There's no point including brand names. This page is not about 'bashing' other filters but to share the experiences which led to my conclusion that Aquadyne is the most superior and most reliable filter. All bead filters 'work'. Not all bead filters continue to do so...Read on.
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My first bead filter. Clogged and would not backwash after a year. The top and bottom were manufactured so flimsy that they ripped off while taking the unit outside for a complete breakdown and cleanout.
Disposition: Repaired and given away.
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My second bead filter. Ran for a year, and then clogged. I developed an air backwash system which helped it limp on another six months, and a pressurized backwash system which helped some, too. However, after a time, there was so much "stuff" in the admission radials that a complete tear down was needed. This was recurrent and got worse and worse as the beads gelled up.
Disposition: Drained and given away.
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My third Bead filter. This little baby worked well for two years. Then the bead 'caked' and the filter had to be opened (beads everywhere!) and the bead-cake broken down because it has no air backwash. After breakdown, it worked for another year and had to be manually opened again. An air backwash would have made this filter worthwhile.
Disposition: Given to Rich Carter for use on a really small system.
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My fourth bead filter. This baby has a suspended bed of negatively buoyant beads in it. You need a stout pump to suspend the beads. If successful, their constant churning will keep your water hazy until the beads in the top will mature, cake, and reduce the flows. When this happens, the lower bead cake becomes useless but thankfully it stops churning, then the haze clears. Shortly, the beads in the top will throttle back on water flow and the whole system needs an air backwash. Then they cycle of hazy water begins again.
Disposition: Given away to Tom Hatfield. He has since given it away.
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Charlie, a fellow I met through Aquadynamite, had two filters, and one was a filter just like my fourth bead filter. He too found the flows were greatly reduced and it took quite a pump to drive it. His filter did him one better, and the internal failed.
"The flappers in the original internals...about 3 years old.. one was broken and farther down the pipe..another was badly warped... so new and improved wasnt just to make it work better..it replaced bad parts... 3 yrs..."
After replacement, he had the same clogging troubles.
Disposition: Repaired and given away. Here he's taking the filter to the truck for disposal.
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Charlie also ran another filter on his system, and he wrote: "The real problem is the BB-5 is just bogging down. Extensive rinsing has gotten it moving to a degree...but the urge to replace is getting bad." And he did. |
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My fifth bead filter. Ran great for two or three years and then failed to backwash. Gary Cryer (a very good friend of mine and former co-owner of this filter company) came down from Oklahoma and worked on it all day. He said it was 'gunking' from sludge inside. His effort made some improvement. |
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Finally, several months later it had to be cut open because of an internal parts-failure which prevented backwashing. The reason it had to be cut open was because the bulkheads were welded in, so it was irreparable. When the internals failed, the entire $3000+ filter was rendered completely useless. |
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The whole time, while trying out other bead filters to see how they were, I got lucky and met the AquaDyne. In 1996 I BOUGHT (wasn't given) an Aquadyne 2.2 for my 3800 gallon indoor facility. It worked fine. The Aquadynes always worked fine. Never choked or died like the others. Now I've got 4.4's on my big pond. They're over three years old and I've never cracked 'em open. My 2.2's are getting onto eight years old and have never needed work, manual attention or other maintenence. They keep on keepin' on.
Disposition:
I use Aquadyne filters to this day on my pond. (See it)
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