filters
Some projects carry obvious prestige, and this is one of them: The pair of reflecting pools and the sculpture that rises above them stand in front of AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas - home to the Dallas Cowboys and, several times a year, host to nationally televised football games. But certain of these prestige projects take on extra dimensions - and this was one of them, too: The mirror-finished dish that surmounts the watershapes
Aquascape (St. Charles, IL) has published its 2013 product catalog – the first that combines…
Backwash valves are the unsung heroes of many a fine hydraulic system. Seldom considered other than when in use, these handy devices simplify filter maintenance, significantly extend filter cycles and even serve to stretch the service lives of a filter’s internal components. Ensuring that level of reliable performance, says hydraulics expert Steve Gutai, is a matter of understanding the role these valves play and selecting the right one for the given application. Backwash valves are simple in concept: They reverse the flow of water through a filter and, in so doing, dislodge dirt and debris that has built up on the surface of and in the filter medium. This procedure has a couple of key benefits in both sand and diatomaceous-earth filters: First, it improves filter performance by breaking up and flushing out the near-solid cakes of dirt and oil particles that build up in the media over time. Second, it prolongs filter cycles and extends the time between major (and messy) cleanings. Third, because they minimize those invasive cleanings, backwashing helps to extend the service lives of a filter’s internal components. For all that, I keep seeing systems in the field in which backwash valves are
In conceptual terms, watershape filtration is about as simple as it gets: Water that picks up insoluble organic materials in the form of dirt, debris, dust and algae is drawn by the pump to pass through a filter medium of one type or another. The medium - whether sand, a cartridge or diatomaceous earth - traps these materials and lets only clear, clean water back into the vessel. When the pump sends the cleaned water out of the filter, that water returns to the pool to dilute the dirty water in a continuous cycle of cleansing and dilution that ultimately results - when the system is set up the right way - in clear, clean water that's both aesthetically pleasing and safe. Sand, cartridge and diatomaceous earth filters have long dominated the market, and each requires a filter tank with internal components specific to the filter medium it uses. There are common components (as discussed at the end of this article), but it's important for the watershaper to
