I put together a new mechanical filter for my sump today, so I thought I would share. It is designed to hold a 7"x16" or 7"x12" filter sock.
It started out with a 6" schedule 40 PVC coupling. These things cost $20 apiece
so I bought one and cut it in half.
After cleaning up the cut side of one half I measured the circumference with a tape and made three equally spaced marks. I used a square to make vertical lines on the coupling at each of the three marks. It is important to do this carefully in order for the legs to be straight.
Next I drilled and tapped two holes using the lines as guides. I could have skipped this if I had used wood screws, but I have a bunch of stainless steel 1"x10-24 machine screws just laying around. I did have to cut the screws down to about 3/8
I then drilled corresponding holes in the 16" long 1" PVC legs. I also drilled 3/4" holes to access the crews. I used gray conduit because I had scrap - besides the 6" coupling I managed to do this project out of fittings/pipe that I had around the house.
I used screws and glue to attach the legs firmly to the coupling.
To power this filter I used a Rio 2500 (again, because it is what I had laying around). I used a short piece of 3/4" vinyl tubing to connect to a 3/4" barbed adapter and then to a 1" slip x 3/4" FIP elbow. A 1" PVC riser is glued to the other side of the elbow. There is no hose clamp in the photo, but I added one on the pump connection.
The 1" PVC riser has a piece of 1" vinyl tubing glued into the bell end. A 1" barb x 3/4" FIP elbow connects to a 3/4" nipple and another elbow to direct the water down into the sock. The 1" barbed fitting can spin to allow unobstructed removal of the filter sock for cleaning. This whole assembly is held in place by a short chunk of 1.5" PVC pipe that is glued to the coupling and one of the legs.
So far it looks great. I am running a 7"x12"x50 micron sock. This is really just extra water polishing, as the water is also filtered as it enters the sump from the tanks. I might even try a 7"x16"x25 micron sock next and see how that works, depending on how long I can get out of these 50 micron socks before cleaning.
I hope this all made sense, the photos should help!
It started out with a 6" schedule 40 PVC coupling. These things cost $20 apiece
so I bought one and cut it in half. After cleaning up the cut side of one half I measured the circumference with a tape and made three equally spaced marks. I used a square to make vertical lines on the coupling at each of the three marks. It is important to do this carefully in order for the legs to be straight.
Next I drilled and tapped two holes using the lines as guides. I could have skipped this if I had used wood screws, but I have a bunch of stainless steel 1"x10-24 machine screws just laying around. I did have to cut the screws down to about 3/8
I then drilled corresponding holes in the 16" long 1" PVC legs. I also drilled 3/4" holes to access the crews. I used gray conduit because I had scrap - besides the 6" coupling I managed to do this project out of fittings/pipe that I had around the house.
I used screws and glue to attach the legs firmly to the coupling.
To power this filter I used a Rio 2500 (again, because it is what I had laying around). I used a short piece of 3/4" vinyl tubing to connect to a 3/4" barbed adapter and then to a 1" slip x 3/4" FIP elbow. A 1" PVC riser is glued to the other side of the elbow. There is no hose clamp in the photo, but I added one on the pump connection.
The 1" PVC riser has a piece of 1" vinyl tubing glued into the bell end. A 1" barb x 3/4" FIP elbow connects to a 3/4" nipple and another elbow to direct the water down into the sock. The 1" barbed fitting can spin to allow unobstructed removal of the filter sock for cleaning. This whole assembly is held in place by a short chunk of 1.5" PVC pipe that is glued to the coupling and one of the legs.
So far it looks great. I am running a 7"x12"x50 micron sock. This is really just extra water polishing, as the water is also filtered as it enters the sump from the tanks. I might even try a 7"x16"x25 micron sock next and see how that works, depending on how long I can get out of these 50 micron socks before cleaning.
I hope this all made sense, the photos should help!
