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  1. #1

    Sieve's! Pros and cons?

    Hi all,

    My mechanical filtration consists of a pump fed cloverleaf vortex followed by brushes. It works ok however after researching sieve filters, i'm questioning why I have 2 large bulky bays when surely a sieve can provide all the mechanical filtration needed? They also look to be less maintenance (not as little as a drum filter but surely next best thing?). I'm considering getting a sieve and converting my mechanical bays to biological however before I do so....

    What are the pros and cons of sieves?
    Why are they always called 'prefilters' ?
    Is a sieve alone not suitable for all mechanical filtration for a pond?

    Thanks!


    Last edited by willshill; 19-07-2018 at 09:56 AM.

  2. #2
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion andikoi's Avatar
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    prefilter as it goes before your main filtration,sieves are great for removing dirt,not so good if your pump fed though as your going to macerate stuff into smaller stuff which means more will go through screen,easy to clean,dont take up much space,bad things are you cant leave too long,if you get bw it will block it quick,can you not get a small drum instead,andi

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  4. #3
    Thanks Andi.... Other than self cleaning/less risk of blocking, mechanically why are drums better than sieves if made with the same micro mesh? Do you think my current vortex and brushes will provide better filtration than a fine mesh sieve or would it be a downgrade?

    Thanks

  5. #4
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by willshill View Post
    Hi all,

    My mechanical filtration consists of a pump fed cloverleaf vortex followed by brushes. It works ok however after researching sieve filters, i'm questioning why I have 2 large bulky bays when surely a sieve can provide all the mechanical filtration needed? They also look to be less maintenance (not as little as a drum filter but surely next best thing?). I'm considering getting a sieve and converting my mechanical bays to biological however before I do so....

    What are the pros and cons of sieves?
    Why are they always called 'prefilters' ?
    Is a sieve alone not suitable for all mechanical filtration for a pond?

    Thanks!
    sieves are as you say mechanical filters. so they go before your bio filtration. i have sieve on my skimmer. but no bio filter after it.
    there called pre filters. because they take the bigger stuff out before the finer stuff gets through the mesh. that then goes to your bio filter. where then it matures and turns into a bio colony in your filter
    lots of people have ran ponds with a sieve and let s say a nexus after the sieve. i have a drum inside my nexus. in the centre chamber and my outer chamber is my bio filtration
    so i put my sieve on the skimmer line.
    sieves are good. but not anyway near as good as a rotory drum before your bio filter
    thats why most people are now changing to a drum pre filter. before a moving bed filter.

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  7. #5
    Senior Member Rank = Mature Champion 14crazychris's Avatar
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    Sieve are really good and have dramatically reduced maintenance. I used to have a cloverleaf bay filter which was a pain to clean. You will need a secondary mechanical filter though. Sieves only remove down to 300 microns and therefore I use a bead filter to reduce fines. My sieve is requiring cleaning every 2/3 days at the moment due to the fish load and amount of muck being produced.
    Cheers Chris


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  9. #6
    Senior Member Rank = Sansai SILVER1200's Avatar
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    Hi, I have a Ultrasieve Midi for sale if you need decide to go down the sieve route.
    Very impressed with their performance at removing larger solids, only reason I'm selling it is due to installing a new drum filter.
    Best regards Mike.

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  11. #7
    Senior Member Rank = Grand Champion RoyLittle0's Avatar
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    One of the best things I ever bought for my last pond was a sieve, it extended my cleaning to bi-weekly and not every two days, they are a good option and the next best thing to add, if you cant go down the drum route, personally I wouldn't fit a bay filter without a sieve in front of it
    4600 Gallon Concrete Block and Fiberglass
    2100 mm x 710 mm Infinity Window 32mm thick glass
    2 x Aerated Bottom Drains and Skimmer
    Filtreau HiFlow 30 Drum Filter
    Bio Chamber - 140 litres K1
    Bakki Shower - 30 KG Sakura Far Infrared Media
    2 x 18,000 lh pumps
    Heated from house boiler through a heat exchanger
    Idealseal MS290

    My Pond Build

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  13. #8
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Brilliant bit of kit. Mine is on skimmer line. Plus draco drum on bottom drain.
    If you don t see leaves or feathers on the surface
    You look at rhe water and you think gin rin clear. Nothing there.
    Then you walk into filter house next morning. And wow.
    Amazing how much dust and fines it collects from the food.
    That the naked eye don t see.
    I would recommend a sieve to anyone.


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