View Full Version : Just messing around
I put together a little cheap sponge filter. I took a 20 oz. plastic bottle and cut it in half, then poked holes at the bottom and near the top. I also poked a hole in the cap. I put some fine gravel in the bottom of the bottle, then inserted some airline tubing. I wrapped a scrap of sheet filter material around the airline, and crammed the top down over the bottom. I threaded the airline through the bottlecap and screwed it down.
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z161/Newt1453/Aquaria/bottlespongefilter.jpg
I just tossed it in a 55 I have cycling. The flow looks pretty good. I think I'll make another one and put both in my 65 that I'm about to redo. I'll see what kind of ammonia level they can handle when I cycle that tank. Just thought I'd share!
Potts050
10-28-2009, 8:20 PM
Nice-how does it look in your tank?
Toxic Fish 9999
10-28-2009, 8:21 PM
pics of the real thing smart idea
It doesn't look great. I may paint it black. I would take photos but my camera is busted.
Toxic Fish 9999
10-28-2009, 8:24 PM
o thats ok man
Pharaoh
10-28-2009, 8:53 PM
So is there a sponge in there to make it a "Sponge Filter", or is it just an in-tank filter?:D
:D I guess you're right. Filter mat is like a sponge, but perhaps not technically a sponge...
Pharaoh
10-28-2009, 9:06 PM
:D I guess you're right. Filter mat is like a sponge, but perhaps not technically a sponge...
haha, just messing with ya. Nice job.
Let us know how it works. I wonder if you were to put a submersible pond pump inside of it or a two liter bottle if it would be more effective?
No doubt it could be scaled up. I think getting evenly distributed flow through the media in a larger bottle might be more difficult. For that matter, I'm not sure how evenly the flow is distributed in my little setup. It may be that I will need to ventilate the bottle some more.
Now you've got me thinking. I've got a tiny Exo Terra pump, a Quiet One 1200, and an AquaClear 30 powerhead lying around, as well as bottles; I just need to get media. I think flow could be managed with a sort of reverse trickle plate; maybe a flowerpot bottom with some holes will do.
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z161/Newt1453/Aquaria/2literspongefilter.jpg
hybridtheoryd16
10-29-2009, 7:00 AM
I have done this with peanut butter jars several times. If you buy the larger economy family sized plastic jar it gives you more room.
I cut a large hole in the lids center for a luft tube. And several small holes around it for intake. Then put some bio media in the bottom and place your tube in and fill it up more with media or old gravel. And place some filter floss or sponge on top. And screw the lid on. Then place a air stone and line down the tube. and your ready.
As the air goes up and out of he luft tube, the tank water is drawn in thru the holes you drilled in the lid. The intake water goes thru the filter floss and then thru the bio media and then up and out the luft tube.
That's a good way to do it; you probably get the water in contact with the media longer. I don't think a luft tube would fit in a bottle mouth, but 1/2" PVC would, so that could be adapted to soda bottles as well.
All right, I just bought a polyester cushion and 10 feet of soaker hose. This is gonna be good!
My little pump does not provide enough flow, and my big one doesn't fit in the bottle. I saw some fountain pumps at Lowe's, I might go get one of those. Here's the new plan, modified by Hybridtheoryd16's advice:
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z161/Newt1453/Aquaria/2literspongefilter-new.jpg
Intake holes are at top of bottle; water is drawn down through media to pump, which pumps it back out through top. Gravel in the bottom is for ballast. The drawing assumes a 3/4" output line, which barely fits through the bottle's mouth; if the pump I get uses a 1/2" output, I will need the cap. I think the outflow current would push the bottle around, so I want to diffuse it. To that end, the output line uses a male garden hose fitting to connect to a 10' length of soaker hose, which will allow the water to diffuse back into the tank gently and also provide some additional biomedia.
"My little pump does not provide enough flow"
Be careful not to over do it, if the flow rate is to high or the inflow is resricted (it would seem to me) that the container would start to crush.
Thanks Burko. The pump in question is ridiculously weak- I bought it to provide a constant drip in a vivarium, and it wasn't even up to that task. I have moved on to an 80 GPH rated fountain pump. It provides a nice slow flow that doesn't push the bottle around even without the soaker hose. I think I will reserve the soaker for a filter with a more powerful pump. It would be cool as a return from a sump; the problem is the amount of backpressure it generates.
I ended up setting the fountain pump in the very bottom of the bottle, then filling in around it with 1/2"-1" pebbles. Then I put in a circular piece of polyester foam cut from a 4" thick cushion insert (the insert is a little over a cubic foot for under $20- not too shabby) and stuffed the top of the bottle with loose polyfil before setting it down into the bottle bottom. I pierced two holes in the upper rim of the bottle bottom and ran a long twist tie through these holes and two of the intake holes in the bottle top to secure the two halves. I'll replace the twist tie with something rustproof later.
I did not consider the fact that the plug on this pump wouldn't fit through the bottle's opening; I ended up having to run it through the gap between top and bottom portions of the bottle, then filling in around this with more polyfil. I will probably replace all of the polyfil with felt scraps; I hate those loose polyester threads.
The final piece was a "collar" cut from pond filter mat and slid around the neck of the bottle. It doesn't fit closely and so won't act as an effective mechanical filter, but I think it will at least keep plants and large pieces of debris from blocking the intake holes.
hybridtheoryd16
10-30-2009, 1:05 AM
Looks pretty sweet to me.
I think you should call it an internal canister filter?:D
Good idea! Then I can start selling them for Eheim prices, right? :naughty:
The tank this is going in will be heavily planted, and I like to let mulm build up in my planted tanks, so I'm not worried about its lack of mechanical filtration. I think it could hold its own against an AC110 for purely biological filtration. If I had a spare AC110 I'd run them head to head and find out for sure.
Potts050
10-31-2009, 4:44 PM
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z161/Newt1453/Aquaria/2literspongefilter-new.jpg
http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z161/Newt1453/Aquaria/2literspongefilter.jpg
I really enjoy your thumbnail sketches. What media are you using? Pen and Ink with water colours? Very artistic....
In any event the lower sketch is the better aproach. You want to maximize flow if its biofiltration your after. If you want to polish water then you need to try a differant aproach altogether...
Thanks Potts! The sketches are done in the GIMP, a freeware image-editing program; sort of a poor man's Photoshop.
psi3000
11-04-2009, 3:23 PM
Gimp rocks. Been using it for years.