Author Archives: Orpheus

Rainwater harvesting in Washington state

Slow sand filters are totally sustainable, will work on gravity feed only, take out hydrocarbons, bacteria, viruses, and do not require addeed chemicals to operate. Check out the websites below. And check out the post just before this one if … Continue reading

Posted in slow sand water filter study and construction | Comments Off on Rainwater harvesting in Washington state

Slow sand filter field test (filter 5)

Filter 5, the most recent filter set up here in May of this year is now working.  The drainpipes inside the filter at the bottom of the barrel are covered by 4 inches of pea gravel. The sand directly on … Continue reading

Posted in slow sand water filter study and construction | 1 Comment

Slow sand filter construction and operation with roof water harvesting

More information. This is very important. The two most recently set up slow sand filters in operation here have some important lessons to be considered. In extreme cases, a diverter by itself, will not be enough of a pre-filter: Turbid … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

slow sand filter construction techniques

This is yet another update on what has been learned regarding the construction and operation of a small slow sand water filter. These are issues that stand out after experience building, testing, and operating small slow sand filters over the … Continue reading

Posted in slow sand water filter study and construction | Comments Off on slow sand filter construction techniques

Testing the water from a slow sand filter

Some of the water quality tests done here on filter 4 and 5 are done. These tests were done with the testing kits available from Micrology Labs. The interpretation of the results of our tests are posted here along with … Continue reading

Posted in slow sand water filter study and construction | Comments Off on Testing the water from a slow sand filter

Roof water filtration system

More notes on roof water quality required for a slow sand filter: Experience here in the art of roof water harvesting and slow sand water filter construction is a continual learning experience. The newest roof water filter here (filter 5 … Continue reading

Posted in slow sand water filter study and construction | 2 Comments

Finding sand and mesh size for a slow sand filter

This is an update of the previous post on slow sand filter sand sources. Instead of trying to find specialized sand sizes from a manufacturer, it can be more convenient to sift easily available sand to get the right grain … Continue reading

Posted in slow sand water filter study and construction | 12 Comments

Slow sand water filter sand source

A SUMMARY OF THIS POST: For a slow sand filter to work we need to use “uniformly graded” sand. “Uniformly Graded” sand means sand that has already been processed (sifted) so that the grains of sand it contains are mostly … Continue reading

Posted in slow sand water filter study and construction | 5 Comments

water filter sand

This is an update on the post about sifting sand for a slow sand water filter. I wrote about this in response to a question from a reader.  I recommended using stainless steel wire cloth to sift “play sand” so … Continue reading

Posted in slow sand water filter study and construction | Comments Off on water filter sand

How does a slow sand water filter work?

A slow sand water filter (sometimes called a biological sand water filter) works like this: Because of the pull of gravity, water flows down through a sand bed in a container about 3 feet deep from the top to the … Continue reading

Posted in slow sand water filter study and construction | 4 Comments