You need a two quart size non glazed terra cotta pott Pottery must be soaked first in water to open so that the water can pass more easily. You put the nitrate after soaking .the best way is to use a pot with no hole in the bottom

Plug the hole with silicone, so you're not getting molygrubs through the hole. Also, put an extension on the top, so you can fill it higher, so there is a bit of "head pressure". And yes, the small pots have less media so they will be slower.

that isn't mud that's the pot you never washed after sanding. and u need a larger pot

To prevent this, the clay cup should be upside down. Here in Brazil we've been using those for more than 110 years now. Just look it up: Brazilian clay filters. The idea is quite simple and works perfectly, even for improvised filters and not the ones we actually use at home.

Italian terracotta, thought to not contain heavy metals or some such contaminants. It’s the best . This is not a thick ceramic filter and I can’t believe it’s enough. Certainly a good idea to pre filter water through straw then gravel then sand and best of all, charcoal in that order if you’re wanting a back to nature approach.

Clay pots should be sanded inside and out and it took me no longer than 5 minutes, and it works when you get a 5 gal good grade bucket about $6 Lowes with a large pot sits on top $14 because its gravity fed it needs a larger volume to be more heavy and it works great. I have horrible Florida well water which it makes wonderful.

I believe those pots don’t work because the clay they are made of does not have sand or rice husks added before the firing. Those pots are dense precisely to avoid the water seeping out when you water your plants. The terracota pots you need are specially made to a have filtrating capability.

Thank you. That was a useful experiment.

woosh. those deduction skills are impressive.

I was noticing the slightly larger ones at the 99 stores is made in the USA. I plug the hole with some cork that I bought on Ebay.

I watched another video which suggests you need to remove glaze both inside and out?

Is it terra cotta? Your water could be coming through your cork or around it. I saw an academic paper on using a clay pot along with copper wire mesh. The wire mesh kills bacteria. I'd imagine one could throw some activated charcoal in the water, too, if the terra cotta filters it.

You're using the wrong pot. Any claypot is not correct. The pot has to be porous, which is done during the molding process. The pots u used were made with the INTENTION to HOLD water, therefore ineffective at filtering. But a porous pot is made with intention to seep. You can talk to a potter and ask if they make any porous pots. If they don't know what that is, go somewhere else

That vid you're talking about didn't use a cork but a wooden bung. So I believe it strained water through that. Unless it's in the sun, the bacteria may still remain 😔 I tried charcoal for aquariums and it made the water more filthy. 😬

Pot is not big enough nor the collecting vessel. You need a couple of days to do run through, so once the clay has been saturated it all speed ahead.

Yea,the mud clocked the hole in the bottom...

It's a gravity based filter put it on a high shelf.

Does clay thickness of the pot affect the flow rate...how thin can you make it and still get the job done...Hmmm

Well the terracotta pots we get here in Australia must be different from the ones available in other countries, ive tried 2 terracotta pots and the water doesn't come through the pores of the pots quick enough even after sanding the inside and outsides! Waste of 50 bucks! Ive bought a factory made ceramic 8 stage water filter for under $150.00 that i know will work! 1000 litres before the cartridge is changed out and if its town water its 2000 litres,cartridges are $45.00 each. Will last our family many many months.

😮👍💪Vielen Lieben Dank

I've heart that is won't filter out viruses.

💜💜💜

I’m thinking that a way bigger pot will work much better with the increased surface area.

Where is the pot made from? Unless it's made it Italy, there's most like other materials and toxins in the clay. Some terra cotta pots are cement, painted with terra cotta coloring, Frankly, I wouldn't trust anything from the dollar tree to be of high quality.

Glad you tried. Now we know. 😀

You used too much dirt.