DIY Rio 2100 Pump/Lock & Lock Canister filter

[CWO4GUNNER]

Greetings. I have a DIY canister filter project I will be working on to augment filtration for my 120 tank currently using a Magnum 350 in order to bust the GPH filtration from 350 to about 1000 GPH. It will also provide a ready to use seeding filter to use for cycling my next 180-300 acrylic tank. The concept based after a very smart gentleman who posted this DIY using the same type water tight O-ring cam lock polypropylene container on a much smaller scale then I will be using "How to DIY Canister filter". Mine will be based on a 1 gallon container which I just received yesterday and a used RIO 600 GPH pump that came with my used 120 tank. The idea is to put my stored Rio 2100 pump to good use and create an affordable high efficiency canister filter for less then $25. My initial 2 quart concept shown below has improved to the use of a 1 gallon Lock & Lock container also shown below, but the concept will be the same. All other hardware not shon (hoses, isolation vales, exc) will be purchased at LHS to save money over use of "aquarium use hardware".

Larger canister to be used

 

[OldMan47]

Check the specs on that pump CWO4Gunner. I have one of the 600 gpm models and thought it was cooled by the water it sits in. If that is true of yours, you don't want to block flow around the outside of the pump's motor. I would put a cage around the pump motor to give it good water circulation to remove heat while still making use of most of the space in the filter canister. All together I like the concept but think it may have that one vulnerability.

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

The pump will be submerged and be screened around the intake. I believe I read the specs on this and the pump can actually be used submerged or outside as long as the pump intake is primed and receiving water. The power section is nothing more then a stator with no moving parts. However it will be submerged and should not need much if any cooling to the outer plastic housing. If it did it would have a heat sink and not be made of plastic but rather an aluminum housing. It should be fine.
I'm delayed as my daughter is visiting but should get this thing done soon and will post all the steps.

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

Just wanted to get back on what happened to my project I had initially put off due to family visit. I resumed yesterday by contemplating and building the canister in my head going over all the pieces I would need such as bulkhead fittings to insure no leaking where the lines pass though the canister, and adapters needed to size up the Rio 2100 non-standard intake and output ports. All of it with used parts as I did not want to invest any more then I had already $21. Even though I had all the parts and procedures planed out that I knew without a doubt would work, I decided to put it off and reconsider the pump I was about to use. The Rio 2100 is a submersible pump and segmented filter that came with the purchase of my 120 tank that I never intended to use as I more-less hate submersibles although I never tried one powered by a pump. I never really expected the pump to perform at 700 GPH (no way) so I decided to reassemble the Rio 2100 with its 2 stage sponge filter system and see what it could.
All I can say is Oh-my, if my Magnum 350 is truly putting out 350 GPH then the Rio 2100 must be putting out at least 4 times as much, I mean can you say hurricane. I ended up having to arrange the 4x12" unit in the corner with the out port facing the back glass wall to help defuse the flow without my fish doing cartwheels. I also had to install the flow control gate valve to restrict out flow by 50% and I had to put it on really tight because ever time I would restrict it the valve would blow off the end, now that is what I call pump pressure.
Anyway I have decided to try this beast for awhile to see what it can do underwater but in the mean time I have decided that the 1 gallon canister I was going to use for this pump is simple too small and would be a waste of this pumps potential. Out on the desert trails I came upon an abandoned old junked jet ski with an intact and in good condition plastic 8 gallon fuel tank so I'm in the process of cleaning it and considering its use as a water tight canister filter, I know don't worry about the fuel residue as dilution is the solution to pollution, once clean it wont have even 1 PPB of fuel residue.

 

[owl]

i m a big fan of DIY myself ... i tried to build some canister before , but i ended up buy one !
my biggest and only problem was air proofing , so becarful with that , if the bucket is already airproof ( as it is ) try to seal well every hole u make in it ... for that matter , after u finish sealing holes , put the canister merged in water and keep the intake and outtake pipes outta water , blow in one and see if any bulbs come outta the can in the water
another thing that come into my mind is , u have to cut the pump power cord to put it in bucket and drill a hole to bring the cord outta it , make sure u cut the wire near the end of it not near the pump , cuz it may goes under water if the can is high ,... it happend for me once and i had to buy a new powerhead ...
one other thing is to make sure that ur power head has enough power for the height u need ,it s written on its box or on itself , something like "maximume height" or "H.Max" or ... . i had a 475gph powerhead that couldn t push the water more than 2 feets ,
cool project, keep us update and send pix if u can
good luck .

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

Yes I have decided to do more practical test on the Rio 2100 to get a better idea of the power and flow rate. So far I had to steal new suction cups from my spare heater because the Rio's back pressure was dislodging it from the glass and I found it motorboating around the aquarium last midnight terrorizing the community, looked like a scene strait out of "War of the Worlds". After using newer suction cups it stay put and the diffusion 1' away from and against the back glass worked great causing almost no strong current. But this morning it was evident that the Rio had raised water temperature in my 120 tank 7 degrees to 86F, so for now it is unplugged and will be removed for the second test to see how high up it can push water from the ground using a step ladder outside and a small plastic tank. All of this to get a grasp on what size DIY canister size will actually make good use of this pump, whatever size canister I use I am convinced on using the segmented filter attachment as a strainer filled with carbon. Of course this pump would make a great pond pump if I had a pond.

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

Below the Rio 2100 operational head pressure test at 8.5, 6, and 4 feet respectivly without the benefit of siphon equalization pressure experienced in a close canister. Theoretically volume already impressive would be much higher. Needless to say pressure should be more managable inside a canister 4-6 feet from the floor. Ealier my concerns over tempreture were solved due to a new bad thermometer I had just installed, so there was no heat issue after all. Looks like the Rio 2100 with the right DIY canister will make an good monster filter to rival performance of the Fluval X5 with rated GPH of 400. This adds new incentive to move forward with this DIY project even with a little more investment should prove worth while if it can handle a 150-200 tank I am looking for.

 

[owl]

great seems u don gonna have a problem with the height , that s a monster ...
keep us update , i tended to build one for myself again . u never know when u gonna need an extra filter ... lol

 

[owl]

double post ...

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

Well I used my stop watch and a 5 gallon container to measure GPH and it averaged over 300 GPH. Now that might not seem like much but in reality being a measured rate it probubly runs circles around most of the 250-350 GPH overrated commercial canister pumps including my Magnum 350 which just by observation doesn't come close to this pump. However what is more important here and what I cannot measured is the pressure (PSI) as pressure is everything when it comes to filtration. You can have all the GPH you can claim but if GPH drops dramatically due to filter resistance and lack of PSI what good is it. But what I can see is that this pump can move water over 8 feet compared to my Magnum 350, when used for dewatering can barely move water past 4 feet (trickle). So I'm optimistic and cant wait to get started and test this new high pressure pond pump out in a canister.