwash cycles also have been developed over the past few years. To filter a large pond, several large sediment (vortex style) tanks would be required for the 12-15 minute settlement time needed to get the particles out. Also, particles that are less dense then water can never be removed by this process. Some of the other microscreen and powered backwash screen technologies do not automatically dump to waste.  This in itself has some problems as well. Some say that if you wait too long to dump the tank, some of the muck can get into solution and become DOC's. In any case, the RDF solves all these deficiencies. All particles greater in size of the screen will be filtered and backwashed to waste immediately. Being and Engineer and self thinker, I decided to embark on this project to try and get people to change the way they think about the overall layout and mechanical filtration theory. A more efficient solution to a pond filtration system is to provide a single source for all the pond drains to be fed. The system that I have developed utilizes separate runs from each bottom drain to the RDF. Having a large sump, the RDF provides a means to distribute water easier to several bio circuits. In the case of the featured pond, eight (8) crates of K1 style media are filled and submerged in the RDF sump. Each crate has a substantial amount of air injected into it to keep the media turning. The flexibility of this layout is endless. The upgrades proposed in this site start with the design and manufacture of a custom RDF. An in depth process description is provided as well as some highlighted benefits that are by-products of this technology. Please click on the links below to gain a better understanding of the system and its components. The following solid model reflects the system that is currently being designed and manufactured for the feature pond in this web site.

Click on the Picture to View the Movie

(You must have Real Player installed to view this movie)