Trough pump, sweep-out trough or self-flushing trough?

Dirty trough water is the same problem on every farm, but the products sold to fix it do three different things. Before comparing prices it is worth being clear about what happens to the sediment, the feed residue and the algae in each case.

1. Solar trough pumps: keep the water moving

A small solar pump sits in your existing trough and circulates the water, often as a fountain. Moving, aerated water grows algae more slowly and keeps dust from settling as quickly. The best known Australian product is the CROC trough pump, sold as an add-on to the trough you already have, with two sizes for short and long troughs.

What it does to the dirt: nothing leaves the trough. The pump slows down how fast the water fouls. Producers quoted by the manufacturer describe cleaning less often, for example every few days instead of daily, rather than not cleaning.

Suits: paddock troughs, or anywhere you want to stretch the interval between hand cleans without changing the trough.

2. Sweep-out troughs: make the hand clean faster

Some concrete feedlot troughs are built with a sweep-out end or a large outlet, so you can leave the water running and push the muck out over the end with a broom instead of tipping and scrubbing. Conron's Lambaghini sheep trough is one example, with a built-in sweep-out and a removable strainer basket.

What it does to the dirt: it leaves, but a person moves it. The number of cleans does not change, each one is quicker.

Suits: feedlots that will keep a daily cleaning round anyway and want each stop to take less time.

3. Self-flushing troughs: the clean happens on a schedule

A self-flushing trough has a controller and a drain. At the interval you set, the drain opens, a surge of water runs along the trough floor and carries the sediment and feed residue out through the drain, and the float valve refills the trough with clean water. The SATURN trough we supply works this way; it is set from your phone over Bluetooth and the float valve is mechanical, so water stays on even if the controller battery goes flat.

What it does to the dirt: it leaves, on a timer, without anyone there. Each flush uses water (around 60 litres for SATURN, manufacturer figure), so it suits a reticulated supply rather than a trough filled by hand.

Suits: containment areas, feedlots and dairies where Agriculture Victoria's advice to empty and clean every 1 to 2 days is a daily job for someone.

Putting them side by side

	Trough pump	Sweep-out trough	Self-flushing trough
Sediment and feed residue	Stays in trough	Removed by hand	Flushed out automatically
Who does the cleaning	You, less often	You, faster	The trough, on schedule
Works with your existing trough	Yes	No, new trough	No, new trough
Needs water supply pressure	No	No	Yes, 200 to 1,000 kPa (manufacturer figure)
Power	Solar panel	None	Battery controller, mechanical float

None of the three is wrong. If your troughs are in paddocks and get a clean once a week, a pump may be all you need. If you are running a feedlot or a containment area and someone is tipping troughs every morning, the question is whether you want that job done faster or done for you.