Filtering water requires:
course filters to get out the larger particles. the drain is to remove this
stuff most efficiently because this stuff is most likely to clog the rest. furnace
filters and plain netting or screening is good for this. but best is when the water
slows down it drops the crud. some people use a separate tank with baffles to slow
the water and drop the crud, then the cleaned up water overflows to the next filter.
Big and little sister filters use easy to clean hanging brushes to pull the crud out,
slow the water which overflows to the other filters. there is an outlet on the
bottom of each chamber to flush the system.
medium filter. this needs to be cut in manageable size so it can
periodically be removed and cleaned easily. one of the best is open cell foam.
fine filter. this gets out silt. it is best it is disposable, so I think
polyester batting is excellent.
biofilter. this may be all of the previous filters (which then need more
routine care so they dont get clogged, OR, a veggie filter which removes ammonia --
nitrate from the water. The whole plant needs to be submerged OR the roots need to
be in the water flow for this to happen. a veggie filter must be in nearly full sun
at least part of the day.

In your configuration all the crud is going to be on top and you will have to lift
those heavy filters out and clean them. further, the weight of the water shoves the
fine particles down into (and thru) the filter material making it a lot harder to
clean. plants wont grow well if shaded.

your trough can serve if you start with the pond water flowing into the bottom of the
trough, moving up thru the course filters then thru the finer filters then thru the
veggies with a large overflow pipe that takes the cleaned water back to the pond. on
the bottom drain there is a T connection with a diverter so water from the pump is
turned off, the drain from the T is opened and the water in the trough is allowed to
flush the crud out a hose and away from the filter and pond.

My long veggie filter (14' with a bend in the middle) slows the water down so the
crud drops to the bottom. As the water flows down the filter it moves thru all the
roots that remove wastes and the finer stuff especially once the roots hit the bottom
of the filter. Ingrid

GrannyGrump wrote:
I am disabled, and can't clean filters easily, so I am planning on
making a veggie filter from a large water trough (Tractor Supply).
Planning on rocking this in, with a roof, so that it looks like a
wishing well...
This trough has an opening at the bottom for draining water.
I am planning on having water pumped from my pond into the top, so
that it trickles down to the bottom and back into the pond.
I figure lava rock on the bottom, then a layer of gravel, then a layer
of barley straw, with water cress and water plants on top.

Will this work?



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