Clear water
Waterco filtration solves ‘tricky’ issue
"A Waterco filtration system was the clear choice for this project, as the client had seen the products in previous installations and was impressed by how pleased other clients were with their reliability and effectiveness."
With 26 acres filled with exotic bird life, Birdworld Farnham is one of the largest bird parks in the United Kingdom. Although there are over 160 species of birds to be seen at the park, the most popular exhibit is Penguin Beach, a display featuring a beach and pool with a boat and jetty. This enclosure is home to a colony of Humboldt penguins that visitors can feed twice a day.
However, the clarity of the water in this exhibit was letting down the aesthetics of the display, as the original filtration system was not built to handle the large quantity of unwashed stone and gravel in the pool. So in May 2011, a new system was commissioned to address this issue.
A tricky pool that required low chlorine levels with good water clarity and quality, Waterco offered a filtration solution for the project, which also had a strict budget and a typical construction.
“It was a new pool with unusual construction; built from bentonite clay liner with rock filled gabions on two sides, and supaskimmers built in,” says Tony Fisher, Waterco Europe managing director. “All pipework from the bottom drains and skimmers had to rise around a metre to the plant room and the budget was very tight, so it was a unique project that needed a more advanced filtration system that could handle the challenges of the initial design."
A Waterco filtration system was the clear choice for this project, as the client had seen the products in previous installations and was impressed by how pleased other clients were with their reliability and effectiveness.
“For Birdworld, we offered a chlorinated filtration system using two pumps preceded by bottom drains and Waterco’s large capacity Supa skimmers for leaves and debris,” says Tony.
“We also installed Waterco non-return valves at water level to help with priming, as the plant room was higher than the pool. The water was then fed via two MultiCyclones to remove debris from rock and gravel.”
Water is fed via two MultiCyclones and for
extra clarity, the water was also fed through
SM900 fibreglass filters filled with glass
For extra clarity, the water was also fed through SM900 fibreglass filters filled with glass media, and then chlorinated with an erosion feeder before being returned to the pool. This solved the issue of poor water quality that was presented by the large amount of gravel in the water.
The system has been so effective that the pool has not required complete water changes since its installation, only needing the occasional backwash.
Most importantly, the client has had no complaints about water clarity, saying there hasn’t been “a single bad water day” since the new system was put in place.
With 26 acres filled with exotic bird life, Birdworld
Farnham is one of the largest bird parks in the
United Kingdom
Download Birdworld Farnham Case Study