Well it was time to make an upgrade!
I've had an approx. 500 gallon SC and 2 prefilters with Bacti-Twist used as media in them on my 3500 gallon pond for
about 3 years, and they have worked very well! I don't want to give the impression that I made this change because of them not
working... nothing could be further from the truth. And actually, after running the sieve for a month or so, I think when using the
SC/prefilter, I had less "floaties" in the pond... but maintenance wise (which was my goal), it's no contest. Sieve wins.
But as a budget way to mechanically remove debris, a SC and prefilter works well.
Onward...
Here's a "before" pic to know where we started...
And the demo begins...
Some interesting findings during ripping out the plywood/liner made SC...
The plywood didn't hold that well... but it was below grade, so not a big surprise. I did think that the ground
would "support" the walls better...
On the other hand, the carpet I used as underlayment was almost like new... and so was the toilet flange I used
as the drain. Stainless bolts held up well. The rust I think is from some washers I used that must not have be SS.
But the nuts and bolts looked good.
The hose clamps were also surprising to me... they were used on the pipe boot fittings on the interior of the SC.
I did wiped them off with a paper towel, but these have been underwater for 3 years! Looked almost like new.