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  • Results 1 to 18 of 18

    Thread: GAC and BC Water filters

    1. #1
      six6guy's Avatar
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      GAC and CB Water filters

      I recently added two different water filter units to my home and to my pond. To my surprise... I'm getting a number of PMs asking questions. So maybe its time to have a thread on water filters. I will also say there are several people here on Koiphen who have water filters, so hopefully they will add comments and pictures.

      I live in the city of LA and my city water is absolutely loaded with chlorine and chlorimide. As things go the city is making my water worse and worse. Bonding ammonia with chlorine is not good for people, plants, or fish... but that is what is cheaper for the city so this is what they are doing.

      I shopped around and found a local company that makes industrial, light industrial, and residential grade water quality equipment. This company, AMPAC USA, is not the only company who makes this kind of equipment, but I would recommend them.

      The first picture is my GAC (granulated active carbon) filter, it's the blue canister on the right. Just to it's left is a new water softener that is for the house only. The input and output pipes of this equipment is 1" copper, very little water pressure drop. The GAC is 2.0cf (cubic feet) of GAC material and I opted for th electronic head.

      The second picture is the outside corner of my house where I opened up my water main. It looks a bit funny at first but remember this is a retrofit and I didn't want a huge drywall or stucco repair job either. So I had the plummer drill two 1" holes and one 3/4" hole all the way through the wall. You can see how it used to be connected. I diverted the main to go through the wall to the input on the GAC. The output of the GAC is Tee'd to both the 3/4" line (sprinklers and pond) and to the water softener input. The water softener output goes back out the wall and reconnects to the old plumbing for the house.

      The third and forth pictures show some of the fancy plumbing behind the GAC and water softener units.

      A side note for saftey: The two 1" lines do touch outside the house and are soldered together so that the ground wires on the old plumbing do electrically connect to the copper than goes into the earth. You don't really want to float the earth ground for your house.

      One thing to know is that the granular nature of the active carbon will allow some trace amounts of chlorine to pass through... but it is at trace levels.

      Next I'll post my on my 3 canister CB (carbon block) unit. This unit is in series with my GAC, so my pond water is twice filtered.


      Brad
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      Last edited by six6guy; 05-15-2008 at 11:43 PM.










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      Bradley W. Olin
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      My pond stuff can be found at...

      My Pond Build
      My QT Build
      My CC-FF Build
      My Active Carbon Filters

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    2. #2
      six6guy's Avatar
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      This is the input side, front view, and output side of my 3 canister CB (carbon block) filter unit. The unit itself is 1" in and out, but it was retrofit into a 3/4" water circuit.

      The company who makes these normally makes small wall mount bracket and they also make these frames for a completely different RO unit. I had them custom assemble this frame with this filter set. The pressure meters are optional but you need them to know when to replace the internal cartridges.

      The left (first) cartridge is a sediment pre-filter, 5 micron.
      The center cartridge is a GAC (the label is wrong).
      The right (last) cartridge is a solid block of carbon inside the case.

      The last cartridge, the CB, will for sure filter out any chlorine. The previous filters help the CB from clogging too quickly.

      When these filters clog the pressure meters will have a large difference in pressure readings. Through them out and replace with new.

      The cost, in the long run, is expected to be about the same as using cloramx. Adding the house GAC in series may extent this to be more practical. The big perk is I can do a water change and a back to back PP dose following. I also don't have to worry if I added enough chemicals to counteract the chemicals the city added.


      Brad
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      "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
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      Bradley W. Olin
      newest member of EIHIOICGI





      My pond stuff can be found at...

      My Pond Build
      My QT Build
      My CC-FF Build
      My Active Carbon Filters

    3. #3
      Cowiche Ponder's Avatar
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      So the water that goes into the pond is going through copper pipes? Always thought that was a big

    4. #4
      six6guy's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by Cowiche Ponder View Post
      So the water that goes into the pond is going through copper pipes? Always thought that was a big
      Can't change that, a building code/law requirement that water main and any water supply that passes through the structure wall be solid copper. After it passed back out the wall it switches to PVC. I have about 40 or 50 feet of 1" copper from center of street to this corner of the structure.

      I asked the inspector about copper and he indicated it's a law the insurance companies got passed. I guess frozen pipes exposed at entry point can cause alot of damage and PVC is more likely to break than copper. I laughed at the inspector and asked him when was the last time LA had frost, let along frozen pipes... At lease he laughed about it.

      I did someplace read about a company who can inject a rubber coating into your water pipes, wait for it to partially set, then drain all but a coating on the inside of the pipes. I have no clue how much that would run to dig up the pipe from house to middle of the street. Might be people who do that only do the house and not the water main.


      Brad










      "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
      Albert Einstein

      Bradley W. Olin
      newest member of EIHIOICGI





      My pond stuff can be found at...

      My Pond Build
      My QT Build
      My CC-FF Build
      My Active Carbon Filters

    5. #5
      rainblood's Avatar
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      Nice soldering job DIY?
      -Rain

      :I CAN'T BRING THIS SHIP INTO TRTUGA ALL BY ME ONESIES, SAVVY?:

    6. #6
      six6guy's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by rainblood View Post
      Nice soldering job DIY?
      I hired a plummer who is very experienced for the sweat fitting work. He said he liked the job as it was pretty challenging and different than the normal new home construction.

      I did do the glue job on the CB unit though.

      Brad










      "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
      Albert Einstein

      Bradley W. Olin
      newest member of EIHIOICGI





      My pond stuff can be found at...

      My Pond Build
      My QT Build
      My CC-FF Build
      My Active Carbon Filters

    7. #7
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      Surprise...

      I have a nice surprise from my carbon filters that I hadn't figured on... My Gh and my Kh are going down. I'm happy about the lower Gh

      180 ppm Gh and 180 ppm Kh - my city source water
      107 ppm Gh and 107 ppm Kh - water after double filtration
      141 ppm Gh and 124 ppm Kh - my pond as of last night

      I have no idea what particles I'm filtering out to get this effect, but I like it. The slightly higher Gh than Kh in my pond might be from Gene's Koi clay or might be the bio filters have indirectly consumed the difference, just guesses on that though.


      Brad










      "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
      Albert Einstein

      Bradley W. Olin
      newest member of EIHIOICGI





      My pond stuff can be found at...

      My Pond Build
      My QT Build
      My CC-FF Build
      My Active Carbon Filters

    8. #8
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      this is a very well clean and professional soldering job. good work on finding a very good plummer. oh.. you also did a very nice job at the pvc pluming to your pond. i'm also in los angeles and our water is hard.. just beyond hard.. so i'm looking into doing something similar to this setup.

      thanks for sharing this information with us.
      "Your Business is only successful..,
      If your service to your customers is beyond... a reasonable doubt"

    9. #9
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      I posted in the wrong thread. Sorry
      Last edited by APOLONASGR36; 01-24-2010 at 04:25 PM.
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    10. #10
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      I changed the filter cartridges in the filter unit behind my waterfall this morning. I get about 145,000 gallons through a fresh set of cartridges, cost is $115 for the set of 3.

      This is the used spun polypropylene pre-filter that I took out. The label says it removes rust, but I never thought I'd see hard evidence like this. When new, these are snow white.

      Brad
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      "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
      Albert Einstein

      Bradley W. Olin
      newest member of EIHIOICGI





      My pond stuff can be found at...

      My Pond Build
      My QT Build
      My CC-FF Build
      My Active Carbon Filters

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    11. #11
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      Wow! Good info!
      Kari Peters
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    12. #12
      six6guy's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by six6guy View Post
      I changed the filter cartridges in the filter unit behind my waterfall this morning. I get about 145,000 gallons through a fresh set of cartridges, cost is $115 for the set of 3.

      This is the used spun polypropylene pre-filter that I took out. The label says it removes rust, but I never thought I'd see hard evidence like this. When new, these are snow white.

      Brad
      It has been a while sense I changed them, and yes I was over due, but this time I took better pictures of the sentiment filter cartridge. The other two cartridges were changed but you can't see a difference like you can with this cartridge. Anyway, this a side by side of the new and old sediment cartridge.

      Interesting how rust colored it gets... thats city water for ya!

      Brad
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      "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
      Albert Einstein

      Bradley W. Olin
      newest member of EIHIOICGI





      My pond stuff can be found at...

      My Pond Build
      My QT Build
      My CC-FF Build
      My Active Carbon Filters

    13. #13
      icu2's Avatar
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      Nice!

      So has it been since 2/2011 since you changed them? Or just since posting pics of it being changed?
      --Steve



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    14. #14
      six6guy's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by icu2 View Post
      Nice!

      So has it been since 2/2011 since you changed them? Or just since posting pics of it being changed?
      Sense Feb 2011, which is also when I posted the previous post. (My wife has been _very_ sick and my pond has suffered from lack of attention and lack of funding.) I stretched it to 205,600 gallons on this set of cartridges. My previous normal refill time for about 1,500 gallons (after filter back flushing) was an hour-ish, but recently it was getting to the point that it was 3 hours... As I said I was way over due. It seems the 150,000 gallons filtered between cartridge set changes is probably full term for this size cartridge.

      Also the cost has gone up a bit (like everything else). The 3 cartridges are now around $125. Still pretty reasonable though when you consider what it would cost to do-chlorinate water that is dosed at 2ppm or 3ppm with chloramines.

      Brad










      "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
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      Bradley W. Olin
      newest member of EIHIOICGI





      My pond stuff can be found at...

      My Pond Build
      My QT Build
      My CC-FF Build
      My Active Carbon Filters

    15. #15
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      Hi Brad,
      I plan to use a similar 3 stage filter in my filter pit. But I was planning to use it for a constant trickle system. I ordered a triple rack like yours and the same 4.5" x 20" housings...but for 3/4" pipe. I plan to put the rack in my pit and run 3/4" sch 80 pipe from an extra hose bib. If I put a ball valve after the filter output, can I reduce the flow down to 2.5 gph and drip it into the top of my sieve? Will the filter work at that low of a flow?

    16. #16
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      I have ball vales, hose bibs, and unions on both before and after the filter set (bibs before valves on both sides). That allows me to turn off the water for a cartridge change, pressurize and check for O-ring leaks, bleed air, and rinse carbon dirty water just after cartridge change.

      I also trickle water through my filter and I have a ball valve for that, but I wish I had a gate valve or a screw type of valve... It's hard to set the trickle flow rate the same each week (after a water change) with a ball valve and I think the other type of valves would be better because of that. I even thought (hind sight) of putting screw type valve in parallel with my ball valve on the output side of things, one for fine trickle adjustment and the other to support pond refill following a water change...

      Brad
      Last edited by six6guy; 08-09-2013 at 04:42 PM.










      "Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one."
      Albert Einstein

      Bradley W. Olin
      newest member of EIHIOICGI





      My pond stuff can be found at...

      My Pond Build
      My QT Build
      My CC-FF Build
      My Active Carbon Filters

    17. #17
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      Thanks, all great ideas. Never thought of purging the dirty carbon after a new filter!
      I will look into a gate valve and a waste line.

    18. #18
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      Quote Originally Posted by six6guy View Post
      I have ball vales, hose bibs, and unions on both before and after the filter set (bibs before valves on both sides). That allows me to turn off the water for a cartridge change, pressurize and check for O-ring leaks, bleed air, and rinse carbon dirty water just after cartridge change.

      I also trickle water through my filter and I have a ball valve for that, but I wish I had a gate valve or a screw type of valve... It's hard to set the trickle flow rate the same each week (after a water change) with a ball valve and I think the other type of valves would be better because of that. I even thought (hind sight) of putting screw type valve in parallel with my ball valve on the output side of things, one for fine trickle adjustment and the other to support pond refill following a water change...

      Brad

      That would be a globe valve I am installing my Chloramine filter this weekend and am using a tee with a globe on one outlet for a trickle and a ball valve on the other for water changes. I just got a 4 cuft Centaur GAC filter that is good for 10gpm for water changes.
      Stacey

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