Author Archives: Orpheus

After reading website after website on how to build a biological slow sand filter, I have come to the conclusion that people need to learn more about how they actually work. Here are 50 references to studies on slow sand … Continue reading →

I guess this will be kind of a rant. Sorry, but it must be said, besides I have pneumonia now and have to keep from doing a lot of physical work. People are just too darn complacent. Somebody has to … Continue reading →

New information is available about rainwater harvesting from composition roofs. The slow sand filter described on slowsandfilter.org has been shown to remove petroleum hydrocarbons from water down to less than 1 part per ten million by weight; and this is … Continue reading →

A small biological sand filter (slow sand filter or Biosand filter) is maintained or cleaned by actively managing only the top 5 cm of sand. This top layer is either removed and replaced when the flow rate becomes unacceptable (typically … Continue reading →

First; my humble apologies for being so slow to moderate comments. Vast improvement is in order. We have updated the software that runs the blog ( as of July 24 2009) which went perfectly. Moderating should be quicker now. The … Continue reading →