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nibs · 06-22-16, 10:56 PM

Am very happy with the results of my sand filter.
just a note to let you know we started pumping the hot tub through the sand filter.
Wound up using a 55Gal ex beer yeast barrel (good pedigree),
Bought some gravel and raked some up in the yard, then added crushed quartz, 300lbs & then 50 lbs playsand, then 1/2 pail of local very fine bank sand. Ran unchlorinated tap water through for 3 days, it was clear after about the first 4 hours.
We put a small RV pump to move the water from the tub up to the barrel. Right now the filter is doing about a gallon a minute, will work on slowing that down as the schmutzdeck develops and when we have the final pump working.

An interesting tid bit, We heat the tub with a wood fired stove which thermo syphons the water, the filter pump uses the same drain fitting and with the pump going the heater will not thermosyphon, pump just pulls hot water through heater, backwards.
Fixed that with a snap switch so that when the fire is hot (120 deg F) the pump wont cycle
We bought a float switch from Amazon, and will put a bigger pump on when we get time.
Tub water was a tiny bit cloudy, When we started the system, and was clear within 24 hours. We started the filter on Jun 8Th, normally we would have changed the water on June 9 or 10, so here we are 12 days later and the water is still crystal clear, and we have used no chemicals (H2O2) since around June 1 or 2.
There is a minor down side, the filter cools the tub during its run time, so it takes a little more firewood to heat it back up.

06-22-16, 10:56 PM	#13
nibs Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Jun 2010 Posts: 206 Thanks: 1 Thanked 18 Times in 17 Posts	Am very happy with the results of my sand filter. just a note to let you know we started pumping the hot tub through the sand filter. Wound up using a 55Gal ex beer yeast barrel (good pedigree), Bought some gravel and raked some up in the yard, then added crushed quartz, 300lbs & then 50 lbs playsand, then 1/2 pail of local very fine bank sand. Ran unchlorinated tap water through for 3 days, it was clear after about the first 4 hours. We put a small RV pump to move the water from the tub up to the barrel. Right now the filter is doing about a gallon a minute, will work on slowing that down as the schmutzdeck develops and when we have the final pump working. An interesting tid bit, We heat the tub with a wood fired stove which thermo syphons the water, the filter pump uses the same drain fitting and with the pump going the heater will not thermosyphon, pump just pulls hot water through heater, backwards. Fixed that with a snap switch so that when the fire is hot (120 deg F) the pump wont cycle We bought a float switch from Amazon, and will put a bigger pump on when we get time. Tub water was a tiny bit cloudy, When we started the system, and was clear within 24 hours. We started the filter on Jun 8Th, normally we would have changed the water on June 9 or 10, so here we are 12 days later and the water is still crystal clear, and we have used no chemicals (H2O2) since around June 1 or 2. There is a minor down side, the filter cools the tub during its run time, so it takes a little more firewood to heat it back up.