DIY canister

Spunky

Spunky

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Feb 24, 2003
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I found the thread Thinking of making a DIY canister filter along with the link How to DIY a Canister Filter. I am wondering why more people dont do it? It seems mush more simple that a w/d.

I am thinking of making one for my 30 gal soon to be dwarf puffer tank. I could spend $53.99 for a Supreme Mag Drive 5 Utility Pump @ 500gph. OR Aquaclear Powerhead #70 for $28.51 @400gph. The mag drive is more compact, but what would be other differences i would notice? What would YOU use? (If i get the more expensive one here that means cutting corners on lighting and/or plants.)
 
A pump, a 5 gal bucket, some eggcrate, and a buncha media...
cost like 20 bucks...? just an idea.

you could gravity feed the bucket, and pump the return water into the tank...
and if you had a bucket with a snap on lid, then you'd be in business!
 
never thought about a 5 gal bucket... sweet idea!

The thing is the pump... where do you find a high gph that cheap? If i find i large enough one i can put it on m 75 gal and use its xp3 for the 30.

What are some cheap media you can use? I use quilting batting as filter floss. I have read about using those plastic scrubies. What else?
 
There are also large diameter PVC pipes with made-to-fit caps and screw-on ends.

You could even daisy chain them creating tons of different media compartments (or just use egg crate inside). You could also build them the exact height/width/# of compartments you wanted. Just gravity feed in, use an internal (or external) pump at the bottom to pump it back up.
 
Spunky said:
never thought about a 5 gal bucket... sweet idea!

The thing is the pump... where do you find a high gph that cheap? If i find i large enough one i can put it on m 75 gal and use its xp3 for the 30.

What are some cheap media you can use? I use quilting batting as filter floss. I have read about using those plastic scrubies. What else?
Click to expand...


I have a mini-sump, but i wish I would have done a similar concept using the PVC canister setup. Anyways, I use store-bought fluval media in my sump with some universal (cut it yourself) filter pads. I don't remember the name, but it's blue on one side, and white on the other, works like a charm!
 
How high does it have to pump water? I've been using a Quiet One 1200, its pretty silent, pumps about 250gph, more than enough for a 30g.

Here is my thread on DIY canister filter
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154096. As I said, I would use the same setup for a 30g, but you may want to find 6" PVC pipe for puffers.

My tube has about 9.6 square inches of surface area. a 4" PVC pipe has 12.6 square inches of surface area, a 6" PVC pipe has 28.3 square inches of surface area.
Rena XP canister have 36 square inches. Just something to keep in mind.

One thing to keep in mind though about DIY filters, You get to choose the pump, media, and canister. And best of all, its all modular. If you go DIY, you may not be able to save a whole lot of dough unless you have the parts already, but you do have a whole lot of freedom on certain things, plus you can make it fit your design. Also, if the motor goes out on say a rena or such, the entire canister is pretty much useless, on a DIY setup, you just replace the motor and your back in business.
 
I would go for the PVC idea. In fact, I have...the threaded caps etc make it a lot easier to take apart to clean etc etc.

5 gal buckets seem like a good idea, but do not seal all that well under pressure. I made one for a turtle pool a few years ago and never was able to find a suitable solution to leakage between the bucket and lid.
 
6"PVC is not cheap...
Thats why I was saying make it a returnpump syste, so the bucket is not under pressure.. use the pump to draw water through the bucket..

you could put a small submersable pump in the bottom of the bucket..
 
The Zigman said:
6"PVC is not cheap...
Thats why I was saying make it a returnpump syste, so the bucket is not under pressure.. use the pump to draw water through the bucket..

you could put a small submersable pump in the bottom of the bucket..
Click to expand...

5' of 6" PVC is $37 from www.mcmaster.com or you could go to home depot and buy 2 feet and be done.

I forgot to mention, I got a Rena XP2 canister filter for $45 off of craigslist yesterday; a used filter from ebay/craigslist might be your best bet.
 
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