canister filter idea

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
D

deepdivered

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 28, 2010
27
0
0
arizona
hello! i am new to this forum and hobby. i am a professional scuba diver so i need a fish tank right. lol well i found a 20 long and its still cycling. but i dream of building my own plywood tank after seeing them here on this site. i have wasted countless hours on here reading about building filters. i want to stick to canister filters cause lol thats what i want to do.

i was given a ehiem pro 2. it leaks. i know i can change the seal but.... i love building things. so i read up on several filters made here.

i got a lot of ideas fron scratanut canister filter

and

Jgray152 6 gal bucket filter

so my idea is to have 3 canisters made of 6 inch pvc pipe linked together doing mechanical, chemical, and biological filtration . i will have the inlets and outlets turned as to create a "tornado effect"

here is my scetch

desine.jpg


pleas give me some opinions of this idea!

there is a pluming suply shop where i can get the suplyes and i have a pump.
 
bump.

i seriously plan to build this and would love some feed back so i can use every ones experience.

i planed to use 3 different pvc pipes so i can change the filter media at sepret times so i do not disturb all my bacteria that helps filter my water.

i was planing for each to be a foot long.

i plan to have them all secured to a base/stand of some kind to set on the ground or hang on back of tank.

also i plan to use the pump in the ehiem pro 2

questions i have.
1. is the size in diameter of the pvc sufficient.
2. should each pipe be the same length? or would like the pipe with carbon be ok to be shorter and or skinnier for example
3. what media types should i use?

thanks all!:naughty::naughty:
 
i say if you want to build go ahead and build but eheim has some nice filters to just be tearing them apart. maybe get on ebay and buy a different pump you can find one with more turnover rate than the eheim for not much at all. and then you will also have a nice fixed eheim when you decide to upgrade. like almost all of us decide to do.
 
john73738;4034593; said:
I would go with 4" rather than 6" pvc. It is doable because a few here have. Just search for DIY canister filter.

I like your idea.

Here are a couple resources....

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208356

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=172675

Remember here the search button is your friend......

Good Luck
Click to expand...

ya i spent a good week reading stuff about these filters and using that search button. but wonted some input on what i came up with from all my reading.

i had not read that first one u suggested but i have the second one and based a lot of my ideas off that one.

thanks for the input. just wondering why would 4 inch be better then 6?

now i have read the guide on filter media but all it did is confuse me more!
so i have these 3 cylinders.

what one should be for mechanical filter? first midle last?

and which one for biofilter?

now chemical filter. like carbon. would i need a whole cylinder for that? of should i just put a little in one and make the rest of it bio or mechanical.

what should i use as a mechanical filter? sponge, flose, how should i layer it? i was thinking of just getting a ehiem sponge kit and layering it but figured ask u pros for some input.

should i scrap the carbon (chemical filtration) i hear both sides of that idea.
thanks!
 
jeffers;4034860; said:
i say if you want to build go ahead and build but eheim has some nice filters to just be tearing them apart. maybe get on ebay and buy a different pump you can find one with more turnover rate than the eheim for not much at all. and then you will also have a nice fixed eheim when you decide to upgrade. like almost all of us decide to do.
Click to expand...

this filter sat in arizona garage unused for years. i just dont trust the seal on it. so i gona gut it! lol
 
deepdivered;4035204; said:
ya i spent a good week reading stuff about these filters and using that search button. but wonted some input on what i came up with from all my reading.

i had not read that first one u suggested but i have the second one and based a lot of my ideas off that one.

thanks for the input. just wondering why would 4 inch be better then 6?

now i have read the guide on filter media but all it did is confuse me more!
so i have these 3 cylinders.

what one should be for mechanical filter? first midle last?

and which one for biofilter?

now chemical filter. like carbon. would i need a whole cylinder for that? of should i just put a little in one and make the rest of it bio or mechanical.

what should i use as a mechanical filter? sponge, flose, how should i layer it? i was thinking of just getting a ehiem sponge kit and layering it but figured ask u pros for some input.

should i scrap the carbon (chemical filtration) i hear both sides of that idea.
thanks!
Click to expand...


A bag of carbon in with the mech filtration is sufficient. The reason for 4" is just cost. Much cheaper and easier to find.

Also rather than doing a multistage idea what about this? Doing 2 canisters powered by one pump? Here is my idea that I tossed around until I decided on above tank sump filters.

canister idea.JPG
 
i like that idea also.

i came up with another idea. or an alteration to my origanal idea. i guess the two diforent kinds or bb thrive beter in diforent inviorments. on in little oxegeanted water and the other in higher oxigenated water. what if the first canister had verying desity spunges fallowed by a sac of carbon. and the last two where just scruby and maybe some matala. the last canister/third would have a bubble stone in it. has any one tryed something like that?
 
That is getting pretty fancy. Best advice it to put it on paper, then build and try it out. Theory is great, but invention is fueled by perspiration. Your ideas are great, and as far as I have seen, fairly fresh.

Having said that time to put it to the test. I have several ideas that I am working on, some I have posted here, others I am just building and will post the results.

Good luck,

And yes I like the idea of the airstone, not sure if necessay, and will completely mess with the water flow adding air into the system. If I were to do that I would do the one like nyquil junkie.

Just my 2 Cents,

Look forward to seeing a working idea soon.

Bear
 
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