Aquaponic radial flow filter for solids removal.. 

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At the moment the grow beds are the bio filters for the system.. I have been contemplating changing a few things around like the grow beds due to solids accumulation in their base so when that happens I might include one.. Will definitely be including one in the fish farm build.. Have a good one..

Wow, this is the best swirl filter I have seen on RU-vid.. Thank you for sharing this idea.

Some say worms are a good addition & others say they aren't... I'm still not certain either way.. Will be running some beds without them in the new system to see how they go.. Just posted a clip on cleaning out the filter if your interested.. Have a great one..

Man, you have a ton of information when it comes to DIY filtration systems! Thank you. Liked and Subscribed!!

I enjoy making them.. Keeps me busy :) Thanks for watching & have a great one..

Hope it can help.. Most use the filter for the solids removal & would plant out more beds to take up the nitrate but we are pushed for room at the moment.. Shouldn't be a real problem once we expand a bit more.. Have a good one Terry...

OK, now I understand it I believe after re-watching it. The water would only come down to the slots *if* you didn't do the T and *if* a siphon occurred. Otherwise, the water will stay at a height somewhere approximately at the height of the pipe coming out of the fish tank. Thanks Rob Bob for this setup... exactly what I was wanting.

Just finished my build. Thank you! Took your advice and put a funnel at the bottom of the bucket. Found a 3 gallon water container that I use for the funnel. I used the bottom of that container were you would used the planter. Discovered that I had to punch a hole into the inverted water bottle to let air escape when the unit is filling up. Also, I configured the incoming water to flow like a swirl filter. I guess I now have a highbred filter.

Excellent video, you’ve done a great job. Excellent facts and proven experience, anyone building their own system would do well to watch this.🤠👍

Shall go & have a look now Rod.. It looks like Mr Van der Werf has set you right... He's a very helpful chap & has set me straight on a few points I didn't understand properly.. Like the look of your system too.. Interested in how your going to paint up the new tanks.. Cheers & have a great one Rod..

definitely helps! I emailed Paul and he recommended using at least 50 gallons (US) for 1500 gallons per hour flow, so I'll be doing this with an EDPM pond liner in a pit. It's interesting how this type of system is used in aquaponics, but not for koi pond building. really a great concept...

Thanks for the videos Rob. I put a RFC into my system built on your lead. It is doing a great job of removing the solids. I fashioned a conical bottom, but solids found their way under it and were causing some problems so I took it out. Also the drain at the center of the bottom was not cleaning out all the solids. Now I use a 5 gallon shop vac to remove the muck from the bottom every 2-3 days. Works great. My RFC video can be seen at HOWponics on RU-vid. Keep the vids coming mate.

Don't think there is really a right or wrong Mick, just what works best for you.. I'm still new to all this so am just learning as I go.. Would be great to see a clip of your build.. Have a good one..

Hi Jerry.. As the water level rises with the inflow from the sump it pushes water out to the grow beds & radial flow filter.. All done by natural force so only one pump is needed in the system& that is located i the sump tank.. Also means that there will always be water in the fish tank if the pump fails.. Hope that helps some & have a great one Jerry..

I watched this video and went out to the shop and built one just like this one. Great video.

Relatively simple system with very rewarding results, that worked very well. I bet the garden will appreciate the fish muck as much as the worm castings.

Thanks Joel. Have had a few people give me heads up on bending pipe. Haven't seen the sand method & it sounds the easiest way to go so far, cheers :) Bending pipe was something I didn't even considered before others let me know. I have most of the 2x45° sections already glued up & ready to go for when this all changes around in the near future so am all set for now but will be trying it in the future.. Thanks again & have a great one..

Paul is a very helpful chap I have found.. Will be using one that size on the fish farm here as I think there will be a lot more solids involved.. Have fun on the build :)

You have made an awesome set up here, I like how it flows so easily with only one pump in system and gets the job done nicely.

Am adding most of them to our hay bale garden out the front to give them an extra feed at the moment.. Hope to have a larger compost tea "brewer" soon so they can go into there with other bits from the yard... Will use it to brew up some nutrient rich liquid fertiliser for the soil garden.. Cheers David..

Its a 1" barbed irrigation fitting & is held in the drum by a top hat grommet.. I will be changing the lay out of the filter as well as the drain off tap in coming weeks as I know it can be improved upon..

It is just gravity that feeds the filter as the water is fed into the fish tank fro the sump.. The long pipe is there to collect & remove the water/solids from the base of the tank to try &help it stay clean.. Will try to remember to point it out next walk around clip... Cheers...

I really like that design, nice and easy to make, and easy to use.

Hi Hamish.. Filter is running well for what it does still.. A nice cone shape bottom would be good to make cleaning easier is about all I would change on this design.. Will be making one out of a 200L/55gal drum for the new set up & not sure how I will work the base yet..

The filter was plumbed in this way simply because I hadn't thought it out properly at the time of installation.. Have wanted to add the filter inline from the FT to the GBs for a while but due to wanting to change the whole layout I haven't as I want to get it all set up right this time. Am glad I waited as a few things have changed since I first planed it. TBC

love your videos rob bob , really good common sense stuff and your casual way of explaining things is easy to follow, keep up the good work and keep posting

Hi Micheal. I like to use the waste from the filter straight in the garden & have also been adding it to comfrey green manure fertiliser tea brewing as well.The bacteria in there that convert the ammonia in the water can be found nature & some suggest adding a handful of soil to a new aquaponic system to set up a bacteria colony or get it "cycling" quicker. TBC

I will be adding a "biodigester" onto the small aquaculture system when I set it up so the solids can be processed faster into more nutrient available liquid fertiliser that will be used on the earth garden beds we have.. The beauty of the digester is I can add things like vermicast & O2 in there as well to help boost the nutrients.. Hope that helps answer your question..

I've run a small (80 litre tank) system 17ish years without cleaning but I'd still put a solids filter in if I was to do it again. I get 'seasonal cycling' where nutrients build over winter,. locked up as microbial biomass, and they're released over summer via protist/food web predators and hungry plants eg tomatoes. I monitored for five years then stopped. Provided I have plants: present in winter and booming in summer - tanks clean. If growing out fish for food - harvest some (fish) before winter hits to be safe in larger systems. Nice filter btw. Your garlic patch (and many other plants) will love the byproduct.

The 2x45° is to help the water flow with less restriction as the curve is gentler on the water flow than 90°. I will be replacing more of the elbows as soon as I get the chance as they are all glued up & ready now. The reason the pipe turns up is that the water changes direction under the bucket, it slows down & the solids settle out.. If it flowed in at the base at that velocity it would be constantly stirring up the solids. Hope that helps explain the plumbing a bit better. Rob

Rob,Thanks for the reply ref radial flow filter. Since I only had gold fish in the IBC I think when I transition to tilapia the increase in solids will cause the system to work efficiently. I used the gold fish to get the system going with greens planted in the growing beds James.

Brilliant! I lost some beautiful fish because I didn't have a setup like this. Thanks again.

So grateful that you give us the pipe dimensions in inches, also.

great job Rob, I agree Paul from Earthan Group has some helpful information and a credit to him, hope that works well for you, I,m trying a similar but different style, whether its right or wrong I,ll give it a go and will post a vid on it when I get some more parts, once again great vid keep up the excellent work, Ciao.

I am new to aquaponics and now I will use the filter in the video. It made perfect sence! thanks and keep up the good work!

I really think it is something that should be considered for DIY IBC/Tote systems especially as the low points really do accumulate solids which can lead to anaerobic environments. Something to think about & would encourage you to look & ask around what others have done in their set ups.. Worms are said to look after the waste too but will only break it down so far leaving more solid waste to accumulate as plants will not take it all up.. I have worms in the beds that caused me issues too.TBC

Hey Rob thanks for the tip. I made a radial flow filter out of 100mm pvc pipe with a ball valve at the bottom so i can dump all the solids every few days, its works great with no cleaning necessary. Im on the north side of Brisbane would love to check out your system one day. Cheers mate.

Yep, think you have it sorted tadsligar.. :) The slots in the base of the outlet pipe in the FT are just to stop small fish from getting sucked through to the filter.. Not necessary for fish the size of ours at the moment but at some point fingerlings will be going back into the system.. Fave fun with the build & enjoy your system.. Rob.

Thanks Andy.. I chose one that would be double the internal flowerpot/ring in length so there would be ample room for the water to change direction to allow the solids to fall if that makes sense.. I think a taller drum might work better but I really didn't want a 200L drum getting in the way there.. & yes, your cheques have been absent.. I do except direct deposit ;) Cheers to you both :)

Is working really well at the moment Matthew.. Most impressed at the amount of solids it is drawing out of the system :)

Great set up! Would it better to try to make a conical bottom to your axial flow solids remover. So that all the waste accumulates neatly on top of the discharge opening. Open the valve and all settled waste is removed, into your worm bins, with as little water as possible....Thank you for all your videos!!

Students in my class today were asking where you are based. They loved the living feed idea for our school's chickens and ducks. We are building one next week in class. If you're in Brisbane, we might have to get you in for a demo...

Haven't seen that pump before sorry... They do get a few mentions on some aquarium forums when I did a quick google though if that helps.. Only just started to look at a larger one for the new system & am going with one Earthan group sells.. Just waiting for the pennies to save up first.. Sussed out that vacuum & might have a go at one of them myself soon.. With the cooler weather I have noticed a few pellets sinking to waste in the system so am going to have to try & remove them soon.. Thanks

Hey mate ..thank you so much for all these very easy diy tips ..you rock ! Big hug from New York! Cheers

Thanks for delivering the Uniseals & letting me pick your brains Paul.. Have a good one :)

Was really easy & fast to build... So far it has been doing its job really well too.. Have a good one..

As long as they work Richard, that's all that matters :D

There are 3 closed off pipes along the wall you see there.. The SLO with the red tap is the only operational one & runs to the radial flow filter.... The others were part of the original design that got changed & have been capped off.. The white pipe behind it is the pipe that runs water to the grow beds.. Ideally all water to the grow beds should run through the filter first... That will be part of the reworking of the system in about a months time.. TBC

This is being fed from a 1000L/270gal tank... There is about 1600L/422gal all up in the system when it is full.. The pump running this is a 4200lph/1110gph magnetic drive pump.. It is only taking about ½ the flow at the moment.. I hope to have it plumbed in to take the whole flow to the grow beds in the next week or so.. Just need a few parts.. Depending on the flow I might go up to a 200L/50gal drum..

I would still go with the larger volume pump so you get the water turnover in the fish tank.. That way the total volume of water gets a chance at running through the grow beds (filters) if that makes sense.. That's my take on it & hope it helps...

It's all a learning curve Mark.. Should be able to salvage parts from the swirl filter as they are very similar plumbing wise..

I think square would work & don't think there would be a huge reduction in the circulation of the water.. The corners would be a bit harder to clean some solids out but other than that I think it would work ok.. Hope that helps Brian & have a good one :)

Really like your videos mate. A colleague and I are trying to start some Aquaponics at our school. We have a Quaquaponics setup at present and are looking to employ some of your tips as the system develops. Thanks.

Hope it helps :) Posted a clip on cleaning it out the other day if you interested... Have a good one..

Hope it is helpful.. I saw Paul posted a pic of his DIY jobbie yesterday on Face Book, just waiting for his clip to see how well I did ;D Might change the design a tiny bit yet...

I haven't had an issue with them.. I like them in the filter as they let me move the drum around a bit when I clean it out which is something couldn't do with a bulkhead.. Most of the large commercial systems I have seen use them as well.. Hope that helps Hamish & have a great weekend..

Most of the nutrients come from the ammonia that is excreted from the gills of the fish Don but some does come through with the other waste as well.. There are other nutrients that come out with the solids that get suspended in the water & will travel through to the grow beds.. The larger solids particles can build up in grow beds or on the bottom of the tanks & can, not always, cause problems with the fish as they breakdown..TBC

I have experienced this through bad bed design on my part so thought that it best to have the filter in place so it doesn't happen again.. When the system get moved around in the coming weeks the filter will be added in line from the fish tank to the grow beds so it will be cleaning out all the large solids from the system.. I know not all think a filter is necessary but I like having it there as a bit of a safety net.. Better than finding floating fish I think.. Hope that helps some, Rob :)

It will go in line with the grow beds after the redesign but for now this was the easiest way I could incorporate it into the system without cutting & altering pipe work that might be needed later. The flow through it is probably double the flow going through to the beds at the moment so it is filtering a large volume of water & while it may not catch everything it will be collecting a sizable proportion of the solids I think. Still learning here so time will tell I suppose. Have a great one.

Simple, elegant, solution. Good job.

BTW, I don't think the accumulation would be as bad in flat bottom beds.. Backyard Aquaponics forum is a good forum to get info from but there are many more out there now with members that will give you their opinions for free, just try to get a few o both sides of the fence before making up your own mind.. Hope that helps some & have fun with the build :)

With the ST levels what you can do is take say 2 gal of media in a container & then see how much water it takes to fill the voids. You can then drain the water from the media, measure its volume so you can calculate how much water you will need to keep 3 GBs filled at once + have enough to keep the pump covered as well as some extra to allow for transpiration & evaporation. I didn't do it this way as I just over estimated 200l/52gal for each bed & came up with 600l/160gal sump.

Thanks Jason.. If the other fix doesn't work I may go with that.. Just had a possible fix posted on the face book page that sounds promising.. Going to try a 45 off of the bulk head down to the RFF where there will be another making the total turn 90° not 180°.. That should alleviate the problem I think... If not a "T" will go straight in.. Cheers mate & thanks for the help :)

Hello Rob, Thank you, I have been seeing a lot of your video. I have learned a lot from your video. Very good information. thank you. I am not an aquaponics, but looking forward to start very soon. Thanks.

Yet another excellent video. I don't know that I'll need to incorporate one of these just yet, as my nitrates appear to be dropping bit by bit on their own, but it's good to know this is an option. Thanks for posting!

It has worked out fairly well so far Jim but time will tell how effective it will be.. Take it easy :)

i saw Pauls filter and it seems youve simplified the construction. makes it look a little more like an option now to a swirl filter. thanks

The larger uniseal grommets came from Paul at Earthan group & the smaller one for the tap came from a Hydroponic store.. The drum came from a local produce retailer... They have a few different styles... I'm in the Ipswich area if that helps..

Asked around in a few different places & have come up with this.. Placing a 45° off of the bulk head on the FT down to the RFF where there will be another 45° making the total turn 90° not 180° & there will also be no hard bends for air to get locked in causing a back up of water.. Will be having a crack at that later & shall see how it goes.. Another suggestion was to move the "T" from the top of the SLO outside the tank or just to add another. Will come back & let you know how it went.. Rob

I think the leafy greens will love it Dale.. Not sure it will produce as much fertiliser as the worms so their safe from becoming fish food for now ;)

Same here & this one works well from what I have seen..

Thanks.. They have been fun to work with can't wait to get some more to play with :)

The inlet at its highest point in the drum is about 1-1½' lower than the outflow pipe from the Fish Tank Doris.. Having a "T" piece at the top of the overflow pipe in the Fish Tank stops the fish tank from ever siphoning out if that is a concern.. Having a larger diameter pipe into & out from the filter helps the water flow as well so the water never backs up :) Let me know if you want more information on how it's set up.. Rob..

Glad it was of some help to you Adam.. Cheers..

I need something like this to pre-filter my irrigation water before it goes to by disc filters. The disc filters at times have to be cleaned 4 times a day or more. I have a gravity feed system from a creek. It gets up to 80psi so the vessel would have to be robust enough to handle the pressure. Because the water is from a creek, there can be a ton of organic sediment that comes with it. Only in the late summer is the water relatively clear.

Hey + RobBobs Backyard Farming great work their my friend.Came across your channel and have to admit av been missing a lot.Quet experinced in Aquaponics myself reallylike your presentation .Keep up the good work.

The solids outlet from the fish tank relies on the fish disturbing any solids, this suspends them in the water ready to be taken out of the tank.. It works very well & only on a few occasions have we had a build up of solids on the floor due to operator error.. Hope that helps explain it, if not let me know :)

Its called a top hat seal Chris & found it at a hydroponic store.. I think they are a fairly common seal & can be found world wide.. Hope that helps..

Keeping in mind I'm not a chemist ;) I think both of them should be OK as long as you get right in there & scrub them right out then go over them again.. I think I go over the top a bit but I rather do it the right way the first time & not lose any fish down the tack..

The water is just flowing out via gravity through a solids lifting overflow Ken.. The only pump in the system is in the sump just to keep it all nice & simple :) I have only used the radial but have been told by people that have tried both that the radial works just as good if not better in their opinion.. Hope that helps a bit & have a great one, Rob.

I really enjoy your videos, thanks for taking the time to make them. I have found them all very interesting.

Is a neat little unit, very easy to build :)

Hi there... Actually having the same issue at the moment after moving the pipe work around.. Think it has to do with air locks forming in the pipe work.. Will be doing a post on it on our Google+ & Face book pages in a few hours for you.. Is just easier with pictures I think.. Links to both on our You Tube channel home page at the top in the picture.. Cheers, Rob.

I haven't seen any cocoons floating around the system at all so think the chances would be fairly slim.. I doubt many if any would get by the goldfish in the sump at the moment ;) Shall definitely keep it in mind so any trial I do doesn't get ruined with a stray cocoon.. Thanks for pointing that out :)

getting addicted to your videos and love the way you simplify complex connections/ plumbings. the Earthan's Group link is not working sadly. will keep following u though. Did a small DIY bell siphon video, very very basic, pls do watch. ( the bottle has been made smaller after the video was made ). thanks for loads of info and inspiration

The water goes straight from the ST to the FT then splits for the time being. Some goes to the filter with the rest going to the grow beds & it isn't a desirable situation to be in. Like systems that pump from the ST to the GBs & FT it means that not all the water gets a chance to circulate through the whole system to get cleaned as I see it.. I think a single loop from FT to GB to ST is the best way to go as all the water gets a chance to flow through the GBs to be cleaned.. TBC

That was the problem with the smaller sumps I see some people have.. I went with the 600+L/158+gal sump so it could handle all the water from all the grow beds & run as a small stand alone system if need be.. Would be good to have a look once it's all up & running.. Have fun on the build :)

Rob I want to thank you on behalf of all the people that read and see your videos and who haven't thank you yet; what a class act person you are. That form my heart and nothing to do with my intention of asking this my first question ever. I have a small 100 gallon fish tank I am going to make a new radial flow solid filter is a 5 gallons bucket enough or I should go bigger? Thank you

I have looked at a few different designs & this looked to be the easiest to build & maintain.. Did look for some water jugs here over the past month or so but couldn't find any going for nix.. I liked the simplicity of this build but might revisit filters down the line if the load increases.. have a good one :)

Dear Mr. Rob Bob sir, this is great I shall make it. Thanks for shoeing us this. pierre from New Mexico

Thank you Mr Brendan :)

I left the bit out about but put it in the answer to their next question. Thanks Jeffrey :)

Glad you enjoyed it.. :)

Hi Rob Bob, I have read quite a few of comments to see of can find heights to use for the piping as using a 1000 slimline tank to make radial flow filtration, does it need to be lower than the outlet coming from fish tank. I will be running it back into the sump system. Fish water really clear, although experience lot of solid buildup in DWC. Concerned that filter may not be low enough for water to come to top of internal pipe in the filter.

The inlet from the sump comes in from the other (right hand) side through a pipe that is resting on the top of the tank.. The level in the fish tank is controlled buy the lowest point on the outlet (SLO) pipes as it leaves the fish tank.. Water won't drain from the fish tank as the top of the SLO's are an open "T" piece that won't let a siphon initiate if that makes sense.. Hope that helps & let me know if you need more info & I will see what I can do.. Cheers..

Really need to make sure the hole isn't stretched & also that there is no swarf left around the hole from when you cut it. The swarf can prevent the seal from forming causing it to leak.. This clip might help a bit better than I can watch?v=E54mYii7VWo Hope that does help some..

Hi there... I hope to do a clip this week on the set up as a cycle.. Just have some other bits to catch up on first.. Have a good one :)

The water is pumped into the fish tank from the sump then it is gravity fed into the grow beds & radial flow filter.. The Solid lifting outlets (SLOs) take water from the bottom of the fish tank to the outlets that feed into the grow beds & filter.. Might do a clip to show how the water flows through the system over the next few days if that helps :)

Feeding the bacteria with a sugar or a carbohydrate & oxygen will help to feed the bacteria & boost their numbers so they can process the material into plant friendly elements faster as I understand it.. The bacteria in the water would definitely help boost the available nutrients in any compost tea they were added to I think.. Not to sure on how long the resulting tea would last for on the shelf for though sorry.. TBC