zookeeper wrote:

Thomas Ball wrote:

I think it is a great idea!

Light!(Will not hold water)
Easy to inspect! (Shine a light to look for blockage)
Easy to clean! (A little moderate pond water pressure from a hose
would push
any crud through to the bottom)
All crud will fall directly to the bottom! (bottom drain in filter?)

Might have to gasket between the straws and the container to prevent
short
circuit.


Tom, what do you mean by "gasket between the straws and the container?"


I think he means, if the water flows vertically and there's space
between the straws and the side walls then the water will flow around
the straws. What I'm going to do (I bought 25000 straws yesterday for
$45!) is fill the entire space from wall to wall with straws so there'll
be no gap that needs to be filled in. I think it'll work because the
walls are vertical.



One summer we used plastic forks as our filter media. It worked well,
but they turned out to be heavier than I had expected. Will be
interested in any feedback on using straws if anyone tries it.


Actually, straws have a different problem. They float. So keeping them
down will be the problem.

Matt