Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I want to collect the sediment within my system and use it directly on my garden. Any suggestions?

I use swirl filters in my aquaculture setup. Most of the the solids end up in there and I just crack a valve and its delivered to the fruit trees by gravity.

Just installed 2 before a couple of GB's. There is a tap on the other side that feeds from the bottom. You can fill up a bucket or connect a pipe. They are made out of 200ltr olive drums.

Two good answers:
Swirl filter;
Sealed drum.

Are both of these one in the same.
i.e. what is a swirl filter?

My filter is a sealed drum that has the flow going in one direction. Like a slow moving whirl pool. The outlet takes water from almost the top of the drum and the waste tap is feed from the bottom. As the water slowly goes around heavy waste carried in the water settle to the bottom. You can have open swirl filters but this just stops more junk from going in the top.

OK, that's exactly what I will do. I have a 200l sealed drum, just right for the job.
Thanks for that.

I used old pool filters for my swirl filters. I cut the tops off so I can see when to drain the wastes out. The water from the fish tanks enters near the bottom of the filter at an angle to create the whirlpool and exits (to the biofilter) from the top (minus most solids). At the bottom of the filter there is a drain with a ball valve which when open runs down a pipe to irrigate my orchard. Aquaponic Fruit Trees!!

Excellent!
I'm on it.

Here are some pics of an open top swirl filter Trev...

Solids are lifted with an "airlift" pump.... and exit through the angled "elbow"... which creates a centrifugal flow.... clean water flows back to the tank through the straight connection on the left...

And the sediment "swirls" down to the bottom of the conical tank... to be drained off as Troutman suggests....

That is great.

Thanks for all the effort of supplying the pictures.
A picture makes all the difference.

Today I have threaded some 1/2 incg BSP threads into a 200l blue drum and will shortly have the system in place.

Really appreciated,
Trevor

i'm also new at this . i'm trying to make a swirl filter ...similar to duffight.
Duffight, any chance of a drawing of your swirl filter set up???
i'm trying to understand how a swirl filter work...sorry i'm a bit slow.... am i to understand that the inflow pipe water goes into the drum at an angle (hence that make the water go in a circle...is that right???) and another outflow pipe straight out into the grow bed..
Q2.. how big should the drum be ?...does size of the drum matter ? small,medium or large etc