Hi People,
After reading and contemplating about canisters, I couldnt keep myself from DIYing one. It took a lot of time, I was too busy sometimes, so the process stood on halt for long periods. Thats why I wasnt able to take the pics then.
I starting plotting the cheapest ways possible and posted some kiddish plans earlier, that used buckets / some odd containers, but neither seemed good enough for a big canister.
The mechanism is pretty simple as that of Eheim classic series(for example) - Water gets siphoned into the canister from bottom, passing through various media moves upwards into a pump situated at the top that throws the water back into the aquarium.....
Materials used:
18" tall 4"dia PVC pipe with 4mm gauge
4"dia slip type end cap for base
4"dia threaded socket with lid for the top
3/4"dia PVC pipe
A couple of 1/2" ball valves
4" 'O' Ring to make the container air tight
A 'Chinese' pump 750lph
Some odd numbers of Nozzles(1/2"),
couplings(slip type, slip type to inner threading type)
elbows
1m 1/2"dia multipurpose hose pipe.
PVC cement, Araldite and silicon
Tools:
Hacksaw blade, Drill(with various sized bits), dremel, paint brush(for applying adhesives), Sharp knife, pliers, scissor, file.
All the above combined gave 7 simple parts that can be assembled and removed whenever needed with a little effort.
1-The Canister
2-Lid with a pump
3-'O' Ring
4-Controllers
5-U-bends to go into the tank
6-Strainer
7-Spray bar
A 3/4" hole was drilled at the bottom of canister for inlet, which was made pasting pvc couplings,elbow and nozzle together.
The 'O' Ring is an essential part, that keeps the system from leakage. Luckily I was able to find one which is used in heavy machinery for gas compression.
I was looking for union ball valves which I couldnt find, so I had to settle with the normal ones. which I permanently fixed using adhesives. These valves can be closed while cleaning, hence they save me from priming it every time I open the canister.
I was thinking of using a 5 or 6"dia pipe for canister but they being very rare and their lids that are not found around, I didnt had patience to search them all, so went for 4"... will use a bigger diameter for next filters I make.
The pump has a slip type nozzle, so I drilled a 1/2" hole on lid, permanently fixed the nozzle, the pump can be pushed in to attach. this gives an advantage of removing the pump whenever needed for cleaning the propeller n other parts inside. The electrical chord passes through a 3-4mm hole on the same lid, hole is temporarily sealed using silicon(so that later the pump can be removed for claiming guarantee if needed).
The spray bar and the strainer attached to the U-bends
Note-
-This filter is for my 30g planted tank, thats why used a pump with minimum output.
-PVC cement should be only used for pvc-pvc joints, it'll not fasten pvc on any other mateial, so araldite was used for pvc-plastc joints.
-Dremel was an additional tool used to make quick n clean cuttings, hacksaw can be used otherwise for the same and later the surface or edges can be filed and sanded to give a neat look.
As of any equipment this has flaws in itself:
1-Its too narrow
2-The lid has to be tightly replaced after opening, to avoid leaks
3-To open the lid we have to make over a dozen rotations! but yet can be done once or twice a month.
4-The base cap is round headed, so am keeping a 4" coupling under it.
Looking forward to know your views.
After reading and contemplating about canisters, I couldnt keep myself from DIYing one. It took a lot of time, I was too busy sometimes, so the process stood on halt for long periods. Thats why I wasnt able to take the pics then.
I starting plotting the cheapest ways possible and posted some kiddish plans earlier, that used buckets / some odd containers, but neither seemed good enough for a big canister.
The mechanism is pretty simple as that of Eheim classic series(for example) - Water gets siphoned into the canister from bottom, passing through various media moves upwards into a pump situated at the top that throws the water back into the aquarium.....
Materials used:
18" tall 4"dia PVC pipe with 4mm gauge
4"dia slip type end cap for base
4"dia threaded socket with lid for the top
3/4"dia PVC pipe
A couple of 1/2" ball valves
4" 'O' Ring to make the container air tight
A 'Chinese' pump 750lph
Some odd numbers of Nozzles(1/2"),
couplings(slip type, slip type to inner threading type)
elbows
1m 1/2"dia multipurpose hose pipe.
PVC cement, Araldite and silicon
Tools:
Hacksaw blade, Drill(with various sized bits), dremel, paint brush(for applying adhesives), Sharp knife, pliers, scissor, file.
All the above combined gave 7 simple parts that can be assembled and removed whenever needed with a little effort.
1-The Canister
2-Lid with a pump
3-'O' Ring
4-Controllers
5-U-bends to go into the tank
6-Strainer
7-Spray bar
A 3/4" hole was drilled at the bottom of canister for inlet, which was made pasting pvc couplings,elbow and nozzle together.
The 'O' Ring is an essential part, that keeps the system from leakage. Luckily I was able to find one which is used in heavy machinery for gas compression.
I was looking for union ball valves which I couldnt find, so I had to settle with the normal ones. which I permanently fixed using adhesives. These valves can be closed while cleaning, hence they save me from priming it every time I open the canister.
I was thinking of using a 5 or 6"dia pipe for canister but they being very rare and their lids that are not found around, I didnt had patience to search them all, so went for 4"... will use a bigger diameter for next filters I make.
The pump has a slip type nozzle, so I drilled a 1/2" hole on lid, permanently fixed the nozzle, the pump can be pushed in to attach. this gives an advantage of removing the pump whenever needed for cleaning the propeller n other parts inside. The electrical chord passes through a 3-4mm hole on the same lid, hole is temporarily sealed using silicon(so that later the pump can be removed for claiming guarantee if needed).
The spray bar and the strainer attached to the U-bends
Note-
-This filter is for my 30g planted tank, thats why used a pump with minimum output.
-PVC cement should be only used for pvc-pvc joints, it'll not fasten pvc on any other mateial, so araldite was used for pvc-plastc joints.
-Dremel was an additional tool used to make quick n clean cuttings, hacksaw can be used otherwise for the same and later the surface or edges can be filed and sanded to give a neat look.
As of any equipment this has flaws in itself:
1-Its too narrow
2-The lid has to be tightly replaced after opening, to avoid leaks
3-To open the lid we have to make over a dozen rotations! but yet can be done once or twice a month.
4-The base cap is round headed, so am keeping a 4" coupling under it.
Looking forward to know your views.
