A temp. solution for filtering!

[X24]

Well it seems the filter on my planted 29 gallon tank is slowly dying, and until i can order a new cascade 300 for it, i have decided to make a DIY sponge filter. now i know that sponge filters aren't the best for planted tanks because it takes out w/e CO2 there is in the water, it was the best filter i could do for now besides rigging up something my a powerhead which would be way overkill and look completely retarded in my 29 gallon tank.

The basic way i did this was with plans from this site: http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Davies_Sponge_Filter.html

Instead of the aquarium gravel, i went with some lava rock that i crushed into around aquarium gravel sized chunks. I feel that this should provide me with a little more biological filtration then normal rocks would. then i added a good 1/4" of filter floss for the mechanical filtration.

Although this doesn't make the best permanant filter, it is basically free or insanely cheap, and would make a great QT filter if you took some gravel our of your display tank, or some filter floss or other media out of your filters and add it to it.

In another day or two i'll show you my DIY powerhead filter that i'm making aswell. I'm taking a plastic box that an aquarium heater came in and putting layers of material such as nylon pot scrubbers, filter floss, some non-skid shelf lining and of course lava rock that i get for free.

 

[wangster11235]

i know you said a powerhead is stupid but its only for a little time.
my ac70 broke so i took a powerhead and put a filterpad over the intake and it works just like a filter

 

[Dr Joe]

Well it seems the filter on my planted 29 gallon tank is slowly dying, and until i can order a new cascade 300 for it, i have decided to make a DIY sponge filter. now i know that sponge filters aren't the best for planted tanks because it takes out w/e CO2 there is in the water, it was the best filter i could do for now besides rigging up something my a powerhead which would be way overkill and look completely retarded in my 29 gallon tank.

The basic way i did this was with plans from this site: http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Davies_Sponge_Filter.html

Instead of the aquarium gravel, i went with some lava rock that i crushed into around aquarium gravel sized chunks. I feel that this should provide me with a little more biological filtration then normal rocks would. then i added a good 1/4" of filter floss for the mechanical filtration.

Although this doesn't make the best permanant filter, it is basically free or insanely cheap, and would make a great QT filter if you took some gravel our of your display tank, or some filter floss or other media out of your filters and add it to it.

In another day or two i'll show you my DIY powerhead filter that i'm making aswell. I'm taking a plastic box that an aquarium heater came in and putting layers of material such as nylon pot scrubbers, filter floss, some non-skid shelf lining and of course lava rock that i get for free.

If you don't want a biological sponge filter, just clean it in tap water every 2-3 days ...That will wipe out everything.

.

i know you said a powerhead is stupid but its only for a little time.
my ac70 broke so i took a powerhead and put a filterpad over the intake and it works just like a filter

That's cause it was a filter . Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Joe

.

 

[X24]

um....i'm confused with that comment you made about the sponge filter....

 

[X24]

Well tonight i finished putting together my powerhead filter, but the adhesive i used still needs to dry.

I used amazing goop, which after checking their website does say not to use in stuff that will come in contact with pets, ie aquariums, but i'll do some tests with a rubbermade container and some feeder minnows to see if it has any adverse effects....which i'm really doubting since i've heard of this stuff being used to glue coral frags to live rock.

 

[X24]

here is a simply ms paint diagram i made of it. the blue is some non-skid shelf lining that is just used to keep the big stuff out of the filter, then the darker gray is filter floss, the bright red is nylon pot scrubber and the light gray is the floss from a biowheel. finally the dark red is lava rock.

the awesome thing about this filter is you can load it up with w/e media you want, like if i need more mechanical filtration, i can load it up with some filter floss and some micron bags and it'll provide all the mech i need, but if i need more bio filtration, then nylon pot scrubbies, ceramic rings, lava rock, pumice or anything else can be put in it.

it shouldn't be too hard to make look decent either since i'll cover it in sand and use some rocks to block the view of the powerhead. it should just look like a step on the aquarium ground.

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